Months ago I promised to supply a super-easy, super-cheap Spartan recipe that kept me alive one lean student summer in New Mexico, when I was packed into a tiny barrio apartment with three other people. This recipe predates my veganism and even my vegetarianism, but was nevertheless my default dinner many nights out of economic…
Sprouts of Ill Repute
I hated Brussels sprouts growing up. I mean hated them, more than just about any other vegetable. Like many things I thought I hated growing up, however — like feminism, so-called “bleeding heart” values and “slutty” behavior — this had everything to do with how they were presented to me. My mom basically boiled all…
Tempty Spicy Nugget Bits
I’ll confess I don’t eat a lot of tempeh — I tend to default to tofu when buying soy protein — but as often happens lately, the voracious hordes of meat-deprived omnivores had cleared out the tofu section at the supermarket. Only the tempeh was left, sitting forlornly by itself in the refrigerated case. I…
Berry Jam
I’m sure all masked culinarians who sally forth in still-treacherous quests for ingredients are looking forward to coming home with everything on their shopping lists. Maybe we won’t take the typical near-ridiculous abundance of the average (U.S.) supermarket so for granted in the future. So last time around, I found myself wishing I had something…
Handle Your Own Biscuit(s)
The drama this week, on top of everything else, was about a backing-up sink in the apartment below me that forestalled much cooking over the weekend. Fortunately I had pre-frozen saag and dal in the freezer. The plumbing professionals did make an appearance (in their gloves and masks), but it was an involved and messy…
(Meat)Balling on Lockdown
I’ll tell you what, it’s not so easy to keep up a vegan food blog when the grocery stores are suddenly having shortages on staples like legumes, pulses, rice, and dried pasta. I hear the carnivores can’t get their carne … maybe that explains all the sudden raids on plant-based proteins. And for the moment…
2 Live Stew (Miso-Horny)
I realize I’m showing my age here with the dated musical reference … but since people are starting to hoard water and toilet paper in the wake of this virus scare, I decided to go looking into the best plant-based anti-viral foods. I already knew a bit about garlic, ginger, citrus, and spicy capsicum peppers,…
Spud Lust Hungry Peasant Soup
Oi, my new work gig is keeping me busy. Last week the only new thing I managed to cook up was a batch of brownies, and while they prompted spontaneous ecstasies from people I’m more than happy to spontaneously ecstasy, I can’t really pass them off as my own. Head on over to Sweetest Menu…
Bean Lovers’ Chili
Last week I promised chili to go with those ground corn muffins, so this week we have a hearty winter chili recipe that’ll have you lapping up all kinds of beans and liking it! Funny story … the Sprouts grocery store in my area had their canned beans displayed on an endcap, and I had…
Ground Corn Muffins
Sorry I’ve been AWOL for the past couple of weeks! I got an amazing if challenging new job writing up reports for an organization that does assessments for asylum cases, so my plate (so to speak) is a lot fuller. I had a few disappointing trysts with Yukon Gold potatoes in the meantime – I…
Smoked (Cauliflower) Head & Jammy Cheesy Tacos
Ok, so I didn’t manage to get this out on Tuesday, but who said tacos were only for Tuesdays? Tacos are for eating EVERY DAY, amirite? And there are so many ways to add variety and fun if you just get creative. These particular garden pockets came about after my impromptu lunch at a brand…
Come to Mama Vegan Lasagna
Today’s recipe title may make some of you think immediately of Lady Gaga, but Etta James recorded a much dirtier song by that name back when gaga was probably all the Lady had in her vocabulary. Call my number, 777-six-NINE-six-NINE, I’ll give you a fix. ‘Cause I’ve got your favorite toy, Guaranteed to bring you…
Nerdgasm Jedi (Root-Leaf) Stew
I hope everyone had a great holiday week! I didn’t manage to get a recipe out last weekend, although I did make some baked (instead of fried) potato latkes. They were good, but not stellar. That recipe still needs some tweaking. Speaking of stellar, however, last weekend was practically a national holiday for us sci-fi…
Scottish Fetish Vegan Scones (with a Light Currant)
Certain Anglo accents have the power to spawn whole fetishes unto themselves. Some people find posh English accents a huge aphrodisiac; others get hot and bothered over a broad-voweled outback drawl. For my part, I could turn James McAvoy reading the terms and conditions of my operating system into an entire sexual orientation. And don’t…
Nutting Up the Pumpkin Red Curry
I was exceedingly disappointed when a little storefront Thai place about a mile away from me closed – it was the only place I’d ever found pumpkin curry, and theirs was delicious. It was a red curry, good and hot, nicely thicker than average, and was chock full of onions, green beans and bell peppers….
