One Year of Recipes

It's been one year since I started this blog with the goal of trying new recipes and cooking healthier foods.  Here are the stats on what I've cooked in the past year.

The blog includes 67 different dishes, including 55 new recipes I had never tried before starting the blog.  I've used recipes from a variety of sources, focusing on my favorite cookbooks:
    - The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (43 recipes)
    - Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin (11 recipes)
    - The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (3 recipes)
    - Party Vegan by Robin Robertson (2 recipes)
    - Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik (1 recipe)
    - Runner's World magazine/website (2 recipes)
    - my own recipes and creations (4 recipes)

A few of my favorite recipes (Pad Thai, Chana Masala, Cinnamon French Toast, and variations on Tofu Scramble [1, 2, 3]) are meals I cook on a regular basis, and I've made several of the other new recipes multiple times.  I've also incorporated many of the recipes' cooking tips and flavor combinations into my own homemade creations - sometimes with great results (for example, the sauce in my Grilled Tofu with Peanut Soy Sauce), and sometimes it doesn't turn out as well.

I've discovered several great new breakfast foods, like Whole Wheat Waffles with Maple-Berry Syrup, the Not-Just-For-Breakfast Banana Split, and Wheat Pancakes.

I still haven't bought a nice camera.  My phone has a decent camera that works well in natural light, but I still want to get a good quality camera that allows me to play around with different exposure settings.  It would be nice to have it when I travel to new places, and for other amateur photography that I enjoy, in addition to taking food photos for blog posts.

My goal of one new recipe per week was tough to maintain, but I did it - at least on an average basis.  There were many times I made 2-3+ new recipes per week and other times I didn't make a new recipe for a couple weeks in a row, instead of consistently doing 1 new recipe every week.  The point of the blog wasn't to force myself to stick to a schedule, but rather to explore new recipes instead of always falling back on pizza and tacos.  In those terms, I think I've been successful.  I still make homemade pizza (with store-bought crust) every week, but I'm doing a much better job of cooking new foods in addition to sustaining my pizza habit.  I look forward to continuing the blog, cooking new recipes, and finding more favorite meals!

English Muffin Pizzas

Sunday, March 27, 2016 - Dinner
English Muffin Pizzas (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This recipe was essentially a serving suggestion for making individual pizzas.  There is a similar meal that I make using pita bread for a single-serving pizza.  The english muffins provided a thicker crust, but less room for toppings.  Having multiple pizzas enabled different combinations of toppings.  The pizzas shown are tomato and green pepper (left), mushroom and pepper (top), and artichoke with olives and peppers (right).

My pizzas are vegetarian and lactose free, but not vegan, since I used "Veggie Shreds" mozzarella-style cheese, which contains casein, a protein derived from milk.  I like the flavor and texture of this brand better than most vegan cheese varieties.  The oven temperature may have been a little too high (or the cooking time too long), because the cheese turned golden brown and crispy instead of melting.

Pasta and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce

Sunday, March 20, 2016 - Lunch
Pasta and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

This recipe was tasty, and relatively simple to make.  It was fairly similar to a family recipe for an Asian pasta salad, and I prefer the family recipe.
This dish was also somewhat reminiscent of the Pad Thai recipe from this same cookbook, and I prefer the flavors and variety of vegetables in the Pad Thai recipe.

Served with tofu.  The tofu made the dish more filling, and helped it to serve as an entree instead of a side dish.

Home-Fried Potatoes

Saturday, March 19, 2016 - Dinner
Home-Fried Potatoes (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

It's a couple days late for St. Patrick's Day, but I made this delicious potato recipe for dinner.  The potatoes were fantastic, and fairly simple to make.  Steaming them first made them fry perfectly - not too soft, and slightly crispy without getting burnt.  The fixings of onion, garlic, parsley, and paprika were a great blend of flavors for the potatoes.  I might start using a variation of this recipe when I make mashed potatoes as well.

Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies

Sunday, March 13, 2016 - Dessert
Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies (Recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

I've been waiting to make these cookies, because I thought they seemed like a lot of work, but the recipe wasn't complicated at all.  The cookies were delicious, and the addition of cardamom gave them a little more (Indian) spice than a traditional Russian or Italian tea cookie, with the same consistency.  The powdered sugar was a little messy, but the cookies tasted great!

Homemade Tofu Scramble

Sunday, February 28, 2016 - Lunch
Homemade Tofu Scramble (my recipe)

I threw this together with the ingredients I had available in the fridge.  The dish was filling, and it tasted really good.  It was a great post-run meal.

Ingredients:
1 brick extra-firm tofu
Half a large yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Anaheim or other mild chili pepper, diced
Half a red bell pepper, diced
Paprika (~2 tsp?)
Nutritional yeast flakes (~1 tsp?)
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
Tabasco sauce (Smoked Chipotle flavor or regular)

Press tofu between towels to remove moisture.  Crumble tofu into pieces in a bowl.
Saute onion, garlic, and peppers in a small amount of water in a large skillet.
When peppers are softened and onions are translucent, add tofu and spices.  Cook 5-10 minutes, then add parsley and Tabasco and cook a couple more minutes.

Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes)

Saturday, February 27, 2016 - Dinner
Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes)

This recipe was delicious and filling, and I will definitely make it again.  The photos don't do it justice.  I used poblano peppers, and I could make it spicier next time by using hotter chili peppers.  The dish also included cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, spices, and fresh italian parsley.  Served with naan (from the bakery) and basmati rice.