Peachy Keen Green

Fermented foods are good for the gut. Larry likes kimchi, so he decided to try to make it. He wanted it to be vegan, so used miso instead of shrimp powder. It turned out well! Ingredients 1 head napa cabbage (1-2 pounds) 1/2 C (approximately) course sea salt 1/2 T miso 2 1/2 green onions, chopped 1 clove garlic, pressed 1/2 tsp ground or use fresh ginger 1 1/2 T gochugaru (Korean chili powder) 1 T gochujang (Korean fermented red pepper paste from TJ) Instructions Cut cabbage in half lengthwise and trim ends. Rinse and cut into pieces about 2 inches square. Place cabbage into large bowl or resealable bags; sprinkle salt evenly over leaves to coat. Use your hands to rub salt into cabbage. Seal and leave at room temperature for 6 hours. Rinse leave under cold water at least 2-3 times to remove most of the salt. Drain and squeeze out any excess liquid. Place rinsed cabbae in a large container with a tight fitting lid. Stir in sauce, onion, garlic, and ginger. Sprinkle Korean chili powder o...

 Our friend Elsa has a bounty of collard greens, and invited us over to harvest. I got an Ethiopian cookbook called Teff Love a few years ago, and haven't used it yet; Ethiopian collards (called gomen) are one of my favorites. So I decided to give it a try, merging a couple of recipes in the book, making some adaptations based on what I had on hand, and it turned out really well! Ingredients 1-2 lbs collard greens, washed, ribbed, and finely chopped 1 T oil 1 red onion, thinly sliced 1/4 tsp salt 4 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp ginger, grated or minced 1 tsp Ethiopian berbere spice (or a mix of cumin, coriander, cardamom) 1/2 C vegetable stock 1 carrot, thinly sliced and cut into half moons Instructions Clean the collards, cut out the middle spine, and cut into fine slices. On medium heat, saute onion and ginger with salt for a few minutes, and add garlic and carrots and spice and stir a minute. Add collards and broth. Stir constantly from the bottom to the top, incorporating the mixt...

Marina shared a recipe for Cauliflower Salad Sandwiches from the New York Times; delicious! If you make sandwiches, a roll handy to keep everything in place, since it's a bit chunky. Alternately,  serve on top of a lettuce salad (yum!), or as a side salad by itself. Ingredients Head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch slices 6 T canola oil 5 tsp curry powder 1/4 C walnuts, chopped 1/3 C golden raisins 1 apple, chopped 1 lemon, zested and juiced 1/2 C vegan mayo 1/2 C plain yogurt (optional; I didn't have/need) 1/2 C cilantro leaves Salt and black pepper to taste Whole wheat rolls or lettuce salad (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 450. Toss cauliflower with 3 T oil, 3 tsp curry powder, and large pinch of salt. Spread on baking sheet at bake for 20 minutes. While the cauliflower roasts, toast the walnuts in a small pain with remaining oil and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. In a large bowl, stir together the apple, lemon zest and juice, 2 tsp curr...

Cyndy made this delish salad for us when we visited a few days ago, along with her wild rice salad . This recipe is super fast if you buy pre-cooked beats, which we get at Trader Joes. Trader Joes also carries a good vegan feta, but of course you could use real feta if you prefer.  Ingredients 6 medium roasted beets, chopped 1 C dry quinoa + 2 C water 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, ribboned 3 scallions (green onions), chopped 3 oz feta (vegan, from Trader Joes), crumbled on top 1/4 C pine nuts (best!) or pumpkin seeds, roasted Dressing: 3 T olive oil Juice from 1 lemon or lime juice Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Cook the quinoa: Rinse, add water, cook in the microwave on high 5 minutes, let cool a minute, stir, and cook 2 more minutes. (Or cook in a pot, if you prefer.)  While that's cooking, chop the beets, spinach, and scallions. (To "ribbon" spinach, put a few leaves together, roll, and cut in the short direction.) Toast the pine nuts on a tray in the oven for a f...

