A while back, a friend of mine bought me some black whole grain rice from Italy as a gift. It looked gorgeous, but I wasn't sure quite what to do with it, especially since I had precious little to work with. Then one day out of the blue, I had a eureka moment, I would make it into ( Black Rice Pudding... )

(This entry is a two-fer!)

So here's another one I've been thinking about for a few days. I had made ( Poached Pears ) and I had a lot of the syrup left over. Like, 3 cups, to be exact (if you read the recipe, you can do the math). I served all the pears but had lots of the syrup left over. So I wanted to use that vanilla-pear goodness in something really decadent. I decided to invent a ( Vanilla Pear Vegan Ice Cream.... )



Stay tuned to find out whether or not this totally sucks!!!

I love pizza, and just because I'm vegan doesn't mean that I have to miss out. I've developed this little mini-pizza to be versatile enough to stand up to toppings from omnivores and herbivores alike. Who can't resist a delicious, basic ( Herbed Whole Wheat Pizza Crust.... )

On a whim, I bought some beautiful "ecoganically grown" leeks at the farmer's market last week and brought them home even though I didn't have a clear plan in mind for them. I scoured through some cookbooks for ideas, and using what I had on hand, decided to go create my own version of the classic pairing of ( Potato & Leek Soup.... )

It seems like every culinary thing I create lately seems to come from the need to clean out the fridge. This recipe is no different, but it is full of color and fresh flavor and I enjoyed it so much that I can't wait to make it again! This is my ( Avocado and White Bean Salad....: )

This is definitely worth trying ASAP: http://www.veganlunchbox.com/loaf_studio.html

This is yet another clean-out-the-fridge recipe. I had banannas. I had blueberries. Both were nearing the end of their useful lives. It seemed clear that I needed to make some ( Whole Wheat Bananna Blueberry Mini-Muffins... )

I finally figured out what to do with my dill. In a fit of inspiration as I was cleaning out the fridge (yet again), I came up with this quick and easy ( Cold Cucumber-Dill Soup.... )

On my balcony, I have pots full of herbs. They are not mature yet, but my dill has really taken off and is starting to crowd my mint. I'm sure that will change by the end of summer, but for now I want to cut back a little of the dill and was wondering what to do with it. I started googling stuff and found this WONDERFUL spice index, and just had to share:

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/spice_small.html

Enjoy!

I am one of those people who likes to shop at CostCo, even though it does not make much sense for me to do so, given that I am a single vegan girl living in a small condo. Even so, I always find some bargains there that I can't resist. Last week it was the 8-pack of fresh corn. Man, I had such plans for that corn!

But a whole week had passed and I hadn't even opened the package, I think it got forgotten behind the gallons of soy milk and case of Lara Bars. So I was moving some stuff around in the fridge today and realized I still had the corn. After a week, it's definitely use it or lose it time, and since I hate to throw food away, I used it.

In a frenzy of clean-out-the-fridge, I whipped up this ( Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad... )

This is a simple recipe that I love to make in the spring and summer time due to the freshness that is required of the supporting ingredients. Like a few of the recipes that I consider my "specialties," this is loosely based on a recipe that was given to me years and years ago, and I tweaked it and fiddled with it until I got it just right.

I love the nutty flavor and chewey texture of bulgur wheat, and I can still remember the first time I ever tried it as a freshman in college; it's been love ever since. Combined with some flavorful raw ingredients and good olive oil, nothing could be tastier. There's always room for ( tabouli... )

No two pots of chili that I make turn out the same. They are always tasty and excellent but depending on the availability of peppers and other ingredients, each batch has subtle variations. I love this about making chili, and I constantly taste and tune as I go along. Since this is a vegetarian chili, the flavors of the various peppers and beans really get the spotlight, so I like to experiment, especially with exotic varieties of peppers. This is less of a recipe for chili, and more of a ( chili method.... )

( And some easy guacamole as a topping... )

Don't tell my mom I'm posting this one!

I grew up on a farm and we had wild raspberries growing in the woods all around our house, so every summer my mom would send my brothers and me out into the woods to pick loads of berries for her so that she could make quarts of ( home made raspberry vinegar... )

( Raspberry Vinaigrette.... )

Ok, last one for the evening, I swear. This journal will probably not be nearly this chatty going forward but I had a few things I definitely intended to get out there when I first created it. This particular recipe is dedicated to oontzgrrl who fully understands my long-time hatred of mayo.

( Somewhat Asiany Slaw.... )

This is a recipe that I came up with one day when I had soaked and cooked WAY too many garbonzo beans for a batch of hummus. The hummus recipe calls for 2 cups cooked beans, but I was tired and prepared 2 cups dry. So yah, I had a lot left over and didn't want to waste them. Using only ingredients I had on hand, and drawing upon the cooking lessons I had gotten from my Swami a few years ago, I used the beans that were left over and created this ( Chick Pea Kind-of-a-Curry.... )

First Post!

To kick off this journal, I'm going to start with my very own world-famous and critically-acclaimed ( hummus recipe.... )

( And some Pita Chips to go with it.... )