If you are looking to break out of the old school of holiday-friendly dips, especially where your health is concerned, but you want to hang on to some characteristics that appeal to the autumn and winter senses, consider giving this dish a try. It works well as a dip, a spread, or a topping for a holiday canapé. I have even just enjoyed it fresh and still warm, folded into a pita or tortilla with fresh crisp greens, cucumber, and tzadziki. Actually, any time of the year, this twist on hummus punches lots of nutrition, and can fill you up fairly easily with the right kinds of calories. Read More
“Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Tomato Salsa
Nothing completes a crisp autumn or rainy day like a bowl of creamy soup. I am pretty sure that there isn’t a person out there who doesn’t have a nostalgic attachment to a “cream of something” soup from their past or childhood. Well I have some good news about that! You can keep your creamy, comforting stroll down memory lane while also avoiding the bad and promoting awesome, clean nutrition. This soup is very easy to make and is also great as a cold vichyssoise style soup if you have leftovers. The salsa is a tangy compliment that offers extra rich flavor in the truffle oil, but also completely optional. Read More
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
Heirloom Pole Bean & Potato Salad with Tarragon & Fennel Seed Dressing
Every year I plant a yummy heirloom pole bean and it never disappoints. I actually don’t remember the name…I think it is called “Rattlesnake.” I always go by the picture on the seed package…a beautiful, purple spotted pole bean. It recently started going crazy so I whipped up a quick and easy mid week salad, and here it is for your sharing and noshing enjoyment.
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
Huevos con Nopalitos
Whatever you call it, that ubiquitous cactus that is probably hanging out in more back yards than many of us realize, is packed with superfood nutrition. The leaf or “pad” of the nopale is believed to support many aspects of health and well being such as weight loss, blood purification, maintaining blood sugar balance, and more. My personal philosophy is that nature designed the nopale to provide good, somewhat complete nutrition in climates where growing and cultivating food, and finding an abundant water source may be a challenge. In any case, I feel extremely lucky to have two nopale trees in my food garden. They are going crazy right now producing more nopales than we can keep up with. In the spirit of water conservation, food sustainability, and good health, why not explore how many accessible nopales are growing in your world? Here is a simple, very traditional egg recipe for enjoying fresh nopales from your garden. Be sure to cut the nopale when the leaf is still young and the thorns are still soft to the touch. Once the thorns have become wooody and hard, the nopale leaf is too mature for culinary enjoyment. You can cut nopales, clean, and cut into “nopalitos,” basically cleaned and cut up nopales, and store them in an air tight bag or container for up to a week or two. Read More
Garlic Stuffed Roasted Artichoke
I love the artichoke roots that have taken hold in my food garden! Every year, a glorious new artichoke plant pops out and produces delicious artichokes right on schedule. They have become one of the highlights of spring in at our house. Artichoke roots go dormant in late summer early fall, but then wake up in early winter to start producing the plant, and spring is usually harvest time for artichokes. Many people scratch their heads at artichokes, either because they only know how to boil them, or maybe they just don’t think its worth the work required to finally get to the delicious heart of the artichoke. To me it is all worth the work, but just in case, here is a super easy way to prepare fresh artichokes, that incorporates roasted garlic. I recommend trying this accompanied by something you can spread the edible meat of the artichoke, along with the roasted garlic onto, like a baguette or a toasted flatbread. Don’t let spring pass without trying this once! It is a nice alternative to the traditional boiling method. I like to leave two or three artichokes on the plant each year because they eventually blossom into a beautiful flower. And they look as beautiful as they taste! Read More