DETOX: Pappardelle with Vegetable "Bolognese"

Day 2 of my detox is another easy day. I didn't have directions as to breakfast and lunch, except that I had to start my day with lemon juice in hot water with a pinch of cayenne. That may sound like it would be terrible, but I actually like it. It's like a spicy drink. If you like spicy heat, it's good. I swear.

I was also supposed to drink something she calls "Inner Beauty " tea, but I have tons of teas and I'm not about to go concocting special ones just for this diet. Instead I drank some rooibos red tea that I already had at work (thank you, husband!) .

I don't think I had breakfast. I am really trying to remember what I had, but I can't. So I don't think I had any. That's what happens to me in the morning. Lunch was my last "free" meal, so I had a BLT because that contained some things I won't be having for a while, but wasn't an all out fat-fest.

In the afternoon I had my "hydrating drink," which is just half apple cider, half water. Mine was fuji apple cider and cost about a zillion dollars because I didn't notice the price on the juice I was picking up until I was at the register. But it was really good juice. But seriously. It was $5 for a 16 oz. bottle of juice.

Dinner was my first designated meal, but it was an easy one. I had to eat either a pasta or potato with either vegetable or salad. I was also supposed to have a bowl of vegetable broth, but I forgot to get it when I was at the store, so I just skipped it.

I decided on pasta + vegetables because I could combine the two and just eat it all at once. Much easier that way. I decided to make the pappardelle with vegetable "bolognese" from the November issue of Gourmet. Except no cheese. (sad face).

Now, recipes like this are really of the "just a guideline" variety for me, because really, if all you're doing is throwing a bunch of vegetables into a pasta I don't feel the need to follow recipes exactly. I just used whatever amounts of stuff I thought seemed right to me. And I used a mix of wild mushrooms instead of just porcinis.

I also had to use dried rosemary since I didn't have fresh. It's all over our neighborhood, so I was really tempted to just go grab a stick from somewhere. But for one thing, I would have really had to scrub it because I am sure my dog isn't the only one in the neighborhood who adores peeing on the rosemary. Also, the bush I know for sure about is a whole block away. Way too far!

It actually turned out to be quite a nice first diet night meal. Granted, it's really easy on the first day when I'm still allowed to eat mostly everything, but I didn't miss the cheese at all. The dish was winter-y and hearty and the mushrooms and red wine reduction provided the meatiness that one might miss from the bolognese, with a satisfying fresh green flavor from the celery and some extra bursts of flavor from the herbs.

So far so good. But the real challenge will be making it through the weekend.