A few weeks ago, a friend of mine got braces for her second time. Having had braces twice myself, I’m well aware of the pain of the first few weeks. When I had my second set of braces at age 40, it took three weeks for me to be able to chew mashed potatoes and refried beans.

So I called me friend to see if she’d like a few servings of a protein-rich puréed soup. She was delighted, and mentioned that she hadn’t made black beans in a while and would love some black bean soup.

I’ve made black bean soup many times, most often using Southwestern flavoring—cumin, coriander, chili powder, cilantro and even orange slices. I decided to try something different this time. It turns out that there’s also a black bean soup tradition along the Atlantic Seaboard. I made a big pot of this soup and delivered two servings to my friend and her partner, and kept a couple servings for myself and my partner. It was quite excellent.

I found this soup in The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. The flavoring—cloves, dry mustard and lemon—was just right. There are instructions below for cooking with or without a pressure cooker.

Boston Black Bean Soup

• 1-1/2 cups dried black beans, picked over and soaked overnight
• 3 tablespoons butter or oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1-½ teaspoons dried mustard
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 cup half-and-half, milk or nut milk (I used cashew milk)
• freshly milled pepper
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• lemon slices, pierced with a clove
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 hard-cooked egg, diced (I used one egg, sliced in half and diced for my partner and me)

Put It Together:

1. Rinse the beans and set them aside.
2. In a wide soup pot, over medium heat, melt the butter or oil and add the onion, bay leaves, celery and garlic.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has browned around the edges, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the mustard and ground cloves, add the beans and 8 cups water, and bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat, cover, and cook at a gentle boil, partially covered, until the beans are soft but not quite done, about 45 minutes. Add the salt and continue to cook until the beans are fully tender about 30 minutes more.
6. To cook the beans in a pressure cooker, rinse them well, put in the pot, and cover with 8 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt. Put on the lid, bring to pressure, and maintain on high for 25 minutes. Release the pressure quickly and check the beans. They should be done, or nearly so. Add the beans to the cooked onions.
7. Remove from heat, let cool briefly, and, working in batches if necessary, purée the soup in a blender until smooth.
8. Return to the pot, stir in the milk and season to taste with pepper and lemon juice. Reheat to serving temperature.
9. To serve, lay a clove-pierced lemon slice on each bowl of soup and scatter the parsley and diced egg over the top.

A few days ago, I attended a house concert featuring my friend and colleague, Kate MacLeod. House concerts are always fun—intimate and informal. Sometimes they’re structured like most other concerts. At other times, they include a social hour with potluck snacks.

Last weekend’s concert was the latter. Problem is, I didn’t realize this until a couple hours before the downbeat. Usually I like to spend a fair amount of time researching and planning my contribution. But there simply wasn’t time.

A month or so ago, I’d made Avocado-Tahini Crostini for a holiday gathering. I knew it came together super fast and was super good. So I decided to make it again. I found the recipe in the enchanting book, The Forest Feast Gatherings by Erin Gleeson.

What I love about The Forest Feast cookbooks is not only the artful illustrations and photography, but the simplicity of the recipes. The recipe below is deceptively simple, considering how delicious the final product is.

The recipe made enough filling for the potluck with some left over for my partner and me to enjoy the next day.

Avocado-Tahini Crostini

• 1 long baguette, cut diagonally in 1/4-inch slices
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 ripe avocados
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• red pepper flakes

Put It Together:

1. Turn on your oven’s broiler.
2. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt.
3. Broil for 2 minutes, until browned. Remove immediately. This step can be done in advance and you can store the broiled slices in a zip-loc bag.
4. Use a potato masher to mash the avocados, tahini and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread a tablespoon or two of the avocado mixture onto each baguette slice.
6. Transfer onto a serving plate.
7. Sprinkle with a little more salt and some red pepper flakes.

I got a multicooker for Christmas this year. While I’m quite adept at cooking from scratch (because that’s how I always cook) I’m intrigued with the idea of making scratch cooking even easier.

Even though I long ago figured out how to keep mostly even pressure in my stovetop cooker, I have to admit it was nice not having to babysit my beans. There was no switching burners, tweaking the flame, etc. The multicooker keeps even pressure and shuts off when the time is up.

I haven’t yet invested in a vegan multicooker cookbook. So I decided to adapt a very simple recipe for Kale White Bean Soup from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. The original recipe calls for canned beans (or slow-cooked beans). But I decided to pressure cook the beans first and then add the rest of the ingredients for slow cooking.

Of course, I could easily have made the same soup the traditional way—in a soup pot. But I enjoyed the depth and integration of flavors after letting the soup simmer for six hours. I also enjoyed being able to pressure cook and slow cook in the same pot. Because there’s a sauté function on the multicooker, I could have used that as well. Instead, I chose to sauté the onions in my trusty cast-iron skillet. I just prefer the flavor of veggies sautéed in cast iron.

