I have made some stuff.  I've been lax in my updates though.  Is anyone still on LJ anyway?  Comments have faltered.  Regardless, I'm still here and still cooking!

( Update... )

So have you seen this Carl's Jr. commercial with Audrina Partridge?  She's "eating" (you'll see in a moment why I use the quotes) this ridiculous burger that's as big as her head and she's talking about looking great in a bikini.  Since I wasn't born yesterday I know that you don't get a bikini body from eating disgusting Carl's Jr. burgers.  Also, she doesn't appear to eat anything but the grilled pineapple throughout the entire commercial.  Sure it LOOKS like she's eating the burger but by the end of the commercial it still looks as if it has had only one bite taken out of it despite Partridge's many noms thoughtout the commercial.

I won't post it here but if you haven't seen this 245876319 times on TV like I have I suppose you could look it up.

If I ate at Carl's Jr. (I don't) I would stop after this commercial.  Way to go idiots!

Now that the airplane business is out of the way on to the delicious Japanese food.  It's not hard to eat in Japan as a non fish eating vegetarian.  I even got to tell one adorable lady in our hotel restaurant that I was vegetarian.  She came back and asked "fish?"  "Iie"  And then like a minute later came back and asked "egg?"  "Hai."  Good times.

( Now on to the real food... )

Wow, sorry for the delay in updating this.

Lets get the plane business out of the way:


Some kind of Indian curry thing.  It was ok.


Not a freakin' clue what this was but it was better than the curry thing.


Pasta with yucky mushrooms I didn't eat and some lychee flavored kanten.  It was good!

This is my last update for two weeks.  Why, you ask.  Well I'm going to JAPAN!  Hopefully when I return stateside I'll be updating you with all kinds of wonderfulness!  I hope to chow down on some okonomiyaki while there and even try actual Japanese (as in from Japan) sushi.  Both of the aforementioned dishes meat free of course.  I know I definitely will be enjoying a magnificent tempura dinner and also a traditional Japanese meal at a ryokan.  Of my little Japanese I know how to say vegetarian (saishokushugi) and ocha (green tea) and also mizu (water) since they don't give you water at most places.  I also have my handy dictionary to ask for more specific things like no mushrooms (kinoki) like I did when I was there last.  Would you believe that my veggie burger at Hard Rock came sans mushrooms after I said "iie kinoki."  One great thing about Japan is that every restaurant I've been to while there had neat little (well big enough to distinguish) pictures of every dish they served.  I also know that one of my favorite dishes is kitsune udon (fox noodles named because it's supposed to be the favorite dish of a fox not that there's fox meat in it).  Kitsune udon tastes the best in Japan.  At almost any convenience store you'll find onigiri (or rice balls).  It's rice wrapped in seaweed and filled with pickles or plums or other goodies.  I've saved labels from past trips so I can find my own onigiri since the labels have Japanese characters and that's it.  It doesn't matter which convenience store it comes from onigiri is always delicious.  My favorite thing to drink in Japan is Melon Cream Soda.  Dr. Pepper over there is also good and the cans have rad anime girls on them.  Aside from being the awesomest country in the entire world Japan has some of the nicest people.

I can babble on about Japan and how much I love it for hours but I need to accomplish some tasks before I leave.  So without further ado...

Tofu and Apple Curry with Golden Raisins



Quinoa and Potato Croquettes with Mango Salsa



Escarole with Apples



She's doing it again, making things differently on her show.  On the show the escarole wasn't cooked and she made a dressing for it consisting of tahini, lemon juice, rice syrup, ginger juice and olive oil so that's what I did.

Fear not!  The post Japan update will be filled with lots of pictures!

Wow, I've been slacking.

I've made a ton of stuff lately!

Sweet Potato Ravioli



So delicious I'm having it for lunch again!

Thai-Basil Blueberry Crumble



Warm Tomato and Sesame-Crusted Goat Cheese



Tofu with Red Chili Honey and Vegetables



Fig Bars with Port Wine

Remember that avocado spread I made a little bit ago?  Well here's what I did with it:



It's just that spread, plus shredded carrots, plus white cheese on a bagel.

Next this is one of my favorite sammiches.  The mayo is mixed with chives and dill.  Spread that, plus mashed avocado, plus fakin' bacon.  Delicious!



Finally I made some of Christina's chili.



BTW, I think coffee is gross so I subbed equal parts balsamic and water.  Much better in my opinion.

I made this avocado deliciousness.  Yes, it's good.

Yeah, Create is officially my favorite channel in the world.  I just got 42512798 recipes today.  It's gonna be a good week for food next week!

Thanks Ming Tsai & Daisy Martinez!

First of all Christina if you're gonna make something on your show with penne and then call for fusilli in the recipe online you're just gonna confuse people.  Second this is NOT how she made it on the show.  I have to assume this is the recipe since the ingredients are similar and there's no penne recipe with these ingredients.

On the show she used red onions, no miso and no basil.  Anyway, I'm pretty sure this version is better than the one posted.  Pretty much everything goes into the skillet with the garlic EXCEPT the chickpeas.  On the show she fried them in oil separately and added them to the everything skillet before the rabe.  I've never had broccoli rabe before.  It's a bit spicy...not bad.

Here's her recipe.

Here's mine based on what she did on the show:



I also made this pie for work.  We had a farewell party for those who got fired.  (You can click on these pics for bigger pictures.)



Ok mine did NOT look like the picture.  In fact, it did not solidify at all.  The only thing I could think of that I did wrong was not add enough chocolate.  I had to put it in the freezer.  My co-workers said it was good.  I hope they tell me the honest truth rather than lie to spare my feelings.

I made this bread salad which I have memorized I've made it so many times.



It's just french bread, tomatoes, red onion, cukes, garlic and basil.  The dressing is a red wine/balsamic vinaigrette.  You can just make that to taste.  Super easy!

I also made these two desserts.

Watermelon-Raspberry Ice

Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Ate

The Ice is in the freezer right now and the Cream Cheese Ice Cream was yummy.  I haven't gotten my hands on the ate yet.  I have one more place to look.

It's weird I know.  But this soup was very good and very filling.  It's another one from Christina Cooks which is apparently my new favorite show in the whole world right now. 



White Bean Soup with Almond Pistou

Note: I had to season this soup because it was really bland.  I also didn't have the stuff to make the pesto so I'm sure that would have added a lot of flavor.

I'm pretty sure it was sweet potato ice cream in Kamakura, Japan.  Despite how weird it sounds it was delicious and I hope I can eat it again when I'm in Japan this summer.

...and your lame ass theme song too.  These are way too pretty to put behind a cut.

Dinner tonite:



Avocado Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette



Rice Pilaf with Caramelized Onions

Okay have you seen this Jack in the Box commercial?

Annoying Jack in the Box Commercial

My friend Amy loves it.  She was singing it hiking and Richard felt the need to play it at lunch.  IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD!  AGAIN!

I hate this commercial.

Using leftovers.  I had extra gouda and egg noodles.

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

Zucchini Alfredo

Both of these are quick and yummy!