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As a corollary to the Omnivore 100, I present the Vegetarian 100, taken from Tigers and Strawberries. Things I’ve tried are in bold. Things I will never try are struck out. My comments are in italics.

69 out of 100. I guess I’m not surprised that I’ve eaten more things on this list than the other considering how often my fridge is stuffed full of veggies and cheese. Yes, cheese

1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked
2. Tabouleh
3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam) [ no to the strawberry jam though ]
4. Fresh figs [ mmm...with pomegranate molasses?  splendid ]
5. Fresh pomegranate
6. Indian dal of any sort
7. Imam bayildi
8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu [ i wonder if this refer's to chou doufu ]
9. Freshly made hummus
10. Tahini
11. Kimchi
12. Miso
13. Falafel
14. Potato and pea filled samosas
15. Homemade yogurt
16. Muhammara
17. Brie en croute
18. Spanikopita
19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes [ getting close to tomato saturation this summer ]
20. Insalata caprese
21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards) [ a part of almost every home-cooked dinner for me ]
22. Freshly made salsa
23. Freshly made guacamole
24. Creme brulee [ love it! can't say it loves me though ]
25. Fava beans
26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles
27. Fattoush
28. New potatoes
29. Coleslaw
30. Ratatouille
31. Baba ganoush
32. Winter squash [ i make a mean butternut squash pie ]
33. Roasted beets
34. Baked sweet potatoes
35. Plantains
36. Chocolate truffles [ yes, i know it's chocolate ]
37. Garlic mashed potatoes
38. Fresh water chestnuts
39. Steel cut oats
40. Quinoa
41. Grilled portabello mushrooms
42. Chipotle en adobo
43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal [ maybe? ]
44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas
45. Frittata [ ahh, memories of last summer ]
46. Basil pesto
47. Roasted garlic
48. Raita of any type
49. Mango lassi
50. Jasmine rice (white or brown)
51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry
52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie
53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette
54. Quince in any form
55. Escarole, endive or arugula
56. Sprouts other than mung bean
57. Naturally brewed soy sauce
58. Dried shiitake mushrooms [ i'm going to assume that it means rehydrated dried mushrooms ]
59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…) [ purple potatoes, orange cauliflower, and purple cauliflower in the last week alone ]
60. Fresh peach ice cream
61. Chevre
62. Medjool dates
63. Kheer
64. Flourless chocolate cake
65. Grilled corn on the cob
66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili
67. Tempeh
68. Seitan or wheat gluten [ weird ]
69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese
70. Sweet potato fries
71. Homemade au gratin potatoes
72. Cream of asparagus soup
73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip
74. Mushroom risotto [ i've made a butternut squash risotto - does that count? ]
75. Fermented black beans [ YUM ]
76. Garlic scapes
77. Fresh new baby peas
78. Kalamata olives
79. Preserved lemons
80. Fried green tomatoes
81. Chinese scallion pancakes [ awesome ]
82. Cheese souffle
83. Fried apples
84. Homemade frijoles refritos
85. Pasta fagiole
86. Macadamia nuts in any form
87. Paw paw in any form
88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind
89. Paneer cheese
90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!)
91. Fresh pasta in any form
92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps
93. Green papaya salad
94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes
95. Pickled ginger
96. Methi greens
97. Aloo paratha
98. Kedgeree
99. Okra [ best i've had was down in Dothan, Alabama ]
100. Roasted brussels sprouts

This is taken from Very Good Taste. Things I’ve tried are in bold. Things I will never try are struck out. My comments are in italics.

55 out of 100. That’s kind of sad. Time to start working on the list!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile [ does gator count? ]
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho [ only like every week! ]
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart [ oh hell yeah! ]
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes [ like sodium penthanol to me ]
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream [ not so much these days, lol ]
21. Heirloom tomatoes [ just a few hours ago, as a matter of fact ]
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas [ makes me want some right now! ]
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail [ this is my sis' hubby's favorite ]
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more [ Trung's infamous bottle of Blue Label smuggled from Canada ]
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle [ in Germany the way it's supposed to be ]
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst [ ahh, memories of Berlin ]
65. Durian [ maybe if i had some nose plugs ]
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake [ umm...yes to all ]
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini [ i've had blinis...does that count? ]
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail [ the snail is really just a vessel for garlic butter sauce ]
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. [ Manresa (two-star) is the closest ]
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox [ i did grow up on Long Island, after all ]
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee [  best...coffee...ever ]
100. Snake

