Starting slow and easy

I've been thinking about starting a blog to record my food and remember what works and what doesn't. There have been more interesting recipes I've made lately, and some that could make for a prettier photograph, but it's time to start somewhere.

I'm not trying to be a cookbook chef or make my own recipes. I'm trying to record the things I've cooked at home, after work, with basic ingredients for the most part. With nutrition and variety in mind, I'm setting out to compile some ideas for the veggie life.

Dinner one: "Meat" and Potatoes

This dinner is super-easy; the hardest part is preparing the potatoes.

Packaged seitan; prepared barbecue sauce; red potatoes; sour cream; fresh baby spinach; garlic; olive oil; salt; pepper

1. Open the seitan and rinse the package juices. Place in saucepan and cover with barbecue sauce. Heat for 5-7 minutes just before serving. Seitan only needs to be heated through, not cooked.

2. Peel or scrub the potatoes. I like to leave some skin on, removing the eyes and any ugly spots in the peel. Dice and boil in salted water until tender. Mash with sour cream, salt, and pepper to taste.

3. Heat garlic in olive oil; if you like less garlic flavor remove it before adding the spinach. I like to add the spinach with the garlic and oil, cover and cook for 1 minute and then turn off the heat. The greens will be slightly wilted. Salt to taste. If you prefer another green, swap this out. Sometimes we'll use broccoli too.

I like to serve the seitan and sauce over the potatoes. My husband loves the sauce -- we use a sweet, thick barbecue sauce. This meal is very easy and similar to our favorite comfort foods.