My goals for this blog:

Mondays - post a vegetarian recipe

Tuesdays - showcase a product I like

Wednesdays - write about a herb

Thursdays - write about something sweet

Fridays - blog reviews: “About Town”

Saturdays - write about essential oils

Sundays - give thanks

I tried something new this week: Dreyers Fruit Bars, made with natural fruit. I bought a strawberry bar and it was so delicious, I had to tell you about it.

[Note: I am not being paid for this post. I don't do pay-per-post blogging.]

Normally I’d go for an ice cream bar instead but my boyfriend and I need to lose weight and he pointed out to me that the fruit bar would be better for us. It was not only better, it was outstanding.

Ingredients are: water, strawberries, sugar, carob bean gum, natural flavors, guar gum, citric acid, color from beet juice extract and tumeric, and ascorbic acid. I don’t see much there to complain about though one could cite the sugar… though it is hard to get completely away from in this civilization. There were only 120 calories and of course, there’s lots of Vitamin C as strawberries are known for that.

Do you ever like to visit food sites to see what’s there? I love looking them up. Dreyers has a section of their site devoted to their Fruit Bars… on the front page of the site it says “Fruit Bars: Taste what everyone’s talking about…” and here I am, talking about them. Hmmm…

It says these fruit bars are winners of the ‘Best Taste Award’ by the American Culinary ChefsBest. I don’t doubt it. The flavor I tried is truly delicious.

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I was inspired to write this by JulieZS’s post, Food, Glorious Food at Create A Connection.

Submitted to The Vegetarian Blog Carnival.

This morning I woke to two news articles about tainted meat on my Google home page, and once again praised my good luck that I prefer to be vegetarian. But I know most people aren’t, and thought about a blog I visited yesterday through a lucky click on my Stumble Upon toolbar.

First, the meat articles. They are Chemical in tainted pet food turns up on hog farms, and E. coli’s trail ends in Merced California … Not very appetizing, is it?

So here’s the solution: great vegetarian meals. The kind that make you feel like you’re not missing anything. That’s what I found during my visit to Vegetarian Meal Plans, a blog by Cassie Young that’s been serving up great vegetarian meal plan ideas and recipes, along with a serving of practical advice, since last December. The recipes with their colorful close-up photographs of her culinary creations are simple enough to be do-able, but complex enough to impress me. The author tells us this is what she’s been eating at her home so I’m sure we can do it at ours.

I work in a pizza restaurant that serves up meat-laden pizzas all day long. Very few come in asking for our veggie combo, and I wonder why, with all the publicity about tainted meat, so many people have a problem with making the break to more healthy, natural foods.

For me, it was a decision I made early-on in my life; I decided as a teenager that pillaging animals for their flesh was not for me. But most people eat meat as if their life depends on it. I wonder if it is caused by government propaganda that tells us meat is one of the four food groups.

Meat is not necessary for human survival. Living without it is a blessing, and is the best way to avoid tainted meat that is becoming more common in the 21st century.

Vegetarian Meal Plans deserves a link in my blogroll on the right-hand side of this blog.

This site features words of wisdom found in the home and hearth journal I keep my country kitchen’s pantry. You can subscribe by email (see the links in the top-right corner of the site) and drop in to comment whenever you have the time.

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Now I suppose you’d like to know who I am.

My name is Linda Martin. A very common name… there are hundreds of us. Sometimes on the internet I use my middle name, like at my writing website where I’d like to stand out from the multitude of Linda Martins.

I’m not a natural cook, but I’ve adjusted to it over the years.

I’m a vegetarian, so you won’t find meat recipes here, but I’m not a fanatic about being vegetarian. I’m 55 this year and long ago decided I don’t want to be fanatical about anything.

I have five adult children. Only the eighteen-year-old is still at home (2008) but not for much longer. When he leaves, my second childhood officially begins.

I have a boyfriend, Bob, who cooks for me sometimes. He is awesome.

My country kitchen is located in a remote section of the Klamath National Forest in Northern California. I live in a very small town and work in one of the local restaurants part time. Cooking is a big part of my life now and I love writing about food.

I’ve been studying and using herbs for 35 years now! Seems like a long time. There’s plenty of herbs to gather locally in this forest, and I have a few others cultivated in my yard.

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When I’m not cooking or eating, I’m writing. I’ve written a lot of journals and done a lot of blogging. I hope you enjoy reading this food blog as much as I enjoy writing it!