The Kale White Bean Soup recipe below reflects a few options. If you choose to use canned beans, it will come together very quickly. This makes this recipe a great weekday option, especially when you use a slow cooker. Coming home from work to a steaming pot of soup is truly a delight.

Kale White Bean Soup

• 3 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, great northern) or 2 15-ounce cans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 cups water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cups chopped kale
• salt and pepper

Put It Together: 

1. If you’re using canned beans, skip this step. If you’re cooking beans from scratch, soak 1-1/2 cups of beans for 4 to 6 hours. Discard the soaking water. Place the beans in a pressure cooker or soup pot with the prescribed amount of water (different beans require different ratios of beans to water). Different types of beans also require different cooking time, so follow instructions on the package or use this chart for stovetop cooking and this chart for pressure cooking. If you’re using a multicooker, pressure cook the beans and then leave them in the pot as you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet. Sauté the chopped onion in the oil for 6 to 8 minutes, until it begins to become translucent.
3. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for another minute.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the onion mixture, water and beans to a slow cooker. If there’s a fair amount of bean cooking water left in the pot, adjust the amount of water you add. You may not need as much as 4 cups. I just made an educated guess. You don’t have to be precise. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
6. Thirty minutes before the end of cooking, add the chopped kale. Adjust the salt and pepper.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day. Southern tradition says that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day brings good luck. As with any superstition, there are many opinions on why black-eyed peas bring good luck and how to make the most of the luck you accrue by starting your year with them.

The legend started in the South. There are several stories as to where the tradition came from, some dating back to the Civil War and the Emancipation. Several such stories are shared in this article, Why Southerners Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day.

In addition to discussing the origins of the tradition, the article also outlines the “rules” for getting the most out of your New Year’s Day black-eyed peas. For example, some Southerners believe you must eat pork and collard greens with your peas for them to count toward good luck. Others say you should cook the peas with a penny or dime. Whoever ends up getting the coin in their serving can expect an exceptionally lucky year (unless they happen to swallow the coin.) Still others say you must eat exactly 365 peas for your luck to last throughout the year. If you eat fewer than 365, your luck will diminish by that many days. If you eat more than 365, your luck will diminish by the number of extras you’ve consumed. It’s complicated business.

Given this, you can take the good-luck value of this recipe with a grain of salt. It contains neither pork nor collards, although you can always make collards to eat on the side. And eating 365 beans may not be the wisest course of action. But even if this recipe doesn’t end up guaranteeing you a year of good luck, it’s tasty enough that it’s worth making for your New Year’s celebration anyway.

The recipe comes from The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen, author of the seminal book, The Moosewood Cookbook and many others. The recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.

Black-Eyed Peas, Squash and Shiitake Mushroom Stew

• 1 c dried black-eyed peas, soaked
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 c minced onion
• 2 tbsp dry mustard
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp salt
• 20 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried and soaked), stemmed and thinly sliced
• 1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into a small dice (about 5 cups)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• black pepper to taste
  

Put It Together:

1. Drain the soaked peas and place them in a saucepan. Cover with water by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil, turn the heat way down, and simmer until tender, up to 60 minutes. Alternatively, you can pressure cook them for 15-20 minutes, letting the pressure release naturally (20-30 minutes). Drain the beans, saving 1 cup of the bean cooking water.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 10″ x 13″ baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, toss the butternut squash cubes in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spread out onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 20-30 minutes until fork tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, mustard and salt. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute, stirring constantly to keep the garlic and ginger from browning.
5. Add the mushrooms and sauté for a few more minutes. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
6. Add the squash and bean-cooking water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover.
7. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the cinnamon, lemon juice and vinegar, along with the peas and squash.
8. Cover and cook to heat through. Season with black pepper and serve.

When I was looking through my cookbooks and magazines for Thanksgiving ideas, I stumbled upon several recipes that looked so unusual that I marked them for trying later on. Goji-Saffron Soup with Sorghum is one of the recipes that made the list. I found this soup in Vegetarian Times, but the original recipe comes from a book titled Superfood Soups by Julie Morris.

I would never have thought to put goji berries in soup. Smoothies, yes; soup, not so much. But the combination worked. This soup is an elegant, brothy starter, or with a green salad or roasted vegetables, can be a light but warming meal.

Sorghum is a chewy grain with origins dating back to 8,000 BCE. Now the U.S. is the biggest producer of sorghum. Here it is mostly used as a component of livestock feed. In recent years, sorghum has regained popularity among human consumers of fine foods because of its nutritional gifts. It’s gluten free and high in unsaturated fats, protein, and minerals. Sorghum has more antioxidants than blueberries and pomegranates.

