Note: I've been a vegetarian for over 30 years, although I occasionally eat meat, which I guess makes me more of a "flexitarian." Maybe it's just me, but I don't like grilled portabella mushrooms as a "burger" substitute. As you mentioned, they don't have any protein, and to me, it's just a big slimy brown starchy thing on a bun. I like them sauteed and marinated or marinated and grilled though, but not on a bun. In general, I am not a beanburger fan, they are too mushy in the middle for my taste. Two easier and additional options for you are to buy the commercial ones made out of textured vegetable protein, which is chewier than a beanburger. You can also buy mixes for tofu burgers, although I'm not crazy about those either for the mush factor. I like the frozen burgers, Morningstar Farms is my favorite. Super easy option too! Another option is falafel, which you can buy really good mixes for, which is what I do when I make it. I love falafel on a pita with tomatoes, lettuce, pickled yellow peppers and cucumber, with yogurt sauce or blue cheese dressing. Having said that, here's my beanburger recipe, it uses lentils. Beanburgers (I think this comes from "Seventeen" magazine, circa around 1978) Serves 6. 1 cup dried lentils 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 3 TBLSP wheat germ 1 TBLSP vinegar (red wine would be good, but could use other kinds) 1 TBLSP mustard (the brown kind if you have it) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1 egg, beaten 3 TBLSP butter or margarine or olive oil for frying 6 slices of cheese 6 buns, preferably whole wheat Rinse lentils, cook with 2 cups water until soft (about 50 min.) Note: I use half veggie broth, half water to cook beans. Drain beans if necessary. Combine with next 8 ingredients. Divide mixture into six equal portions, form into patties. Fry in oil or butter for 3 min. on each side. Note: these will be kinda mushy. You can dip in egg white and panko if you think it might make a difference. That's what I do with salmon patties, but I haven't tried it with these yet. Place chees slices on patties, cover skillet, cook until cheese melts. Serve on buns with lettuce and condiments.

Jo, I've been thinking about you this afternoon. Here's a few suggestions (use them if they seem worthwhile & toss them if they don't!): 1.) Start building relationships with every lender in town. Stop by & ask to meet with the head of lending. Residential lending is so automated today that processors & closers (unfortunately) don't have the cloute they did ten years ago. Since they are not the decision makers they used to be spending your valuable time building relationship with them is not productive. Rather, meet with that head of lending. Tell them you are new. Ask for their business & tell them why YOU will work harder to move their REO inventory. It's a good place & opportunity to learn to ask for "The Close"...something every salesperson has to learn. Also, REO business is easier, IMO. Then, follow-up on your visit with a written note & a dozen of your cards. If you haven't heard from them in 3 months...call again & this time invite him/her out to lunch. Ask the lender who they prefer as a title company, law office, inspector, appriser, etc. After speaking with half a dozen lenders, you'll start to get a snapshot of who's who in town. Then, spend your energy building relationships with those firms & leave the others for later. 2.) Builders...residential builders are really fun people. They were my favorite part of the real estate industry. They, however, are notoriously disorganized & rather poor at anything other than building. Get to know all of your SMALL, local builders (not the big guys...that's a waste of time, IMO, for you in the beginning). Go in with knowledge of their products & a plan to help them market. Keep your name in front of their face even if they currently have nothing to sell. Your building relationships at this point not trying to actually get a listing or make a sale. Builders love, love, love to bu##sh#t so allow a full half-day to meet with one of them! lol You'll learn more about your town's real estate industry in 3 hours from a local builder than six months in your office! 3.) Immediately begin attending the monthly Homebuilders's Association meetings in your area. This was absolutely THE best networking I ever did. 4.) Personally, I did not enjoy the monthly Realtor's Association dinners nearly as much as the builder's. But, you'll need to attend every month & force yourself to meet 3-4 new realtors at every dinner. More relationship building... 5.) Title companies can be tougher. But, I'd still recommend stopping by every one in town & dropping off your cards (probably won't get past the receptionist so leave them with him/her). 6.) My DH is an attorney as well as head of lending at a major financial institution. He works in NY. In NY, attorneys play a fairly large role in real estate. So, find out who specializes & go meet them with a dozen more cards. ASK for his business! He's got lots of clients who'll someday need to sell/buy a home. Also, then when you meet again across a closing table from each other it's easier to negotiate. 7.) Pick a FSBO (or two) & attend their Open Houses. Offer to prepare a CMA. Assure them there's no strings attached. Hope if they don't sell...they'll remember you. Leave 2 cards with them. 8.) A couple things I did over the years when I had a subdivision with a lot of homes I needed to sell in a single community... a.) I made arrangements to reserve the local community center for an evening. I prepared a speech on "Getting Ready To Purchase Your First Home". I advertised the heck out of my little speech (sponsored by my bank but you could ask your broker for sponsorship?). I had lots of hand-outs, coffee, soda, & cookies. I used the overhead with big color glossy pictures of smiling young couples holding little kids in front of their new home. I greeted everybody at the door & gave out business cards. Mostly, what I did was try to get those first-time homebuyers motivated to buy a home feeling that I'd land a few of them at my subidivison I needed to sell & it got my card in hundreds of hands! b.) I realized that I had to learn how to speak up at church, at the "Y" when I was swimming, at the grocery store as I stood in the check-out line, etc. & ASK for people's business. That's tough...the asking part. It a set-up for rejection & as humans we're resistant to it. You've got to lose any fear of rejection you may harbor down way deep inside. It's easier to start with people you don't know too well (like at the grocery store?). Seriously, learning to ask for the close is going to be a make or break skill for you so practice whenever & whereever you get an opportunity. I had many people call me at the bank asking if we had any REO inventory for sale. I'd make an appointment with them & ask about what they were looking for. Then, I'd show them one home I knew they couldn't afford, one I was pretty sure they'd hate, & one I wanted to sell them. Most of the time...it worked. But, I had to ASK for the close! Practice on your family with mock-up situations...unless this is something that just comes naturally to you it's going to be where you need the most work. If you're a natural saleperson...then you'll know when to ask for the close. Good luck...you've made me giggle tonight remembering all of the properties I've sold...like the one near a "babbling brook" with the mushrooms growing on the basement walls! Sold it to a realtor who thought I was a luney-tune for selling it so cheap...thought she could wring the place out & flip it for a nice profit...guess who had the last laugh? hahahahahah Or, the one I sold to an "80 Something" single gent who rode around the neighborhood on his motorcycle wearing nothing but a loin cloth...made his neighbors very upset. I received many threatening phone calls at the bank. Wow, who knew? He seemed so nice at the closing! hahahahahaha It's a fun industry. You'll have a good time. Well, you'll have a good time IF you're a people person. If you don't love people then you'll be miserable. It's not about the houses...it's all about the people. Remember that & you'll do great. Tricia

