Parsnip, ginger and miso soup

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A rich and filling soup for winter, garnished with smokey bourbon and brown sugar coconut, spinach chiffonade and black pepper.

Ingredients

For the soup
2T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
2T fresh ginger, minced
3 cups parsnip, 1/2″ dice (about 4-5 cored parsnips)
1T lemon juice
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1T white miso
2T nutritional yeast
1T tapioca starch dissolved in 2T cold water
1/2 cup baby spinach
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the coconut
3T coconut flakes
1T bourbon (1)
1/2T tamari
1/2t brown sugar (2)
A dash liquid smoke
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

First, core and dice the parnship.
Bring the oil to heat with 1/4t sea salt in a large pan with a lid on medium high.
Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 2 minutes until they’re aromatic.
Add the parsnip, and fry for 4-6 minutes, until the pan is starting to brown lightly.
Add the lemon juice to the pan and deglaze.
Add the soy milk, stock and miso.
Return to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
While the soup simmer, make the coconut.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Toss the coconut in the other ingredients until well-coated.
Arrange the coconut in a a small glass or ceramic baking dish in an even layer.
Bake on the middle rack until brown, about 10-12 minutes, stirring here and there. Ovens vary; use the
color and dryness as a guide and be careful not to overcook.
When ready, remove the coconut from the oven and set aside.
When the soup is ready, remove it from heat.
Add the nutritional yeast.
Puree the ingredients.
Return to a light simmer.
Stirring continuously, add the tapioca solution to the pan, stirring until thick.
Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes to cool.
Season to taste, and ladle into bowls.
Garnish with a few grinds of fresh black pepper, 2-3 whole spinach leaves, 2-3T spinach chiffonade and
coconut.

  1. It’s rare that bourbon is manufactured with animal
    products, but some are.
  2. An increasing amount of cane sugar is made without animal bone charcoal. Organic cane sugar, beet sugar, and otherwise unrefined sugars are typically fine.

Herb and garlic polenta with roasted vegetables, spinach and French lentils

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Garnished with kalamata olives, sliced heirloom grape tomatoes and a dollop of lemon, miso cashew cream.

Ingredients

For the polenta
2 cups of boiling water
1/2t of coarse sea salt
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
2T unsweetened soy milk
2T olive oil (or coconut oil, if you prefer)
1T fresh garlic, minced
1T dried Italian herbs, rubbed
1/4t dried ground turmeric
2T nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the lentils and vegetables
1/2 cup French lentils
1.5 cups water
1 sprig kombu (about 2″)
2T olive oil, divided
1/2t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
1T tarmari
1T balsamic vinegar
1 medium zucchini, trimmed, sliced in half length-wise, and then in 1/4″ slices
1 small eggplant, trimmed, sliced in half length-wise, and cut in 1/4″ slices
1 red pepper, cored and cut in 1/4″ strips
200g cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 cup packed baby spinach
1/2T lemon juice
2T kalamata olives, finely chopped
3-4 heirloom grape tomatoes, thinly sliced, 1/8″
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the lemon, miso cashew sauce
1/4t coarse sea salt
2t lemon juice
1T cashew butter
2T cold water
1t white miso
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Make the polenta first, then the lentils and the roasted vegetables.
Bring the water and sea salt to a soft boil in a pan with a lid.
Add the corn meal slowly, stirring as you go.
Reduce heat to low and cook for roughly 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
The polenta will be done when it’s quite thick and pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Add the nutritional yeast, garlic, turmeric, soy milk and any additional seasonings.
Stir thoroughly to combine.
Let stand five minutes to cool.
Spoon the polenta into two, 5″ round tart pans (or similar) and smooth the top with a spoon.
Let cool for about 20 minutes uncovered in the refrigerator to setup.
Cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to put it into the oven (as below).
In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water to a simmer.
Add the kombu and lentils.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 40 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
While the lentils cook, make the vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Whisk 1T olive oil, 1/4t coarse sea salt, tamari, vinegar and garlic.
Toss the eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms in the mixture.
Add the vegetables to a lightly oiled roasting pan and roast until the mix is lightly browned and softened, stirring here and there — expect 30 – 40 minutes. Ovens vary; use the colour and texture as guidance.
When the lentils are done, remove the kombu, rinse the lentils and set aside until the vegetables are done.
When they are, toss the lentils and the vegetables, and let cool 15 minutes.
Add the spinach, olives, 1T olive oil, nutritional yeast and 1/2T lemon juice.
Toss to combine, and let stand 10 minutes.
While the lentils and vegetables cool, add the polenta to a well-oiled baking sheet.
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until lightly crisping.
While the polenta bakes, make the cashew sauce.
Whisk the cashew butter, lemon juice and water until smooth.
Add the miso and combine; the sauce should be thick but creamy. Add extra water, 1t at a time if it’s too thick.
Remove the polenta from the oven (carefully — it will be fragile) and plate.
Add half of the lentils and vegetables over the top.
Garnish with sliced tomatoes and a dollop of cashew sauce.

Blue popcorn with white miso and nutritional yeast

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A simple, delightful and inexpensive snack.

