My Life as a Vegetarian

So my brother, sister, and I have been in a 30 day vegetarian challenge for the month of April. Unlike a lot of vegetarians or vegans, we have absolutely no moral basis for this, we just thought it would be fun to challenge ourselves. When we were talking about the book of Daniel in the Bible the other day, I mentioned offhandedly to my sister that I had always wanted to try the diet that Daniel and the 3 men instituted when they were brought to the king's court. So we decided to do it. I know, we are lame, and probably bring shame to the good name of vegetarians everywhere, but oh well.

Anyway, so I've been keeping my eye out for vegetarian recipes to try, and I found this one for African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew that actually sounded like something I would have eaten in Africa. And as you all know, I have a frank obsession with anything African so I knew I just had to try it!

Step 1: gather and chop! (be sure to keep your laptop within easy reach in case you need some music or movie entertainment)

Step 2: saute the onions and red bell peppers (aren't they colorful?)

Step 3: Cook the stew (I also added some broccoli to my meal for color palate aesthetics and had to make some rice to serve the stew over) My mini stove was at full capacity!

Step 4: add your spices! (a little bit of everything for this flavorful stew!)

I saw a recipe for Strawberry Bruscetta on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make it! Unfortunately the Pinterest recipe had balsamic vinegar on it (eewww!) so I found this other recipe sans nasty ingredients and it was ubber good!
Basically it's cinnamon toast, baked in the oven, then covered in lemon cream cheesiness, and topped with as many fresh strawberries as you can fit! (I used the spreadable whipped cream cheese, and it turned out nice and fluffy.) A perfect garnish would have been mint sprigs on top, but sadly, I don't yet have my fairy-tale herb garden. 

And just like that... Dinner is served (Vegetarian style)! Of course I had to have my brother and sister over to try out the scrumptious meal! My brother brought some french bread for an extra side, and the meal looked beautiful! I would have to say though, that the flavor of the stew was not exactly my favorite. I like cinnamon a lot, but I don't think it goes with vegetables very well, and I would probably leave that out if I make it again. Other than that though, it was very filling, which I find is one of the hardest things about vegetarian cooking, so I'm marking it down as a success!!