Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

This was so freakin' delicious that I'm going to make just the mousse and whipped cream for my holiday party tomorrow! Its even better with the crust, but I am feeling a bit lazy heh.

sriracha is sooo good on dan bing, a chinese breakfast item! scallion pancake sort of thing, with scrambled egg, and sriracha.. mmm..

Jamie Oliver, making an awesome cheese sandwich with potato chips in it or a light tasty pasta.

Robyn, my mom used to pack me egg sandwiches for lunch too! I was lucky and got the buttered buns from Chinese bakeries for mine. I loved the way it tasted when it was kind of squished, from sitting in my bag for a few hours. Sometimes, when I go home, my mom still makes it for me. I've had other Chinese friends' tell me their mom also does the egg sandwich-- seems like this is a Chinese mom thing!

whole wheat pasta with olive oil and parmesan, tossed with lightly sauteed spinach and garlic. or perhaps, a very vegetable heavy thai curry, with bok choy, tofu, corn, carrots, spinach, and oyster mushrooms, served with brown rice

I have been doing my best to eat in season, locally, and also organic vegetables/fruits. My meat consumption is very limited with no seafood and only meat from hormone-free, pasture raised animals. Same goes for my eggs and milk!

everything looks delicious.. but the maple walnut cornbread is making my mouth water!

Haven't yet been to the south, but i've had some fantastic biscuits and gravy.. possibly my favorite southern dish

My fluffy little white dog is named Mantou, the Chinese term for a this soft white Chinese bun. Since most people wouldn't know how to properly say it, we call him Mito instead. (sort of like miso)

I just wanted to point out that Japan isn't the only country that uses tofu in a lot of its dishes. It is also very appreciated and used in China and Korea, and many people buy it fresh locally there as well. I'm getting tired of people acting like Japan is the only Asian country there is.

@mleca: The crockpot sounds like a great idea!! The only problem with meat smells is that it will smell so good I'll be tempted to have a taste :P

@lexophile: I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons, I am strongly against CAFOs and their inhumane treatment of animals. However, I see no problem with eating meat, so when I plan on cooking it, I intend on purchasing locally if possible, and free-range/grass-fed. I have just been vegetarian for so long that I don't really want to eat meat although the smells do tempt me every so often!

@HeartofGlass: I'm choosing to cook for my boyfriend because its how I want to show him that I appreciate him and that I love him since he does so much for me. :) It probably won't be every night, but as often as I can. He doesn't expect me to cook meat for him at all and its my own choice to do so, simply because I know he would like it. Plus, the way he eats now.. oy.. lots of takeout and pizza. I'd rather make sure he gets a good healthy meal in him!

Thanks everyone else for the wonderful suggestions!!

I made a couple of cakes while I was doing study abroad, one for a girls birthday and one for an intern who was leaving us. Everyone devoured the birthday cake and was trying to get every last crumb out of the container, and with the other cake, the male intern wasn't too into cake but he loved this one and even licked the frosting off of the plate we had put it on!

Oh my god, definitely my favorite vegetable, especially when stir fried with crab!