Ramp-wrapped Grapefruit-Royal Trumpet Escabeche, Gold Beet-Black Quinoa Salad, Avocado Tempura

Try saying “Ramp-wrapped” three times fast. Impossible.

This isn't as "busy" as the description appears. I wanted to pair the texture of royal trumpet mushrooms with quinoa and turned to avocado and grapefruit for flavor. Royal trumpets can sometimes become chewy and tough so I roasted them whole and sliced them into rounds, resulting in a silky, melt in your mouth texture. The grapefruit escabeche (traditionally fish marinated with an acid mixture after cooking) gives a sweet and sour high note that's balanced by garlicy ramps and rich avocado. Besides, nothing pairs better with grapefruit than avocado or beets. Quinoa with chervil provides a nice textural contrast to the mushrooms and avocado and actually sits as a half-sphere where the avocado seed once resided.

Ramp Pancakes, Refried Azuki, Sesame-Tomato Jam

My favorite sign of spring is the availability of ramps (wild leeks) and last spring I had an idea to replace the scallions in scallion pancakes with ramps (two favorites in one dish) so I looked forward to recreating it again this spring.

To take it a step further, the pancakes are stuffed with refried azuki (or adzuki, depending where you look) beans, almost like a quesadilla. The sesame-tomato jam is made with chinese five spice, ginger, red chile and lime. There was a time when I would have never considered pairing tomatoes with asian flavors, but changed my mind when I was served a sesame, tomato and balsamic sauce and I have since occasionally made asian noodles with sesame marinara. The heavily aromatic sesame pairs perfectly with the sweet acidic tomatoes.

Smoked Tempeh-wrapped Plantains. Smashed Green Pea & Avocado, Ancho-Aged Black Garlic

It's not unheard of to see bacon paired with bananas or plantains and this dish is inspired by that sweet/smoky combination. The plantains are sweet, black skinned plantains and the home-smoked tempeh definitely holds it own and doesn't seem like a meat substitute. The smashed green pea and avocado is like a light, rustic guacamole and has sweetness and richness like the plantain and tempeh, yet serves as a refreshing component. Finally, a purée of ancho chile and aged black garlic (fermented garlic that is black and chewy with a sweet-sour raisin/balsamic/tamarind flavor) provide a mild sour note with some sweetness and a hint of heat. As ancho chiles are so mild and have a flavor reminiscent of raisin, one couldn't find a better pairing than ancho and black garlic; and I'm sure it'll find its way into another dish of mine.

My Cooking...

I enjoy the simple and the complex and try to balance both. As much as I may love avocado maki or simple pasta, it's not the most exciting thing to blog about. Instead, I enjoy building flavors and textures around an ingredient. I like to cook with the seasons; it's exciting to look forward to the different produce that appears as the year progresses.

I became interested in cooking shortly after becoming vegan. My early days of cooking were focused on learning common dishes, like vegan macaroni and cheese, vegetable maki, and vegetable fried rice. At that time, I never thought of cooking as being creative, food was what it was - preexisting dishes from different regions of the world. Eventually, I stumbled upon some creative cookbooks and menus that completely transformed my idea of cooking. I was soon subconsciously making a mental arsenal of notes of ingredients that paired well together, techniques to apply to these ingredients, and how to balance a dish. Original ideas and combinations soon followed and I've since been jotting down notes of countless ideas awaiting execution.

Creating a new dish is a methodical process that combines logic (beginning with familiar, sensible components) and imagination (adding an untraditional component) to create something unique. If this process is unbalanced, the result can be a dish that is too "out there".

The following guidelines for the creative process by Michael Laiskonis couldn't be written more perfectly:

• Consider the end before the means; then make sure the means will get you there.
  
• Focus on no more than three flavors or ingredients at the outset, and keep in mind the balance and proportion.
  
• Consider the range of tastes (sweet, salt, acid, bitter, etc).
  
• Place near equal importance on textures.
  
• Consider the functionality of the dish, both as its own entity, but also as part of a greater vision.
  
• Make sure that there is a focal point; the remaining aspects must support rather than compete.
  
• Work within your own knowledge and experience and fully flesh out the process, plus possible contingencies.
  
• Begin with "what will make it familiar?" before addressing "what will make it different?"
  
• Work with a subtractive attitude; pare away the unnecessary.
  
• Consider how well it 'eats', and how to make it delicious.