Main Courses

Pumpkin Rundown- A Creamy, Spicy Fall Favorite

My gorgeous Pumpkin Rundown is a lush, warmly spiced stew that you can make in minutes, delivering some Jamaican flavors to take the chill off on a chilly day.

Have You Tried Long Beans?

If you haven’t tried Long Beans yet, I hope you’ll find your local Asian Market or Farmer’s Market and seek them out. They look like your usual green beans, but when you serve a platter of Long Beans and Mock Duck in Black Bean Sauce, everyone will want to know how you made green beans taste so much better than usual.Long beans are similar to green beans in appearance and use, but are actually from the cowpea family. They are picked while immature, so that the pods are tender and the seeds are small and mild. The flavor of long beans is often compared to asparagus, if you can imagine a green bean-asparagus hybrid. I’m not sure that I get that flavor, but I do find the taste of long beans much more complex and interesting than regular green beans. They stand up to strong flavors, like this black bean and garlic sauce.

Creamy Cauliflower Curry-Fast and Easy

I love a meal that I can just throw together and simmer for a bit, and thanks to flavorful ingredients, it tastes like you have labored for hours. In this Creamy Cauliflower Curry with Beans, Coconut milk and canned beans are the time-savers. In stead of soaking and cooking beans, I devoted a little time to chopping cauliflower and carrots. I even had time to mince fresh turmeric and ginger, for an authentic flavor that really brought it to another level.

Red Beans and Collards over Sesame Brown Rice

Red Beans and Rice and Collard Greens are the iconic combo of New Orleans. Louisiana’s cooks have made an inexpensive, home-style meal into a famous dish, right up there with Cuban Black Beans and Rice, Refried Beans and Yellow Rice, and other great bean and rice dishes of the World. Beans have always been an inexpensive way to get nutrition on the table, and with creative seasoning, legumes transform into comfort food of the highest order. Now, you can make a plant-based version in minutes.

An Asparagus Tart with Creamy Cashew Topping

Every Spring, you’ll see asparagus tarts on magazine covers and in the food section of your paper. It’s a classic because asparagus is one of the first vegetables to harvest in the Spring, and because it looks so good in a photo. The curb appeal of a golden, crispy crust filled with gracefully tapering spears is truly off the hook. Most of those tarts will feature a hefty amount of dairy, whether in the form of cheese or creme fraiche. That’s why I wanted to make a purely plant-based asparagus tart for all of you.

Easy Curried Chickpeas and Vegetables

We’ve all been there, standing in the kitchen after a long day, thinking about ordering pizza. This dish can be whipped up in less time than it takes to have pizza delivered, and will deliver the vegetables and plant-based protein you need. I used romanesco and green beans, but you can use what you have on hand- this would be equally good with cabbage and carrots. Keep canned tomatoes and chickpeas on hand, and you are ready to make a meal.

My Favorite Tofu Saag “Paneer”

If you’ve ever had paneer, you may have noticed that the texture of it is pretty similar to tofu. It’s a fresh, non-melting cheese, made by adding and acid to milk so it will curdle, then draining the whey and pressing the cheese into a dense block. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s almost the same process used to make tofu.

Thai Seitan-Radish Lettuce Cups, Fast and Tasty

Lettuce Cups have it all. I used canned mock duck, but you can use other kinds of seitan, tempeh, tofu or mockmeats. If you’re looking for a lower carb meal, this is all the great Thai flavors you love, in a leaf of lettuce instead of over rice. You can avoid grains, if that is your thing, and shorten the cooking time, too. Thai Seitan Lettuce Cups are also great finger food for kids.

One-Pan Spaghetti with Chickpeas

When I’m out in the world, teaching and speaking about food, I meet people who say they are too busy to cook. Life gets crazy, things pile up, and the next thing you know, you’re eating chips out of a bag, or picking up take-out. Either of those options will fill you up, but it’s probably not going to nourish you the way you deserve to be nourished. It is also a waste of money to eat take out, when you can make a meal for just a few bucks at home.That’s where this One-Pan Spaghetti with Chickpeas comes in. Grab a big pot and start sautéing half a chopped onion, and while it softens, chop some garlic, grate some lemon zest, halve grape tomatoes, chop a carrot. Don’t bother to put on a pot of water to cook the spaghetti-it’s going to cook in the pot with the veggies!