My last CSA delivery was two weeks ago and since I had asked for an extra box, I haven’t had the need to buy any additional veggies. But since Wynne expressed her desire to hit the farmer’s market in Campbell today, I took the opportunity to restock on some badly needed greens. I have copious amounts of root veggies (onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, winter squash, potatoes, beets, ginormous carrots, etc) which means my oven has been doing it’s duty roasting them in olive oil coasted in spices.

So here’s my haul for today: sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), shiitake and oyster mushrooms, gailan, rainbow chard, rapini, green onions, meyer lemons and 1lb of mixed salad greens w/edible flowers.  Yum!  My biggest find was definitely the sunchokes which I learned to love when they appeared in my CSA box

The ticking of the cuckoo clock is the only sound in the room. The smell of braising short ribs is cut by the scent of vanilla wafting from my teacup. The sky is grey, the lights are one and I am feeling at peace. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is the first weekend in a very long time where I really have no excuse to leave the house and I am enjoying every minute of it. Though I did leave the house earlier today to pick up some food supplies at Whole Foods in Los Gatos, but that doesn’t count

My life really only has two speeds: idleness and craziness. Either everything is moving forward like an urbanite on the streets of Manhattan or slows down to the idyllic life I imagine exists in the French countryside. There is no in between with me and frankly, that’s the way I like it. I like to keep myself busy (who doesn’t?) but every once in a while, a weekend filled with nothing but tea, scones, quiet and a few good books refreshes me. Too many of those and I start to get antsy and agitated, but more often the opposite is the norm. Which is ok as I am comforted by feeling satisfied with my life.

I spent some time this morning to look through my various recipe storage devices to think about what I want to make this weekend. I had come up with this: Hamilton Squash from Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce by Traci Des Jardins, Apricot and Walnut Vareniki from Deb @ Smitten Kitten and Mini-Scones à la Carotte et au Romarin (or simply Carrot and Rosemary Mini-Scones) from Clotilde @ Chocolate and Zucchini. The meat and vegetable dish would be dinner while the dessert and breakfast item would be saved for tomorrow. Great plan, eh?

Except that I’m an idiot and realized after the short ribs had been in the oven for 30 minutes that the Squash dish required roasting at a higher temperature. Bah! Also, I can’t seem to find any light whipping cream (though finding chickpea flour was a cinch) anywhere. Man, I wish I had a double oven

Maybe I’ll take pictures of the finished products. Or maybe you’ll just have to use your imagination (or come over tonight for dinner–there will be plenty.)

What’s left for the day? My tea, of course. Maybe a Greek play (Sophocles? Euripides? Aeschylus?) or some English lit (George Elliot). Maybe I’ll go contemporary or just forgo the book for mindless TV. Regardless of what I choose, my batteries will be refreshing themselves and peace will fill my soul…

For the first time in seemingly forever, my calendar for this weekend is completely free. No dinner parties to plan, no wine tastings to host, no teenagers to babysit, no meetings to attend, no evening plans, early morning hikes, nothing. You know what this means, right?

Exactly.

It’s time to test some new recipes. I’ll spend a few hours tonight or Friday pouring through my cookbooks and binders and del.icio.us bookmarks and pull a few candidates to try over the course of the weekend. My goals are one dessert, one breakfast food, one hearty main dish and one side dish. If all goes well, I’ll be in leftover heaven for the next week.

It’s been a long, LONG time since I’ve made anything new from a recipe. Sure, the dinner party I held two weeks ago featured a beet salad and lamb shank main course which I never made before. But I chose those on the basis of what I had at home or would receive from my CSA delivery (which sadly, will end next week). I’m hoping to choose a recipe on the pure basis of “damn that looks good” and then try to find all the ingredients for it. I’ll try to document the process and results as well as I can (if I remember).

Ahh, an empty weekend to do nothing but relax, cook, bake and eat. Life is good.