Let's make the water turn black

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe- I think the fennel is what stood out so much and made the meal different than anything I usually make. I'll eagerly grab a handful of fennel seeds as I leave Madra's cafe but I'm not so eager about adding this seed to my actual meal. I'm glad I got over my silly fear. The spice paired perfectly with... well... everything. I used brown rice noodles to plop the rabe and tempeh on because brown rice anything really is the best. I think the noodles are the reason why I could barely move after I was finished eating. I was blissfully stuffed to complete stomach capacity. It might be October by the time I've completed every other recipe but when that day comes, this is definitely on the list of reruns.

Herb Scalloped Potatoes- I bought a 10 pound bag of russet potatoes for 99 cents so I've been trying to make dishes that incorporate these spuds before they go bad. How is it that at my parent's house back in Michigan the potatoes stay good for quite literally months and over here I'm lucky to keep a bag good for 2 weeks? I do like eating potatoes but not religiously but it seems that's the only way to do it if you happen to buy a bag because it was a sale you couldn't pass up. Speaking of sales... dang I wish onions would go on sale. Who would have thought that crazy weather conditions somewhere would create an onion shortage throughout the universe and drive prices up so high you could vomit? (Ok. $1.50/lb doesn't seem like a lot but when you use onions like they're going out of style, it adds up!) So back to the scalloped potatoes. There's this 'cheesy' potato recipe I found a couple years ago that everyone falls for and this recipe was similar... but it wasn't the recipe. I think if I combined the two it would be the ultimate combination. Maybe I just needed to add more nutritional yeast. Maybe I'm picky when it comes to side dishes. I'm not saying it wasn't good. It was good.. just nothing to write home about. (Wait... what am I doing right now? Eh, nevermind.) I roasted some vegetables on the side (Scott laughed. I love my roasted vegetables and haven't been able to make 'em lately because I haven't needed something to accompany my meal. Vegenomicon is really good about having recipes that are quite filling on their own. That's unfortunate only in the fact that my roasted vegetable obsession has to take a seat on the back burner for awhile. I don't think Scott would agree with the unfortunate part...)

Marinated Asian Tofu (w/ repeat corn edamame salad and white rice on side)- Ever since I destroyed my hands I haven't felt much like cooking. I have cooked... but I haven't felt much like doing so. This night I was especially disgusted by the idea of using my hands. After an hour of sitting on the futon after work I couldn't resist anymore and started marinating the tofu. Does anyone know what mirin is? A couple recipes, including this one, call for mirin which I don't have because I haven't a clue what it is. Maybe this recipe would've gone from 'pretty damn good' to 'holy crap why have I lived 25 years without ever consuming this?' Who knows? Who knows? I made some white rice (because we bought a 25 pound or something just as ridiculous bag of this rice at the asian mart for making sushi. What white clearly american person even makes sushi that often? I guess we learned our lesson for when we finally use the rest up one year+ after the purchase date. Never again!) and the corn edamame salad to go with it. Holy good leftovers! The longer the tofu sits in the juice the more fantastic it gets!

Lasagna Marinara (mushroom spinach variation) and Sweet Basil Pesto Tapanade (on a sweet ass sourdough baguette)- I think lasagna is so boring. It's good but boring. Noodles, marinara, tofu ricotta, mushroom, spinach, topped with this crazy almesan (which is supposed to substitute parmesan). I was quite surprised with how nicely the almesan tasted on top. The lemon zest was so different and really stuck out but it worked. The other thing that worked out fantastically well was the tapanade. Yum! I eye those baguettes at Henry's whenever I walk by and this time I just couldn't pass them up. I went for the cheapest I could find (that's horrible isn't it?) and wasn't quite sure at the time what I was going to do with it. Maybe some sort of garlic bread? I saw the basil pesto tapanade recipe and that was it. I bought a basil plant earlier this week and some leafs were just begging to be used so it worked out perfectly. This didn't taste like normal pesto. The walnut oil and maple syrup did wonders. Yum!

Walnut Mushroom Pate (on brown rice tortilla with spinach and sun dried tomatoes)- Holy shit! (excuse my French but it needed to be said) This was so damn good. (I hardly even swear! It's a bad language worthy dip!) Mushrooms, walnuts, and cannellini beans... oh my! Used as a spread on my favorite tortillas (brown rice... did I tell you or what?) with loads of spinach and some sun dried tomatoes I was in absolute heaven heaven heaven. I could hardly even sleep that night because I knew I'd be eating this again the following day! (Ok. I exaggerate... or do I?)