Make a Pure Plant Smoky TLT Sandwich

We start with a mushroom, a plant famed for its umami chemicals. Umami, according to this article in Science Direct.com, is the meatiness caused by the presence of sodium salts of glutamic and aspartic amino acids and 5′-nucleotides. What that means is that mushrooms have an extra chemical punch when you eat them, that makes your brain perceive them as more “meaty” and satisfying. Then, we add another umami star, smoke.

Tostadas and Salsa-All On the Grill!

Mealtess Grilling is the Best! In this recipe, I grill the tomatoes, corn and hot peppers, for a bit of charred flavor in the salsa. The heat sweetens the corn, giving it a bit of caramelization as it cooks. My skewered grape tomatoes become soft and juicy, as their skins blister and blacken. Two hot chilies mellow and become friendly, and it is easy to slip the skin away, if you choose to do so.
The real fun starts when you grill fresh chips and tostada shells. Instead of buying a bag of tortillas, serving tacos once or twice, then watching them languish in the fridge, I now make them into grilled chips and shells. No need to heat a pot of oil to deep fry your tortillas, when the grill will make them into crispy chips in a couple of minutes.

Moroccan Chickpea B’Stilla-Sweet, Savory and Showy

Moroccan food is a treasure trove of plant based flavors. Their traditional dishes, like tagine, are usually graced with plenty of vegetables, spices, sweet and tart balance, and fresh herbs. When I visit Moroccan restaurants, though, the vegetarian tagine is usually pretty bland, while the meat based dishes get all the attention. That is why I like to make my own versions of Moroccan food, and borrow the combinations from the meaty recipes and use them to make spectacularly tasty plant based dishes.
Like this Moroccan B’Stilla. Based on a pie usually made with poultry, this one is packed with dried fruit, spices, chickpeas, almonds, and a hit of coconut milk and lemon. Instead of the hard-to-find Brik pastry, I used easy to get filo dough, and basted it with refined coconut oil instead of butter. The result is a gorgeous, bronzed ruffle of crisp filo, encasing an intense, sweet-savory filling.

Blue Butterfly Pea Rice with Veggies and Satay Sauce

Don’t adjust your set, yes, the rice is blue. If you are bored with the usual rice alongside your Thai meal, here’s a colorful, healthful way to shake it up. Blue Butterfly Pea flowers are a traditional ingredient in South East Asia, and are used to make a beautiful tea, lemonade, cocktails, and yes, blue tinted rice. There’s nothing artificial about it, just brilliant blue flowers that are full of antioxidants.

Chickpea and Pecan Pesto Calzones

Everybody loves calzones! These plant based calzones are packed with nutty chickpeas and pecan pesto, and wrapped in whole grain dough. Engineered to be as easy as possible, this recipe gives you a no-knead pizza dough as well as the simple calzones, made with canned chickpeas. Super tasty vegan Italian food!

The Buddha Bowl; A Mindful Meal

When you make a true Buddha Bowl, you are making nourishing food, above all. But I like to add an element of mindfulness to the assembly and eating of the bowl, too. Take a moment to center yourself and breathe before you start cooking. Take a moment to look at your gorgeous ingredients and think about all the people who grew them, harvested them, and transported them to you. It may seem like a simple beet or bunch of kale, but it’s the result of many hands and hearts. Let yourself feel gratitude for all the people and all the energy that went into your meal. Be grateful to be here, able to have all this, right now.

Make Jamaican Rundown

Jamaica is home to I-Tal cuisine, the plant-based cooking of the Rastafarian religion. It’s also a Tropical paradise.
After researching the dish we know as rundown, I learned that it is actually a method borrowed from Indonesian sailors who traveled to the “Spice Islands” on their travels. In Indonesian cuisine, a “Rendang” is a dish simmered in coconut milk. The theory is that Jamaicans learned the method and colloquialized the name. So, it’s not about “running down” the vegetables at all. It’s about using the abundant coconuts of the Tropics to make delectable plant-based food.

