in my kitchen this week...

I've had a lot of free time lately (read: time for cooking and reading). I can't keep up with posting all the recipes I've been trying out, so here's a nice list to peruse. Prepare yourself for an onslaught of links.

Thai Cold Salad Rolls with Tofu and Peanut Chicken: I love these - I make them constantly! All you need is rice paper rolls, an assortment of veggies, rice noodles, and a protein: Martha Stewart's Peanut Chicken for my friend, and Marinated Tofu for me. As a bonus - if you make extra peanut marinade from the Martha recipe, it doubles as a dipping sauce. And if you have leftover fillings, they make an awesome salad the next day (the only thing I actually photographed - I was too busy watching election results and drinking wine!) Here's two recipes for salad rolls with beautiful photos to get you inspired - Munchin with Munchkin and Citrus and Candy.

Acorn Squash, stuffed with Almond, Pomegranate and Couscous Salad:
I bought some beautiful pomegranates: the first one got eaten straight, but I thought I'd head the Morrocan direction with the second one, and look through Yotem Ottolenghi's cookbook, Plenty, for inspiration. I combined this recipe for Middle Eastern Bulgur Salad with 101 Cookbook's Bulgur, Celery and Pomegranate Salad. Then I stuffed it all in a roasted acorn squash. Why not? It's a bowl waiting to happen.

Pot Pie, Vegetable and Chicken: I make an awesome version of chicken pot pie with tons of cream, but I was already covering it with butter pastry, so do I really need to fatten myself up for winter? I'm not a bear. I swapped the cream for cannelli beans, pureed with some roasted garlic. We'll see if the boyfriend notices. Then there's carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and white beans for me, poached chicken for him. I used these two recipes for inspiration: Easy Chicken Pot Pie from Epicurious and Healthy Vegetarian Pot Pie from Green Lemonade.

Crunchy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies: My friend was over and wanted a gluten-free treat for dessert (and to soothe election nerves). A perfect excuse to break out my favourite cookie recipe from Veganomicon: Wheat-free Chocolate Chip Cookies. I threw in some chopped dark orange chocolate instead of chocolate chips. No photo. Too good. All gone.

Inside Out Apple Pies: I had leftover scraps from my Pot Pie recipe, and I'd run across this gorgeous post a few days ago: Baked Fruit over on A Beautiful Mess. I couldn't help myself from modifying - I added a pat of butter to the cavity on each apple, then rubbed them with a combination of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and lemon zest. They served up nicely with a scoop of yogurt and an episode of Downton Abbey.

Vegetarian Poutine: I made this at the cafe where I work. Pan fried potatoes, cheese curds and this recipe for Mushroom Gravy from Epicurious. So good, especially at 7AM on a Saturday, at the beginning of a long cooking shift.