Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts

I haven't spent much time with Asian cooking at home, and am glad I started here with this recipe. These were fantastic and eaten quickly. They didn't take a ton of prep (wish I had more photos), and would highly recommend serving with something not-so-salty, as these cover that area well.

I did not pour all of the sauce over the sprouts, and am glad as it would have been too much. You can use the remaining on other sturdy veggies.

Crepe Cake

I made this cake for Kevin's birthday breakfast. It takes a long time, but is delicious. I would make it again and not actually form a cake, just make the crepes and eat with the filling. I would also eat the filling with about 100 other types of food, including strawberries.

The "frosting" is amazing, and I cannot recommend it enough. The quality of the vanilla bean probably dictates its incredibleness, so make sure to use a good / fresh one. Mine was from Hawaii.

This is delicious and really healthy, too. I used goat instead of feta; I made it with baby kale. This was the first time I had baby kale, and it was delicious. I used a nut mix instead of just walnuts. Recipe here.

Lentil Meatballs

I found this recipe in a book called The Sprouted Kitchen by Sarah and Hugh Forte. They meatballs are really filling and although kind of bland*, they taste great with any sauce you top them with. The recipe in the book suggests serving them with pesto, which I did the first time I made them. That was delicious. Since I have eaten them many times with bbq sauce. I've even tried guacamole, and that's pretty good, too.

1 cup lentils, rinsed
2 cups water

2 eggs, lightly beatened
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup ricotta
1/4 freshly grated parmesan
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
Few pinches thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup bread crumbs

Put the lentils in a pot with the water and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Transfer the lentils to a food processor and pulse until it forms a chunky puree. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, olive oil, ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, fennel seeds, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Stir in the bread crumbs and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Preheat the over to 400. Roll one inch balls together and place on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning the balls over 1/2 way through.

*Mom couldn't finish when I served her these meatballs.

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

If you need a cool, peanut buttery summer noodle dish, this is the one! I ate some of the dressing on the salad, then decided to add in some ginger and give it a whirl again, which I highly recommend. The recipe is slightly off with out it. I highly recommend making the day before serving, it tastes much better 24 hours later.

Cashew Cream

If you've ever read a vegan cookbook you've heard of cashew cream. If not, you may not know what it is. The best I can interpret is that it's a sour cream substitute used a lot in vegan cooking. Finally I decided to try it.

You soak 1 cup cashews in water over night.

You rinse the nuts and then add them to a blender with about 1/2 cup of water, and blend. On its own I don't really see the point, but on top of Mexican food it's pretty good.

Have you see the Oh She Glows site? I like her recipes. I just borrowed her cookbook from the library and am loving it. You should check it out.

101 Cookbooks' Lentils Folded into Yogurt, Spinach, and Basil

I saw this recipe and tried it right away. It is so fresh and delicious and easy to make. I ate it on a bagel, dipped pretzels into it, and loaded it onto celery. Make it!