Change Things Up In keeping with the Holiday Season, how about pleasantly surprising your loved ones and friends with a change-up from the expected pumpkin pie with a spirited sweet potato pie? If you use an organic, store-bought pie crust that’s 100% whole wheat or...
Add This to the Holiday Menu As we are quickly approaching 2018’s Holiday Season, thoughts begin to turn to what’s going to be on our holiday feast menu and what to bring to the holiday potluck dinner. This absolute showstopper may seem daunting; but honestly, it...
A few years ago, I wrote a blog all about Lavender and how it's gone beyond just an air freshener scent! You'll find below my blog from June, 2013. with a great recipe for Lavender Shortbread Cookies! Enjoy! So, we all know how wonderful lavender smells, right? It...
Betcha Didn't Think of This ... Whether I’m hungry and need to have something delicious and nutritious in a pinch or want to impress guests with an appetizer that I can bet most likely they never even heard of never mind tasted and couldn’t be easier to prepare,...
As promised last week... Last week I introduced you to Sue, and we had so many delicious recipes to share with you, so here they are! Enjoy! Center: Kofta (plantain balls made with onions, cilantro, green chili in a tomato gravy) Perimeter-top clockwise: Daal Arbi...
(Reprinted and updated from one of my Veganification’s columns in the American Vegan Society in 2013) Meet Sue! Susheel Abraham (Sue) was born and raised vegetarian in New Delhi, India. On her family’s farm, she learned the art of cooking delectable homemade meals. ...
Black beans are hearty, flavorful and oh-so versatile. While I adore them as a soup, I was craving something a bit more robust, and something that would become part of a layered dish. The bottom would be a rice of some sort. Now, I was initially thinking along the...
My monthly Verde Vegans Vegans potluck provides me with a constant opportunity to create new recipes. With all my summer traveling, the last one came up way too quickly. I had almost forgotten about it until the day before. Since I always make an appetizer, entrée,...
So, last week I introduced you to my tagine, the North African earthenware vessel. After I delighted in the yumminess that came out of it, I of course washed it and left it to dry au’naturale. The next day was a bit of a flurry as I started the eCornell T. Colin...
What HAVE You Veggies Been Up To? Last year, I was gifted with a volunteer pumpkin plant. It produced several small, round, hearty, deeply-orange-fleshed pumpkins, much to my sheer delight. They made their way to the expected pumpkin pie but also became pumpkin ice...
Zucchini EVERYWHERE! It’s that time of year when our gardens are overflowing with zucchini. Right about now, as much as I adore zucchini noodles and zucchini bread, I’ve had my fill. I needed to find some other alternatives. Now, in my repertoire, I also include...
Something Refreshing So, it’s in the heat of the summer here in Sedona area. Not uncommon for triple digits by 10am. Although it is high dessert, which means it starts to cool down a little by 6pm, it is still hot, especially since we are in monsoon season. Turning on...
Learning to Grow Being the first year that I am solely responsible for my garden, I decided to keep it simple. Rather than that ‘all or nothing’ mentality, I chose to go with a variety of heirloom tomato plants, a couple of pepper plants, lots of herbs, a shot at...
How Does a Southwestern Vegan Eat Ice Cream? Here in the Southwest, prickly pears are everywhere. Each year, I wait in anticipation of the ripening of their red fruit, juicy and sweet on the inside but protected on the outside with those spiny needles, some large, and...
India Meets Italy - Gobi Crust with Masala-Scented Chana Pizza Being an Italian Jersey Girl, it’s almost a sacrilege, seemingly blasphemous, to suggest anything other than a Margarita pizza, resplendent with a Double Zero farina pizza dough tossed in the air for a...
Thai Food Really Can Eat Like a Meal One of my favorite dishes when I go to a Thai restaurant is their Papaya Salad. It’s great as a starter but can also eat like a meal. That being said, it is typically made with fish sauce, so I have to ask them to make is sans that...
Mushrooms: My New Love Affair My most recent love affair with a vegetable is with King Oyster Mushrooms. Such versatility! So much fun playing in the kitchen, tweaking recipes like this one for 'Pulled Pork'. Last week’s have-at-it was transforming these mushrooms...
As we are nearing the end of artichoke season, it is not without much culinary sadness on my part. Truly a stuffed artichoke ranks as one of my most beloved vegetable starters (although I’ve been known to eat them as my actual meal when they are big enough to do so)....
My Vegan Roasted Tomato, Grilled Corn, and Quinoa Salsa is a great little dish to serve with your next Mexican themed party or just for a night of chips and salsa. [mpprecipe-recipe:14]
Jazzy Vegans - We're ALL the Rage! I started watching the Jazzy Vegetarian shortly after the first air date back in September 2011. I was immediately taken in by Laura Theodore’s effervescent personality, and easy-to-prepare recipes. Oh, and one of my favorite...
It Started with Aunt Dot One of my favorite childhood food memories is when my Russian Godmother, my Aunt Dot (famous for her amazing Fruit Cake) would make the most mouth-watering potato cheese pierogis and cabbage pierogis. They were absolutely addictive. One...
Enter the Banana Now, I have no doubt that many of you are like me in that I hate to throw anything away. I will come up with ideas of how to use it rather than lose it before it gets to the point of needing to have it find its way to the compost pile. Bananas seem...
Quick, Easy, Sumptuous! Perfect For A Healthy and Nutritious Weekday Meal After a Busy Day at the Office! With the availability of two pretty darn spectacular plant-based ground meat alternatives (Beyond Meat Ground Meat and LightLife Plant-Based Ground Meat), I have...
Being a Jersey girl, Jersey corn represented the much-anticipated August harvest each year. One of the great joys of being a transplanted Jersey girl now residing in the Sedona area is the elongated corn harvesting season. Ah, what more can a vegan food-obsessed...
I needed to make dinner one evening and had a plethora of ingredients in the refrigerator that I wanted to use up! This is a great way to become inspired to experiment, and it's how I came to make this absolutely yummy and delectable Quesadilla Cake! Let's make cashew...
Farmer’s Market Season in The Verde One of my favorite times of year is summer. With summer comes the adventure of farmers market season. Did you know there are several farmers markets in the Verde Valley every week during the long days of summer? My personal favorite...
When the chocolate craving bug bites, do you find yourself reaching for that all too inviting bar of dark chocolate stashed at the back of your pantry? Hey, it happens! I had such a moment recently, and remembered I have a wonderful little recipe for chocolate mousse,...
A while back I posted about a delicious little treat most people have never even thought about! Grilled Avocados and Lemons. Yep! That's it. Simple. Easy. Delicious. Great for an appetizer, a quick lunch, or a snack and so super easy to make! It is such a great little...
Hello spring time! One of my favorite guilty pleasures is a really great wrap, some crunch chips and a pickle. It reminds me of summer time and the adventures I'd have as a kid . I thought right now, since we've all survived another winter, it would be a great time to...
Limoncello Coconut Cake - it's a THING! I have a friend who says if you can pronounce it and it doesn't make your mouth water, your tongue is broken. That got me thinking - a few years ago, I did a 5-part post about the most delicious Limoncello Coconut Cake to cross...
Hungry and want something hearty, nutritious, and delicious in a flash? Well, this dish is for you. My Uncle Buddy used to make this for me all the time when I was a child. While Uncle Buddy has long ago crossed the Rainbow Bridge, his memory lives on in my family. ...