BSI: Week 54!

Having participated in BSIs before, I am thrilled to be hosting Week 54 of BSI: Blogger Secret Ingredient! I think BSI is such a fun way for all of us bloggers and blog-readers to participate in a creative activity together.

Each week, a new host picks an ingredient and anyone (food blogger or not) can submit a recipe.

The rules:

1. The host picks an ingredient, preferably one that is in season, readily available, and not too expensive;
2. The host links back to all the other previous weekly hosts;
3. Participants create a unique recipe using the BSI and e-mail the host with their recipes.
4. You do not have to have a food blog to participate, and you do not have to submit a photograph (although it is preferred).
5. if you don’t have a blog, you can submit your recipe to the host, and she will post your recipe for you on her blog.
6. The host reviews the recipe submissions by Sunday night of each week;
7. The hosts pick a recipe that is her favorite; and
8. The host post the winner Monday morning and sends the winner a token prize of her choosing.

Be sure to check out the history of BSI as it is quite extensive!

Week 53: MegaNerdRuns – Acorn Squash

Week 52: Healthy Tipping Point – Pancake Mix

Week 51: Live, Laugh Eat - Almond Butter

Week 50: Balance, Joy and Delicias! – Cauliflower

Week 49: Healthy San Diego Living – Chickpeas

Week 48: Thought 4 Food – Yogurt

Week 47: London Foodie in New York – Chocolate

Week 46:  Johnstone’s Vin Blanc – Oats

Week 45: Guilty Kitchen – Figs

Week 44: Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet – Peanut Butter

Week 43: The Sophisticated Gourmet – Brown Sugar

Week 42: My Kitchen Addiction – Lime

Week 41: Nutmeg Nanny – Coffee

Week 40: Chaya’s Comfy Cook – Broccoli

Week 39: Healthy Delicious – Plums

Week 38: Zoe – Feta

Week 37: ChezWhat- Potatoes

Week 36: Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice – Blueberries

Week 35: Girlichef -Greens

Week 34: The Ungourmet – Watermelon

Week 33: Bread + Butter – Bell Pepper

Week 32: Burp and Slurp -Corn

Week 31: Say Yes to Salad – Kabocha

Week 31 1/2: Simply Fabulous Now – Cherries

Week 30: Thinspired – Bananas

Week 29: To Be The Whole Package – Almonds

Week 28: Kristas Kravings – Lemon

Week 27: From French Fries To Flax Seeds – Coconut

Week 26: Plentiful Plants – Avocado

Week 25: Training Fuel – Eggs

Week 24: Dinner at Christina’s – Cabbage

Week 23: Hey What’s for Dinner, Mom? – Strawberries

Week 22: One Bite at a Time – Basil

Week 21: Just Sweet Enough – Black Beans

Week 20: What I Ate Yesterday – Kale

Week 19: What’s for Dinner – Orange

Week 18: BranAppetit! –Spinach

Week 17: Tales of Expansion Dates

Week 16: Biggest Diabetic Loser – Zucchini

Week 15: Sweet & Natural –Peppermint

Week 14: bella eats [and runs] – Ginger

Week 13: Coffee Talk – Walnuts

Week 12: For the Love of Oats – Pumpkin

Week 11: Trying to Heal – Sweet Potatoes

Week 10: The Inner Workings of a College Graduate – Eggplant

Week 9: Itzy’s Kitchen – Pears

Week 8: The Fitnessista – Cranberries

Week 7: Tri to Cook – Lentils

Week 6: Rhodey Girl Tests – Polenta

Week 5: Eating Bender – Butternut Squash

Week 4: Care to Eat – Apples

Week 3: On a Lobster Placemat – Mushrooms

Week 2: Hangry Pants – Tomatoes

Week 1: sportsnutritionliving – Quinoa

Now for the big reveal. What will the Blogger Secret Ingredient be for Week 54?

DRIED FRUIT

That’s right, dried fruit! There are actually many different varities of dried fruit you can use: raisins, dates, bananas, apples, berries, apricots, pineapple, mango, anything! Heck, I even have a package of freeze-dried strawberries in my pantry that would work!

I chose dried fruit as the blogger secret ingredient because it’s something that can easily adapt to sweet and savory dishes. Plus it can range from exotic (pineapple and mango) to an affordable pantry staple (raisins).

Ways I’ve used dried fruit before:

• Apricot Almond Granola
• Berry Almond Granola
• Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Apple Oat Bran Muffins

There are countless sweet and savory varieties! Maybe add some dried apricots or dried apples and some sage leaves inside some butterflied chicken breasts? Or make a dried fruit sushi? Like I said – there are endless options and you’re only limited by your imagination!

And don’t worry – while I am a vegan, I will by no means favor vegan over non-vegan entries. I still remember what dairy and meat taste like, and just to be fair I’ll have my “normal” non-vegan husband weigh in his vote, too. Vegan or not, creativity is the greatest influence in our judging!

How to win/ things to note for this week’s BSI:

• Think outside of the box!
• Please e-mail me when you post your BSI recipe on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, send me your recipe and picture to lindsey@soundeats.com
• The BSI winner will receive a small prize!
• You have until Sunday, November 1st at 9 PM EST to enter.

Recipes will be posted on Monday morning along with the winner! I hope you have fun coming up with fun recipes, and enjoy some tasty food along the way!

*******

Don’t forget to keep voting to help me and the girls below get into the Top 20 for the SAM-e Good Mood Gig! Vote for each of us daily until October 30th by clicking on each of our names below! With your help we can all make and stay in the top 20! THANK YOU! I know there are MANY more of you reading the blog than who are voting, so please – you don’t need to register an email or anything, just click on “vote for me!” on our pages. It would mean more than you know if I could get into the top 20. Thank you so much!

• Me (www.soundeats.com)
• Meghann (www.graduatemeghann.com)
• Sarah (www.muchfruit.wordpress.com)
• Ashley (www.dailygoods.wordpress.com)
• Monica (www.runeatrepeat.com)
• Amanda (www.runtothefinish.blogspot.com)