Day Five, full-on day, not much cooking.

Thursdays are my longest working days, and I don't usually get home until after 6 p.m. Today's lunch was a peanut butter sandwich on wholemeal bread, an apple and a banana. I had asked my mother-in-law to make her wonderful winter minestrone (she uses carrots, potatoes, celery, and thickens it with rice). Perfect solution...for the rest of the family, I realised as I was driving to work. The soup gets its wonderful flavour from the rind of parmesan (that would be CHEESE!!!) she cooks in it, and also from the stock cube...and I don't know WHAT'S in that...


Thank goodness for the morning market in Piazza San Faustino, and a thirty minute break at work. I raced over and bought a head of lettuce, a very small (and kind of sad-looking) head of radicchio, some broccoli and mushrooms (what would happen to a vegan who hated mushrooms?). I also visited the best healthfood shop in Viterbo (which doesn't have a website - it is Shao Yang, Via delle Piagge, 1, 01100 Viterbo), and got a new kind of grain to try less-complicated flour-milling. It is a very ancient grain, grown in Sicily - if it is a success, I will post details. I also got some vegan "sausages" made from an Italian product called MOPUR (their site obviously needs a better translator, but you get the idea...). They'll make next week a little easier (mabye). 


Anyway, back on topic - I got home and found I was correct. There was cheese in the soup. I dished for the family, and made myself a simple salad (like last night's, with carrot, lettuce and radicchio), a re-heated pita pocket, and some of the left-over mushroom and walnut pate. An apple rounded out the meal, and everyone was happy and satisfied. 


I had a few hungry moments today, but I always do on a Thursday - banana at 1, and sandwiches at 3 will do that to a person. 


It's all good on the Vegan Frontline!