For the Miso Yam Wraps I just followed this recipe:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/ginger-miso-yam-wraps/?utm_source=DFVegan&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=DFVegan

2 small yams or sweet potatoes (1 lb.)
2 Tbs. white miso paste

I made some pizzas. I used the pizza dough in the paper bag you can buy from the store, I forget the brand name. I'd love to have a homemade pizza dough to use, but I've never been able make Mike's pizza dough quite as good as I want it.

The first pizza is more Mediterranean: Grilled Eggplant and olives.

1 eggplant
8oz crumbled feta
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 jar green olives
1 lemon, juiced
olive oil
water
paprika
cumin
salt
pepper

I sliced up the eggplant and made a marinade to soak it over night. The marinade was the feta, parsley, the olive brine, the lemon, oil, water, a ton of paprika, and cumin, salt and pepper. I just mixed this up until I had good coverage of the eggplant and a sauce like consistency and let it sit overnight.

Before making the pizza, I grilled each slice of eggplant on a cast iron grill skillet to make sure the eggplant was cooked. Having undercooked eggplant is the worse.

I oiled the dough after rolling it out, added some sliced olives, laid down the eggplant and topped with some of the remaining marinade as a sauce. Then bake at 500.

The next pizza was more italian: Roasted Tomato with Basil and Balsamic Mushroom

1 pkg Cherry Tomato
5 clove garlic
1 Tbsp Thyme
1 bunch Basil
2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Parmesan

The night before, I whisked together the olive oil and balsamic until it was smooth and blended. (Do This! Do this often. Mix that olive oil and balsamic with herb and dip some crusty bread in it. Your mouth with thank you). I then poured this mixture over the mushrooms and let sit for a night.
I mixed up the cherry tomato and garlic, with some olive oil and set out on a cooking sheet. I broiled this on high until the tomatoes started to sizzle and turn brown in spots.
For the pizza, I oiled the dough, layered on some basil, topped with the roasted tomato mixture, and the mushroom mixture, and a dusting of Parmesan. This was also baked at 500. It comes out super sweet and melty. Better than the eggplant, even though the eggplant was still really good.

A very tasty morning breakfast that is easy to make.

2/3 cups corn grits
1 cups water
2 slices bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 eggs
salt
pepper
paprika (not shown)
hot sauce (not shown)

Start by putting the bacon over medium high in a skillet.

In a small pot (preferably with a top), begin the water boiling with some salt and pepper
While it is getting boiling, put some butter in a small egg skillet (also preferably with a top), over medium heat. Once the butter melts and coats the pan, crack in two eggs sprinkle with paprika, and cover with the pot.

When the water boils, stir in the corn grits, and put on the top.
Check the bacon, probably flip it. The goal of the bacon is to get it pretty crispy, as later it will be chopped up.

As the corn grits heat up, stir often. Once it begins to thicken, it will boil and pop like molten lava. Use the top as a guard otherwise you will get brimstone spit on your hands.

Check the eggs and take them off the heat as soon as the whites are cooked, but before the yolk does. Using a top on the skillet helps to trap in heat and cook the top of the eggs whites before the yolk gets over done.

Somewhere in this mess, shred some cheddar.

When the corn grits are thick, take it off the heat. Chop up the bacon, and stir in them with the cheese. Pour into a bowl, topped with the two eggs, and season with salt pepper, and hot sauce. 

The corn grits will hold heat like a mother holds a child. Just be ready.

Arborio Rice (or any short grain rice)
Left over meat or filling of your choice
Sesame Seeds
chopped green onions
soy sauce.

So while my family was visiting, my mom and I made these. She got the idea from my cousin Heather. While we didn't do them perfect, they were still good. Essentially they are just a very sticky rice that has been hand shapped into rice balls with some filling in them.
To get the rice sticky, I used arborio rice in the rice cooker with a lot of water. Pretty much 2:1.
For the filling we had some left over roast that we braised for the day until it fell apart. (We did end up over cooking them, but that wasn't part of the recipe). Any left overs or pre cooked filling could be used. Chopped chicken? Spam? Sauteed Onions? Chopped Nuts? Chocolate?

