Meatless Monday?

October is National Vegetarian Month. So, whether you have a garden or not, here are a couple of things you can do:

• Pick one day of the week where all of your meals are of a meatless variety for the entire month.
• If that's too much, pick one meal where you will consistently avoid meat once or twice a week for the entire month.

You'll be surprised at the variety of things you can eat to help you avoid meat. And if you wonder why you should even bother, just remember that according to studies done by the Mayo Clinic and other medical research institutions, eating less meat has been shown to reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.

Sumptuous And Simple Summer Vegetable Recipe

When the tomatoes and summer squash are producing faster than you seem to be able to keep up with, it pays to have a simple recipe or two handy to use the abundance that Mother Nature has given you. Here is one of my favorites.

Summer Vegetable Medley

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1 large or two medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 bunch of green onions, sliced
• 1 large bell or 3 to 4 regular sized banana peppers, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 tsp salt or 1 tsp non-salt seasoning mix
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute squash for a couple of minutes then add the pepper chunks. After a couple of minutes more add the green onions. When the other vegetables are tender, add  the sugar, salt/non-salt seasoning, pepper and tomato wedges and stir well. Lower the heat and cover the skillet. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes more  stirring occasionally. Season to taste and then serve. This is great over white rice!