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I'm trying out the "no sugar, no flour" lifestyle after two friends have had great weight loss success following this plan. As you are relying on grains and starchy vegetables for carbs on this plan and there's lots of fresh vegetables and proteins to prepare, you have to commit to a fair amount of food prep (no grabbing a quick bagel!). This Black Bean, Brown Rice & Kale Salsa Bow
Although I love hummus, chickpeas aren't my favorite legume. I enjoy their nuttiness, but they seem to require a strong flavor profile to make them truly appealing. So for this salad, I sauteed the chickpeas in olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, sumac and harissa to add plenty of flavor. I added tiny broccoli florettes, but cooked them lightly to make sure they retained
While the weather here in Northern California has been oddly inconsistent the last few days, it certainly has a Spring feel. But there's still some wonderful root vegetables at the Farmers' Market, so here's a transitional picnic recipe of Leek & Potato Salad.This flavorful salad makes the most of delectable root vegetables while avoiding that creamy mayo fat-fest. The leeks are braised in a s
Last weekend, I enjoyed an eggless Easter extravaganza at another delicious and entertaining cooking class at Millennium, San Francisco's most delectable vegan restaurant. Executive Chef extraordinaire Eric Tucker led the Spring-themed culinary celebration, highlighting the season's fabulous Farmers' market offerings. Some participants were following a gluten-free d
Looking for tasty Passover dishes? Indulgent Matzo Lasagna is one of my most viewed recipes and you can't go wrong with my vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup:MATZO LASAGNALooking for a tasty recipe for Passover? Check out this recipe for Matzo Lasagna. It's a crowd pleaser!Like any great lasagna, this recipe includes ricotta cheese, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan, tomato sauce, garlic and fresh oregano:But
Happy St. Patrick's Day!As we've been enjoying sunny warm weather here, this year's St. Patrick's Day dish took traditional Irish ingredients and turned them into a light, flavorful quiche. Kale, leeks, potatoes and Irish Cheddar made a delicious combination with the eggs and crisp pastry crust.Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.I boiled some little fingerling potatoes and dino kale separately
Spring just around the corner, and good-quality and reasonably-priced asparagus making a show in our local stores inspired this delicious, high-protein, vegan salad of lentils, farro, roasted asparagus and portobello mushrooms. It took quite a few pans to create this healthful dish, but it's still easy to make and worth the washing up. I cheated by using Trader Joe's pre-cooked lentils (3/4
Happy Valentine's Day!This delicious Borscht soup of beets, potatoes and cabbage is made a little heartier for today. I followed this recipe from 2010, but used a small heart shaped cutter to create the beet and potato hearts (per my daughter's request). The remainders were diced and cooked, as in the original recipe (no waste!)Wishing everyone a happy and healthy day!
If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing dish to share this weekend that delivers indulgent flavor without throwing good nutrition out the window, this Green Bean, Cannellini Bean, and Potato Pesto Salad is a winner! Like all my favorite recipes, it's quick and easy to prepare, whether you make everything diligently from scratch or take advantage of my stress-free cheater tips. As long as you
A Happy New Year to all!The cold weather and short winter days have brought a 'stay cosy and hibernate' mood to my house this holiday. Who knew teens could sleep so long? This mood extends to the kitchen in the form of simple comfort food. There's been a lot of mac 'n cheese and baked potatoes around here lately. And, of course, soup...This rich tasting Mushroom, Asparagus &
When I last shopped around for Brussels Sprouts, they all looked rather old and sad: the stems were browning, the outer leaves black-edged and bug-chewed. The best option was a gigantic stalk of Brussels, where the sprouts are still attached to the stalk and looking, well, younger and happier.But a whole stalk is a lot of Brussels Sprouts for one person to use in a couple of days. So I
'Tis the season for potluck dishes! If you're interested in sharing a healthy, high-protein, and delicious option to offset all the indulgent goodies, this Quinoa & Black Bean Salad with a Mexican twist is festive and fabulous! It's easy and quick to prepare and can be served as a standalone salad or with tortilla chips.Here's the simple recipe:Quinoa & Black Bean Mexican Salad