Sorghum is also environmentally friendly. it is among the most efficient crops in terms of conversion of solar energy and use of water and is known as a high-energy, drought-tolerant crop.

Goji-Saffron Soup with Sorghum

Makes 7 cups / 4 servings

• 6 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium store-bought variety), divided
• 1 pinch saffron
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup dried goji berries
• 1 cup cooked sorghum
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ tsp sea salt, or to taste
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley, divided

Put It Together:

1. In a small pot, bring 1 cup of the vegetable broth to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Finely crumble the saffron threads by hand (or grind them in a mortar and pestle—the finer they’re ground, the better the flavor), and stir them into the broth. Let the broth sit while you continue to make the soup.
2. In a separate heavy-bottomed large pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Mix in the garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes longer to allow the vegetables to lightly caramelize.
4. Stir in the bay leaves, goji berries, and cooked sorghum, and then add the wine, saffron broth, remaining vegetable broth, and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Discard the bay leaves, stir in 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and adjust the salt to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls, and sprinkle the remaining parsley on top.

Cooking Sorghum: Place 1 cup dry sorghum in a medium pot and cover with water, 2 inches above the grain. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45–75 minutes (time will vary depending on the freshness of the grain, but it usually takes about 1 hour). The grain is cooked through when it is soft but still has a bit of a chew (the consistency is similar to wild rice). Drain off any excess water. 1 cup dry sorghum = 2 cups cooked sorghum

Looking for a dessert that looks and tastes amazing, but takes relatively little time to make? Try a Pear Almond Tart. It’s beautiful, delicious and very simple.

I made this tart for a Thanksgiving potluck, along with Shepherd’s Pie and Roasted Cauliflower with Sage. It was the perfect dessert for the occasion. It’s substantial, but not super filling, which is a great way to end an abundant meal.

The only trick for me was the almond meal. I couldn’t find almond meal in any local stores, so I ended up making my own. This was by far the most time-consuming part of making this dessert.

Almond flour isn’t a good substitute. It’s more finely ground than almond meal and will absorb moisture differently. It may be that making my own almond meal fresh for this dessert improved the quality of the overall end product.

In case you have the same challenges finding almond meal, here’s how I did it:

1. Measure out 1/4 cup of almonds.
2. Place the almonds in a food processor or blender.
3. Buzz until finely ground. Be careful not to process for too long or your almond meal will turn into almond butter.
4. Sift the processed almonds into a bowl.
5. Return the almond pieces that were too big to sift to the blender or food processor (you could also use a spice or coffee grinder at this point).
6. Sift again.
7. Repeat the whole process however many times it takes until you have 1/4 cup of almond meal.

Pear Almond Tart

•  1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbs. melted extra virgin coconut oil or vegetable oil, plus more to grease pan
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 lb. ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Put It Together:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil 9-inch tart pan or 14- x 4-inch pan with removable bottom, and set aside.
2. Stir together almond meal, oat flour, and baking powder in medium bowl.
3. Whisk together maple syrup, oil, egg, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt in medium bowl. Stir syrup mixture into almond meal mixture, and transfer to prepared pan.
4. Arrange pears in circle or line over cake surface, and bake 22 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden.

I committed to make three dishes for Thanksgiving this year. When you plan a meatless meal for a meat-heavy holiday, things can get complicated fast. Guests expect lots of rich, stick-to-your-ribs fare. That’s not how I usually cook. After spending a few days perusing cookbooks and magazines, I settled on three recipes from several of Vegetarian Times’s Thanksgiving issues.

My main dish was a very simple meatless Shepherd’s Pie. For my side dish, I made today’s recipe, Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Sage. (I’ll write about the delicious pear tart I made for dessert sometime soon.) Two friends fleshed out the meal with a magnificent stuffed eggplant entrée and a non-traditional green bean casserole. Nobody missed the turkey.

One of the reasons this side dish attracted me is that I have a huge culinary sage plant in my back yard. Sage is a very hardy plant, so I can pick and use the leaves all winter long. If you don’t have a plant, rest easy. Most grocery stores carry fresh sage at this time of year.

This side dish is probably best served right after it’s cooked. You can chop the cauliflower ahead of time and pop it into the oven 30 minutes before serving time. The sage butter takes about 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how long you decide to cook the sage leaves.

Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Sage

• 1 2-lb. head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets (8 cups)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 Tbs. (¼ cup) unsalted butter
• 25–30 whole, large sage leaves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped, toasted pine nuts or chopped, toasted, sliced almonds

Put It Together: 

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss together cauliflower and oil in large bowl, and season with salt, if desired. Spread on prepared baking sheet, and roast 25 to 28 minutes, or until deeply browned.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until darkened, crisp, and slightly curled. Remove from heat, and set aside.
4. Transfer cauliflower to serving dish. Pour sage-butter mixture over top, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Turkey and stuffing may get most of the Thanksgiving accolades, but for those of us who are meatless, it’s the side dishes that end up being the stars. Think cranberries, yams, green beans and Brussels sprouts. While your holiday dinner is now just a memory, you can still enjoy some of its flavor by making a Yam Brussels Sprouts Pizza.

The idea for this recipe comes from the Fall 2018 edition of Forks Over Knives magazine. When I made this pizza, I mostly followed the recipe for the topping, but chose not to make my own crust. I do enjoy making yeasted dough, but it’s just so easy to buy a premade dough that I can roll out in minutes. For a weeknight dinner, using premade dough makes the process easily doable.

Forks Over Knives promotes oil-free cooking. But I’m rather attached to using oil for roasted veggies. So I substituted olive oil for the nut milk when I roasted the Brussels sprouts and onions.

Yam Brussels Sprouts Pizza

• 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
• 3/4 cup sliced red onion
• 4 to 6 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk, such as almond, soy, cashew or rice*
• 2 tablespoons coarse cornmeal
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (1-3/4 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pizza crust (I used Whole Foods’ whole wheat pizza crust.)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

*I used olive oil  instead of the plant milk for roasting the veggies. I used plant milk in the mashed yams.

Put it Together:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Arrange Brussels sprouts and onion on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the milk, or drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil over the veggies and toss to coat. Roast for 10 minutes or until vegetables are nearly tender, brushing lightly with milk (if using) if vegetables start to look dry. (You will not have to do this if you use olive oil.) Remove vegetables and foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine yams and enough water to cover. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan. Mash potato until smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the milk and the rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and brush with 1 teaspoon of the milk. Bake 8 minutes. Spread with the mashed yams; top with roasted Brussels sprouts and onion. Bake 8 to 10 minutes more until the crust is golden and crisp.
4. For balsamic glaze, in a small saucepan bring vinegar to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened to a syrup consistency. Drizzle pizza with balsamic glaze and, if desired, sprinkle with additional rosemary.

’Tis the season of elevated eating. This Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays. My grandfather’s birthday was around Thanksgiving, so every year, my whole extended family would get together to celebrate. It was the only time we all celebrated together during the year.

Back then, of course, we had traditional fare. In the past 40 years, since I stopped eating meat, I’ve had to be a bit more creative. It’s generally easy to sustain myself on non-turkey side dishes at even the most traditional gatherings. But I’ve also enjoyed coming up with vegan options that can fill the main dish category.

Today, I’d like to offer some recipes from this blog that can stand in for both main dishes and sides. Whether you’re hosting your own gathering, or attending a potluck, here are some suggestions that will complement any Thanksgiving spread.

Main Dish:

1.  Shepherd’s Pie is a great vegan main dish option. It’s relatively quick to put together and very hearty and warming. You can make the mashed potato topping a day ahead.
2.  Vegan Cassoulet: This is another stick-to-your-ribs recipe that can easily fill the main-dish category for those who aren’t having turkey.

Side Dishes:

1. Spicy Roasted Cauliflower: This quick, easy side dish is so flavorful. It’s always a hit.
2. Spicy Roasted Carrots: This is the same as the roasted cauliflower above, but uses carrots as the main attraction.
3. Roasted Romanesco: A simple side that features one of the most strikingly beautiful veggies around.
4. Warm Kale Salad: Normally, raw salad is less appropriate as the weather turns cold. This salad features a warm apple cider vinegar dressing that you can pour over the salad right before serving.
5. Celery Root Soup with Granny Smith Apples: This soup is elegant and warming. It’s always been a hit wherever I’ve served it.
6. Barley-Squash Soup: Barley is one of the more warming grains. The combination of barley and winter squash makes for a slightly sweet, earthy soup.

If you have any vegan Thanksgiving favorites, please feel free to leave a comment here!

Many bowls combine lots of different elements. This bowl includes veggies and legumes, but instead of dressings and sauces, it utilizes harissa and other spices to deepen the flavor. This makes this bowl relatively simple and quick to make.

Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes and leafy greens are, simply, some of the most nutritious foods around. They’re filled with vitamins, Omegas and anti-inflammatory compounds. This roasted veggie bowl is filled with these nutritional gems. Legumes (chickpeas and lentils) are high in B vitamins, minerals and fiber and they are low in fat.

With the season of indulgence rapidly approaching, keep this nutritious roasted veggie bowl in mind to help you recover from holiday extravagance.

I found this bowl in Lindsey Cotter’s Nourishing Superfood Bowls.

Moroccan Roasted Veggie Bowl

Ingredients: