30 Day Vegan - Getting Ready

I was sick on Friday and Saturday, so I feel like I'm a couple of days behind. Especially when I see what some of the other seminar participants have been doing in their kitchens to get organized. Ugh! So, most of yesterday was spent in preparation.

First, I cleaned out the refrigerator; got rid of everything that needed getting rid of, and even washed the shelves.

Ready to be filled with goodies!

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I also printed out this week's recipes and put them in protective sheets (I didn't have a binder on hand). Then made a shopping list of stuff I needed. It was a really long list.

After a nice little salad for lunch, I went shopping. Amazingly, I was able to find everything I needed except tahini at Kroger. But, Margaret assures me she found tahini there, so I'll just have to ask next time. In the mean time, she let me borrow some of hers.

Our "butt load" of groceries.

Grace informs me that the metric conversion of "butt load" is "bum load".

My seminar binder full of yummy recipes.

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The total grocery bill was right around $250, but I got a few "extras". Most noteably:

• My binder.
• Wide-mouth Ball jars; one flat of freezer-safe pint-sized and one flat of quart sized. I used the box bottoms to help organize the pantry.

Two dozen lovely wide-mouth Ball jars and their partner lids.

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• Sandwich bread; As Margaret has explained to her family, my end of the bargain is to make meals and put them on the table. You can eat it or not (though I might require each child to take at least ONE bite), no derrogatory comments will be allowed, and you are free to make yourself something else to eat. I see a lot of PBJ's in our future.
• Fruit juices.

I ousted almost all of our plastic storage containers (most of whom are missing mates), and loaded up the cabinet with our new jars.

My first "seminar" dish was Butternut Squash and Apple Soup. Very simple, and absolutely fabulous. Just about the best winter soup ever.

Served with artisan bread (also vegan). Perfect!

Ready for another day!