Another Awesome Vegan Paella

Dear Turkey,

The big veggies give

Paella experience

But without the eyes

The Best Vegan Tomato Paella

Dear Turkey,

I've made this before

But this time I actually

Followed directions

No-Churn Coconut Fruit Sorbet

Dear Turkey,

Even if you have

An ice cream maker, sometimes

You are just lazy

Quick Pickled Red Onions

Dear Turkey,

On your rice and beans,

Or on pasta or salad,

Or just in your mouth

The Banana Bread I Always Make

Dear Turkey,

I make this every

Week. I can't believe I have

Never posted it.

Not Your Grandma's Kasha and Bowties

Dear Turkey,

I've made this before

But this one's even less true

To my heritage

Lazy Person Pie Bars

Dear Turkey,

You've seen these before

But I have never posted

The classic version

The Best Muffins Ever

Dear Turkey,

Make these muffins and

You will agree with me that

They're the best ever

Caprese Panini

Dear Turkey,

English majors would

Deconstruct beloved salads

To better the world

Pesto!

Dear Turkey,

CSA members,

People whose moms have gardens

Will thank me for this

Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Dear Turkey,

Grown up mac and cheese

Reminds me of something you

Get at restaurants

My Dream Pizza

Dear Turkey,

The following is a special message about how easy it is to make pizza:

1. You don't even have to make the dough.
2. You can use any toppings you want.
3. You don't have to make a big giant pizza and have to fit the rest in the fridge.
4. It only takes, like, 20 minutes.

When you're making a pizza for yourself, and/or hungry people, you can put anything on it that you want. This is my dream pizza. If you don't want your pizza to be an umami sensation, that's your prerogative.

Fluffy Maple Cocoa Cake

Dear Turkey,

Yogurt cupcakes are a standby in my house, but I had never applied the technique to a cake before. I wanted something chocolate-y and maple-y, but not too sweet. This cake is fluffy, tender, and just chewy enough, but, truthfully, it's really a quick bread and is awesome for breakfast with cream cheese.

I used vanilla yogurt, so I only added 1/2c maple syrup; since maple syrup is so expensive, I wanted to be sure I'd be able to taste it, but not go overboard. If you want something more cake-like, I would increase it to 1c. You could also throw in some chocolate chips. Omitting the eggs and adding a few T of canola oil, soy milk, and/or flax seed would also work great (I have replaced the yogurt totally with soy milk to make a vegan cake). And, no, it's not a typo that there's no salt. Maybe that's a French thing?

Moosewood Scones

Dear Turkey,

I was scrolling through my myriad posts on scones yesterday, looking for the recipe for the scones from Sundays at Moosewood. The ones I make all the time. The not-too-buttery but just-buttery-enough ones. Well, it wasn't there. So, it's your lucky day.

These scones are also not-too-sweet but just-sweet-enough. Ditto for whole wheat-i-ness. And if that's not doing it for you, you can always smother them with butter or put chocolate chips in the batter.

Homemade Croutons

Dear Turkey,

You know how I was saying that poached fruit is all over the web? Same with recipes that use leftover bread. Croutons are always on those lists of the top...things to do with stale bread. Since I make bread a lot, I figured it was time to start making my own croutons.

I don't really like croutons from the store, the ones that have, like, 100 ingredients, trans fat, and can break your teeth. These are not like that. These are like what comes off of the top of French onion soup when you make it yourself. You can put them on salad, soup, or even pasta (trust me).

Candied Pecans

Dear Turkey,

The other day, my mom made a salad with candied pecans on it. After dinner, I went back into the kitchen and ate the lingering pecans at the bottom of the salad bowl. The next week, I made candied pecans myself. I kept walking over to the cookie sheet, announcing, "these are the last ones I'm going to eat before dinner," stuffing a handful in my mouth, and walking back two minutes later.

These pecans are like the nuts that you can buy on the street, but not a rip off. They are awesome on salad, soup, oatmeal, ice cream, or just stuffed in your mouth at any time. This is the kind of easy, tasty recipe that makes people think I'm an awesome cook.

Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Dear Turkey,

In my myriad posts about pumpkin breads, I have failed you. I was googling my own blog (no shame) to find the recipe for the healthy pumpkin bread that I make all the time, and I realized that I never posted it. I guess I make it so often that I always assume I posted it last time.

I developed this recipe because I thought that there would be a way to make my usual famous pumpkin chocolate chip bread with whole wheat flour, no eggs, and less sugar. I replaced the flour with whole wheat flour, the eggs with soy milk and cut the sugar by 2/3 and I thought that you couldn't even tell. At first, my mom (PCCB die-hard) did not approve. But even she came around eventually. Not that there isn't a special place in my life for regular pumpkin bread, but if we are going to plow through one of these in a day or two, it may as well be the healthy kind (and you can eat the batter).

Leek PR

Dear Turkey,

I think that leeks are my favorite vegetable. But I have a certain neighbor that I needed to get on board.

Typical neighbor CSA stress rant: "I pretend to like leeks! I make leek soup, I make potato leek soup, I make potato leek broccoli soup, but I just don't like them!"

Me: "maybe it's time to get away from soup."

Peanut Slaw

Dear Turkey,

Asian Slaw is a standby in our house. However, you might remember that I had a bad experience with it a while ago. So I was really excited when I saw this recipe for peanut slaw, especially since I just couldn't turn down the gift of a giant Napa cabbage last week from my CSA overwhelmed friend.

This slaw is really good. The cabbage gets nice and pickled within a few hours, so you don't feel like a rabbit, and the sauce is so creamy and sweet you can pound this like it's a carb.

Ode To Cream of Wheat

Dear Cream of Wheat,

Why are you so tasty? Why could I eat you for any and every meal of the day (This has happened. My dad eats you with butter and salt.)? Is it because you are so refined? Sure, there are healthier things out there; I could just chomp on a giant stalk of raw wheat, but you are fortified with iron the iron that they took out when they made you.