Looking for a delicious and fabulous vegan alternative to Thanksgiving turkey?I'm repeating my favorite Thanksgiving/Christmas vegan main, Vegan Turkey Cutlets from Ann Gentry's Real Food Daily CookbookI loved the taste and texture of these and I'm not really into faux meats. They're made of a combination of tofu and tempeh and they're easy to make!Vegan Turkey Cutlets (adapted from
This Thai Red Curry-spiced Squash and Tofu Soup was the perfect project for a rainy November Sunday morning. I roasted slices of the red Kabocha in the oven, brushed with a toasted sesame oil-brown vinegar marinade and pureed about 75% of the kabocha soup mix before adding the zucchini, tofu, jalapeno and cilantro. It's so good, I can't stop eating it! As it's full of protein and vegetable go
This year for Halloween, I decided to use Japanese pumpkin or Kabocha squash for a dish. This strange pizza combo of roasted Kabocha, baby Bok Choy and a little creamy Havarti turned out to be delicious! A nice change from pumpkin soup and everyone liked it.Here's the weird recipe:8 oz pizza doughflour1/4 Kabocha, sliced into thin wedgestoasted sesame oilbrown rice vinegarsalt2 baby Bo
I was inspired to try my hand at Tofu Eggdrop Soup because my daughter and I have taken a liking to one at our local Vietnamese restaurant. I find their version a little heavy on the cornstarch and a little bland, so decided to create a version that suits my palate. This version was made with peas and spinach, but you can use any vegetables that appeal. I made a different version last
Last weekend, I enjoyed my 23rd cooking class at Millennium, San Francisco's incredible vegan restaurant. Executive Chef extraordinaire Eric Tucker reduced the number of dishes we made this time around and focused more on technique. I have to say, I love to cook,and I love dedicating my time for those Sunday classes where I'm learning to create more complexity. But t
I took the ferry from Larkspur Landing to the Ferry Building yesterday with my son. We mostly went for the ride, but I couldn't go without seeing what Far West Fungi had on offer. I chose the Lobster mushroom and some White Chanterelles to play with. According to the guy behind the counter, the White Chanterelles have a fruitier, less peppery taste that regular Chanterelles.I
This light and tasty eggplant dish is a great way to enjoy eggplant without a lot of oil. Baby eggplant are cooked with Indian spices and tomatoes, a little toasted chickpea flour and peanut butter to produce a hearty vegan dish that's packed with flavor.This was a second attempt at Indian Baby Eggplant in a Spicy Tomato Sauce. The original attempt was prettier, but this one had a much better
Here's a super easy squash blossom flatbread that is big on summer beauty and taste. I got a couple of bunches of squash blossoms at the Farmers' Market today. Super fragile, squash blossoms need to be used the day they are picked. Usually, stuffed with a cheesy filling, coated with a crust and fried, I wanted a lighter preparation. I created a super thin pizza flatbread with premade pizza d
Sort of a crustless mini-quiche, this baked egg dish combined cubed day-old ciabatta mixed with pesto, roasted cherry tomatoes and zucchini, three different cheeses (I just couldn't decide), and a beaten farm fresh egg with a little half & half. It was the perfect rustic summer dinner! It was so delicious, I may have to make it again this evening!Here's the super easy recipe for on
I love cauliflower and couldn't resist buying this green cauliflower (a cross with broccoli, but very much tastes like cauliflower). A simple treatment appealed, so I roasted the cauliflower in a 425 F degree oven with a tiny amount of olive oil, red onions, garlic, and a little fresh thyme. Added pine nuts and feta cheese for the last 5 minutes and this is a deliciously light one dish wonde
June 24th marked my 22nd cooking class at Millennium, SanFrancisco's incredible vegan restaurant. Executive ChefEric Tucker leads two teamsof home chefs through the hands-oncooking class in the restaurants professionalkitchen. This classfocused on using the last of the porcini mushroom crop andearly summer ingredients, including apricots, squash blossoms,English peas, corn,&nb
For our picnic lunch today, this pasta salad is a snap to make and big on flavor! Portobello mushrooms sauteed with shallots, a little balsamic vinegar, organic baby spinach, basil and, the summery surprise ingredient, sweet white nectarines! My pet peeve with most pasta salads is the ratio of pasta to other goodies is way too heavy on the pasta. I go the other way.Tasty and good for y
