• Desserts & Baked Goods

    3-Ingredient Poached Pears with Vanilla Bean

        Easy  |  Servings: 4 |  Ready In: 20 minutes |  Yield: 4 pears Three ingredients come together to make an easy, elegant dessert in this healthy recipe.  Slowly poaching the pears in a vanilla broth highlights the beauty of simple plant-based flavors.  Naturally oil-free, vegan.  Enjoy with 4-Ingredient Raw Walnut Brownies, serve over Easy Tropical Purple Sticky Rice, or top with Coconut Chia Crème. Ingredients 4 large Bosc pears, peeled halved, and cored 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped (see below for help) 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar 3 cups water How It’s Done To make Vanilla Poaching Broth:  Place the vanilla seeds and pod in a wide, shallow pot with the champagne vinegar and water.  Place the pears in the pot.  Partially cover and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Poach for 8 minutes, flip the pears, and poach for another 7-8 minutes. Cook until the pears are tender — a knife can easily be inserted and pear falls off. Remove pears from cooking liquid. Simmer liquid until it reduces in half, concentrating in flavor, about 3-5 minutes. Serve pears warm and pour the reduced poached liquid over them. Chef Katie’s Tips: How to Scrape a Vanilla Bean: Insert a paring knife into one end of the vanilla bean, creating a vanilla bean “flag”.  Place the vanilla bean flat on a clean cutting board.  Carefully slide the knife down the length of the bean. Split the bean open, then use the back of the knife to

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  • Desserts & Baked Goods

    Easy Tropical Purple Sticky Rice Pudding

        Easy  |  Servings: 4 |  Ready In: 30 minutes |  Yield: about 3 cups Purple sticky rice gets thick and creamy when it cooks, making it ideal for a satisfying rice pudding.  This healthy, gluten-free recipe is great for a sweet, creamy vegan breakfast and delicious enough for an entertaining dessert.  Top it with tropical fruits like kumquats, mango, kiwi, or pineapple. Ingredients 3/4 cup sweet purple sticky rice 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract) 1 ripe banana 1 1/2  cups water 1 1/2 cups unsweetened, plain almond milk ½ cup sliced kumquats 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced How It’s Done To make the Easy Tropical Purple Sticky Rice Pudding: Combine the purple sticky rice, banana, vanilla pod and seeds, almond milk, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Simmer 25 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove the lid and cook another minute, just to “tighten up” the rice into a creamy pudding. Serve the pudding into bowls.  Top with the kiwi and kumquat and dive in! Yields: About 3 cups Chef Katie’s Tips: Freeze your Ripe Bananas: Save over-ripe bananas in the freezer: Simply peel, break into pieces, and store in a plastic bag.  When ready to make this recipe, thaw out in your refrigerator overnight. Rice Balls with Leftovers: You can use leftover rice pudding for sticky rice balls. Once completely cooled, just portion off about 1 tablespoon, roll into ball, and chill until ready to snack.  No

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  • Soups & Stews

    Beet Cabbage Borscht

      Medium |  Servings: 6  |  Ready In: 60 minutes  |  Yield: 10 cups Sweet beets pair with other sweet root vegetables for this hearty oil-fee soup.  Savory onion, leeks, and cabbage create balanced, satisfying flavor.  This classic recipe is a must-have for cold winter nights.  Serve with Pumpernickel Avocado Toast, Vegan Kale Waldorf Salad, or Roasted Sweet Potatoes for a healthy, plant-based dinner. Ingredients 2 small onions, thinly sliced 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 1 medium leek, trimmed and sliced 1 teaspoon dried marjoram 2 parsnips, diced 1 carrot, diced 2 large beets, diced 2 cups chopped cabbage (about 1/8 head), roughly chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 4 cups water 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 cup chopped dill, to garnish How It’s Done: To make the Beet Cabbage Borscht:  Place the onion, celery, and leeks in a large pot. Sprinkle on the marjoram and a dash of salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat, 7 minutes, stirring often.  When the onions and celery start sticking to the bottom of the pan, they are down sweating. Try not to get any color on the vegetables. If that happens, add a splash of water and lower your heat. While the aromatic vegetables, you can prep the parsnips, carrots, beets, cabbage, and garlic, if needed.  Dice the parsnips, carrots, and beets.  Roughly chop the cabbage and garlic. When the onion mix is done sweating, add the parsnips, carrots, beets,

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  • Mains

    Oil-Free Sardinian Stuffed Vegan Eggplant

      Medium |  Servings: 4  |  Ready In: 75  minutes |  Yield: 4 Eggplant Halves Sardinian flavors like olives, basil, and fresh mint will take you straight to an Italian kitchen in this hearty, gluten-free, oil-free, vegan recipe. This makes for an easy, but impressive dinner entree – perfect for entertaining!  Serve with Roasted Bell Peppers Salad, Mushroom Pea Farrotto, and French Tarragon Potato Stew Ingredients 2 (one-pound) Italian Eggplants 1 (28-ounce) can Italian crushed tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 ounces Cremini mushrooms, diced 6 ounces Portabella mushrooms, gills removed, diced 2 bay leaves 1 small onion, diced 2 tablespoons ground flax meal 6 tablespoons warm water 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1/4 cup pitted black olives (Sardinian if you can, or use Kalamata or any flavorful olive), chopped 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 1/8 teaspoon black pepper How it’s Done: Preheat your oven to 350F.  To prepare the Oil-Free Sardinian Stuffed Vegan Eggplant: Halve the eggplants lengthwise.  Use a large spoon to scoop out most of the eggplant flesh.  You want to leave about 1/2-inch of a “shell” Place the scraped out eggplant flesh into a colander over a bowl.   Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Massage the salt into the eggplant. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, to allow some of the moisture to come out. To make the tomato sauce: In a small bowl, combine the canned crushed tomatoes and garlic. Let sit

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  • Mains

    Vegan Italian Stuffed Artichokes

      Medium |  Servings: 4  |  Ready In: 75  minutes |  Yield: 4 artichokes Stuffed artichokes are a traditional Italian family food, and this version is a vegan twist on a classic Chef Lidia Bastianich recipe.  A simple dairy-free, oil-free mixture of whole wheat bread crumbs, lemon, and pine nuts highlights the subtle sweetness of this beautiful Spring vegetable.  Serve with Roasted Bell Peppers Salad, Mushroom Pea Farrotto, and French Tarragon Potato Stew Ingredients 4 large artichokes 2 lemons 1/2 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup pitted green olives 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white wine 1/8 teaspoon red chile flake How it’s Done: Preheat your oven to 350F To prepare an acidulated “bath”: Zest the lemons. Reserve the lemon zest for the filling. In a large bowl, combine the juice of both lemons with about 8 cups cold water. This is your acidulated bath for your artichokes. To prepare your artichokes: Work with one artichoke at a time. Cut off the woody end. Use a sharp paring knife (or bird’s beak knife) to peel the stem.  Peel off any tough outer leaves.  Cut off the bottom stem of the artichoke, to create a flat surface. Save the stem — it’s delicious! Use a serrated knife to cut off the top 1/3 of the artichoke.  Use your fingers to spread the leaves open and reveal the inner pink thistle.  Use a spoon (serrated, if possible) to

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