Animal Free Feast

Came home from church today and wanted to make a nice vegetarian feast for my family. I had picked up some very nice handmade pita from the farmer's market yesterday- there's a lovely Middle Eastern bakery located there with the most wonderful breads. My son had made falafel yesterday and there were lots left over, so I built the meal around that and the pita. I grilled the pita in olive oil on our griddle that I now use for everything. While I reheated the falafel, I whipped up some tabbouleh (from a boxed mix) and some rice pilaf (also from a boxed mix). I had some left over cooked french lentils in the freezer, so I mixed them into the rice pilaf. While the tabbouleh was cooling in the fridge and the rice and lentils were simmering, I cut up veggies to go with the pita and falafel. I had fresh home grown tomatoes from the market, onion, broccoli sprouts, and cucumber slices. I filled a bowl with crumbled feta. I didn't have all the ingredients for tatziki sauce, but I did have a new can of tahini. I mixed some tahini with mayonnaise and a dab of spicy mustard and squeezed in the juice from half a lemon. It made a very tasty sauce for the falafel. It was all done just in time for the pita to be crisp and toasty hot. I cut the rounds into quarters and heaped them into a bread basket. For dessert I sat a fresh cluster of grapes on a plate and surrounded them with slices of sweet ripe mango. I put all the food in nice serving dishes and set them on the table. It was not only delicious, but beautiful. I was so proud of my impromptu feast. I am beginning the see the gift in the ability to prepare and serve a nice meal. I had begun to think of cooking as a drudgery, but now since I have the challenge of learning to prepare meatless meals, I can see it as more of an adventure.