Our good friend, Garrett Nudd of garrettnudd.com has an opportunity to be promoted from guest photographer to guest blogger. Garrett also has his own blog (garrettnudd.net), which is so exciting, it needs no guest writers.

VegCooking has a great selection of vegan recipes with fabulous photographs to make you want to try every recipe they throw at you. The recipes are categorized by I love the thought of adding cranberries to green beans. I found it ironic that the side dish was recommended to go with hazelnut and rosemary encrusted seitan, which was the entree that sounded the most tempting to me.

The tofu recipe is from a friend, Fely Rugless, who is a firm believer in simple cooking. This is the first shared recipe from a reader for me to prepare and post. Paul really liked the tofu. I am new to making tofu at home . Still, it was a good consistency and well flavored.

Paul says this is probably the most hippy place in Orlando. But you know what? We keep going there. In fact, it is the most visited restaurant on our list right now. We took my dad a month ago while my mom was out of town, and he loved it.

In a floundering market consumers are looking for good food that is as cheap and nutritious as possible. I hope this post will be the first in a continuous series that focuses on time-saving dishes that don't break the bank while they impact your menu.

I made this appetizer twice last weekend. I have decided that spaghetti squash is best in October, because by November I was struggling to find good fall squash to purchase. The dish was a big hit at both events and the goods were all gone. There's no complement like the complement of disappearing food (as long as it isn't fed to the dog).

I had volunteered to feed a large group (25ish) of people at church while my in-laws were in town and they graciously agreed to help in the preparation of the meal. For me, it was filled with new ideas for old recipes.

Kathleen's mom used to put black and white beans in her baked beans for a tri-color look and a change in flavor and tradition. I thought it was an ingenious way of adding to the pot if necessary because those beans often come in smaller cans than baked beans do. Also, the juice from the cans isn't needed and doesn't thin down the dish in the process.

This was a fabulously colored vegan dinner focused on vegetables easily accessible in our local stores. I really enjoyed it, but Paul said that the frozen lime juice I had defrosted to mix with the sugar snap peas. I do caution cooks to follow the recipe closely because the peas did not hold their bright green color.

The recipe for the peas came from foodnetwork.tv called Mint Sugar Snap Peas. I did use frozen peas and would be happier trying the recipe with fresh peas in the future. I used the roasted sweet potato recipe with olive oil, seasoned salt, and fresh rosemary for the red potatoes; and I sliced some very ripe tomatoes.

This post's guest photographer is Garrett Nudd, an excellent and talented photographer, but an even better friend.

I came across some mini-kabob sticks while in Sarasota for our anniversary. Ever since, I was very excited to make some and did a good bit of research before I finally put the meal together. I served the kabob with steamed brown rice and the Pad Thai sauce from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home."

This meal was much easier than I expected, and except for the delay of threading the sticks with my designer-husband, a fast creation as well. I did find a note somewhere in my research to soak the sticks in water before use to prevent splitting. This was my first step of the meal.

It seems so long ago now, but in 2005 when I finished my Master's degree, Paul took me along on a trip to Italy and Germany. I believe everyone should visit Italy given the chance, although I think I love Germany more. This trip was peak-season, but we are very happy to travel in February/March/April when it's cooler and when the rates aren't so high. We have done that the last two years. But this was my first trip to Europe, and I will always remember it very fondly.