Locals and Jet-setters,There's a vegan cooking class coming up Sunday, June 24th at Millennium. This is your chance to quickly advance your vegan cooking skills in a great atmosphere! Here's a couple of dishes from the last class : mushroom pate with mushroom and greens salad and Candy Cap It's It's Ice Cream Sandwiches! Hope to see you there! Here are the details:June Cook
I have found the perfect light, refreshing chickpea vegan salad that is packed with protein and fiber, low-fat and very satisfying. The key ingredient here is Citrus Champagne Vinegar (I used O brand). It's pricey, but it goes a long way and really elevates this fast and easy salad. Heck, even kids enjoyed this one!You can make it in 10 minutes and it's healthy, inexpensive and tastes g
Scrambled Eggs with Green Garlic in a Roast Potato BaseHere's a delicious and elegant egg dish for Easter Brunch! I added green garlic to the scrambled eggs, which gives it a delicate garlic flavor.Green garlic is immature garlic that has not yet formed a strong, pungent mature bulb and flavor. It is wonderfully delicate and looks like a small leek or a big spring onion: My inspiration for t
Here's two of my favorite recipes for Passover meals:Farmers' Market Matzo Ball Soup:I box of matzo ball mix (mine required 2 eggs, and some vegetable oil)1 tbsp vegetable oil2 large stalks of green garlic, sliced1 medium leek, sliced3 baby potatoes, diced1-1/2 cups of sliced carrots (I used red, yellow, and orange)32 fl oz organic vegetable broth (I used Trader Joe's)I cup water1 tsp green olive
So here's my ultimate vegetarian delicious menu item for St. Patrick's Day!Colcannon (made from mashed potatoes and sauteed leeks and dino kale), stuffed into steamed cabbage leaves, with an Irish Cheddar Cream Sauce.I have to admit, I've been musing about this recipe for a few days and the incredible result was everything I imagined. Forgive the "night time" photos, but I just couldn't leave the
This may look like an ordinary slice of quiche, but, trust me, this is the most incredible quiche recipe you'll probably ever find.While it may not be that super low-fat quiche recipe you're dreaming of (I'll work on that one), this recipe just has to get out there as one of the most delicious combinations of flavors around.In addition to using Farmers' Market fresh eggs, the custard includes a ta
So I've not had much luck in the past with beet greens. They've always been rather bitter and unappetizing. But now, I've discovered an awesome way to use them that passed every taste test!I got a couple of bunches of smaller beets from the Farmers' Market today, and the leaves were so fresh and tender, not a dog-eared leaf in sight, that the thought of tossing them on the compost just seemed all
Looking for a healthier Super Bowl side dish? This delicious combo of broccoli, chickpeas, assorted fresh vegetables and spice packs in the flavor, but not the fat.The salad was inspired by a deli salad at my local favorite upscale grocery store, Paradise Foods. The original had a very creamy lemon aioli dressing that I loved at first bite, but quickly became too rich for me. This salad is much
Our local foodie market has been carrying chanterelles, making it all too easy for me to indulge in these delicious golden mushrooms. I've been frying them in butter and eating them straight-up -yum! But, at some point, I decided to look through my cookbooks for recipes. Happily, I found this easy and delicious soup recipe in The Artful Vegan, the second recipe book by Millennium's Executive Che
A host of golden mushrooms was the theme for last weekend's cooking class at Millennium, San Francisco's awesome vegan restaurant. If you have to pick one class to attend there, I'd recommend the mushroom class, because Executive Chef Eric Tucker has a real passion for mushrooms. At the center of the photo above are fresh porcini mushrooms.So, let's see how many of the mushrooms we used in the c
Looking for a different way to serve sweet potatoes? This is a total cheater recipe that packs a lot of flavor into a very short cooking time. I used Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce to impart wonderful chile-coconut Thai flavors into this soup and then added fresh vegetables and herbs. It was delicious and only took about 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for a rainy day lunch! The recipe include
My kids and I love to snack on my Salt & Pepper Tofu, a super easy and delicious way to get this high-protein vegetarian food into our diet. I added a little whimsy this time around, by cutting the tofu into French Fries. Everyone loved them! They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and take less than 10 minutes to prepare. For grown-ups, add a fab tofu aioli - lemon, chile, shiso.
