Happy One Year Anniversary

To my vegetarianism! haha yes one year ago today I made the switch and haven't regretted it once. In interest of full disclosure I can't actually go inside Chik-fil-A anymore, but other than that becoming a vegetarian has been an easy switch for me. My dietary restrictions have forced me to get creative in the kitchen with new ingredients, and I have discovered a love for cooking with healthy, fresh produce and alternative grains. Over the last month, of course, my diet saw some dark days as I traveled in the land of sausage and cheese (aka Germany), but even amidst the rows of bratwurst stalls and schnitzle huts, I managed to find a few veggie-filled meals. I ate the above arugula eggplant pizza in Munich one night. I wish I could say I was at a fancy Italian restaurant that would've knocked your socks off, but in reality I was at the train station, standing up, like I was for many of my meals. Ohh Europe on a budget...

I must give credit where credit is due though, and Germany does deserve credit for a couple classics. The first of course, is the pretzel ("brezel" in german), which has been appearing in bakeries in Southern Germany since 1111. Why have a sandwich on bread when you can have it on a pretzel? Mmm. I definitely enjoyed a couple delicious pretzels as chilly afternoon snacks.

My favorite classic German cuisine, however, had to be the delectable flammkuchen found in Christmas markets throughout Bavaria. This peculiarly named item resembles an extremely thin crust pizza, but in place of sauce and cheese has a thin creme-fraiche layer. The toppings typically include sausage, but Haley and I returned for a second meal to the stall in Karlsruhe which offered a veg version-just a wispy thin layer of creme-fraiche and a generous amount of sliced onions. Yum!

I apologize if the food talk bored you-I have a peculiar habit of taking pictures of my meals so I warn you now that I may do this often. That may be bad news or good news depending on your personal foodie inclinations...