Nava’s Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

November 14, 2011
Nava's Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

When Nava Atlas asked me at the beginning of last year to take the photos for Vegan Holiday Kitchen, I thought about it for about a day and then gave her an emphatic “Yes!” She warned me that she would need more photos than I’d taken for her previous book, Vegan Express–about five times as [...]

Read the full article →

Ethiopian-Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

November 8, 2011
Thumbnail image for Ethiopian-Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

I can’t pass up a pumpkin. As soon as I see winter squash laid out in rows at our local produce stand, I have to stop and buy many more than we’ll actually eat. My daughter will insist that we pick up a pie pumpkin or two, while I’m drawn to the less traditional ones: [...]

Read the full article →

Chocolate-Almond Nuggets of Joy

November 1, 2011
Halloween Joy

I didn’t intend to post a recipe today, but my daughter and I had so much fun making these natural “Fauxmond Joy” candies that I couldn’t resist sharing them with you. The photos are Halloweenish because yesterday was Halloween (I’m always behind the times), but the treats are good any time of the year. Before [...]

Read the full article →

What the Heck is Nutritional Yeast?

October 26, 2011
What the Heck is Nutritional Yeast?

Welcome New York Times readers! I hope you’ll check out some of my recipes while you’re here, and if you like what you see, follow me on Facebook or by email. Of all the ingredients I use in my recipes, the one I get asked about the most is nutritional yeast. I’ve been cooking with [...]

Read the full article →

Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup

October 18, 2011
Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup

Well, after three weeks of posting other people’s recipes, I’m back with one of my own. It was a lot of fun cooking dishes that had already gone through the testing process and learning more about cooking in general (and slow-cooking in particular) from three expert cooks. In the process of posting the reviews and [...]

Read the full article →

Colleen’s Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Sauce

October 11, 2011
Colleen's Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Sauce

I was a vegetarian for six years before I became a vegan, and before I made the change, I thought that being vegan was just more than I was able to do. I had been inspired by Diet for a New America when I first became vegetarian, and though I agreed with the ethics of [...]

Read the full article →

Kathy’s Slow-Cooker Hot and Sour Soup

October 3, 2011
Hot and Sour Soup

My poor slow cooker has spent most of its life gathering dust on a shelf, but lately it is getting a workout thanks to Kathy Hester’s new book, The Vegan Slow Cooker. With easy recipes, a clean layout, and lovely photos, it’s enticed even a last-minute cook like me to think ahead a little and [...]

Read the full article →

Bryanna’s Low-Fat Veggie “Guacamole”

September 26, 2011
Bryanna's Low-Fat Veggie Guacamole

In my den, two bookcases sag under the weight of the dozens of cookbooks I’ve managed to cram into them. Cookbooks spill out onto the neighboring coffee table, line the counter between kitchen and den, and form heaps around my bed. Sometimes I read them like novels, the sidebars and stories especially, and sometimes I [...]

Read the full article →

Hearty One-Pot Meal Miso Soup

September 19, 2011
Hearty Miso Soup

Usually I serve miso soup as part of our “sushi meal.” I make or buy vegetable sushi rolls, cook some edamame, toss some green leafies with some tahini dressing, and make a simple miso soup. On a recent rushed weeknight, I decided to skip all the separate dishes and just throw everything into the soup.

Read the full article →

Thai Salad with Slow-Cooked Tofu in Pineapple Barbecue Sauce

September 12, 2011
Thai Barbecue Salad

One of the highlights of my trip to Portland happened after Vida Vegan Con was over. That Sunday night, I got to meet my friend and long-time reader Maria, whom many of you know from the comments as Moonwatcher. Maria traveled ten hours to visit her son in Portland and timed her trip so that [...]

Read the full article →

Cherry Snack Cake and a Non-Recap of Vida Vegan Con

September 2, 2011
Cherry Snack Cake

Overwhelming. When people ask me how Vida Vegan Con was, the first word that comes to mind is “overwhelming.” Imagine a room filled with over 200 people who, at first glance, seem to be total strangers but who over and over, one by one, are revealed to be people you know, whose lives and words [...]

Read the full article →

Skillet Eggplant and Lentils with Almond Parmesan

August 25, 2011
Skillet Eggplant and Lentils

I’m packing my bags and getting ready to fly to Portland early tomorrow morning for Vida Vegan Con, the largest gathering of vegan bloggers ever to invade a conference center. I’m so excited to get to teach a photography workshop with two of my idols, Isa and Hannah, and to sit on a panel of [...]

Read the full article →

Kale Mallung (Sri Lankan Kale with Coconut)

August 17, 2011
Kale Mallung

On vacation this summer, my family and I had the pleasure of eating at Source, a vegetarian restaurant that opened in San Francisco earlier this year. The entire meal was delicious: E had the lasagna, of course, and I had a chickpea-stuffed rice pastry called Borek. But the the stand-out was the special of the [...]

Read the full article →

Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Dressing

August 8, 2011
Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Salad Dressing

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letter D… not D for “dressing” but D as in my husband D, who can’t get enough of this dressing. He’s been pouring it on salads and drizzling it on sandwiches ever since I made it for the first time (we’re now on our second batch). I [...]

Read the full article →

Cashew Carrot Salad

July 31, 2011
Cashew Carrot Salad

I’ve discovered a salad that my daughter will gobble up like candy. In fact, she eats so much of it that she’s almost in danger of turning orange! I’m talking, of course, about good, old-fashioned carrot salad–but with a few updates and improvements.

Read the full article →

Homestyle Green Beans and Potatoes

July 18, 2011
Homestyle Green Beans and Potatoes

I know that after my recent talk about all the San Francisco restaurants where we dined on our vacation, some of you expected me to come back with ideas for fancy, cutting-edge dishes. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but here I am with something so un-trendy, so uncool, that most bloggers would be afraid to [...]

Read the full article →

Waterfalls and Crutches and Bears, Oh My! — Our California Vacation

July 14, 2011
Crutches in San Francisco

On the second day of our summer vacation, our daughter E fell and broke her foot while hiking on a rocky trail in a remote part of Sequoia National Park.  We were about half a mile away from the trail head on our way back, and we hadn’t seen one other person on the trail [...]

Read the full article →

Chili-Stuffed Peppers

June 30, 2011
Chili-Stuffed Peppers

My husband’s been suggesting for years that I stuff some bell peppers, and he always wondered why I would roll my eyes and tell him he could stuff them himself. The truth came out over dinner the other night. It turns out that both of our mothers made stuffed peppers, but while D remembered them [...]

Read the full article →

Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

June 23, 2011
Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

My daughter hated it. My husband described it as “different from any coleslaw I’ve ever tasted.” And I agreed with my husband. So why am I posting it here? Simple: I like odd coleslaws, and this one is odd but interesting. Light yet spicy, this lime and cumin-infused salad is the perfect accompaniment to burritos, [...]

Read the full article →

Pesto Primavera Pasta and Other Fresh Basil Recipes

June 17, 2011
Pesto Pasta Primavera

Every summer, our small back patio turns into a miniature basil farm with large pots of the fragrant herb filling every available inch. As soon as the plants shoot up a few inches, I start snipping off their leaves and adding them to just about everything I make. By this time, mid-June, the plants are [...]

Read the full article →