I just made it to the San Rafael Farmers Market today and although I was thinking fall vegetables and dodging fat rain drops, I couldn't resist the awesome heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and colorful squash blossoms.I love squash blossoms, but their life once picked is so brief I wanted to find a dish that would preserve them for a few days. My answer was this beautiful quiche. Eggs, cheese
So, let's start this Millennium Cooking Class post off with a pop quiz, a classic "What am I?" Can you identify the items in the green bowl pictured above? If you have no idea (I had no idea), the next picture probably won't help, but here's another shot:The answer: Physalis peruviana. Eric referred to them as Pohas, which I'd never heard of. That's the Hawaiian name, but they are (perhaps) mor
Every Saturday, my family and I head out to a local horse ranch (where my son rides) and share a picnic lunch with friends. As a result, I'm always on the look out for new picnic foods. This Green Bean, Potato and Olive Salad is a tasty vegan riff on the Salad Nicoise and very easy to prepare! The saltiness and depth of the herb-marinated olives packs plenty of flavor and the combination of cre
The inspiration for this dish is ironically some delicious-looking, street side, fresh noodle soup shown on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations . As you probably are aware, Tony has a disdainful attitude towards vegetarians, but everyone has their foibles. This delicious udon noodle soup is very easy to prepare, full of fresh colorful vegetables, and a perfect vehicle for tofu.For me, the fresh ja
Last night, I had one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten. The setting was Millennium, my favorite restaurant in San Francisco; the company, foodie friends as stellar as the meal we were served. Millennium's Executive Chef Eric Tucker and his staff created a spectacular vegan Heirloom Tomato Dinner featuring tomatoes from Eatwell Farm. The special menu began with the Amuse above; ear
The last day of July took me back to Millennium, the high-end vegan restaurant in San Francisco, for another vegan cooking class.Taught by Millennium's Executive Chef Eric Tucker, I was really excited to work with one of my favorite summer ingredients, squash blossoms. The picture above shows two versions of tofu-stuffed squash blossoms. At one o'clock, traditional cornmeal-encrusted deep-fried
I was very excited to find Hodo Soy's Yuba (tofu skin) now available in stores. I learned about working with Yuba at Millennium.Taught by Millennium's Executive Chef Eric Tucker, these classes have really opened my mind to vegan ingredients and techniques (There's a class this Sunday, July 31st - I'll be there!)Some of the yummy yuba dishes we've made in recent classes:Yuba rolls stuffed with sea
While I much prefer tofu to tempeh, I just had to try the Lemon-Pepper Marinated Tempeh Strips. I sauteed the strips then combined them with marinated mushrooms and peas in a zesty tomato-caper sauce.I served this cold at a picnic to non-vegetarians and everyone enjoyed it! It's really packed full of flavor and the peas offer a fresh contrast to the zesty ingredients. Delicious with bread, it wo
The inspiration for this wonderfully smooth and zesty soup was "food as medicine". To minimalize the severity and duration of a serious head cold was my culinary challenge. Garlic and lots of it, was my answer.Actually, spring garlic and lots of it. Spring garlic is immature garlic that has a bulb, and has a milky, milder flavor than fully matured garlic. I found mine at the Farmer's Market:I
Millennium's Sous Chef, Jason Dunbar, spent his last day in Yosemite on Friday May 13th, his favorite place outside of the kitchen, with people he loved, people who loved him. He and Eric Tucker created the menu together for the past five years and he had been with Millennium since February of 2004.Although I never got to know Jason, I always had the sense that he was a special person. He emanat
Instead of focusing on eggs this Easter, I decided to focus on renewal. This delicious vegan Quinoa and Red Lentil Kitchari is based on a recipe forwarded to me by a friend and I do not know the original source. It includes Indian spices, carrots and kale and the resulting dish is comfort food at it's vegetarian best.Kitchari is an Ayurvedic dish, high in vegetable proteins and easy to digest. I
Looking for a tasty recipe for Passover? Check out this recipe for Matzo Lasagna. It's a crowd pleaser!Like any great lasagna, this recipe includes ricotta cheese, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan, tomato sauce, garlic and fresh oregano:But it uses Matzo in place of the pasta sheets:The trick is to soak the matzo in warm water (or wine), so it's not too dry and crumbly. Otherwise, you could follow
Here's a photo of a wonderful, inexpensive cheese and tomato dream sandwich. Makes your mouth water doesn't it?By lunchtime today, I was "starving"! As I sat down to enjoy my lunch, I read this article by Mark Bittman in the New York Times, which changed my perspective. The House budget bill (H.R.1) is proposing huge cuts in the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC), Food Stamps, and Interna
This recipe is adapted from a new raw cookbook, Rawlicious: Delicious Raw Recipes for Radiant Health by Peter & Beryn Daniel. The book has lots of great photos, tasty sounding recipes, and excellent introductory information on the benefits of raw food, how to be successful with raw and encouragement on growing your own food. I was especially excited by all the flavorful and varied sauces, pestos
