Lime-Curry Tofu Stir-Fry

I just made this recipe, oh, about 30 minutes ago and I thought it was so wonderful that I just couldn't wait another second to tell the world about it (or at least the web surfers who stumble across my blog). My neighbor e-mailed this recipe to me about a week ago. She found it on allrecipes.com and knew it had my name written all over it. So, credit for this one goes to "kprzy" who submitted this recipe to the site. Anyway, the flavors in this dish are just AWESOME and so complimentary of each other. Spicy, creamy, sweet, and bold. Also, I want all of you coconut haters out there to know NOT to be afraid of coconut milk. I'm not a hater, but I know lots of people who don't like coconut and might be wary of something like this. Fear not- the coconut flavor really is super mild, and it's more the creaminess than anything else that you'll be taking from the coconut milk. Also, I think the flavors of the other ingredients kind of off-set the sweetness of the coconut anyway. Well, enough about that! You'll love this. Promise.

Not-So-Dirty Rice with Cajun-Style Collards

Here's a nice southern meal for y'all! Also, here's a nice little tidbit I learned while making this meal: Traditional "Dirty Rice" gets it's name from the chopped up chicken livers which look like brown flecks in the rice. Nice, huh? I think I'd prefer my rice WITHOUT livers of any kind, thank you.
Anyway, both of these recipes come from one of my newest cookbooks, "Vegan Planet" by Robin Robertston. They're listed as separate recipes in the book, but it's suggested they're served together so that's what I did. And it was a good choice. This is another meal that's slightly outside of my comfort zone... I'm not exactly sure why, but it's not something I would not normally choose. But once again, I was happy I decided to try something new! You should note however, that the collards alone would be wonderful but the rice by itself really wouldn't be that great. I thought it was a bit dry and didn't have a TON of flavor. I bet if I added some veggie broth to the mix it would have livened things up a bit. BUT, with the flavorful collards served over the top, it was awesome. You'll notice the two recipes have a lot of the same ingredients- but they took on slightly different flavors, and together, it just worked really well. Give this recipe a try! (Oh, and for the record, I want everyone to know that I really don't ever say "y'all"... I was just trying to sound authentic in the spirit of the recipe.) Ok, now for the good stuff!

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

This is another recipe I chose in my quest to try new and exciting things. My neighbor tells me about the awesome risotto she makes all of the time, so it's been something I've wanted to make for a while. I thought it was just a fancy word for just plain ol' regular rice, and I was very poorly mistaken... If you're craving something creamy, and flavorful, and rich, then you really need to give this a try. After my first bite, I was hooked. I LOVE it with the roasted asparagus used in this recipe, and I'm excited to try it with other flavors as well. This recipe involves a lot of stirring and standing over your oven, but it seemed like it cooked fairly fast to me so it wasn't a big deal. I just served this with some garlic bread and it was plenty filling. I can not WAIT to make this again and I think this would be something perfect to cook for company. YUM!! Oh, and this recipe is from Donna Klein's Vegan Italiano.

Carrot Raisin Spice Chewies With Lemon Glaze

So at the beginning of this week I went through my recipe books and chose some things that I wouldn't normally choose in an effort to expand my horizons. So far, everything has worked out really well! I wrote out a list, bought all the ingredients I'd need for the week, and every day I've been making something new and exciting. This is the first recipe I tried, from Isa & Terry's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (which of course, is an AWESOME recipe book). The old Jaclyn would have picked something chocolatey and decadent, but I'm a changing girl, so I went with the opposite. Turns out, they're awesome!!!! Matt and I both have loved munchin' on these little chewies all week. And the Lemon Glaze definitely isn't a must, but I highly recommend it. Compliments these guys perfectly. I bet you'll love them too.