Experimenting

Before I decided to become a vegan, I was not what one would call an adventurous eater. I was the person who looked at the menu for 30 minutes before I would order the same thing I ordered every single time I went to that particular restaurant. I'd break out in a cold sweat if someone suggested we try somewhere new. But since becoming a vegan, I've tried things I never thought I'd try - tofu being a big one. Now, however, if I know a dish is vegan, I find it exciting to try something new. And when I like something I've had at a restaurant, I go online to find a recipe for it. I've even found vegan substitutes for some of my pre-vegan favorite dishes. Anyway, I recently bought yet another vegan cookbook. It had several sample recipes available that actually sold the book to me. One of those recipes is Green Tea Rice and Lemon Snow Peas with Tofu. You make green tea and then cook the rice in it. Who thought of that because it never would've occurred to me. This morning I made the Dawn's Early Couscous for breakfast. I've had couscous before but it didn't really strike me as a morning food. But, it was a quick and easy recipe so I decided to go for it. Worst thing that would happen would be I'd toss it out and have to eat homemade granola cereal, right? Anyway, to make this dish, you boil three cups of apple juice and then add the couscous (and a few other ingredients) and there you go. It was good. If I hadn't made the dish myself I wouldn't have believed couscous was involved (mind you I like couscous - I just didn't see it as a breakfast food). But again, I have to wonder, what made someone decide to boil apple juice (instead of water) for the couscous? How do you know what and how much of something to try to make a good recipe? I realize that these recipes were all tried and tested before they were published in the cookbooks but I just find myself wondering how someone came up with some of the combinations. P.S. I also made the Chocolate-Macadamian Cheezcake Truffles (recipe on amazon). All I can say is, YUM!!! :)