Favorite Recipes

A few days ago, I attended a house concert featuring my friend and colleague, Kate MacLeod. House concerts are always fun—intimate and informal. Sometimes they're structured like most other concerts. At other times, they include a social hour with potluck snacks. Last weekend’s concert was the latter. Problem is, I didn't realize this until a couple hours before the downbeat. Usually I like to spend a fair amount of time researching and planning my contribution. But there simply wasn’t time. A month or so ago, I’d made Avocado-Tahini Crostini for a holiday gathering. I knew it came together super fast...

I got a multicooker for Christmas this year. While I’m quite adept at cooking from scratch (because that’s how I always cook) I’m intrigued with the idea of making scratch cooking even easier. Even though I long ago figured out how to keep mostly even pressure in my stovetop cooker, I have to admit it was nice not having to babysit my beans. There was no switching burners, tweaking the flame, etc. The multicooker keeps even pressure and shuts off when the time is up. I haven’t yet invested in a vegan multicooker cookbook. So I decided to adapt a...

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day. Southern tradition says that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day brings good luck. As with any superstition, there are many opinions on why black-eyed peas bring good luck and how to make the most of the luck you accrue by starting your year with them. The legend started in the South. There are several stories as to where the tradition came from, some dating back to the Civil War and the Emancipation. Several such stories are shared in this article, Why Southerners Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day. In addition to discussing the...

When I was looking through my cookbooks and magazines for Thanksgiving ideas, I stumbled upon several recipes that looked so unusual that I marked them for trying later on. Goji-Saffron Soup with Sorghum is one of the recipes that made the list. I found this soup in Vegetarian Times, but the original recipe comes from a book titled Superfood Soups by Julie Morris. I would never have thought to put goji berries in soup. Smoothies, yes; soup, not so much. But the combination worked. This soup is an elegant, brothy starter, or with a green salad or roasted vegetables, can...

Looking for a dessert that looks and tastes amazing, but takes relatively little time to make? Try a Pear Almond Tart. It’s beautiful, delicious and very simple. I made this tart for a Thanksgiving potluck, along with Shepherd’s Pie and Roasted Cauliflower with Sage. It was the perfect dessert for the occasion. It’s substantial, but not super filling, which is a great way to end an abundant meal. The only trick for me was the almond meal. I couldn’t find almond meal in any local stores, so I ended up making my own. This was by far the most time-consuming...

    I committed to make three dishes for Thanksgiving this year. When you plan a meatless meal for a meat-heavy holiday, things can get complicated fast. Guests expect lots of rich, stick-to-your-ribs fare. That’s not how I usually cook. After spending a few days perusing cookbooks and magazines, I settled on three recipes from several of Vegetarian Times’s Thanksgiving issues. My main dish was a very simple meatless Shepherd’s Pie. For my side dish, I made today’s recipe, Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Sage. (I’ll write about the delicious pear tart I made for dessert sometime soon.) Two friends fleshed...

Turkey and stuffing may get most of the Thanksgiving accolades, but for those of us who are meatless, it’s the side dishes that end up being the stars. Think cranberries, yams, green beans and Brussels sprouts. While your holiday dinner is now just a memory, you can still enjoy some of its flavor by making a Yam Brussels Sprouts Pizza. The idea for this recipe comes from the Fall 2018 edition of Forks Over Knives magazine. When I made this pizza, I mostly followed the recipe for the topping, but chose not to make my own crust. I do enjoy...

’Tis the season of elevated eating. This Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays. My grandfather’s birthday was around Thanksgiving, so every year, my whole extended family would get together to celebrate. It was the only time we all celebrated together during the year. Back then, of course, we had traditional fare. In the past 40 years, since I stopped eating meat, I’ve had to be a bit more creative. It’s generally easy to sustain myself on non-turkey side dishes at even the most traditional gatherings. But I’ve also enjoyed coming up with vegan...

Superfood bowls are so much fun to put together. With veggies, legumes, grains, sauces and dressings all mixed into one bowl, these one-dish meals can seem like a hodgepodge. Maybe they are, but I enjoy the opportunity to try unusual combinations of flavors and textures. Many bowls combine lots of different elements. This bowl includes veggies and legumes, but instead of dressings and sauces, it utilizes harissa and other spices to deepen the flavor. This makes this bowl relatively simple and quick to make. Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes and leafy greens are, simply, some of the most nutritious foods around. They’re...

Chili was one of the first things I learned to cook, way back when I first left home. It always felt like a huge accomplishment, even though by my current standards, it was really rather easy to make. Back then, I used ground beef, some onions, a can of beans, canned tomatoes, canned tomato sauce and some chili powder. Once I stopped eating meat—40 years ago now—I substituted LOTS of beans for the ground beef. Twenty-five years ago, I came upon a fantastic vegan chili recipe and I haven’t strayed from it. Until now. I was looking through Food52’s Vegan...