VEGETARIAN COOKING

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· Food safety: The world is full of bacteria and bacteria loves meat. One third of all food poisoning comes from poultry and red meat. At least half of the poultry that's sold contains salmonella. Also, most of our country's meat is raised with the "help" of antibiotics and growth hormones. Because of this, deaths due to penicillin and tetra cycline residues in meat occur every year. Sure, food-borne pathogens do appear on vegetables, but it's not as common. (The most recent outbreak was some apple cider with traces of E. Coli that was made from apples that fell on the ground.)

· Earth smarts: Cutting back on our meat consumption is not only smart for our bodies, but also for the environment. Oxygen-producing forests are chopped down to make room for cattle grazing. Since it takes eight pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef, the grain we feed to livestock could feed five times our country's population. We may be diligently recycling our cans, but are we concerned about the waste that's perpetuated by our meat consumption?

A vegetarian (or almost vegetarian) diet doesn't have to be tofu-burgers and sprouts. Here are some meatless meals that you can really sink your teeth into.

Spinach-Feta Quesadillas

The great thing about quesadillas is that they can be filled with any ingredient that you have on hand. Try serving them at room temperature for snacks when unexpected guests come over. For a vegan version, use soy cheese or omit the cheese and smear a little salsa on one side of the tortilla to make your vegetable sandwich stick together. I use sheep or goat's milk feta (domestic feta is made with cow's milk) for this quesadilla.

4 whole wheat flour tortillas (8-inch size)about 6 ounces imported feta cheese, crumbled1 small red pepper, sliced into thin strips1 small red onion, sliced into thin circles2 cups fresh spinach leaves, stems removed and cut into thin strips
canola oil

Pour a drop of oil into a large frying pan (nonstick is better) and saute the peppers and onions. Remove from the pan and set aside. Smear a few more drops of oil in the pan and heat on medium until hot. Place a tortilla in the pan and sprinkle on some cheese, peppers, onions, and spinach. Place another tortilla on top.

Saute until the bottom tortilla is medium brown, then flip over. Brown that side, remove from the pan, and slice into quarters or eighths. Makes two quesadillas.

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