Sure Thing Minestrone
After the great American cookoff holiday this week and the last couple of new, more labor-intensive recipes, I thought I’d keep things uncomplicated and go back to one of my favorite easy one-pot staples, a crowd-pleasing soup that cooks who’ve been around the block a few times may take for granted but that really does…
Stuff a Vegan Savory Mushroom Stuffed Squash
American (U.S.) Thanksgiving is upon us this week, and that means it’s time for some hearty stuffing. (Our former countryfolk across the pond will know what I’m talking about, even if we’re more or less celebrating the beginning of our very messy breakup.) If there’s a special vegan in your life you’ve been wanting to…
Chocorrupted Pumpkin Pie
Before Thanksgiving rolled around I wanted to make something seasonal my high school BFF could make for dessert to share with her vegan sister-in-law, but also something wicked chocolatey as we both share an undying passion for chocolate (we could decimate a jumbo bag of M&Ms between us after school). At first I thought of…
Mr. Wat’s Spicy Moroccan Affair
This transcontinental coupling of two different African lentil dishes, initially separated by thousands of miles, came about all because the grocery store was completely out of red lentils and I forgot to buy an extra tomato. I had had an Ethiopian Misir Wat in mind because I had a jar of homemade Berbere spice blend…
Seedy Pepita Zesto (Pesto)
I hope you all had a properly decadent All Hallow’s Eve this week. The proliferation of jack o’lanterns in the streets reminded me of what a treat roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) always were for me after a carving session. I know a lot of people let them go to waste, which is a shame, because…
Wicked Vegan Lobstah (Salad or Rolls)
Being a Massachusetts-born vegan-fetishist, I feel it’s my responsibility to make things not only vegan for all my darlings, but wicked vegan. My biggest challenge to myself post-home visit was to come up with a tasty vegan take on my BFF’s favorite regional delicacy, lobstah rolls. Even the vegan and vegan-friendly cafes we frequent on…
Master and Margherita Bruschetta
Yes, I’m also a literary nerd, for those of you who recognize the reference. I’m laying on the puns in triplicate now. I determined how to make vegan margherita (caprese) bruschetta when it turned out to be the favorite appetizer of un signore who could get me to dress up like a Wookiee and bark…
(The) Fall (of Man) French Vegetable Soup
I made this dish for my staunchly religious carnivore dad while visiting him last week, and (to use a direct quote) he “never thought vegan food could taste this good.” It was high praise indeed, seeing as my diet has, at times, seemed as iniquitous to him as my post-churchgoing lifestyle. Thick with butternut squash,…
Quinoa Threesome Salad
Hello, fellow herbage fetishists! I’m about to embark on a week’s vacation to my home state and have been crazy busy this week – unfortunately, it hasn’t left me much time to play test kitchen or to blog. Most of my cooking has been of the fast and easy variety. Here’s a standby of mine…
Bi-Curryous Sweet Potato Saag
In culinary fusion there is no East and West, no North and South. So saith the Saint, and by that I mean Tony Bourdain. (I loved that man, even if he didn’t love vegans.) No, he didn’t really say that. I’m just plagiarizing a verse from holy writ that would appear to uphold nonbinary living…
Spicy Shades of S&S
I’ve been going after the deadly nightshades yet again. Can’t stay away from those tasty miscreants, especially while market season lasts. And they pair so nicely with the wildly oppositional extremes of sweet & sour. I toned down the typical sugar proportions here a bit by using some stevia, but made sure there was enough…
Fingir los Huevos Salad*
Having a picnic this weekend? Here’s one for your basket. One of my favorite sandwich fillings as an ovo-lacto used to be salad made from that almost inimitable animal product – the delicate, yet potent, egg – with its unmistakable emanation of sulfur. Some detest the odor, others love it. I loved it enough to…
Stiffened Chip Cookies
These cookies are a plant-based, gluten-optional and refined-sugar-less variation on another erstwhile restaurant recipe I’ve been milking shamelessly for decades in order to conscript others to my will. They’re addictive in any configuration, and provide substantial evidence that those who equate making more thoughtful choices with privation are suffering from a lamentable lack of creativity….
