How to Eat More Vegetables: Tip #3

We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how, how do we do that, really? What real-life tips and ideas work? How can we build our lives around the healthiest of all foods, vegetables? Every Saturday, the 'veggie evangelist' shares practical tips and ideas from her own experience, her readers and other bloggers.

This week's tip:

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce ♥

Today's vegetable recipe: The classic Italian spinach gnocchi [pronounced NYOAK-ee, or, read on, there's a musical mnemonic too], what you might call a dumpling but light and airy and slightly cheesy. Gnocchi are not difficult to make but do take some time. The results, however, are worthy of a special occasion or a relaxed weekend meal.

So I like to joke that there's an Unofficial Alanna Kellogg Fan Club and that it has exactly one member. That's our new friend Charlie and given his long-standing encouragement, I've appointed Charlie president. (Update: And someone's appointed himself vice president!)

Laugh if you will but it's true. Some years back, Charlie read and liked Kitchen Parade when it was published in the local newspaper. He's a volunteer poll worker too so one election, he watched for me to arrive to vote and put out his hand to introduce himself. Fast forward to 2011 and Charlie and and his wife Jan's introductions to the Missouri Mycological Society and a smaller culinary group, the Incurable Epicureans. Both warmly welcome new faces. They're good good people and they don't just like mushrooms, they love good food! Four times a year, they prepare a 'theme meal' for forty or fifty people. On Sunday, we attended our first, a feast of Marcella Hazan recipes. What a meal! There are at least two, maybe three recipes I'll make to post here on A Veggie Venture, simple, fresh and seasonal, you know, the recipes we like best!

How to Eat More Vegetables: Tip #2

We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how, how do we do that, really? What real-life tips and ideas work? How can we build our lives around the healthiest of all foods, vegetables? Every Saturday, the 'veggie evangelist' shares practical tips and ideas from her own experience, her readers and other bloggers.

Wow! Thanks so much to the passionate vegetable lovers who took time to fill up my mailbox last week when I launched this series of posts about How to Eat More Vegetables, your ideas are truly inspiring. Readers, I'm going to incorporate your best tips into the weekly tips, look for your names in pixels, soon! (And please, keep them coming!) Bloggers, this week two bloggers wrote posts on this topic, their links are below.

And now for this week's tip:

How to Eat More Vegetables! Yes, YOU!

Practical Tips and Ideas from the 'veggie evangelist', her readers and other bloggers.

We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how, how do we do that, really? What real-life tips and ideas work? How can we build our lives around the healthiest of all foods, vegetables?

Over the several months, I'm going to share ideas that inspire me and just might work for you, too. They'll be presented one bite at a time, just quick posts every Saturday. But I'd love for readers and other bloggers alike to join me in building a list that inspires and encourages each and every one of us.

My Favorite Winter Squash Recipes

A collection of favorite recipes for winter squash, the (mostly) colorful, tough-skinned squash that appear in early fall and are easily available well through the winter.

But first, a quick vegetable lesson. What's the difference between winter squash and summer squash? Both grow during the warm months of summer so why is one called 'winter' squash and the other called 'summer' squash?

THE QUICK ANSWER for COOKS Summer squash have tender, edible skins. Winter squash have tough, inedible skins.

BUT PLEASE KNOW This is a 'cooking answer' not a botanical answer! Cooks use the two terms as loose designations for what might be considered the two squash 'families,' the tender-skinned summer squash and the tough-skinned winter squash. But please know, each 'family' has many offspring and cousins and some times, the names change after immigrating. Like most families, it's complicated!