Best Vegetable Recipes of 2011

The best vegetable recipes of 2011 from A Veggie Venture, just one per month, all in one handy spot for easy reference.

It's that time of year, the week when we food bloggers look back over a year's worth of recipes and pick our favorites!

I love-love-love this process! It really helps us hone our recipe collections, highlighting the best of the already very good, especially for sites like A Veggie Venture and my food column Kitchen Parade which by design, already post only really good recipes, the ones that work, the ones that are special or especially useful.

But I also love all the many sources of "best of the year" lists for movies, books, gadgets, etc. So this year, I'm collecting "best of the year" lists on Pinterest. (Food bloggers, be sure to let me know when you post your own best of 2011 list.) Follow me there and you'll see all the new entries over the next couple of weeks. And hey! Follow me on Pinterest and I'd love to follow you, too! Need an invitation? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. All I need to know is which e-mail address you'd like to use for Pinterest.

But okay, here you go, my favorite recipes for 2011. Do we share a favorite? Have I missed one you loved? Let me know in the comments!

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All Year Long: SPECIAL (useful & informative) STUFF RECIPE COLLECTIONS My Favorite Winter Squash Recipes Six Years of Favorite Asparagus Recipes Falling in Love with Green Beans: Favorite Recipes Favorite Pumpkin Recipes VEGETABLES 101 What Is Jicama? STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS How to Cut Corn Off the Cob: Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn 'Milk' HEALTHY THINKING How to Shop at a Farmers Market How to Eat More Vegetables HOW TO's How to Make a Roasted Beet Salad How to Dry Fresh Herbs in the Microwave: DIY Dried Herbs

January: HOW TO ROAST A WHOLE BUTTERNUT SQUASH, YOU KNOW, WHOLE It's a life skill too few of us know, how to wrangle with whole winter squashes. This is the easiest ever way to cook a whole butternut squash. The best news? There's no compromise in flavor, either. Vegan. Vegan: How to Roast a Whole Butternut Squash PS It's easier than you think, though, to cut a whole butternut squash and keep all ten fingers. Two days before Christmas, after overhearing a woman in the produce department ask for "butternut squash already cut up", I showed her how to do it, right there over a big pile of winter squash!

February: A MARCELLA HAZAN SPECIALTY for SPECIAL OCCASIONS You know how potluck contributions so rarely include healthy vegetables? Here's a real winner, light and fluffy spinach balls served with a gorgeous sauce. Very dramatic, yes? Vegetarian: Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce

March: A PASS-ALONG RECIPE This is the rare recipe that shows up on humble weeknight tables and in restaurants. Pass it on! This was A Veggie Venture's contribution to Vegan Done Real, the collection of favorite vegan recipes from my favorite food bloggers, 52 recipes, one for each week in the year. Hot & Sour Chickpeas

April: DELIVERING THE SENSE of SUMMER ALL YEAR LONG Lots of crunch and color! It starts with black-eyed peas so would be a great addition to a "lucky" New Year's menu too. Vegan: Summer Black-Eyed Pea Salad

May: JUST for DERBY DAY Is Derby Day a holiday in your world? Here's a good reason to make it one. Vegetarian: Miss Jennie's Famous Benedictine Spread

June: LOW-CARB, LOW-CAL "POTATO" SALAD, NOT POTATOES AT ALL Cooked cauliflower has a creamy mouthfeel that's akin to both potatoes and rice, so can substitute for either. Vegetarian: Cauliflower "Potato" Salad

July: QUICK 'n' EASY for SUMMER's BEAUTIFUL ZUCCHINI What a reminder that great food needn't be complicated! Vegan: Easy-Easy Roasted Zucchini

August: TASTING THE REAL THING MATTERS This was my summer obsession, thanks to the opening of a Syrian restaurant in my small town. Vegan: Fattoush (Traditional Middle Eastern Salad)

September: UNEXPECTEDLY RAW We think of winter squash as slowly roasted, coaxing out the sweetness. But waht about a raw – yes, raw – salad made from butternut squash? Grated it small! Vegan: Raw Butternut Squash Salad

October: PRETTY PUMPKIN-ORANGE HUMMUS This was truly an inspired choice, with no added oil. Vegetarian & easily converted to vegan (with agave instead of honey): Pumpkin Hummus with Honey

November: COMBINING THANKSGIVING FLAVORS IN A CROCKPOT Don't save this one just for Thanksgiving, though, for the combination of sweet potatoes, cranberry and orange is wonderful. Add the convenience of a slow cooker? Easy eats, this. Vegetarian & easily converted to vegan (substituting oil for butter): Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry & Orange

December: GREEN & RED for the HOLIDAYS This is a holiday makeover of that favorite broccoli salad with raisins, bacon and cheddar cheese. Vegetarian: Healthy Holiday Salad with Broccoli, Cauliflower & Dried Cranberries

SO THAT'S IT! What do you think?! I hope you like the collection. But if I've missed a favorite recipe of yours, please do let me know. If we share a favorite, I'd love to know that too! Best Recipes 2010 Best Recipes 2005 - 2009 from A Veggie Venture Best Recipes of 2011 Best Recipes of 2010 from Kitchen Parade

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© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2011