On the Verge Gazpacho
Since the heat here hasn’t abated, I thought I’d apply the ice with a recipe yoinked from the restaurant where I first learned how to cook as a college student – a long-defunct café, owned and operated by a Greek family, that offered light Mediterranean-inspired fare as well as traditional classics like gyros and spanakopita….
Hummina Hummina Hummus
Perhaps surprisingly, garlic – that stinky, funky wonder bulb that leaves its signature in the mouth – is considered an aphrodisiac, thanks to its stimulating allicin content. And I loves moi some garlic, especially in my hummus. This recipe yields a decadently garlicky but creamy version with just a hint of smoked paprika. If you…
(Chard and the) Real Dal
Whatever gets you through those long winter nights, ducklings. I’m over here having raptures over vegetables, so I’m not about to diss anyone’s choice of toys. And while this is indeed a wonderful winter dish, I make it year-round because it’s a one-pot stovetop effort that makes 5 or 6 servings and freezes really well….
Cream of the Mushroom Sauce
So I had what I thought was a thrilling idea for a “three-way” salad showcasing an oft-maligned vegetable (using it raw, blanched/pureed, and roasted). Unfortunately my first attempt was a lot of work, and the payoff left something to be desired. This may be an apt metaphor for taking on too much at one time,…
TunaFlower Spread
Tuna. Even if other seafood was easy for you to quit, there’s probably at least a 50/50 chance you still have cravings for this lunchbox treat. And in this season of eating things raw, sometimes you just want something filling to toss with your salad. Yes, chickpeas work okay, but if you ask me the…
Vegan Domme Kha
Thai coconut curry dishes should take no prisoners. My most frequent complaint is that they’re wayyy too sweet when they should be tarted up and spicy in at least equal measure. The complex of contending elements (tangy, creamy, hot, sweet) should commandeer your taste buds as soon as they hit your tongue. This is one…
Bangin’ Bharta
I’ve had multiple foodgasms over a number of Indian dishes – there are a plethora of lip-smacking choices from all over the subcontinent for plant lovers! – and this Punjabi delight from North India happens to be one of my very favorite things to do with an eggplant. The most mouth-watering cooking method I’ve encountered…
(Can’t Believe It’s Not) Pork in My Taco
OK, so I know not everyone was a fan of pork to begin with, but you gotta love tacos. Whether you’re eating out or settling in for a night at home, they’re a messy handful of fun. I usually double up on the tortillas to make an inner and outer layer that helps keep the…
Sado-Mango Salsa
I first made this salsa for a certain Monsieur who demanded my special skills in the kitchen, and I was more than happy to comply. It’s wickedly easy to make and so good it hurts. Inflict it brazenly on your guests, then sit back and watch them enjoy it. I prefer to use the Ataulfo…
Cream Your Cashews
Cashews are one nut you’ll want to bust over and over. They yield the creamiest cream you’ll ever want drizzled on your taco, or all up in just about everything. I don’t know how I ever got along without them. This is a basic recipe you can tweak to your heart’s delight. If I’m making…
Sassy Tomato Marinara
Spaghetti topped with a sassy-sweet red sauce is one of my favorite things in the entire world. A little sweetener is crucial to counterbalance the tomatoes’ acidity – the caress within the sting. In many of my recipes I like to use stevia, a sweet plant extract, which in flavorful dishes ably does the job…
Pad Thai-Me-Up
This is a peanutty vegan variation on a popular favorite that I think kicks ass. Consensually, of course. Serves 2-3 depending on appetite. I can’t get enough. Ingredients 1 batch Spank the Peanut Sauce 14 oz. firm or extra firm water-packed tofu, baked per Make-you-Like-it Tofu 8 oz brown rice noodles 1 T rice bran…
The Kinky Vegan 