Sticky Tofu and Noodles, with Cucumber Salad

I’d like to have a round of applause for the cook, long lost to history, who first combined saucy tofu with a nest of tender noodles. There are few things so simple and yet so sophisticated at the same time. These sticky sweet tofu cubes tossed with whole wheat linguine are crushably delectable, and only take minutes to prepare.

Yes, You Can Make Sushi Handrolls

Are you intimidated by sushi? Maybe you pick up veggie sushi at the deli, where it seems like something way too hard to make at home. The plant based sushi options are limited to a few cucumber rolls at most places, and always white rice. Well, I promise you, you can make these pretty, veggie-packed, whole grain-enriched handrolls, and you don’t need any special equipment. Just a pot, a cutting board, and your hands.

Big.Fat.Burritos.

Big Fat Burritos Rule. Something about rolling the whole meal into a bundle that you can hold in your hands makes the big burrito an ideal food delivery system. A truly epic burrito layers in complementary flavors and textures, to make each bite exciting. My Big Fat Burrito delivers a riot of flavors in every mouthful.
And you don’t need a fork.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Big burritos are big business, and places like Chipotle crank out millions of them every day. It’s easy to skip the takeout line, and make your own burritos. At home, you can stuff them with tender roasted veggies, quinoa and avocado.

Kimchi Noodles with Tofu- a Riot of Flavor

This dish is made from plants, from the grains in the noodles, to the beans that were transformed into soy sauce. That’s a given. But whenever I cook, I try to add a few more vegetables. Get that noodle to veggie ratio just right, so it feels like a bowl of slippery noodles, but it’s also a bowl of fresh, crunchy veggies. I love my carbs, and I look at them as the comforting, lovable friends they are. But the veg to noodle ratio should be balanced a little toward the veg side. This dish achieves the right mix, with just enough noodles, and just the right amount of snappy snap peas and crisp carrots.

Crunch+ Avocado+ Tacos=Get In My Mouth!

These Crunchy Avocado Tacos are a fun, deliriously tasty way to eat your fave hand-held, and I promise everyone will love them. The combination of lush avocado and a crispy shell flecked with panko crumbs is just sooo good.

Love Tacos? Taco Sweet Potatoes!

You know you love tacos. That’s a given. Let’s just acknowledge that we want to eat tacos and nachos every night. These are trying times. A mouthful of spicy, savory taco goodness goes a long way toward comforting the soul. For even more comfort, I took away the shells and swapped in a soft, lovable sweet potato. Taco sweet potatoes are the comfort food I want, rig

Crank the Oven, Roast Beets for a Sheet Pan Meal

When the temperatures drop, I no longer have to plan menus around keeping the kitchen cool. It’s time to start roasting my meals, and filling my kitchen with the scents of caramelizing vegetables and herbs. As you’ll see in my video, it’s also time to harvest the beets I was growing in my garden, and put them into a delicious meal.

Kale and Kimchi Fried Red Rice with Tofu

Fried rice is one of the best uses of a leftover ever devised. In Asian countries with rice-based cuisines, there is bound to be some left over. Nobody wants to waste valuable food, so creative cooks find a way of making that cold rice into a a dish that may well be better than the original dish. That dish is, of course, fried rice. Take cold, crunchy rice and toss it in a hot pan, and you have food that comforts your very soul.

Try Creamy Chinese-Style Corn with Tofu over Black Rice

And once you’ve had corn on the cob three nights in the week, you might want to branch out and try making something a little different. That’s when I like to make this quick and easy Chinese-inspired dish. It’s a brilliant idea, really. If you are thinking about canned creamed corn, banish that from your mind. When you puree fresh corn, season it with lots of fresh ginger, garlic, and chilis, it has much more pizzazz.

Best Sandwich Ever?

If you’ve looking for a fantastic meal that comes together quickly, look to the Banh Mi. It’s a sandwich, but it’s so much more than the usual sandwich. Packed with chewy, five-spice and garlic laced seitan, a sweet and sour quick radish pickle, sliced jalapenos, cilantro, and garlicky aioli, it’s a riot of flavors that will keep your palate in a state of excitement through the last bite.