We discovered mujadara at a middle eastern cafe, Zadna , as the tasty base for a hearty mediterranean veggie falafel bowl. Essentially, mujadara is cooked grains + lentils + onion with spices, making it a high protein grain base that's pairs nicely with Indian vegetable dishes and veggie stir fries. It's also super easy to make. Below is a variation with more Indian spicing; I also like mixing quinoa and rice as the grain for some extra protein and variation. Ingredients 1 T canola oil 1-2 onions, chopped (yes, that much!) Spices; I like these, but be creative: 2 tsp cumin seed 2 tsp nigella (black cumin; good for you!) 1 tsp chili pwd or dried hot pepper (break in half) 3 cloves garlic, diced (sometimes :) 1 tsp salt 2 1/2 C water 2/3 C lentils, soaked (I like black beluga; vary as you like) 1 C bulgur wheat (great!) or 1/2 C rice (white or brown) 1/2 C quinoa (or can use all rice) Instructions Rinse the lentils and put them in water to soak. Chop the onions, and saute in oil...

Munira is visiting from Texas, yay! We biked over with some fig banana bread , and she treated us to an impromptu, delicious dinner of her lentil dosa and  secret gobi . I thought dosa was super hard to make, but she showed me how -- and it wasn't so hard! I'm very excited because besides their delicate deliciousness, her lentil dosas are high protein, super healthy, and a wonderful pairing with indian veggies. She also cooked up some bhindi masala for her IT guy (Larry) and sent it home with us, along with leftover dosa batter and a (loaner) dosa pan so I could practice my dosa-making skills again tomorrow.  Sweet! She recommended serving with lettuce, tomato, and chopped onion, and filling the center and rolling up into a "stuffed" wrap. Lots of possibilities! Rough measurements for ingredients follow (of course no actual measuring was done :) Ingredients A mix of dry lentils, such as: 1/2 C red lentils 1/2 C green lentils 2/3 C urad dal 2/3 C channa dal 1 tsp salt ...

Growing up, Larry's family had a tradition of eating applesauce at most meals. Since we've started doing weekly zoom dinners with his family, they decided everyone should always have applesauce for dessert. Cute! But it's been hard to find jars of applesauce. We're just seeing pouches and single-serve containers as options at Costco and our Instacart orders. Yuck.  But apples are easy to get. And I make a mean ginger pear sauce .... So why not make applesauce, too? Of course! Ingredients 7-8 apples (I use gala or fuji), chopped 1/4 cup sugar (brown or white) juice from one lemon 1 C water 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick Instructions Chop the apples and eat around the core :) Oh, I leave the skin on, of course - it's where most of the nutrition is. Put the apples in a soup pot and add sugar, lemon, cinnamon and water. Stir and let sit awhile as you putter around (like an hour or three; whatever fits your schedule - but stir it occasionally). Cook ...

Jeff made some delicious sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving in Nebraska. We ate them so fast that a couple days later I asked him to help me make them again, and I took pictures. I made them again for Christmas, slightly tweaked to include vegan butter - a nice addition. Here's the super easy, yummy recipe! Ingredients 2 lb bag of sweet potatoes 2 T vegan butter 1/2 cup vegetable broth 1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed) salt & pepper Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them up in large chunks. Put in large baking pan all on one layer (not stacked). Add vegetable broth and grind fresh salt and pepper over them. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on brown sugar. Put back in oven without foil cover for another 15 minutes. Remove and eat!

We've had some really good buffalo cauliflower at Vegenation in Las Vegas, and I finally got around to trying to make it. It was tasty! Here's what a did - which is a combination of a recipe in Vegan Comfort Classics and some recipes I found on the web, like  this one that has a nice video . Yum! Ingredient s 1 large (or 2 small) head cauliflower 2 cups bread crumbs 1/2 cup wheat germ (optional) Batter: 3/4 cup flour 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp onion powder (optional) 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper 1 1/3 cup nondairy milk Buffalo sauce: 2 T vegan butter 1/4 cup Sriracha (or more; 1/3 ?) 1/4 cup ketchup 1 T maple syrup Ranch dressing: 1/2 cup vegan mayo 2 tsp apple cider 1 T chopped fresh dill or 2 tsp dried 1 T chopped chives 1 tsp onion powder (optional) 1/4 cup nondairy milk (optional; if you like it a little thinner; I do) salt and pepper to taste chopped chives for topping (optional) Instructions Clean and cut up the ...

Shelley followed up the wonderful mango guacamole with a fresh pea soup and this fantastic masala lentil salad , which is pretty easy to make if you buy the lentils & arugula ready to eat at trader Joes. Roast the carrots ahead of time and toss it all together! Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds 2 T olive oil 1 T maple syrup 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 cup lentils (use precooked from Trader Joe's) 2 cups packed baby arugula Salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional) 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves Masala Dressing: 3 T extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp minced ginger 1 tsp garam masala 2 T apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp salt Freshly ground black pepper (optional) Pomegranate molasses OR squeeze some juice out of pomegranate seeds (optional) Toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts Instructions Roast carrots: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the carrots in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and map...

This cashew cream potato salad is delicious, but I wanted to try a not-creamy potato salad. I found a Roasted Garlic Potato Salad from Oh She Glows that looked easy and worth trying. I don't know where to get hemp seeds, so I skipped that. Below is my adapted recipe. Then last week, Elsa gave us some fresh dill from her garden, and I used that instead of arugula - also delish. But generally, roasting potatoes for salad is a win! Ingredients 2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1" cubes 1 T olive oil 1 head garlic salt and pepper 3 C arugula - or - 1 C fresh dill, chopped Pesto: 1 C lightly packed fresh basil leaves 1/4 cup olive oil 2 T lemon juice 1/4 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper roasted garlic head (above) Instructions Toss the potatoes and head of garlic in olive oil and a little pepper and salt. Roast about 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn off oven and let it all cool. Squeeze garlic cloves out of the bulb into the food processor. Make the pesto. Pu...

Our wonderful neighbors gave us two 5-lb bags of carrots after an online order snafu. So I pulled out the carrot recipes! I made my carrot soup , cut up a lot of carrots to eat with hummus , and made this old recipe from The New Basics cookbook that I haven't made for years - slightly adapted to be a little less sweet. I didn't have slivered almonds handy so I pulsed some whole almonds in the food processor and toasted them. I also made a new  carrot walnut muffin  recipe. Ingredients 10 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 4 T margarine (earth balance) 2 T fresh orange juice 15 dried apricots, slivered 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted salt and pepper to taste. Instructions Bring carrots to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. Melt the margarin and stir in the carrots and orange juice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture and cook o...

From Isa Does It, with a few adaptations to replace the coconut oil and applesauce with coconut yogurt, and reduce the sugar a little (it's plenty sweet). And it's a good opportunity to use my new adorable teeny weeny  silicone baking cup s. Makes about 12 teeny loaves (each about the size of a muffin). Talking with Judi  later: she loves her  cornbread recipe that has a 2 to 1 cornmeal to flour ratio and uses cashew cream and maple syrup. More cornmeal would be better; adjusted the recipe! Also updated based on The Best Vegan Cornbread recipe that Rick and Lauren brought over (up'd the baking powder and sugar) and these tips for good cornbread . Note: There's a sliding scale between cornbread and corn cake. One bread end is represented by just 1/4 C sugar, which we like. Most folks are probably used to sweeter cornbread, though; if that's you, double it (as noted below, by adding agave--or just double the sugar). Ingredients Dry: 3/4 C flour 1 1/4 C ston...

Adapted from Chloe's Kitchen , a simple delicious dish. Ingredients 3 large yams, peeled, cut, roasted in oven 1/2  can lite coconut milk 1 T maple syrup 1 t salt 1/2 t cinnamon 1/2 t cloves 1/2 t ginger Instructions Peel the yams, dice, and roast in the oven with a little olive oil. (Or boil or microwave, but roasting is easy, and you can throw in some other veggies to much while you mash!) Put cooled yams in a big bowl. Add spices and syrup and mash. Add coconut milk.  Serve warm. Yum! Chloe's original recipe called for a full can of coconut milk, but I found half a can was enough. Use any leftover coconut milk to make a quick coconut chia pudding  :)

