Mushroom “scallops” shown here topped with chopped scallion and sesame seeds
King oyster mushrooms, sliced into fat coins and cooked like fresh scallops in a coconut milk, white wine and lemon garlic sauce. Serve over your favorite pasta – I like linguine and bowties. Sometimes I add a handful of fresh cut green beans or red pepper strips to this. Here’s the recipe. Continue reading
Vegan Carmelized Brussels Sprouts
Vegan Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
Vegan Maple Roasted Carrots with Fennel Seeds
Vegan Black Rice Recipe with Roasted Acorn Squash
Vegan Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprout, and Bread Stuffing with Apples
Low Fat Indian Spiced Homefries with Kale
Pita points and celery stalks with roasted veggie dip
A good clear soup would be a Lemon Ginger Scallion Soup
A friend asked me to cater a dinner party for him. My first thought was “Good grief, I don’t know anything about catering.” My second thought was “Oh, how fun I get to cook some favorite recipes for a friend!” I knew what he was up to. We’ve spoken before that I don’t like to commit ahead of time to events, especially anything between the hours of 4 and 10pm. That’s been my sleeping time for decades, so I can never guarantee I can be awake during those hours until the day of an event. He asked if I’d come to dinner and my first response was No, due to the time. But he knows how I am. He asked if I could cater it and have foods prepared for him a day ahead of time. Yes! That way I can be attuned to the event and will likely end up awake in time to attend dinner, yet not committed if I’m not. Clever deduction! I asked what he’d like me to prepare. “Anything, you’re the one with the food blog.” LOL Right! Some of the guests will be vegan, some vegetarian, some, like me, omnivores. I made a list of some favorites, these happen to be favorite vegan Thanksgiving dishes. 
Continue reading
2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
3 cups fresh Brussels sprouts, sliced in half
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt Continue reading
2 lbs organic carrots, scrubbed and rinsed (cut into thick coins if you like)
1 tbsp olive or coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup (use Grade B – the super tasty stuff)
2 heaped tbsp crushed fennel seeds Continue reading
Use mushrooms like criminis or white button varieties that are slightly flat on top, so that when you stuff them, they will sit nicely in the baking pan. You may also try another leafy green such as chard or kale in place of the spinach. For additional crunch, sprinkle the stuffed mushroom tops with breadcrumbs. Continue reading
A Festive Orange and Black Holiday Rice Dish
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups black rice (wild or forbidden)
2 Tb. butter (oil for Vegan)
2 shallots, peeled and diced
1 cup pecan pieces
Zest of 1 orange
2 Tb. fresh thyme leaves
2 Tb. vegetable oil
1 acorn squash, peeled seeded and diced
Salt and Pepper Continue reading
An easy, quick and flavorful savory side dish with a dried cranberry tang and pecan crunch.
1 pound butternut squash, cubed
1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
1 medium gala apple, cut into a 1/2 inch dice
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided into 2 tbsp and 1 tbsp
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced Continue reading
A cornucopia of fresh veggies to choose from for roasting later in the new convection oven: Japanese eggplant, peppers: red, orange, yellow and green; yellow squash, zucchini, a fat onion, apples and… wait for it… brussells sprouts!
I cut everything about the same size and place in a plastic bag with 3 tbsp olive oil, with 1 tsp each dried basil, mustard seed, fennel seed and tarragon with fresh springs of thyme and rosemary (chopped fine), and a lemon cut into 6-8 wedges. Cooking time depends on size of vegetables. Leave thinner, lighter veggies (onions, peppers) in larger chunks so they don’t burn when the denser, heavier veggies (brussells sprouts, eggplant) need more time. Into the convection oven at 425f for 30-45 minutes. With rice in the rice cooker and hummus already made, dinner was a breeze. And a feast!
A killer roasted veggies and vegetarian wine mushroom gravy recipe here
This morning’s breakfast was an onion, potato and kale hash. First I ground a teaspoon each of fennel seeds (licorce-y), coriander seeds (citrus-y), cumin seeds (smoky/nutty), mustard seeds (hot-ish) black cardamom seeds (aromatic, smoky/cool) and fenugreek seeds (maple-y) along with about a dozen mustard seeds, and added them to some heated coconut oil to sauté for a minute or two. Then one small sliced onion and 3 small diced potatoes and cook until a little crisp. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano.
I make a personal spice blend ahead of time to keep on hand so when I make this, I just shake it out.
Remove from the pan to keep crisp if you like, to add upon serving. To the now-empty pan, add chopped kale and a half cup of water or broth. Let the kale cook for about 10 minutes. I made a romaine, tomato and carrot salad in a large bowl, topped it with the kale, and topped the kale with the crispy potatoes.
Andrea’s personal masala spice blend
Spice up cooking with coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek seeds