I've been a vegetarian on and off since childhood.  My most recent "on" period spanned the better part of this last decade.  I don't judge others for the food they wish to eat, but meat is not something that I have felt comfortable eating.  However since my health has been in such a poor state lately I have made the choice to add a small amount of chicken into my diet (this is huge for me).  I figured that if I am willing to have countless vials of my blood drawn, undergo scans with heavy levels of radioactivity, pop whatever pills the Dr. prescribes me, etc...than I owe it to myself and my family to see if my vegetarianism is having any ill effects on me (some think it might be).

So with reluctance and quite a lot of sadness (I know that must sound silly) I cooked my first chicken meal this evening.  I picked this recipe for Lime Chicken Soft Tocos and set to work.  I really had to detach myself from the process so as to not upset myself to the point of losing my appetite.  When all was said and done it tasted pretty decent.  I think tacos were a great way to go since there are so many other flavors and textures to mask the little bits of chicken lying in wait.  I know I can't do tacos every time though, so I'll be looking for additional recipes that do a good job masking the meat element within them.  If you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

I'm sure it's odd for someone to feel so emotional over the process of eating chicken...but I can't deny that it has made me feel a little blue.  As a kid we grew up being taught that there are little Elementals (like faeries) that are assigned to look after every living thing.  The result of our belief was a great reverence for the natural world.  If we picked a flower we thanked the Elemental for looking after it and allowing us the gift of such a beautiful bloom, etc.  So I found myself today feeling the need to thank something (the chicken, the Elemental...I'm not sure what) for giving its life for my meal.  My heart feels heavy.  I'm not sure if I even want that part to change, since my love for animals is a really big part of my life.  I guess we'll see.

So...all that being said, I am still going to try to include chicken in my diet a couple times a week.  I know it won't be easy...and if in a month or so I'm not feeling noticeably different I will happily return to my animal-free eating habits.  *sigh*  Until then, do you have any fabulous chicken recipes to share that don't taste too much like, well, chicken?  xo Ez

It sure seems like it's been too long since I last posted here on Carrying On.  Thank you all for your loving words of support and thoughtfulness.  We are still not to the bottom of my health issues, but I've now had serious heart conditions crossed off our list of potential worries.  Hip-hip-hurray for that!

So on to other things...(feathers from the collection we keep adding to together)

My daughter has been home full-time on her Summer vacation for several weeks now and it feels like we are finally starting to get into the swing of things.  Those first few days were brutal...let me tell you.  The shift seemed to come after I realized that I need to allow a little spontaneous joy to creep into our day.  It is easy for me to get so involved in trying to maintain a balanced schedule that I lose track of other things...important things like being goofy with my kid or not letting a messy kitchen (courtesy of my daughter - she is a child after all) ruin my day.  So we've started adding some random bits of fun into our week and it's been great.  Just this past Monday we made these surprisingly simple and tasty Peppermint Patties.  I even smiled and we had a blast when my daughter suggested that we use her clay sculpting tools to add creative details to the mints (the little voice inside my head was saying "this isn't what the recipe says to do" but thankfully I didn't listen). So I'm not supermom by any stretch of the imagination (I know...I had you fooled right - wink).  Motherhood is challenging for me on most days (I know I can't be the only one that feels that way, right).  But I'm discovering that with practice there can be time in our day for all the things that need to be accomplished...including joy!

Have a delightful weekend everyone.  ox Ez