Lunch And Dinner

Creamy Cheesy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

September 29, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Holy cow it’s fall! Welcome fall and all things pumpkin! Including this dreamy Creamy Cheesy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta. I couldn’t deicide if I should name this “creamy vegan pumpkin pasta” or “vegan pumpkin mac’n’cheese,” and since the dish falls somewhere in the middle, I just went with Creamy Cheesy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta. I hope you’re okay with the title. I am. According to James ‘It’s not about the pasta’ anyways (…Vanderpump Rules reference anyone?)

Now let’s talk about this pasta. This Creamy Cheesy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta is lucious, healthful, dish bursting with warm flavors and nooshy goodness.

The deep umami flavor of the pumpkin puree is embellished a bit with aromatics like shallots and garlic, and punched up a notch with a bit of mustard, as well as some spices, like cayenne, cinnamon and paprika. If you’re feeling ambitious, feel free to steam or roast pumpkin or butternut squash, then cool it and puree. If using canned pumpkin is easier for you, that will work just fine.

Either way, you’ll be adding some beta-carotene and fiber-rich vegetable goodness to the base of your pasta, building a healthful, nourishing, and satiating plant-based meal.

If you don’t like any of the above mentioned spices, feel free to omit them. This pasta is fairly forgiving; as long as you have a good amount of salt, the pasta will taste delicious.

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Vegan Salad Nicoise with Mustardy White Beans

July 25, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Hey there! How’s it going? Are you enjoying your summer? I hope you are. And I hope you also enjoy this Vegan Salad Nicoise with Mustardy White Beans.

I made this recently and was nervous about bringing the idea to life as I had it in my head. Specifically, I really wanted a tangy, punchy bean component but wasn’t sure I could execute it as I had it in my mind.

You know how sometimes you have an idea in your mind for a dish and then it turns out funky? I was worried about it. But somehow, by tasting as I went, I got it right on the first try! Yippee!

The mustardy white beans add the perfect punch to this nicoise-inspired salad, and take the place of eggs as a creamy, cold protein. They play nicely with cold boiled potatoes, chilled cooked green beans, tomatoes, and other veggies. It’s a veggie-powered, flavor and texture slam-dunk, in my humble opinion.

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Vegan Goat Cheese Salad with Nectarines, Butter Lettuce and Balsamic Glaze

July 11, 2019 by Katherine Baker 2 Comments

Looking for a way to make use of this Vegan Goat Cheese? I got you! This Vegan Goat Cheese Salad is where it’s at.

I love butter lettuce. So tender, fresh, light, and delicious. So obviously, I love me a butter lettuce salad, especially in the summer time.

Paired with tangy-sweet nectarines, pecans, and vegan goat cheese, this Vegan Goat Cheese Salad with Nectarines and Butter Lettuce is delicious.

I also added avocado to the recipe, because it adds a nice creaminess, as well as some satiating fat. You can omit it, if you’d prefer.

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Easy Vegan ‘Goat’ Nut Cheese

July 10, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Despite being a Wisconsin gal at heart, I’ve never been an “extra-cheese-on-everything” type of gal. Even before I was vegan, I was pretty selective about my cheese. Goat cheese was always my favorite. So I decided to attempt to make an Easy Vegan Goat Cheese at home, and have also decided to share it with the world.

This easy vegan goat cheese is indeed pretty easy to make. It is, however, rather time consuming and requires a bit of forethought. Between the nut soaking and drying of the cheese, it requires a bit of time. But it is worth the wait! Because vegan nut cheese!

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Cauliflower Broccoli Crunch Salad

July 6, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

This Cauliflower Broccoli Crunch Salad recipe is inspired by the ‘Whole Foods Detox Salad’ often found in the Whole Foods salad bar. Before we get any further, let me scream this from the rooftop one more time: no foods, teas, supplements, pills, or powders detox your body.

Your kidney and liver do that. However, the Whole Foods Detox Salad from the salad bar is delicious and I like to recreate a version of it it at home (with a different name, of course).

Now. If you’ve never had the Whole Foods Detox Salad before, allow me to give you the rundown: it’s finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, parsley, lemon juice, pepitas, and currants. I’ve roughy recreated the recipe at home, making use of more common ingredients, for the delight of my tastebuds and yours.

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Copycat Vegan Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad Recipe (with dressing!)

June 28, 2019 by Katherine Baker 1 Comment

My favorite Panera menu item of all times is probably the Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad! The summertime salad is a Panera classic with a cult-like following. And for good reason. The Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad (or ‘straw pop’ as my friend Sarah and I have dubbed it) is a seasonal slam dunk.

