Vegan Month of Food 2011 - 1 food 5 ways, Wrap Up

Wow! It's been quite the month. I could go through and give you a list of all the recipes and links, but I'll spare you that. You can click on the label 1 food 5 ways and get that. What I am going to do is just list out a few things that have stuck out to me this month.

My favorite meal: I'm a sandwich kinda girl so I'm thinking the bbq'd portabella sandwich.

My favorite sweet: hands down - the banana split ice cream

My most-surprising/most-pleasing accomplishments: Besides actually finishing!... Making mofo headquarters' roundup (more than once) being tweeted, referred to on other people's blogs, being pinned on pinterest. It was all crazy encouraging.

My most frustrating recipe: definitely the banana nut bread cookies. If they hadn't worked the third time, I think I would have cried.

My most surprising recipe: The Creamy Kale Pasta Casserole. I was originally trying to make polenta eggplant sliders with pesto. It was a complete disaster. The pasta bake was a "save" and ended up being one of my favorites. Second Runnerup: The sloppy joe pie. I wasn't sure where it was going when I started, but I sure like how it ended up.

My least favorite recipe: that mango dressing on the blackened portabella salad. The mushroom, on the other hand was fantastic!

And the last recipe that I tried that I didn't even bother posting. Yuck!

My post that received the most "buzz" : Without a doubt, the sweet 'n' sour cashews and chickpea nuggets (thanks to veganmofo.com & dc*vegan)

My most interesting discoveries about my meals: When I'm cooking for the blog, my meals are more carbolicious than normal. I actually miss more regular salads, fruits, juices. I also miss not having to cook if I don't feel like it.

My most interesting discoveries about myself: I'm better at making dishes up than I thought. Back when I went gluten/soy-free and vegan, I lost all confidence in doing things off the cuff. I'm starting to get that back again. And I am capable of finishing a major project like this if I put my mind to it.

My favorite parts of vegan mofo:

I couldn't choose between these three --

1. The kind cookbook authors who allowed me to post recipes (I hope I didn't forget anybody!)
Isa Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Bryant Terry, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and Tamasin Noyes.

2. Reading other peoples' blogs. Especially you amazing gluten-free folks! I do want to go back and read/bookmark some now that this month is over.

3. You wonderful readers! You have been so encouraging. If it hadn't been for your wonderful feedback, I might have given up on the days I got tired. Thanks for making it a fun month of 1 food 5 ways! <3

BTW, I am planning on making a pdf for myself of all the recipes from 1 food 5 ways. So if you're interested in having an electronic copy (@ no charge to you), email me at dawn {at} drsimpsongallery {dot} com