life list – taste kills creativity

My life list in progress – Recipes listed below:
updated: 08/13/2012

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11) Pan-Fried Sage-Scented Zucchini Pancakes from Cookstr
08/11/2012 – Made this for breakfast and they made the whole kitchen smell wonderful. Would go great with some sweet chutney, I ate it with squash relish and fresh sliced tomatoes. And who doesn’t need another way to use zucchini? I made this with two large zucchini and a yellow squash. I loved it, Doug thought the garlic was a bit strong (he’s more sensitive to that than I am). I wasn’t sure about how these would hold together without egg, but the zucchini has a bit of “gooeyness” that holds things together. Might cut down on the salt used to draw out the water or rinse the zucchini before adding to the batter, it was a tad salty. Decent as leftovers, too, but the garlic taste is stronger.

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10) refreshing basil limeade from FoodandWine via my friend Katie
07/23/2012 – So refreshing, great way to use extra basil in the garden.
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9) 3-Ingredient Healthy Ice Cream from The Kitchn
06/09/2012 – We used 4 oranges, a lime for juice. Was a little tangy, but a drizzle of maple syrup took it over the top!

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8) Kale Salad from my friend Miriam at Sustainable Health Choices
03/03/2012 – Great as a side dish with almost anything. And pretty, too.
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vegan mac n cheese — Vegan Macaroni & Cheese, leftovers for breakfast

7) Vegan Macaroni & Cheese from VegNews
01/18/2012 – Delicious recipe! No yeast in this recipe, so if you’re someone who doesn’t like that strong nutritional yeast taste lots of vegan “fake-cheesy” recipes have, this is the recipe for you. (I have a feeling the secret might be the amount of vegan margarine) I loved it and would make and serve it for anyone, vegan or non. Great as leftovers, too.

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6) Eggplant Catalana from Aubergines.org
01/01/2012 – Modified this one a bit, because of what I had on hand. Used two eggplant and a can of diced tomatoes. Was a bit on the juicy side, ate it over rice. Tasty, but mild. Nuts go well with the eggplant, but took me a bit to get used to the texture contrast. Leftovers are good, but very purple looking, the skins of the eggplant took over the whole color of the dish after it sat, still tastes fine, but is very purple as leftovers. If I make this again, I’d like to add some fresh tomatoes (or more canned and maybe some paste) and I’d cut the eggplant up smaller after I fry it, to make it easier to eat, once cooked. (note: I did try the non-vegan option with the fried egg on top as well, and it was pretty good, but not as great as I’d expected, interesting and worth trying with leftovers if you’re a sometimes-vegan like me.)
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Harvest Tart With Pumpkin, Roasted Red Peppers and Olives - Recipe - NYTimes.com — Rolling out the ‘Harvest Tart’ with Butternut Squash, Peppers and Capers

5) Harvest Tart With Pumpkin, Roasted Red Peppers and Olives from NYTimes.com Recipes
11/03/11 – I modified this tart recipe for our dinner guests, who weren’t fond of olives. I used capers instead. Also, I didn’t buy red or yellow peppers, ’cause I’m cheap. I used regular ole green peppers. I think the olives would add a nice additional texture, but all-in-all, this recipe was good and made a nice “feature” or “main dish” for a vegetarian meal. The crust was really hard to roll out… I think it would have been easier if I;d had time to let it warm up a bit after the fridge “resting”, but it was flaker than I expected, sans butter. I’d like to try this one again, with olives, and see how much that changes it.

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4) Polenta with Tomato-Braised Beans from Sustainable Health Choices
10/19/2011 – This is one of my go-to recipes for guests, from my friend Miriam Biber. I realized recently that not only is it delishious, easy and great way to feed a crowd (I like to serve it with Miriam’s recipe for kale with cranberries) but it’s also vegan! The cannellini beans in this recipe are so rich and buttery, and the polenta makes this a very satisfying meal, too. Plus, it keeps well, so I usually make a double batch. Canned cannellini can be a little pricey, but I’ve found them dried at some food stores and I’ve ordered them from my mom’s food coop, too. I’ve had best results soaking them overnight, cooking them in the crockpot and then using them as I would canned. Cooking them on the stovetop hasn’t worked out as well, but maybe I had old beans, or something, that time around. Anyway, this is a wonderful recipe, and perfect for the fall weather we’re having here, now.

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adding eggplant — Mixing the oven-roasted eggplant into the Bulgur Pilaf

3) Eggplant Bulger Pilaf from Almost Turkish Repices
10/14/11 I made a double batch of this, some for lunches this week and some to take to a family gathering. I didn’t have enough fresh tomato, so I used a can of diced, using the juice as part of the liquid for the bulgur. I also used veggie stock for the rest of the liquid and cashew pieces instead od pine nuts, which I have a hard time finding (fresh – not rancid, anyway). This is a very mild, nutty salad. Very filling. Keeps well. The eggplant disappeared into the salad, I probably could have diced it a bit larger. At the family gathering, it was a little overwhelmed by rich side dishes, but paired with milder things, I think it makes a nice, filling option. On the make-again list, for sure, though I think I may try to spice it up a little, next time.

Eggplant Bulgur Pilaf (Patlıcanlı Bulgur Pilavı) — Eggplant Bulgur Pilaf – freshened up for a filling lunchtime meal

10/20/11 – Still enjoying this recipe, I find it more appetizing as leftovers if I add some fresh cherry tomatoes and parsley, as well as some cracked pepper and a little garlic powder. Maybe some tabasco would be nice, too, though I haven’t tried that yet. Very filling lunch or even breakfast!

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2) Mexican Jicama Snack from All Recipes
9/30/2011 Nice, crunchy snack, very satisfying and refreshing. Some commenters recommended refirgeration for at least an hour or so before eating, but I thought the jicama as nice and flavorful as soon as I mixed it up. Doug felt the red pepper was a little too spicy, so maybe less next time. Made a nice complementary side to the black bean burgers, as well.

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making black bean burgers — Black Bean Burgers, ready to eat. (second time around, stovetop version)

1) Black Bean Burgers from The Innocent Primate
9/30/2011 Very very good! Hard to keep together on the grill, though, a little crumbly. I didn’t take off of the foil, cooked longer – maybe 20 mins or so. Next time maybe use smaller bread crumbs and mash 1/2 the beans first for better “sticky” factor. Makes great taco filler later. Tasty with avocados. Big thumbs up for being satisfying meal from Doug. Want to try freezing these, as comments on recipe said froze well. Looking forward to trying more recipes from this blog.

10/2011 Made these black bean burgers again, this time I put half the beans and half the flour in the food processor, first. I also made sure to get the bread crumbs smaller, this time. I cooked them on the stovetop instead of the grill and made a double batch, thinking I’d freeze half. They held together MUCH better, got a nice crispy crust and they were so popular that there wasn’t enough leftover to freeze. Doug started eating them, sans bread, with ketchup on top. He said it was like meatloaf and was also happy with the level of “filling-ness”. This is a 5-star vegan recipe, for me, anyway. Delish and flexible.

taste kills creativity

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Now Printing: Year of the Dragon

gratitude – Cheering Up

Art Posters that convert into Paper Masks

74) Master 100 vegan recipes

mood board – Masks

gratitude – Bedhead

gratitude – Trinkets and Windowsills

Tea Diary