Author: veryveganval

Vegan Cranberry Banana Bread
March 13, 2018

Vegan Cranberry Banana Bread

For a long time I thought banana bread might be the best thing in the world. Sweet (but not so sweet you feel the cavities coming in), moist on the inside, crisp on the outside. Fragrant, filling, and not very fussy. I recently realized I had been wrong- cranberry banana bread is better. It’s everything banana bread is, but every bite is punctuated by bright, sharp, sour notes from the gem-like cranberries. The contrast in the flavors is wonderful, and really elevates the already amazing banana bread.

15-Minute Sesame Roasted Snap Peas
March 8, 2018

15-Minute Sesame Roasted Snap Peas

If you’re looking for to prepare peas in a low effort (but slightly more effort than eating them raw) and delicious dish, these sesame roasted snap peas are for you! Rich, savory, and nutty, they are surprisingly addictive and a perfect way to add the taste of Spring to your table (no matter the season). I intended them as a side dish, but the first time we made them they ended up just being dinner- just because we couldn’t stop snacking on them long enough to make anything else.

Vegan Tuna Salad (Made with Jackfruit, not Chickpeas!)
February 28, 2018

Vegan Tuna Salad (Made with Jackfruit, not Chickpeas!)

This vegan tuna salad (jackfruit tuna salad) is the tuna salad of my childhood- but not only is it dolphin safe, it’s tuna safe! It is perfectly delicious- the tuna texture is courtesy of the jackfruit (not chickpeas, which don’t quite do it for me), …

Stir-Fried Spicy Chinese Sweet Potatoes
February 22, 2018

Stir-Fried Spicy Chinese Sweet Potatoes

These Chinese sweet potatoes are, above all, spicy. It’s also sweet and savory, but more than that spicy. It’s soft and crispy, but lets not forget, spicy. These spicy Chinese-style stir-fried sweet potatoes use several different heat sources to get their fiery taste and coat …

Ooey-Gooey Baked Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
February 12, 2018

Ooey-Gooey Baked Vegan Jalapeño Poppers

The jalapeño poppers I had in my pre-vegan days were deep-fried pepper-like objects breaded and filled with cream cheese. And let’s face it- vegan or not we can all do better than that. So here’s my recipe for ooey-gooey, melty, stretchy, cheesy, oven-baked, crispy, vegan jalapeño poppers (although I shortened it a little for the title). These poppers are filled with a cashew-based cheese (because by now we all know that the cashew makes the best cheeses), each inside a half jalapeño, and topped with a crunchy bread-crumb crust.

50+ Vegan Beet Recipes, for Every Occasion
February 9, 2018

50+ Vegan Beet Recipes, for Every Occasion

I adore beets! Red, purple, yellow, these stunning roots are always welcome on my table. Whether we’re making beets into sweets, replacing meats with beets, or serving up app-beet-tizers, beets are a treat that just can’t be beat. Moving past the puns for a moment (they can …

Seaside Vegan Beet Salad
February 6, 2018

Seaside Vegan Beet Salad

This vegan beet salad combines the sweetness of beets, a touch of sour, a tease of spice and an oceany taste. It made me think of a cool day at the beach, a slight wind tugging at your jacket (there’s nothing quite like a winter beach in New England), your red nose breathing in cold, salty, ocean air. And let me just say, I know beets and cold beach are not necessarily the most obvious connection- beets are dark red, vibrant and warm. The winter beach tends to be made up of muted colors, and the biting frosty winds seem to have little in common with the earthy warmth of the beet. But just a few bites of this salad will tell you right away how connected they are- cool, crisp and fresh, when I close my eyes I almost fell as if I’ve been transported to the salty, windy seaside.

Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce
February 1, 2018

Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce

When I think of Valentines day, I think of sugary pink hearts, stuffed teddy bears, roses and of  course tons of chocolate. Dark, sweet, melting, sugar filled chocolates. Maybe with a creamy hazelnut center. I’ve always preferred savory foods to sweet, so I decided to flip a classic truffle on it’s head and try something new for Valentine’s day- chocolate pasta with hazelnut chili sauce. This dish brings in bright dashes of lime, bitter, dark and earthy notes of cocoa, aromatic cilantro, and spicy bits of chili. It’s all carried together with a light, creamy hazelnut sauce.

5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cookies
January 29, 2018

5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

Well, the title already gave away almost half the recipe, but I still have 3 more ingredients to share with you for these delicious 5-ingredeint vegan banana peanut butter cookies. And a whole lot more to write before I get to those three ingredients. If you’re not interested in learning more about how I got to this recipe, you can click on the link for a print-friendly version to get straight to the baking- if not, follow me in an adventure of laziness, cookies and non-human primates.

Spiralized Radish Thai Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)
January 24, 2018

Spiralized Radish Thai Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)

Yum woon sen is a classic Thai dish- a quick noodle salad, traditionally made with bean thread noodles (also called glass noodles) and tossed with other ingredients in a fairly simple sauce. The sauce is salty, a little sweet and spicy. but primarily sour from the fresh lime juice- like all Thai food it puts everyone of your taste buds to work. I made this recipe for the first time when I was pondering the best recipe to try with my new spiralizer I had been given for Christmas (thanks Lurena!). I was actually looking at some turnips I had when a memory hit me- thin noodles, bright sauce, cold, snappy vegetables and rich, nutty peanuts. I spiralized my turnips, whipped up a salad and it was delicious. There was only one thing I wanted to improve- the turnips. Turnips have a slightly sweet and earthy flavor but they weren’t as well suited to this dish as their cousin, the radish, was. The second time I switched out the turnip for the radish, and I was 100% sold.