Once the rice has cooked and cooled enough to touch, you'll want to wet your hand, grab a small handful of rice. Flatten the rice out to be pretty then, but not breaking apart. Add some filling, wet your hands, grab a little more rice, and put on top. Shape it into a ball and get the edges to stick to be whole.  Let sit until cool, about 15 minutes.

We then roasted some sesame seeds, and rolled the balls in those before topping with some green onions and drizzled on some soy sauce.

Other variations have you wrapped them in seaweed. That would be tastey as well. This recipe is similar to Musubi, which my roommate Sarah likes to make.

 

Bah, Just spent the last 30 minutes writing out this recipe just to have it crash and not save. So here it goes again, but this time with less filler.

Roasted Beets. Eat them. Again and again.

Veggie portion
2 ears corn
4 beets, washed and trimmed
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 onion, peeled
white wine
oil
salt
pepper
oregano

Roast these for 35 minutes in 350 degree oven

Add 4 chopped zucchini
Roast for an additional 10 minutes

Add cleaned and chopped beet greens
sprinkle on more wine
Roast for 10 more mins

Cool for 5 minutes. Chopped up big veggies into bite size pieces. Mix in big bowl.


Taziki sauce
plain greek yogurt
3 persian cucumbers, shredded, squeezed of juice.
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup dill chopped
1/2 lemon juiced
package of crumbled feta
2 avocado, diced
salt and pepper

I mixed all these together and let them marry for an hour. Avocado goes great in a taziki sauce. yes!


Rice:
1.5 cup basmati rice
2 cup water
.25 cup white wine
1/2 lemon juiced
A bunch of herbs from my garden that I chopped up;
mint
parsley
sage
rosemary
salt

I put this all in the rice cooker. Mixed it up good and let it cook. I added salt at the end.

I need to do more with roasted beets. Yumm.

This turned out better than I imagined it would. I was hoping it'd be okay, but it surprised me. The sweetness of the corn with the tangy tomatoes and smoky peppers, the crunchy pumpkin seeds, and then all the flavors of the pesto. It was good.

So first the pesto, since I made it ahead of time.

1 bunch basil
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onion
1 bunch kale
1 bunch rainbow chard
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup ricotta
lemon juice
salt
water.


I started with some chopped garlic and green onion in a frying pan, sauteed. I then steamed the kale and chard for a couple minutes. Then I put the rest of the ingredients in a blender with the garlic, onion, kale and chard and blended until smooth. It took two batches in the blender because it was a lot of sauce. I had to just eyeball the water to make sure it was wet enough to blend. I added salt at the end to taste.  I let this sit overnight, but I'm not sure how neccesary that would be. Also, this makes a killer dip. Eat it.

Also a day before:
1 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
olive oil
salt

I layed these out on a baking sheet with a little olive oil on top to help the salt stick, and then baked for 15 minutes in the oven at 450, until they changed from green to light brown. They crackled and popped a lot.

Next the quinoa:
1.5 cups quinoa
3 cups water
salt
1 Tbsn chopped herbs from the garden:
rosemary
mint
sage
dill
oregano


I put this in a rice cooker, all mixed up and turned it on until it was done. It came out with a slight polenta/maltomeal smell.


For the Veggies:
2 green bell pepper
2 ear corn
2 pints cherry tomatoe
2 Tbsn of the chopped heard from the quinoa
Salt
Pepper

I chopped up the bell pepper a little, shaved the corn off the ears, and layed it all out with the other ingredients on a oiled baking sheet. I put this in the oven for 15 minutes at 450, then did another 15 minutes under the broiler, mixing it around once to get good roasted coverage. I probably could have saved the pumpkin seeds and did them with the veggies. If I try this recipe again, I'll do that.

Finally
I sliced up some bread and toasted it for a little more crunch. Garlic bread would have been perfect.

p.s. I originally planned for this to have grilled chicken with it, but I discovered that my roommates had eaten the chicken all up. It was still a great meal with out it.