ALTERNATE TITLE: Ain’t No Party Like A Brown Rice Sushi Party ‘Cause A Brown Rice Sushi Party Is…Healthy? Folks, I am not a party person. Making a million tiny things for dozens of well-clad individuals engaging in small talk and enjoying cocktails? I DO NOT DO THIS. I host approximately one dinner a year–Thanksgiving–and attendees…
#VeganMoFo Day 23: What, Exactly, Distinguishes “Fancy Food” From Everyday Food?
My guesses? 1. Ingredient quality, and 2. Presentation. But I went ahead and looked for something showy from the Crossroads cookbook anyway. This beet salad with apple, Kite Hill ricotta, walnuts, microgreens, and balsamic vinegar is super pretty and super tasty. I did NOT make it as sweet (or complicated) as their recipe: toasted walnuts…
#VeganMoFo Day 22: Wheat Berries, It Turns Out, Are A Little Tricky
For today’s “unconventional” grains prompt, I wanted to make a freekeh salad from Vegan for Everybody, but freekeh was no longer available in my local Whole Foods’ bulk section. So I picked up some wheat berries instead. The last time I attempted to experiment with this grain, they turned out very dry and firm and…
#VeganMoFo Day 21: Potatoes Are Stupidly Craveable
I have thought a lot about what to make for this prompt: potato soup? potato pastry? potato pizza? potato casserole? baked potato? potato salad? potato tacos? Here’s what it is: the potato is that character actor who pops up in half of everything you love, and one day, has an important guest star turn or…
#VeganMoFo Day 20: Deconstructing the Stuffed Pepper
The cauliflower puree is roasted cauliflower blended with a little porcini broth, garlic, olive oil, nooch, and salt and pepper. I think roasting it made it come out more brown than white, which is less visually appealing, but oh well! Roasted cauliflower tastes good! To meet today’s “deconstruction” challenge, I needed to think of a…
#VeganMoFo Day 19: My Boyfriend Thought Five Ingredients, Max, Was A Really Tough Challenge, Pfffft
OK, it is though. I went through a few ideas before landing on this one: baked sweet potato with a sheetpan bake consisting of brussels sprouts, red onions, and chickpeas, plus balsamic added to the permissible oil-salt-pepper seasoning. Ooooh, what I wouldn’t have given for ONE MORE ingredient spot so I could use friggin’ garlic….
#VeganMoFo Day 18: I Don’t Have a Cute Title for Double Chocolate Biscotti With Pistachios
I was going to make chocolate cupcakes, but I forgot to chill the coconut milk I intended to use for the icing, and I simply didn’t feel like making cupcakes. So I used the Kitchen Sink Chocolate Biscotti recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and mixed in chocolate chips and shelled pistachios. I…
#VeganMoFo Day 17: A Little Goes A Long Way (In This Case, 2 TB of Mirin Goes Halfway to Japan)
I generally don’t drink. I don’t care for beer, hate wine, and am disinclined to mix my own drinks or frequent bars. It’s just not my thing. I do keep a couple bottles of inexpensive wine, sherry, and – aha – mirin just for cooking, though. So today let’s talk about mirin! It’s a sweet…
#VeganMoFo Day 16: If There’s An Actual Zombie Apocalypse, All I Want Is A Cyanide Capsule
But setting aside my own mental health issues and lack of desire to survive an apocalypse, much less one borne of one of my most stupid anxieties… the challenge is to make something with non-perishable food. This is actually kind of a real challenge in light of all the natural disasters of late: between wildfires,…
#VeganMoFo Day 15: My Spice Collection Is Out of Control
The other day, I made a recipe from Vedge: trumpet mushroom cioppino with fennel and leeks. Dang, it was tasty. It called for Old Bay seasoning, which is not something I keep on hand, so I went looking for a recipe. Hoo boy, it has a lot of things. First, I had to figure out…
Vegans Need Sauce 