Oh dear. I'd already half written the post in my head, extolling the delicious simplicity of peas topped with the chili lime butter that was such a hit with a watercress sandwich . But nope, nothin' special here. Sorry. I wish so too! Hmm. Broccoli, perhaps? ARF TUESDAYS For the record, this is A Veggie Venture's contribution to the gentle eat-right encouragement from Sweetnicks . FROM THE ARCHIVES For green-pea favorites, see here in the Recipe Box . PEAS with CHILI LIME BUTTER Bookmark or print this recipe only Hands-on time: 10 minutes for the chili lime butter, 2 minutes for the peas Time to table: 20 minutes Serves 4 1 pound frozen green peas, steamed (although I'm learning that I prefer to cook peas in boiling water so they can be liberally salted) CHILI LIME BUTTER 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 a large jalepeno, minced fine Zest and juice from a lime Salt and pepper to taste (I skipped both) Stir together the ingr

Sneaking vegetables into breakfast is hard! Even after nearly 10 months of cooking a vegetable in a new way every single day, the breakfast and brunch list is pretty short; worse, not one recipe really shouts 'breakfast' in the way a dedicated veggie- and breakfast-eater might hope. So Nupur's One Hot Stove cucumber pancakes sent me scurrying for rice flour. (Ooops. Only mid-cucumber-grate and too late did I realize that there's "rice flour" and then there's "sweet rice flour". I'd bought the wheat-free and gluten-free sweet rice flour at Trader Joe's. Was it the wrong kind? I don't know! The pancakes weren't sweet-tasting in the least.) These were savory good! To my surprise, I especially liked the bits of hot pepper and the taste of cumin. Nupur suggests serving the pancakes with relish or chutney but I have to say, t he tiny bit of chili lime butter leftover from Day 280 was sublime. I also tried a bite with maple syrup -- o

The famous zero point Garden Vegetable Soup from Weight Watchers. It's quick to make with minimal chopping, sure to satisfy. This WW no point soup uses a mix of inexpensive and easy-to-find fresh and frozen vegetables. If you're looking to slim down, reset your body's expectations after a period of too-much or too-rich food, make this fresh soup your starting gate. Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Great for Meal Prep. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weeknight Easy. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly.

Today's recipe: A classic watercress soup, slightly peppery thanks to the bright green leaves of watercress. Naturally Gluten Free. ~recipe updated, first published way back in 2006~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ BACK IN 2006 A Turkish food blogger commented, "Seems it was watercress week over here ;-)." It was! But no more, that whole case of watercress I purchased for a whole dollar is gone. It's been quite an odyssey! Three salads, the very favorite with watercress, tangerines and blue cheese ; the colorful crunch of daikon and bell peppers ; plus another less-favorite that mixes watercress with iceberg lettuce . But a case of watercress goes a long way! I also made a spicy cucumber and watercress relish and a watercress sandwich and a wonderful turkey and tortellini soup plus, well, a a mistake and a few others hidden behind the screen. But there's no experimenting with watercress without returning to an old favorite, watercress soup. Some years

Basil's both hard to find and dear right now. But spinach? It's everywhere and oh-so-cheap. So experiment with this low-carb spinach and walnut pesto, whether to toss with pasta or to top onto vegetables. Winter Pesto is featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column .

Today's quick 'n' easy vegetable appetizer recipe: Pure comfort food, warm squares of an artichoke and cheddar mix, with a little holiday color from pimento and fresh parsley. ~recipe & photo updated & reposted 2012~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2006 Original Post: So there's a blog party and we're all invited! The theme is 'retro appetizers' so pick your decade. I picked mine, the 80s, after encountering slim-pickin' ideas from my small collection of vintage cookbooks. My grandmother's first cookbook, Meals Tested and Approved, published in 1920 by Good Housekeeping, devoted a chapter to 'cereals for breakfast' and another to 'baking powder biscuits and shortcakes' but not one word to appetizers. The 1938 American Woman's Cookbook had seven pages of appetizers in a 900-page book, all lobster, caviar, anchovy and foie gras. The 1959 Electric Cook Book ('your complete guide to cooking electrically')

Look closely -- see those little seeds? They're whole fennel and mustard seeds -- and they convert this simple salad/relish from something nicely fresh to something alive with subtle layers of flavor and deliciousness. I'm sooo glad I didn't skip them! And this is the second cold vegetable salad of the week -- in the middle of winter! (The first is here .) Vegetable salads are summer staples, of course, but seem out-of-season in January. O Contraire! What a fresh combination, a great side to roast chicken or piled on a big supper salad. NEXT TIME No watercress? No problem, just omit it or substitute cilantro or even parsley. FROM THE ARCHIVES For other cold salads, see here in the Recipe Box . And don't miss this week's first cold salad, made with daikon and red peppers. CUCUMBER & WATERCRESS RELISH Bookmark or print this recipe only Hands-on time: 15 minutes Time to table: 45 minutes Serves 4 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds 3/4 teaspoon fennel seed