Plum vinegar is a japanses condiment. I got mine in the condiment section of the local health food grocery. You could probably substitute balsamic red wine vinegar or some type of fruit vinegar like raspberry vinegar.

lpink, I had a similar issue with my Dad after Mom died. I found soups and crackers, stews, casseroles, etc. worked best for him. Definitely use flat wide containers, they heat more evenly. I cooked once or twice a week and brought it over. I never froze anything. My Dad liked: Shepherds Pie - You could sub peas & carrots for the corn Chili with beans (bland) topped with cheese and served with tortilla chips for scooping Hot Dogs and Baked Beans - Sliced hot dogs sauteed with a little onions then mixed with Baked Beans. You could omit the onion. Sliced Kielbasa with stewed tomatoes and sliced zucchini Cooked breakfast sausage on mashed potatoes and a veggie side American Chop Suey - Scrambled hamburg, stewed tomatoes (I used Del Monte with peppers and onions), cooked pasta, some tomato sauce and seasoning to taste (Bland as heck but he loved it.) Roast Chicken with Rice Florentine - Rice cooked in chix stock with chopped spinach, fresh lemon juice, butter and some parmesan cheese added Bake Stuffed Potatoes - Baked the potatoes fluff in the skin and add butter, then add cooked chicken, a little bacon, broccoli and top with sliced cheese. These were his favorite. You could swap out the broccoli for another veggie. Mac & Cheese with Ham and Carrots Pasta Alfredo with Canadian Bacon and Peas Boneless Bake Stuffed Pork Chop - Stuffed with apples, walnuts, celery, onion whole grain bread. You could omit or add ingredients to suit his tastes. Be sure to keep the stuffing layer an even thickness so it heats evenly. Egg Casserole - Ingredients varied but I made these in 4" ramekins. Frozen hash browns on the bottom for crust. Press in firmly and pre-bake. Beat the eggs with a little cream some, cheese and bacon, sausage or ham bits, and chopped veggies. Fill the ramekins and bake until cooked through. These reheat well in the microwave. Baked Ziti with homemade tomato vegetable meat sauce and cheese Finger foods - Anything that gave the appearance of a snack i.e. he could eat with his fingers or dip and eat in front of the TV. In the first few months after Mom died, this is all Dad ate. He refused to eat at the kitchen or dining room tables. For example: -A small container of tomato soup for dipping grill cheese fingers in. You would have to test container sizes to be sure the "sauce" heats in the same amount of time as the fingers. -Shrimp Cocktail -Crackers and Spinach Artichoke Dip (I sometimes added crab, shrimp, ham, bacon, chicken or whatever to this.) -Homemade cookie sticks with fresh strawberry dip (Greek vanilla yogurt with finely diced and drained strawberries) -French Toast Fingers with a side of Maple syrup -Mini Quesadillas with Salsa for dipping - Fill small tortillas with cooked ingredients and cheese, grill until browned and crispy and the cheese is melted. I always put the cheese against the tortilla, they get less soggy that way. Cool on a rack. These heat in 30 seconds or so in the microwave. Pre-cut in small wedges. -Pate and Crackers -Cherry tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad -Deviled Eggs -Hot Crab Dip and Crackers -Mini Scallop Rockerfeller Tarts - Cooked Scallops, Spinach, Brie or laughing Cow cheese in a pie shell. I used mini muffin tins and pre-baked the crust. These are best the first day but Dad ate them even soggy. -English Muffin Pizzas - Pre-cut in wedges. Pre toast the English muffins until crunchy. -Lamb Chop Lollipops with Mint Pesto Dipping Sauce (For sauce mix mint jelly with store bought pesto.) -Peking Dumplings -Fresh Spring Rolls -Skewers of anything with dipping sauce -Mac & Cheese Bites Well you get the idea... I found that if I made a printed menu and put it on the refrigerator, Dad ate more because he didn't have to decide what to eat. Of course then there were days where he would eat candy instead of dinner. And when he was feeling cantankerous he would just eat what he felt like whenever he felt like it, sometimes 3 days worth of food in one day and none the next! :-) Or if not a menu then a list of what you brought and make sure to boldly and clearly label each item so your Dad doesn't have to think about it. Even the simplest task is overwhelming right now. Dad ate more sweets during the grieving process so healthy sweets were a big focus. Some days all he wanted were Chocolate Chip Cookies so I improvised and added some oatmeal and a little grated zucchini or whatever. They might not have always been stellar but they were sweet and he ate them or the dog did. LOL Good luck and God Bless! Take heart, my Mom's last words to me were, "I'm so sorry I'm leaving you stuck with your father. I love you." She knew!