My first attempt at Indian cooking was a bit of a farce. It took me 5 hours to make a batch of samosas flecked with burnt mustard seeds and encased in tough, chewy pastry. As my husband and I sat down to a midnight dinner, you couldn't have convinced me that Indian cooking could be simple or easy. Little did I realize that samosas aren't exactly the easiest dish to tackle as a beginner, not to mention the fact that the recipe I was using was pretty unauthentic to begin with.
Read MoreSpinach Mushroom Quesadillas
There are lots of recipes for vegan quesadillas out there and many of them are fantastic. Sweet potato and black beans seem to be a popular filling, and although that works for a quick throw-together meal, it's not usually what I'm thinking about when I'm craving a quesadilla. Quesadillas are a special treat for me, and when I want them, I want the kind I used to order in restaurants. Savory, melty, spinach and mushroom quesadillas are my favorite, so that's what we're making today.
Read MoreGrilled Tofu Pesto Salad
Sure, pesto is a classic pasta sauce, but did you know it also makes a great salad dressing? Bursting with fresh basil, homemade pesto is a special summer treat that can be whipped up in a food processor. Combine it with grilled tofu, sweet new potatoes and juicy cherry tomatoes and you've got yourself a refreshing meal that highlights some of the best offerings of the season.
Read MoreBaked Rigatoni With Veggie Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
Broccoli rabe is one of those fun "new old" vegetables that have started becoming popular in farmer's markets and natural food stores. It has been a feature of cuisine in Italy for quite some time (where it is called rapini) and is just now making its way into trendy American dishes. Although it has little florets that resemble broccoli, it's actually related to the turnip. Broccoli rabe is also more tender than broccoli and has a spicier, earthier, dare I say, more exotic flavor. If you're looking to try out a new vegetable (that really isn't all that new) give this casserole a shot.
Read MoreRhubarb Sweet and Sour Tofu
If you're a fan of rhubarb, you likely look forward to rhubarb season with cravings for pie, cake and crumble. Although rhubarb makes wonderful desserts, its savory applications are often overlooked. Rhubarb can actually be used in any context where a little tartness is needed. Here, we'll add it to a Chinese classic: sweet and sour sauce.
Read MoreSeitan Romesco With Roasted Potatoes and Leeks
Calçotada is the name of a spring festival in Spain that celebrates an oniony-type vegetable known as the calçot. Great quantities of calçots are grilled and then served with romesco, a sweet and savory pepper sauce. In my part of the world, there's an oniony-type vegetable that closely resembles the calçot. It's called a leek, and it's also widely available in the spring and fall. This recipe uses leeks, but it's inspired by the Calçotada's marriage of caramelized, roasted onions with yummy pepper sauce.
Read MoreGreek Orzo Salad
Like a lot of folks, I tend to gravitate toward lighter foods as the weather warms up, moving away from hot soups and stews to sprightly salads. Yes, I know...the s word. Vegans can be wary of salads because omnivores assume they're all we eat, and omnivores are wary of salads because, well, I'll admit they can be boring and unfulfilling. Obviously, it doesn't have to be that way.
Read MoreKimchi Bokumbap
Bokumbap is a category of Korean cuisine that includes different varieties of fried rice. Possibly the fastest, easiest and cheapest of those varieties is kimchi bokumbap. What's that you say? You don't think kimchi can be vegan? Think again!
Read MoreSour Cream Seitan Enchiladas
Although I was a transplant, growing up in an area where "TexMex" food is serious business left its mark on me. I still remember my first night in the south, having made the long drive with my family from the northeast shores at the tender age of 7, to a chain restaurant called "Pancho's Mexican Buffet". We were convinced this place was an exemplary source of real Mexican food, served cafeteria style, complete with a soft serve ice cream machine and little Mexican flags on the table that you can raise whenever you wanted a waiter to show up.
Read MoreRoasted Tempeh and Cauliflower With Meyer Lemon Aioli
Meyer lemons are a fun way to add variety to your cooking in the cold weather months. They're usually available from late fall through early spring and are becoming easier to find at conventional grocery stores. They're smaller than your standard lemon, have thinner rinds and are slightly sweeter and less acidic. I came up with this recipe to make use of them in a savory fashion, and it's become one of my favorite meals.
Read MoreIrish Cream
You guys are not going to believe how easy it is to make your own vegan Irish cream at home. Seriously, you can throw this together before a party or even during a party. With just a few pantry ingredients and a blender, it's ready in minutes.
Read MoreMulligan Stew
It is believed that Mulligan stew was a creation of American hobos around the turn of the century. It was a community dish formed by whatever people happened to have on hand. Now that traditional hobo culture is not so prevalent in America, Mulligan stew has come to resemble Irish beef stew with an American bent. This version uses seitan in place of beef, beer with the broth, and is chock-full of root vegetables. Once again, I will be dedicating this stew recipe to an important person in my life. This time, it's my little brother, Ben.
Read MoreBaked Risen Doughnuts
If you haven't done so yet, I highly recommend getting yourself a couple of doughnut pans. They might seem like a frivolous novelty, but once you can have fresh vegan doughnuts in the morning without all the grease, you'll feel like less of an idiot for buying them.
Read MoreLemon Pepper Tofu
If you're a fan of the lemon pepper flavor combination, you're in luck. This simple dinner, made with fresh lemon pepper seasoning, will brighten up your weeknights. Tofu is baked in its own savory marinade and covered in a crunchy, zesty topping.
Read MoreRetro Seitan and Broccoli Casserole
It's been a while since we've had an adventure on this blog, so this time we're taking a journey into the past. You shuffle in through the front door after a long, wintery day of school. Tossing your backpack aside, you follow tempting aromas into the kitchen. Your mom pulls open the oven to reveal a warm, creamy, hearty....casserole!
Read MoreDulce de Leche Blondies
Dulce de leche, or "milk jam" is a caramel type sauce that hails from South America. It's the kind of decadent ingredient that will make people seriously doubt you are feeding them something vegan. These blondies take some time to make, although they are simple and well worth it, especially if you're looking to knock the socks off your friends.
Read MoreSpaghetti Puttanesca
The renowned spaghetti of working girls is, as you might expect, spicy, salty and bold. It's also quick, cheap and a flavorful dish to whip up when you don't have a lot of fresh ingredients on hand. In fact, one tale of this recipe's namesake is that it was created by a cook who had to throw some scraps together for customers at closing time. They had asked him for una puttanata qualsiasi or "any old bullshit".
Read MoreSeitan and Dumplings
This recipe is based on possibly the most famous stew in the southern United States. It's the kind of dish that is passed down from generation to generation, creating feuds between families over minor variations, such as flat or fluffy dumplings (fluffy) and broth base or cream base (broth). Having come from the northeast, where the gravy is always brown, I never knew much about this stew before I met my husband. That's why, as part of the tradition I've started on this blog, I'm dedicating this recipe to him.
Read MoreStir Fried Tempeh With Baby Bok Choy and Shiitakes
Another favorite cold weather vegetable of mine, baby bok choy, is a type of Chinese cabbage. Its tender and flavorful stalks have made it somewhat popular in American supermarkets lately, and I've had no trouble finding it when it's in season. Like many greens, baby bok choy is high in calcium and has lots of other nutritional benefits. It's also quite yummy in stir-fries!
Read MoreBread Pudding
Bread pudding is one of those dishes you're supposed to make with leftover food, but if you crave it when the weather's cold like I do, I see nothing wrong with picking up a baguette while you're at the store and leaving it out overnight.
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