Red Lentil and Rice Patties with Coconut-Mint Sauce

From this recipe: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/04/red-lentil-and-rice-patties-with.html

A couple of steps missing from this including sauteing the onions, cumin seeds and red pepper. Also the cooking time, for me, took significantly longer than the directions. But.... extremely tasty!

Everyday Salad

This recipe has become my daily salad. Everyone who tries agrees it's wonderful and it pairs well with many meals.

Romaine lettuce - shredded –usually half head per serving
Carrots - shredded
Avocado
Garlic powder
Black truffle salt
Balsamic vinegar – lightly
White Truffle balsamic glace - light with this too
Sunflower seeds

And toss all together….

Shiitake, Sweet Potato and Zucchini Foo Yung

From this recipe - http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/09/shiitake-sweet-potato-and-zucchini-foo.html - quite excellent - texture was impressive!

Black Bean and Summer Squash Enchiladas

From this recipe: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/05/black-bean-summer-squash-enchiladas.html
Used a yellow squash and a zucchini and added a few chopped up Gardein chick'n scallopini filets and some brown rice to the bean mixture.....

Note to self - Do Not use store brought enchilada sauce - it is not good. Use this recipe instead :) http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/04/homemade-enchilada-sauce.html

Summer Saturday.....

Shiitake Asparagus Stir Fry Tofu

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/shiitake-asparagus-stir-fry-tofu-recipe/1/
Added red pepper and bok choy.

Thoughts - might be better over a grain or rice rather than pasta. Bean sprouts, green beans or sugar peas would be great in this too. Sauce is missing something, sesame seeds would be nice to add.

Roasted Veggies over Brown Rice Pasta Shells with Balsamella Sauce

After an inspiring moment(s), threw this dish together with some leftover roasted vegetables (squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions) added some spinach and used Joanne Stepaniak's Balsamella Sauce from her Nutritional Yeast Cookbook (omitted the nutmeg and doubled the NY).  Impressive. And easy.

Ilona's Pad Thai

If this keeps up, this is going to become Ilona's food blog :) - Delicious vegan pad thai!

Ilona's Vegan Pizza

My fellow foodie friend Ilona recently has been making some incredible vegan meals. She is an amazing cook. While many people spend years trying to figure out what it is that I eat, Ilona just jumps in and creates. First she made me an amazing pasta with grilled veggies and portabella mushrooms. Then she made Thai lettuce wraps. And last night - pizza! Tomato sauce base. Grilled vegetables, roasted red peppers, and vegan-rella "cheese". Yum! All this comes at a time I do not feel like cooking (heat related??) so I am incredibly grateful and look forward to having her over to return the favor.   :)

Death of A Butterfly

All day yesterday, this butterfly walked around my deck, trying to take off. It never gave up all the way up until the end. Striving for flight.

Vegan BLT

Michael shared some of tomato bounty with me, immediate craving for BLT. For the "B", I used the recipe for Eggplant Bacon from Appetite for Reduction (pg. 42) which involved roasting eggplant slices, then dipping them in a mixture of soy sauce and liquid smoke - great texture!

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli

From Isa Moskowitz's latest book, AFR (pg. 125) - easy, minimal effort.... Also added new potatoes as mentioned in this blog.....
Served with Isa's Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad.

Pizza for Wendy & Rudy

Tomatoes, "Gimmee Lean Sausage", onion, mushrooms sauteed in Bragg's, and jalapeno - very good!

Tofu & Vegetables with Thai Peanut Sauce

From this recipe. Steamed broccoli & green onions and used leftover veggies from kebabs.

Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas with Confetti Quinoa

My love of kale is soaring to new heights with much gratitude to this recipe.
The cashew sauce was 1) easy and 2) incredible - it thickened beautifully and was amazingly creamy.
If I have the occasion to cook for someone special in the near future, this will be the first pick...