Simple

Sometimes, I love creating my own recipes. Playing with different ingredients. Starting with one idea, yet ending up with something entirely different. Wondering if I’m really clever or just really weird.

And then there’s other times, where I just want a recipe to follow. Lately, I’ve been I the follow the recipe mood. I think following recipes encourages my creativity, though. I begin to learn what works and what doesn’t.

Not only that, but I am no chef. I have no “skill” to speak of. Following directions is good for me.

I am currently crazy for ED&BV’s cornmeal pancakes. I moved from my first attempt – peach cornmeal pancakes – to banana cornmeal pancakes with maple cream and almonds. That was so good, I did it twice. But this morning was a little different.

While I was blog-reading last night, Gail reminded me of my love for cranberries. If you haven’t checked out her blog, you are seriously missing out. Every post I see, I cannot stop admiring her skill with the camera. Every exposure she creates is a pure masterpiece, and the cranberry pancakes she posted were no exception. It goes without saying that I had to have banana-cranberry cornmeal pancakes once I saw her photos.

My creation was not anywhere near as flawless. In fact, opening up a brand new baking powder container yielded me one gigantic pancake that was not able to be flipped in one fell swoop, unlike previous mornings. Oh, well – the results were still delicious.

My next project: biscotti. For whatever reason, I’ve been craving biscotti lately.

Oh, who am I kidding. I know exactly why I’m craving biscotti – because tea has been to me as the bottle is to Lindsay Lohan.

And now I just need some nice dunking material. I could throw in another Lindsay joke about what she likes with her alcohol, but I won’t go there. Get it together, girl. I loved you back when we were both wee ones.

I did get a little inventive in my biscotti process, however. I based it off of Anja’s recipe – one I’d tried in the past and trusted. To start with, I veganized it by using a flax egg…and also used graham flour instead of whole wheat, used maple syrup rather than agave and cut back on the maple syrup while using more molasses, more cinnamon and nutmeg and no ginger. Oh, and pecans instead of almonds.

I was going for a bit of a graham-crackery feel and sprinkled some cane sugar and cinnamon on top, too.

I love them. I do.

And…well, similar to how sometimes I like to just follow recipes – sometimes, I just like to have things that are easy. I’m in one of those moods, too. Usually I appreciate weekends and Tuesdays and Thursdays to get all intricate in the kitchen…but lately, I’m a little bit obsessed with low and slow sweet potatoes.

I’ve just been loving big plates of roasted veg…but nothing compares to the slow-roasted sweet potato. I had this on Sunday (with a different protein and grain) and couldn’t deny my cravings for it again today.

I also discovered…I loved hummus with sweet potatoes. I was a bit…well, repulsed…by the idea of having a sweet potato with hummus when I first saw it. But now that I’ve tried it? Never going back.

And yes, that’s another buffalo-tempeh bulgur salad. I told you…simple is how I’m rollin’ lately!

Do you prefer to follow recipes, or create your own?

Would you rather a simple dinner, or intricate?

And I’ve gotta ask…Hummus on sweet potatoes: yay or nay?