Judi made so many delicious things for  Thanksgiving  this year, including these slightly sweet and spicy brussels sprouts. Yum! Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup brown sugar or maple syrup 2 T Sriracha fresh ground salt and pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the base away from the brussels sprouts and discard. Cut the sprouts in half. Toss in a large gallon bag. In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the vinegar, sugar/maple syrup, and Sriracha to combine. Pour into the bag with the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast until the crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Munira's family gave us some sauteed mung bean sprouts last year, and they were such a treat; nutty and yummy. And, it turns out, pretty easy to make. I bought some mung bean seeds and a  sprouting jar with 3 different sizes of lids (for different bean sizes and sprouting stages), and now make my own sprouts to saute!  Ingredients Jar of sprouted mung beans 1 T canola oil 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp black cumin 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp coriander salt and pepper to taste For mung bean sprouting: 5 T mung bean seeds (about 1/3 cup seeds); I use  Todd's seeds sprouting jar; I use  Jar Seed Sprouter cool water Instructions Put mung bean seeds in a sprouting jar. Soak 8 hours. Rinse with cool water 2-3 times a day; swirl and drain. Always store in a tipped position in a bowl, so the water doesn't sit, but rather drips out. The sprouts will be ready to use in 3-5 days, when they fill the jar and it...

Larry's sister Cyndy made this for us a decade or more ago, and then made it again for Thanksgiving this year, which reminded me how delicious it is! Ingredients 1 C wild rice, dry 1 C chopped walnuts 1 C golden raisins 1 large apple, cored & diced 1-2 celery ribs, sliced grated rind of lemon 4 scallions thinly sliced dressing: 3 T lemon juice 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/3 C olive oil Instructions Rinse and cook rice in instant pot (2 C water, 20-25 minutes) or on the stove (4 C water, 1 part rice). (Instant pot requires less water and is easier!) Combine walnuts, celery, scallions, raisins, apple, lemon rind in a large bowl. In a jar with a tight lid, combine dressing ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour half of the dressing on the apple mixture and toss well. Combine rice with food mixture and pour on remaining dressing. Let sit 1 hour at room temp and serve on lettuce if desired. Can make the day before and let it sit overnigh...

This potato dish is adapted from a recipe in  The Indian Vegetarian  cookbook by Neelam Batra, who also has a web site, Neelam's California Indian Cuisine . Thanks to my friend Munira for recommending it! I made this dish for a bbq at Judi's the other night, and she said it was blog worthy :) Ingredients 5 cups diced potatoes (~8-10 small red) 3 T olive oil 1-2 jalepenos, chopped (the original said 5!) 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 2 cups finely chopped fresh tomatoes 1 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro 2 T coriander 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 1 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/2 tsp garam masala 3 T chopped cilantro for garnish Other vegetables as desired (I sometimes add peas or kale) Instructions Pre-cook the potatoes: I cut them into chunks and use a microwave steamer (5 minutes), in batches. In a pan, fry the onion and pepper a few minutes on moderately high heat. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and cook, stirring occasionally, until mo...

A colleague of Larry's made this for a party at Pivotal about 3 weeks ago. So easy to make, and really good! The fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lemon really make it. I took it to our friend Munira's house tonight, and it paired nicely with grilled veggies. Her family ate it up, yay! Ingredients 1 can kidney beans 1 can garbanzo beans 1 can black beans 3 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 red onion, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil (or more) 1/4 cup red vinegar (or more) 1 lemon, juiced 3/4 - 1 cup cilantro, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Drain the beans and toss in a bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Whip together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and add. Mix it all up. Season to taste. Eat!

Our friend Arul made this for us one night, and I loved it. And it's so easy to make. Thanks, Arul! January 2025 update: Laurie roasted cauliflower for us and served it with a peanut dressing. It was so tasty and easy. I added ingredients for that below. January 2019 update: True Food Kitchen cauliflower is delish, with a tahini-based dressing. Could try tossing some of this in a tahini dressing (added below) and fold in some mint and roasted pistachios. April 2016 update: My friend Sherry made delicious roasted cauliflower for us last night. She marinated the cauliflower in curry, garlic, and olive oil. It was milder, and delicious. She said "I find that if you break the cauliflower up into smaller pieces and roast a little higher at 425, and watch like crazy (so it doesn't burn), it gets more tender." Ingredients 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets 2 T canola oil or olive oil Spices (or just use curry mix + garlic + salt) 1/2 tsp turmeric (heapin...