When I was a caterer and more into the conventional way of cooking, I used to love serving sliced filet mignon on top of cylindrical shaped mashed potatoes. I would call it a mashed potato “timbale,” at the time. Now, I have come up with a completely vegan and far more nutritious version of the same. This could be the vegan entrée that finally conquers over the “roast beast” at your Christmas dinner table. The kale is put in at the end so it retains its raw, live nutritional value. Although it isn’t in the recipe, you can finish this off with a ladle full of some vegetable stock reduction or mushroom ragout featured earlier this month.
Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Mushroom Ragout
When I go to the market and see all the different types of gourds and winter squash, all I want to do is bring them home and play with them in the kitchen. There is something architecturally fulfilling about taking a big edible thing like a pumpkin and bringing out it’s simple pleasures, and presenting it in its minimally fragmented glory. Here is an extremely easy dish you can make as a vegan entree or an interesting side dish on your next holiday dinner table. Read More
5 Spice Eggplant with Soba Noodles
Yay! Two of my favorite things, eggplant with Chinese 5 spice and soba noodles, rolled into one dish. I have been wanting to try this for a while and finally got around to it, and I am really glad I did. You could probably also add other veggies to this like roasted peppers, chopped spinach, and-or steamed bok choy, for example, to give it more dimension, but I love it like this, just simple and straightforward. Enjoy!
Roasted Delicata Squash, Fennel & Onions
Okay, admit it. I’ll bet that more times than not, when you glance at the delicata squash at the market you think, “Wow that would make a lovely table decoration.” Don’t feel in the dark. It is a cool looking squash. And I am sure you are not alone. Here is the great news though. It tastes better than it looks, and you can eat the whole thing, skin and all. I guess that’s why they call it “Delicata,” although I have done no research to back this notion– just a hunch. This recipe is extremely easy, bringing delicata squash and fennel together like soul mates. Add this to your Thanksgiving menu or serve it as a quick and easy weeknight vegan meal. I recently featured winter squash on my nutrition blog in an article titled 10 Superfoods for your Autumn Grocery List. So dig in, and know you are getting some awesome nutrition. Oh, and you can serve this right out of the oven, or make it a couple hours ahead and enjoy it at room temperature.
Spaghetti Squash with Crispy Sage & Garlic
Greetings! I know it’s been a while since the last post. To be honest, my creativity took a brief leave of absence. I also became fixated on creating the perfect homemade vegan ice cream, that also stores well. That sort of consumed me for a few weeks. No ice cream recipe to post yet, and now it is becoming irrelevant, as summer is going away. So, on to one of my favorite subjects: Quality kitchen time during the fall season. Let’s kick it off with a very simple, and surprisingly filling dish using just five key ingredients. Fresh sage, garlic and winter squashes are good friends in my book. This recipe sort of takes the traditional squash ravioli with sage, and sort of deconstructs it and puts a yummy vegan spin on it. Don’t be afraid to ramp up the garlic and the sage. Enjoy! Read More
Roasted Yam Salad with Kale & Figs
Warning: Fig season is here! Which means that I may post more than one recipe with figs over the next week or two. Since figs are one of those fruits that you simply can’t find when they’re out of season, just enjoy and soak it up while you can! I’ll start with this easy mid-week salad that can practically serve as a weeknight meal, a lunch, or a side dish with something off the back yard grill. These figs were given to me by my neighbor, artist Bill Wheeler. The roasted yams and onions seem to give the figs and kale a nice caramelized hug…yes I said hug!! You can even roast the yams on your barbecue if you want, for some extra smoky flavor. Read More
Butternut Squash Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo-Pepita Sauce
I love trying different versions of the traditional enchilada. In these vegan enchiladas, we get some extra protein punch from the pepitas in the sauce. I had some vegan “queso” that I was experimenting with so I was able to make this completely vegan, but you are certainly not limited to that. A good queso añejo would also go well. The grilled tomato was intended to add color to make the picture better, but it turned out being a nice acidic component that brightened up every other bite or so. Butternut squash loves being seasoned with cumin and chile, so this just came together quite naturally. Read More
Radish Greens & Rice Noodles with Fresh Mango
You have probably heard the expression “diamond in the rough.” Well, what about “vitamins in your rubbish pile?” That is exactly what you have when you throw away your radish tops. I know, I know, it is probably an automatic reflex to just break those greens off and toss them away. It’s cool, if you are okay with tossing a significant source of calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, C, K and other nutrients into the trash. Not only are radish greens edible, they are the most nutritious part of the plant! It is worth the effort to find a good source of fresh radishes with live, abundant greens. Here is just one example of an easy way to utilize fresh radish greens. The slightly bitter bite of the radish and the fresh, sweet mango are like two peas in the pod…sorry I couldn’t resist the cliche! Read More
Chickpea & Wild Mushroom Cakes with Basil-Mint Tzadziki
Lately I have been thinking this a lot: “A tzadziki would go great with this dish.” But I hadn’t found a great, vegan plain yogurt. Although some will argue that dairy yogurt is good for you, if you are avoiding dairy, or keeping vegan, a dairy yogurt just won’t do. Then the other day I was headed to one of my local grocery stores, but coming from a completely different direction than usual. Surprise! I rode my bicycle right into the South Pasadena Farmer’s Market. I couldn’t get from one end of the market to the other without completely spending all of my cash. Then I found a vegan nut cheese maker called Blode Kuh. And there before my eyes was a sample cup filled with cashew yogurt. Yum and yay, because not only was the yogurt fantastic, the cheese maker accepted my credit card on his “square” thing. Gotta love technology! This recipe is devoted to the people at Blode Kuh! Thank you for your awesome yogurt!! Read More
“Raw” Portobello Burger with Basil Cashew Cheese
Happy Father’s Day! How about giving your dad something he probably has never had? This raw, portobello mushroom burger is pretty hard to pass up and could end up being the best gift you could give someone…the gift of better health. Warning, this “burger” is addictive and can be a transformational experience! Keep in mind that in order to keep this in it’s raw state, it is actually dehydrated, and takes 3-4 hours to prepare. But the actual active time to prepare is short, maybe just 15 minutes. If this sounds too weird to you, keep an open mind, because the end result is a juicy, dense, flavorful burger that can stand up to any beef burger. Read More