Mini Chocolate Donuts with Maple Glaze... and Bacon

There is a reason I set myself a curfew in the kitchen: No baking past 8:00pm.  These donuts are what happens when I break curfew.  Since just making donuts wasn't bad enough, I had to coat them in finger-licking good maple glaze... and top them off with bacon.  I nearly resorted to licking the drips of glaze off the counter (granted I may also occasionally eat marshmallow fluff by the spoonful so maybe I'm a bad measure of irresistability).  But in all seriousness, these little calorie bombs are tasty--the sweet maple and salty bacon unite dynamically, all atop a mini chocolate donut.  Perfection.

Oh yeah, and did I mention you get to cheat and use a cake mix? Mhmmmm!

Tempeh Nuggets

Tempeh Nuggets, sounds incredibly delectable no? 

Well, they were actually surprisingly delicious.  These babies were the result of my craving wings on the way home from learning to break dance tonight (yes... break dance...  It was AWESOME).  Rather then stopping for unhealthy fast food (I'm trying this thing called self-control), I decided I should make seitan nuggets when I got home instead, since I had a lub of seitan in the fridge.  I had my recipe all planned out, only to get home and discover I had tempeh, not seitan in my fridge. (It's all the same to me...)  Since I'm lazy and stubborn, I just went ahead and did the exact same thing I intended to do with my seitan to my tempeh.  Generally speaking, it is recommended to boil or steam your tempeh first, but let's face it, that's another dirty dish--so I didn't.  Even then, these little morsels were crunchy, pleasantly flavored, and an ideal transportation mechanism for barbeque sauce.  Success.

Non-Dairy Keylime Pie

 There are a few desserts characterized particularly by the dairy ingredients in them... like cheesecake, ice cream, pudding, and key lime pie.  For real, key lime pie is so great because of the heavenly, rich texture and subtle sweetness contributed by glorious sweetened condensed milk.  I could eat that stuff by the spoonful, crap I could eat it by the ladle-ful... if I didn't feel sick to my stomach 13 minutes later.  Therefore, the idea of attempting a non-dairy key lime pie was pretty daunting.  UNTIL my mom told me about Trader Joe's non-dairy cream cheese, which is actually super delicious (and generally speaking, I find fake dairy stuff totally repulsive.  Have you ever tried veggie cheese? Blehhh it's like trying to melt a makeup sponge on your food...).  Suddenly, a new dimension of desserts was opened to me, and this is a very happy dimension. 

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Sandwiches

 Just like style, there are food trends.  And Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches are hip right now.  I wish I could pull the "yeah I've known about these forever, they're nothing new because I'm so knowledgeable of all things cultural and culinary..." card, but I can't.  I can, however, claim that Vietnamese food has been my favorite for a long while now, and I am super stoked that it is finally receiving the media it deserves.  Banh Mi are an approachable medium for Vietnamese food to take- I mean who doesn't love a sandwich?  I also appreciate that there are so many varieties to choose from, and no real wrong way to go about creating your own banh mi.  That being said, some ways just taste better, like this way :)

Green Papya Salad

This tangy, refreshing salad is an easy introduction to Vietnamese cuisine.  With only a few simple ingredients, it is bursting with flavor.  Try it as a side, or toss some grilled shrimp on it to make it a complete meal.

Mexican Slaw

 I grew up in a 'salt&pepper family'.  No, my parents didn't grey prematurely, rather my mom didn't really know what any seasoning, beyond salt and pepper, was. (unless you count ketchup as a seasoning, she was all over that...)  So, when I was finally 16 and capable of driving myself to the grocery store (yes.. I got excited about that, versus driving to the mall and all the hip parties...) I could finally buy all the cool ingredients I saw chefs using on the Food Network.  Cumin was one of my first orders of business, and let me tell you- its earned a dear place in my heart.  There's something so wonderful about the mildly bitter, but warm flavor of cumin.  It works so well in such a wide variety of cuisines, and brings enough flavor to stand on its own, yet still plays so well with others.  In this recipe, the cumin shines, enhanced by the tart lime and creamy mayonnaise.  This slaw is an excellent side, or absolutely delicious with fish tacos.

Lightly Pickled Carrot and Daikon

Pickles are humiliated cucumbers.  They become sad and gnarly, and get the vivid life sucked right out of them.  It's a depressing process, really.  And yet somehow, I don't feel guilty whatsoever pickling daikon and carrot.  Maybe because nobody knows that daikons are anyways, so what does it matter if I humiliate the crap out of them?  Or maybe because these are sweet, dynamic pickles that burst with fresh, delicious flavor.  Rather than the flavorless, salt-ridden amoebas that are usual pickles, these babies brighten whatever they are served with, and function to enhance their fellow flavors.

Spicy Mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise (Homemade reccommended)
• 2 Tbs gochujang (korean red pepper paste)

 Mix ingredients thoroughly.

This stuff is delicious on sandwiches, as fry sauce, or to spice up a standard cole slaw.

Yields a generous 1/2 cup.