Looking for a quick comfort food to whip up after a stressful day at work? This Vegan Cream of Mushroom soup delivers creamy, delicious comfort the right way- with clean, wholesome plant-based nutrition. Check out the instructional video below for step by step instructions!
Read MoreVegan Kale & Mushroom Curry
Sometimes the best meals come out of just throwing a few (or several) things in the kitchen together. The coconut milk and cashew butter in this make it an awesome vegan comfort dinner that can satiate and warm up a kitchen against any full dairy meal.
“Creamy” Teff Polenta with Roasted Vegetables
If blizzards have you down I have just the remedy. I love that all I have to do is think, “hmmm I wish I could find something to make polenta out of besides cornmeal,” and then teff shows up, like it was lurking around the corner. A grain definitely isn’t just a grain when it comes to Teff. Is Teff Polenta the New…Polenta? An “ancient grain,” teff has been used in Ethiopian cooking for many years and is just starting to get some traction in modern western kitchens. More people are noticing teff probably because it is a powerhouse of nutrition and is also gluten free. And, it makes awesome, creamy polenta…tah-da! You can enjoy it in its creamy state right out of the pot, or let it set, cut it into shapes, and grill or pan fry. Basically use it anyway you would the more ubiquitous cornmeal polenta. For this recipe, I have created a sort of comfort bowl of creamy teff with roasted vegetables. This recipe is vegan, but you can substitute cheese and cream where noted for a dairy vegetarian version.
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
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
Eggplant Cannelloni with Mushrooms & Leeks
Cannelloni, ravioli, manicotti, tortellini…what do these foods have in common besides ending with the letter “i”? Well, it is probably safe to say that they are all loved by many for their cheese-stuffed, pasta goodness. One of my favorite reasons for blogging on here is to discover healthier, less toxic versions of this kind of stuff. With that said, I am loving this cannelloni creation that has been evolving in my kitchen. It delivers a rich, comfort food experience without any of the bad stuff. And, it is great the next day, even cold! I know this because I left it sitting on the stove one cold winter night, and the next morning it was devoured before I could wrap it and put it into the refrigerator! The sunflower seeds give this dish enough clean protein to replace any meat or dairy version, and the mushrooms don’t need any nutrition hype to make their healthy introduction. In other words, this would make a great entree whenever you have that urge for a comfort food whatever…ending in “i”!
Roasted Zucchini with “Creamy” Mushroom Stuffing
I think at least a few of my friends are scratching their heads at my new obsession with vegan cooking. Here is the truth; it isn’t exactly the vegan I am obsessed about, but more just having an in-depth go at figuring out how much essential nutrition I can get from a vegan meal; the kind of nutrition that one would normally think can only be obtained from an animal. And then there is another fascination that comes with vegan cooking- to see where you can find the essential “comfort” ingredients. That brings me to my current dating spree with nuts, especially the rich, oily ones. I am about a recipe away from being convinced that nuts take the healthy lead in providing the comfort essentials we all love and our tastebuds count on. Move over butter, cheese, and cream, because I just made an entree that takes the “comfort” of creamy mushroom ravioli filling, and turns it on its gluten free, dairy free, vegan ear. Read More