I had this idea for a Summertime Salad Series here on the blog – where I share one simple, tasty salad recipe per week for the rest of summer. And I could think of no better way to kick it off than with this vegan copycat Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

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The Best Hummus Dressing

May 13, 2019 by Katherine Baker 6 Comments

I love hummus. Always have and always will. Hummus = yummus. I was that kid being made fun of in first grade for eating my hummus and tomato sandwiches while the rest of the class noshed on ham and cheese. Since then I’ve enjoyed hummus in various forms, including as a base for salad dressing. And here today, I am sharing my favorite vegan hummus dressing recipe, on what is appropriately apparently #NationalHummusDay. Get ready; your salad may not be ready for the flavor explosion coming its way.

I distinctly recall the very first time I had hummus dressing. It was the night before my Organic Chemistry II Final. I used to have this ritual I engaged in the evenings before Organic Chemistry exams: I’d end my night at the library with a late-night trip to the Union Square Whole Foods salad/hot food bar and load up on whatever tickled my fancy (this is dangerous…I’ve accidentally spent $16-18; be warned!).

On this particular evening, I came across hummus dressing in the dressing section. It immediately caught my eye. What a concept! Hummus dressing?! I was so into the idea.

I proceeded to squirt hummus dressing all over my box of goodies, and proceeded to savor every last hummus dressing-coated bite. It was so savory, nourishing, creamy, and delightful. I was inspired.

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Baked Buffalo Potato Wedges

February 3, 2019 by Katherine Baker 2 Comments

Baked Buffalo Potato Wedges. Are you ready? Because I feel like I was born ready for this moment.

Now you may be asking yourself, how did we get here? How did we find ourselves engrossed in a world where the humble spud got made over into glorious, tangy and fluffy Baked Buffalo Potato Wedges? Well, allow me to tell you a story…

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved buffalo sauce. Back when she ate meat ~20 years ago, the only meat product she really liked or would crave for was buffalo wings. She then realized you could buy buffalo sauce and put it on other stuff and that this was easier and better than licking it off bony chicken wings.

And then ~16 years later cauliflower wings came into her life and mouth with open arms. And one day at the store she had this epiphany that you could probably make ‘wings’ with potatoes and that that was probably a great idea since potatoes are life. And so here we are today, just the story of a gal who made Baked Buffalo Potato Wedges. And yes, obviously, that buffalo potato wedge-making plant-loving girl is me. Nice to meet you. Now let’s do this.

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The Best Vegan Stuffing Ever

November 22, 2018 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving! Or happy turkey-free turkey day, as I like to say. People often ask me if I’m sad or somehow disappointed by the fact that I don’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving. My answer is HECK to the no because the sides + desserts are truly where it’s at (at least, for me). And one of my holiday favs? This stuffing. Which is the best vegan stuffing ever, in my humble opinion.

I’ve made this several years in a row and it’s always been a hit. What makes my version of the best vegan stuffing ever different? Well, while most veg-friendly stuffing recipes use veggie broth, I go a different route with liquid and coconut aminos and nutritional yeast for flavor.

I also use sprouted bread (Angelic Bakery is my favorite brand, but Ezikel or any other sprouted bread will work) instead of regular, which happened circumstantially originally, but ended up being delicious and has therefore remained part of the recipe.

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Cauliflower Steak with Herb & Hummus Sauce and Hazelnuts

September 1, 2018 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

I love cauliflower; it’s one of my favorite vegetables. I’d even go so far as putting in my top three most loved vegetables, alongside sweet potatoes and romaine. And lucky for my tastebuds, cauliflower is finally having the moment I’ve always believed it deserves, and I’ve been trying it in every shape and form I can get my hands on. However, I realized last week I’d not yet made a Cauliflower ‘steak’ before, and then when whole heads of cauliflower went on sale when I was at the stores a few hours later, I decided to give it a try, and the Cauliflower steak with Herb & hummus sauce was born.

The result was an interesting and different veggie-packed dish that I will make again and again. Now, obviously, a cauliflower steak is nothing like a beef steak and I am by no means trying to fool anyone there.

Rather, I think this is a fun way to eat veggie and should be enjoyed in its own entity (I feel the same way about rice vs cauliflower rice – just different foods completely, so I don’t compare or replace them with one another, but enjoy them for what they are). I went with a rather simple preparation for the cauliflower. Just a bit of high-heat oil, salt, and pepper.

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