Pumpkin, Potato & Leek Soup

A lot of people associate
Thanksgiving with a plate full of turkey and a bunch of other stuff smushed
onto the plate. But sometimes its nice to switch it up a little and add a
course or two, slowing it down, adding an extra layer of civilization to the
crazy, energized occasion with friends and family. This porridge-like soup
does the job pretty well, and although it is super rich and creamy, it is
actually vegan, so you wont weigh your guests down too much before the
main turkey event, and everyone at the table can enjoy it, whatever their
dietary considerations.

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Spaghetti Squash, Beet & Apple Salad

Shana TovahIn the midst of all the Rosh Hashanah greetings this
weekend, I decided to whip up something that touches on the Jewish New Year
tradition of consuming sweet foods, like apples, honey and dates. Here is a
nutrient rich, yet sweet and delicious salad that you can definitely
celebrate if you are celebrating the Jewish New Year, or even throughout your
year-end holidays. This is a delicious stand-alone salad, or an accompaniment
for your Thanksgiving turkey or other holiday feast. And, the Omega-3 punch
you get from the walnuts and walnut oil helps you keep your body in balance
during the indulgent holidays. Enjoy! 

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Whole Roasted Butternut Squash with Tomatillo-Pepita Sauce & Pomegranate

My friend in Grand Junction
Colorado gave me a few of her butternut squash when I was on a recent trip to
her state. In addition to that, we had our own harvest of butternut squash
here in Los Angeles. So, what to do with all that squash? Well, there is the
typical soup, ravioli filling, and I even enchiladas. Or you can just do
whole roasted butternut squash in a couple easy steps. This recipe could
change the way you look at your butternut squash. So, move that butternut
squash from being a table centerpiece to being your main course for dinner,
or at least a side dish. It can also make a great Thanksgiving vegan entree,
that in my opinion is way better, and less processed than Tofurkey or other
vegan turkey substitutes. Because it isn’t meant to be anything like turkey.
It just celebrates the squash, and makes it the star of the day. You can use
this idea with any whole squash: delicata, pumpkin, you name it.Enjoy trying
this out and let me know how you liked it in the comments. Read More


5 Spice Eggplant with Soba Noodles

Yay!
Two of my favorite things, eggplant with Chinese 5 spice and soba noodles,
rolled into one dish. I have been wanting to try this for a while and finally
got around to it, and I am really glad I did. You could probably also add
other veggies to this like roasted peppers, chopped spinach, and-or steamed
bok choy, for example, to give it more dimension, but I love it like this,
just simple and straightforward. Enjoy!

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Beet & Fresh Cheese Stacks with Avocado-Lemon Dressing

I found a recipe for a quick vegan
cheese
that I really like. The recipe says it’s a “Pepper
Jack” but it reminds me a lot more of a fresh cheese like queso fresco
or buffalo mozzarella. In any case, I am finding it to be quite versatile and
useful on many dishes, from tacos to this beet salad. You can venture into
making the vegan cheese, which will require some uncommon ingredients if you
aren’t used to vegan baking or cheese making. Or use a favorite cashew
cheese; some spreadable cashew cheeses would work great in between the layers
of beets. Or, if you eat dairy, just use a good, organic dairy cheese
like burrata or buffalo mozzarella.

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Beet, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Blood Orange & Fennel Pollen

I recently stumbled across a jar
of wild crafted fennel pollen at Cookbook, a funky
little grocery market near my house. They carry stuff like locally grown
produce, kombu, and to my delight, fennel pollen! Fennel pollen is kind of
magical because it can be sprinkled on a variety of things- salad, popcorn,
grilled fish, vine ripened tomato slices, fresh fruit– and it gives whatever
it’s sprinkled on a really awesome, unique taste. And Fennel pollen has
therapeutic qualities too! For this recipe I tied it into a salad with a
citrus dressing, just pulling from some seasonal stuff I had picked up at the
Farmers Market. Read More



Curried Chickpea Salad Sandwich

The
other day I was plugging away working in my office when that familiar,
mid-day hunger craving snuck up on me. Sometimes, when we don’t properly
manage our flow of  food fuel
throughout the day, we can get the wrong kind of craving at the
wrong time. Suddenly, all I wanted was some meat, mayo, and bread made from
highly refined flour and sugar. Luckily, I don’t keep any of those things
around my kitchen! So I mustered up enough focus to remember, that I have
been wanting to experiment with a vegan version of the classic luncheon
chicken or egg salad. Here is what I came up with about 20 minutes later, and
it turned out pretty yummy.

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13 Bean Soup with Garden Chard

The chard in the food garden is
making gigantic leaves right now. They are so big I am tempted to preserve
them and use them as shoe leather, or a hand fan, or something practical.
Since those wild ideas are probably ultimately not as practical as one would
hope, I opted to put together this 13 bean soup, and just enjoy the chard in
its glorious, minimally processed form. That’s actually my favorite way to
enjoy nutrient dense greens! My partner Ricky bought a bag of 13 bean soup
mix a while ago, and has been nudging me to make soup out of it. So here is
one more hearty soup to get into your belly before the seasons completely
change over. Or enjoy it all spring and summer using a variety of different
seasonal greens and fresh vegetables. The key is to put the greens in at the
end, so they are super fresh, vibrantly colored and retain as much of their
living nutrition as possible.

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Roman Slow Cooker Artichokes

Every year the artichoke root
system in our garden pops out an abundance of fresh artichokes. For the first
few years this is really fun and rewarding, but after a while, one yearns for
some new ideas and ways to gobble up all those artichokes, without adding a
lot of prep time. This recipe for slow cooker artichokes is super easy,
with just about 15 minutes or less of prep time. Then you just set the
cooker, get on with your day, and return to a crock pot full of tender, moist
artichokes loaded with flavor. Read More