If cooking has taught me anything, it’s how to cover up mistakes. That’s my favorite part of cooking as opposed to baking: It’s never too late to fix things. I wanted to make a black bean and tempeh taco filling until I realized the tempeh I bought had barley and rye in it which I’m severely allergic to, so that was a no-go.

The second mistake that day was the chickpea flour “grits” you see in the top left of that plate. That’s what you get when you mean to make a tortilla but the batter’s too thin and never comes together. It actually wasn’t bad with a little seasoning and would have been even better with some shredded cheese or Daiya. See? Never too late to fix things.

So even if this wasn’t what I intended to make at all when I started cooking that day, it still tasted incredible. And isn’t that what matters? Oh, that and looks. Looks always matter.

Spicy Cocoa Black Beans With Kale

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 cup kale, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the black beans and kale in a pan over medium heat with the oil already heated. Cover the pan for 2 minutes until the kale has steamed and changed into a deeper green color.

Remove the cover and season with the taco seasoning, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.

Serve hot into a tortilla wrap, taco shell, with rice or all by itself. Use a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt to mellow the spice if necessary.

I really like this, mistake or not. And that grits I could eat again and again with enough cheese on top. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you just might knock one out of the park anyway.

I’ve had an unopened bag of chickpea flour in my pantry for 4 months.

That’s 4 months too long.

After seeing socca on Anna and Serena’s blogs recently, it was about time that I try out socca pancakes. These were so flavorful, and so easy, too. It really was just like making any old pancakes. I might have burned myself trying to pick the fried batter off the bottom of the pan; it was worth it. When(not if) I make this again, I’d use a jarred marinara sauce, but since I didn’t have any I threw that together, too, and threw in the recipe. Top with a fried egg for something truly amazing. 

Savory Italian-Style Socca Pancakes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

For the pancakes,

• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• olive oil for cooking

For the sauce*,

• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, mostly drained of water
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

*You could also just use 1/2 cup of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.

To make the pancakes, whisk together the flour, water, salt, and herb seasoning until there are no clumps in the batter.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add half of the batter to the pan to cook. Once the sides have darkened and the bottom has cooked, flip the pancake once to cook the top batter. Move to a plate and cook the other half of the batter.

To make the sauce, mix together all of the ingredients.

Assemble by spreading half of the sauce over the first pancake and layering it with the second. Scoop remaining sauce generously over the top and season to taste.

Socca to me.

I’ve said that about 60 times by now. I still think it’s funny.

I get on food kicks on occasion. Most of the time it’s chocolate. This week it’s still chocolate, but it’s also Thai and coconut. Bear with me. It will be gone soon.

I love food you can slurp, especially food that has a sauce that makes you want to lick the bowl clean. That’s probably why I shouldn’t eat in public. Anyhoo, that’s part of why I love curries. The coconut milk is cool and refreshing but spicy at the same time; it makes me want to eat every last drop. This recipe uses chickpeas for the protein which is more an Indian flare, but you could add in browned beef, fried tofu, or baked chicken cutlets instead. Just make sure it’s cooked through before adding it to the broth. 

Chickpeas In Green Curry

Ingredients(for 2 people)

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• 1 green pepper julienned
• 3 Tablespoons neutral oil
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon green curry paste
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add in the cut vegetables and sauté for a few minutes until the oil gets absorbed and the onions turn translucent.

Pour in the coconut milk.

Add in the green curry paste(a blend of garlic, curry, salt, lemongrass and a few other ingredients) and mix it into the broth.

Let the broth boil for 2-3 minutes until it thickens up slightly. Add in your protein for the last minute to heat. Serve hot with rice or greens if desired.

I definitely licked the bowl clean.

I can never have a savory breakfast; it just doesn’t appeal to me at all. I need something sweet and as close to a dessert as I can get away with eating when I wake up.

Dinner is another story. I love a big plate of hot, savory food at night. I also love eating all the “traditional” breakfast foods like hash browns then since I’d never eat them otherwise. Sure, you could make this for breakfast. But I think it’s much better for dinner. Just imagine all your cares from that day flowing away like the runny yolk when it breaks and suddenly nothing seems so bad any more. Just remember to leave room for breakfast dessert.

Brussel Sprout and Potato Hash With Fried Eggs

Ingredients(for 2 servings):

• 1 1/2 brussel sprouts, steamed*
• 2 medium potatoes, cooked and diced*
• 1 onion, julienned
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup of butter, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*You can do this easily by microwaving them together for 4 minutes before starting.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add in the brussel sprouts, potatoes, and onion.

Cook for 10 minutes tossing the contents of the pan periodically until all the sides have had a chance to brown. Divide the contents of the pan between two plates or bowls and return the pan over the burner.

Using the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, fry each egg individually in the pan. When each is done, plate it over the hash two to a plate. When all are done, season with salt and pepper.

My favorite part really is the runny yolks. If the yolks aren’t runny, well, I’d still eat it but it wouldn’t be the same. Apparently pregnant women shouldn’t eat runny yolks; I’m glad that’s never in my future.

Some days you just need a salad, especially when that day starts out with a cake hangover. This is a retake on a salad I had at Pizza Paradiso the night before my marathon. The flavors were so simple and fresh that I knew it wouldn’t be hard to recreate. To make it vegan I used nutritional yeast in the parmesan dressing and it came out just as tangy. Now how many more of these will I have to eat to balance out the cake?

Cannellini Salad With Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

Ingredients(Makes 2 entrees or 4 salad portions):

• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• 8 artichoke hearts, halved
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon parmesan or nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, vinegar, parmesan, salt, and black pepper and whisk until emulsified.

In a large bowl, toss the mixed greens with the dressing.

Add in the sundried tomatoes, beans, and artichokes and mix until combined. Top with additional parmesan and/or crushed red pepper flakes.

I loved all of the flavors in this. The dressing had the perfect kick from vinegar and brininess from the nutritional yeast. And the red pepper flakes gave it a spicy touch. But my favorite part was probably the sundried tomatoes; I always forget how much better those are than regular tomatoes.