The Cookbook that Changed Your Life...

I've heard of life-changing books. And world-altering experiences. Even movies that change someone's fundamental perspective on life.

What about life-changing cookbooks, friends?

Come on: I know you've got one on your shelf, too. For me, it's that veggie burger bible I can't stop bragging on. I'm like a proud cookbook mama, with no children of course.

I've been urging you to get creative with your meatless patties for the past few months...Trying to pull you out of that veggie burger rut you were in. From Cauliflower-Dijon Patties to Edamame + Apple Sammies, the Veggie Burgers Every Which Way cookbook has changed my life.

What can I say? Some people read life-changing books. I read life-changing recipes.

Today, let's talk about how goat cheese rocks my socks off. That tangy, soft cheese has something going on that I simply can't resist.

And sun-dried tomatoes? Surprisingly sweet and equally tangy.

Together, these ingredients are the star guests at my rockin' veggie burger party. This is another one for the books, friends. Get out your recipe box and invite over your vege-head and meat-eating friends. This meatless patty will please the whole table.

We topped our patties with an Apple Pico de Gallo and (more) goat cheese (heavens, yes!). And, while Adam enjoyed his atop a homemade bun, I opted for a bun-less burger...times 2 (double the goat cheese, double the pico de gallo, right?).

Enjoy your weekend, friends. And please tell me: What's your life-changing cookbook?

Sun-Dried Tomato + Goat Cheese Burgers

(recipe from Lukas Volger's Veggie Burgers Every Which Way)

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground flaxseed
• 10 scallions, thinly sliced about 1 inch into the dark green parts
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 oz. goat cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• olive oil
• Pico de Gallo

Directions:

1) Do ahead: Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl of water and allow them to rest and re-hydrate for about 2 hours.

2) Combine corn and eggs in a food processor until chunky and partially processed.

3) In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, flaxseed, and baking powder. Stir in the corn-egg mixture, scallions, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Crumble in the goat cheese and season to taste.

4) Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop the mixture by 1/4 cup-fuls onto the skillet and press lightly to flatten into burger-shaped patties. Cook until golden brown on the bottom (about 4 - 5 minutes). Flip and cook until the other side is nicely browned.

Gal Pal Recipe Share

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: What would we do without girlfriends?

Some require phone connections, with 600 miles between you. Others you get to see on a weekly basis. Regardless of how you connect to your gal pals, you always know they're right there for a phone chat, shopping trip, or hilarious game night.

And, if you have the mad cooking and baking skills of my friends, they're usually ready for a recipe share.

Today's recipe comes from my dear friend Amy, previously famous on this blog for her homemade eggnog (on my deathbed, I've requested that an IV bag of her holiday beverage be hooked up to my shrimpy veins).

Today, however, she's famous for the Black Bean and Corn Salsa pictured above. So simple. So versatile. And so very, very scrumptious.

While the obvious serving suggestion is with tortilla chips, this tasty salad/condiment goes well with most any savory dish. This weekend I enjoyed it atop a simple sweet potato saute (cubed sweet potatoes, onions, bell pepper, garlic, and chickpeas sauteed until browned).

So, how will you consume your Black Bean and Corn Salsa? Perhaps you're a chip dipper. Or a burrito-filler? Or maybe...just maybe...you like to eat it right out of the bowl with a spoon :)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

(recipe from Amy)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of shoepeg corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 3/4 cup red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalepeno peppers, diced
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 - 1/2 TBSP dijon mustard
• a dash of honey
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine corn, beans, onion, bell pepper, and jalepeno peppers in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey, and parsley. Pour over veggies and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Takin' it Back to 2002

Picture it: Fall 2002, my freshman year of college.

I wore cut-off denim capri pants my first day of freshman orientation. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was my favorite movie. AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was all the rage (remember "Away Messages"? Yikes.). Gas cost $1.65 a gallon.

Everything was new to me: new state, new people, and the overall new-ness of the "college experience." I had never heard of buckeyes or Skyline Chili (to this day I've never eaten Skyline Chili. I prefer my pasta sans meat...and sans cocoa powder).

And finally, I remember eating at a Chi-Chi's Restaurant for the first time. While my taste in food has changed significantly since then, at the time I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Fresh chips and salsa while you wait? Quesadillas the size of my torso? Men in sombreros singing "Happy Birthday?" Wide-eyed and somewhat sheltered, this was 18-year old Kylie's dream come true.

My favorite part of Chi-Chi's was the sweet little corn cake that came with every meal. I'm embarrassed to admit that it made such an impression on me. I loved those darn things. And despite the fact that I haven't eaten at a Chi-Chi's in 8 years, I got a craving for those darling corn cakes this week.

Thank you, Veganomicon. This brilliant cookbook provided a vegan version that's slightly more savory than sweet, but satisfied my craving.

Rock on, 2002. The soundtrack to this recipe is definitely a toss-up between Michelle Branch's "Everywhere" and Missy Elliot's "Work It." It's so 9 years ago.

What were you doing in 2002?

Vegan Corn Casserole

(adapted from Veganomicon cookbook)

Ingredients:

• a dash of olive oil
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 yellow pepper, finely diced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat an 8 x 8 inch pan with cooking spray.

2) Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, bell peppers, and onion to the skillet and saute for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

3) Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk and cornstarch in a bowl; stir until cornstarch is dissolved.

4) When the corn mixture is ready, transfer 2 cups of it to a food processor. Process the corn mixture and coconut milk mixture. In a large bowl, combine the processed mixture, the remaining corn and bell pepper mixture, the cornmeal, brown sugar, cilantro, and salt. Stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Post Holiday Cooking

The remnants of Christmas are still lingering.

A box of decorations is sitting by the stairs, waiting to be packed away in the attic.

A Christmas nut roll, half-eaten, is waiting on the counter to be devoured.

And then there's that penguin-shaped hand-soap I can't bear to pack away yet. He has a bell on his Santa hat for crying out loud! Who doesn't want to look at something that cute when you're washing up for dinner?

While the holiday baking has been a blast, my body is begging for some vege-head normalcy, so yesterday we enjoyed a huge bowl of Edamame Succotash for dinner. I absolutely love this stuff. My mother-in-law first made it for us during a visit in July, and I've made a repeat creation several times since. It makes an awesome after-work snack, too :)

Edamame succotash makes a great side dish, or you can enjoy it as a main course as we did (we ate a dish of stir-fried carrots and bell pepper on the side. Talk about a vegan delight!).

Enjoying any fun eats during this post-holiday week?

Edamame Succotash

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (1 lb.) of frozen edamame, thawed
• 1 bag (1 lb.) of frozen corn, thawed
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Consume copious amounts, guilt-free :)