New Vegetarian New Year's Day menu

I usually serve corned beef and cabbage on New Year's Day. I don't really know why. It's just what we always did in my family when I was growing up. It probably points way back to my ethnic heritage. But usually I was the only one who ate it. And while I like cabbage when cooked the right way, corned beef was never my favorite meat. Very fatty and it just tastes like it is bad for you.

Last week after Christmas, we stopped in at a Borders bookstore and I went searching for a family vegetarian cookbook. I've been wanting one for a while now and since I didn't get one as a Christmas gift, I took matters into my own hands. I ended up buying Nava Atlas' Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

In the past I've had issues getting my two youngest boys in particular to get on board with some of my vegetarian recipes. My husband and teenager are already won over to vegetarian eating and generally like whatever I make. The 11 and 6 year old, on the other hand, are quick to sneer and say "yuck".

So the day after I bought the cookbook I made her Classic Vegetarian Chili and it was a success. Everyone liked it and we had leftovers for the next day. I was excited about the new cookbook.

Fast-forward to New Year's Day. Big J requested an Asian stir-fry meal. So using my new cookbook, I decided to make Asian Noodles with Stir-Fried Corn and Cabbage and I paired it with Orange-Glazed Tofu and Broccoli. Even my 6yo ate his dinner! I was amazed.

It was funny. After we'd been eating for a while, we were talking about how it was pretty good. My 15yo completely cleared his plate, my husband cleared his plate, I was almost completely done and my two younger boys had made serious dents in what they'd eaten. I was commenting on the cabbage in the noodle dish and my 11yo informed me he didn't like cabbage. I looked at his plate and noticed that cabbage was about the first thing he'd eaten! There was none left on his plate. I told him it must have been the way I cooked it. ;-)