my favorite cooking & recipe blogs

have cake, will travel is a fantastic vegan blog with yummy food and gorgeous photos. For a while, I was making her amazing peanut butter cups constantly, so I always had some on hand. A lot of her recipes are for baked goods, and she uses interesting flours and sweeteners. My sweet tooth appreciates her dessert and breakfast recipes, but not all of her recipes are for sweets; I'm a huge fan of her faux-sausage recipes. She's also co-author of the new book, 500 Vegan Recipes. 

vegan yum yum is one of the first food blogs I read regularly, and I've even gone back and read all of her archives. She doesn't post very frequently any more, but I recommend subscribing anyway and reading the old posts as well. And buying the book. I've made and loved so many of her recipes, I don't even know which to list here. Here goes an attempt: avocado wasabi salad; spring crepes (the best vegan crepe recipe ever);  kaju katli (mine have never looked near as gorgeous as hers, but they never fail to be a tasty treat); delicata squash bisque; homemade vegetable broth (don't waste those kitchen scraps!); poolish focaccia; okay, just read the blog already. It's chock-full of tasty recipes, gorgeous photos, and handy advice for food bloggers. 

I only learned about veggie num num recently. I tried this baked risotto recipe after seeing it on the kitchn. It was so easy, delicious, and comforting. I love the emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and grains being themselves and doing what they do best in a dish; too often in vegan and vegetarian cooking, there's a tendency to get stuck on imitating non-vegan or non-vegetarian meals. Which can be fun (like the delicious faux-sausage above! but I think part of why that works is that it's based on what's tasty with seitan, not necessarily with trying to be identical to sausage), can be a good way to transition to veg*nism, and can be a good way to take care of cravings without cheating. I just like vegetables! Onto my favorites: I can't wait to try this baked tamarind rice pudding; orzo salad with baby arugula/rocket; and tri-mushroom risotto. 

sprouted kitchen is another recent find. I'm already enchanted by the lovely photographs and emphasis on whole foods (and once again, vegetables!). I'm already dreaming about this spicy chai latte. And cast iron cornbread! I'm a sucker for food baked in cast iron skillets. I can't wait to try this with my favorite vegan cornbread recipe. And what could be prettier than this tasty-looking peanut sauce bento bowl post? 

rec(ession)ipes is based on an awesome idea. For me though, it functions more as inspiration than a resource for actual recipes. I think this is mostly because it's heavy on non-vegan ingredients. (Often a cheap way to get nutrients due to the annoying symptoms of federal subsidies). At any rate, I can't wait to try out this sangria recipe for a party. 

pasta with handfuls of herbs

When I have access to lots of herbs, this dish is a standby of mine. It's based on a recipe in Deborah Madison's the Savory Way, though much of the fun of it is playing around. This is what Madison has to say about this recipe:

A pasta for summer, when herbs are most prolific. Handfuls of herbs, at least a couple from fairly small hands, are what it takes.... If you grow herbs, you can make this pasta easily and frequently, varying it each time according to fancy or what is coming into leaf or flower. If you don't, you can make a simpler version drawing on the herbs that supermarkets carry, basing the mixture perhaps on parsley and adding basil, marjoram, thyme, and a shallot or scallion. A few narrow slivers of lemon zest will provide the tang that the sorrel does. You'll need about a cup of chopped leaves in all.

PASTA WITH HANDFULS OF HERBS 

what I used:
12 regular or lemon thyme branches or a mixture
a couple dozen large parsley branches
4 sorrel leaves
6 basil leaves
celery greens from 1 bunch supermarket celery
1/2 of one onion and 1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 tablespoon more oil for sauteing 
2 to 3 tablespoons earch balance
1/2 cup wheat germ 
salt
pepper
dried marjoram
8 to 10 ounces pasta

note: Madison called for 6 fresh marjoram branches, 3 lovage leaves, bread crumbs instead of wheat germ, half as much parsley, 2 small shallots instead of my onion-garlic combo, and no basil or celery leaves. I used the celery leaves since I didn't have lovage. she didn't call for cooking the shallots, but I don't like the taste of raw onion so I cooked it a bit with the wheat germ. 

chop the herbs fairly fine, but leave some texture. put the herbs into a bowl with the 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2-3 tablespoons of earth balance and set aside.

bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. while it's heating, heat the sauteing oil in a frying pan, add the onion, garlic, and wheat germ. cook until the wheat germ is warm and crispy, the onion is getting transparent, and the garlic is getting golden. mix into the herb mixture.

when the water boils, salt to taste and add the pasta. cook until al dente. drain or scoop it out of the pot and add it to the bowl with the herbs, oil, butter, and wheat germ. season generously with pepper and toss well.

Anu Tuominen

Anu Tuominen is an artist I return to again and again. I had trouble narrowing down to even all these images, because what leaves me spellbound is the effect all of these pieces together have on me. I wish I could see some in person. Her pieces are so creative and elegant, not to mention gorgeously photographed. 

I've posted Anu Tuominen frequently on my tumblr. When I was making this post, I went through and gave those a cursory tag with her name, though I may have missed some; I'm in the process of tagging all my old tumblr posts, but there are a huge number of posts between June 2009 and about February or March 2010 that are untagged (and the Anu Tuominen posts fall in this range). 

I definitely discovered Anu Tuominen via dear ada, though I can't find the exact post right now. 

dream anatomy

As I've mentioned a few times on my art blog, I've been taking a small break from producing art over the last few weeks after my senior project opening. In the meantime I've been trying to get inspired. Dream Anatomy is a gorgeous gallery I keep returning to as I plan and design my next book project. I love how they balance between eerie and funny; the one on the right with the hands bound is decidedly creepy, while the one on the left makes me think that the man has just discovered he's a pop-up book. (A pop-up book of anatomy is something else I've been ruminating on.) 

Discovered via ullabenulla.

critter update: squirrel, argiope, and black swallowtail

Quick critter update: there is an adorable argiope, or writing spider, in my garden (left); a funny little squirrel has been lounging in this tree for a few days now (right); and the caterpillar I found in the dill is actually a black swallowtail caterpillar.

white summer linen day dress

Oh no! I discovered this gorgeous dress last night and was literally planning on buying it this very afternoon, as a reward for myself after getting a lot of work done for my job. Someone snagged it already! 

Okay, productivity time, I have a queue of posts scheduled for the next couple of days, but no more fashion posts unless I find another perfect white linen day dress! 

backpack and shoes from topshop I am trying not to buy

Can you believes this gorgeous floral backpack? And these lovely lace-up lacey peep-toe boots? I already have a great backpack that I know is sturdy, a classic vegan-leather one from yesstyle. I  might spring for those boots if I had any idea what I would wear them with!