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2-3T plant-only margarine (or to your taste)
1/2t white miso (or more if you like miso)
1/2t onion powder
1/4t garlic powder
3-4T nutritional yeast, divided
Sea salt and and other seasonings to taste

Directions

Pop the popcorn either by stove top method or using a popper.
For the stove top version, use a frying pan with a lid and around 2T canola or avocado oil depending on the size
of the pan.
Heat the oil on medium high.
Add 2-3 kernels when the pan is warm, cover and wait for them to pop.
Add the remaining kernels in a single layer, cover and pop.
Shake the pan once they start to pop in earnest, and remove from heat once the they start to slow down.
Pour the popcorn into a bowl when it has settled.
Melt the margarine and whisk with the remaining seasonings until well-combined.
If you prefer some soft kernels, some dry kernels, pour over top.
For a more even coating, pour the mixture down the sides of the popcorn bowl evenly.
Swirl the popcorn by hand against the sides ensuring as even of a coating as possible.
Add an tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast, sea salt and any other seasonings to taste, and enjoy.

Single-serve polenta pancake with sauteed kale, sesame and tapioca white sauce and sliced heirloom tomatoes

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A simple dish for brunch for one that easily doubles.

Ingredients

For the polenta
1 1/3 cup boiling water
1/4t of coarse sea salt
1/3 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
2T unsweetened soy milk
1T olive oil (or coconut oil, if you prefer)
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
1T nutritional yeast
1 pinch black salt
1/2t dried ground turmeric (or to taste)
1T tapioca flour dissolved in 3T water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For white sauce
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T sesame seed butter (or cashew butter if you prefer something milder)
1/2T sauerkraut vinegar
1T nutritional yeast
1T tapioca dissolved in 1T cold water
Sea salt to taste

For kale and tomatoes
1 cup kale, chopped coarsely
1/4t sea salt
1T olive oil
2-3 heirloom grape tomatoes, thinly sliced, 1/8″
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Make the polenta first, then the kale and the white sauce.
Bring the water and sea salt to a soft boil in a pan with a lid.
Add the corn meal slowly, stirring as you go.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for roughly 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
The polenta will be done when it’s quite thick and pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Add the nutritional yeast, garlic, turmeric, soy milk and any additional seasonings.
Return to a light simmer on low.
Add the tapioca solution slowly stirring continuously until it thickens.
Remove from heat, let stand five minutes to cool, and season to taste.
Spoon the polenta into the bottom of 9″ round glass pie plate and smooth the top with a spoon.
Let cool for about 20 minutes uncovered in the refrigerator to setup.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill another hour or until you’re ready to put it into the oven.
When read, preheat the oven to 400F.
Carefully turn out the polenta onto a well-oiled baking sheet (use a spatula — it will be fragile).
Bake on the middle rack for 20 – 30 minutes until the bottom is lightly crisping.
Broil for about 5 minutes until the top is lightly browning.
Turn off the heat of the oven and leave the polenta on the middle rack to keep it warm.
While the polenta bakes, make the sauce and the kale.
In a small sauce pan, bring the soy milk to a simmer.
Add the sea salt, sesame seed butter and vinegar.
Simmer for 5 minutes on low.
Add the nutritional yeast.
Add the tapioca solution slowly stirring continuously until it thickens.
Remove from heat, season to taste and set aside for 5 minutes to cool.
In a frying pan, bring the oil to heat with 1/4t sea salt on medium high.
Add the kale and saute for 3-5 minutes (longer if you prefer your kale more cooked).
Remove from heat, season to taste and set aside.
When done, remove the polenta from the oven (carefully — it will be fragile) and plate.
Garnish with kale, then sauce, then sliced tomatoes.

Single-serve tofu, cabbage and date rice paper rolls with a red Thai chili, apple cider peanut sauce

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Sauteed in tamari and lime and served with a simple peanut sauce accented by tamari, apple cider vinegar and red Thai chili, the rolls make for a light and easy snack or lunch for one that can easily double. The dates give this dish a lovely sweetness. Add extra thinly sliced vegetables, basil, cilantro or mint to taste, and serve with either the simple sauce below or the sauce of your choice.

Ingredients

For the rolls
1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1t fresh garlic, minced
1 scallion, minced
125g tofu, shredded (about a quarter pound)
1 cup cabbage, shredded (I use coleslaw mix)
1T tamari
2t lime juice
3 dates, thinly sliced length-wise
2T nutritional yeast
1/4t red Thai chili paste (or to taste)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 liter water
3 sheets rice paper

For the sauce
2T crunchy unsweetened unsalted peanut butter
1T tamari (or to taste — replace any tamari you subtract with a little water).
1T apple cider vinegar
1/2t red Thai chili paste (or to taste)
A pinch sea salt (or to taste)

Directions

In a frying pan, bring the cooking oil and sea salt to heat on high.
Add the scallion and garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
Add the cabbage and tofu and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until the pan starts to brown.
Add the lime and tamari and continue to stir fry for another 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and toss with the dates and nutritional yeast.
Season to taste.
Whisk the sauce ingredents until homogeneous and set aside.
In a frying pan, bring the water warm temperature, but not to a boil. Aim for just hotter than is comfortable to the touch.
Add a sheet of rice paper and nudge it down into the water (to help it soften evenly).
Wait until the rice paper is soft and complete transparent.
Remove from the water carefully with a slotted spoon.
Spread evenly on a clean surface, add 1/3 of the filling and roll like you would a burrito.
Add the roll to a separate, clean and dry surface.
Repeat with the two remaining rolls.
Plate and serve with the sauce of your choice.

It’s important to tuck and squeeze the filling a little as you roll to make for a well formed roll. If you have difficulty spreading the rice paper, put it back in the water for a few seconds so that it will relax. The rice paper dries quickly and will stick — so, wrap carefully and separately in plastic wrap to store.

Lime cashew panna cotta with bittersweet chocolate lace

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A simple, flavourful dessert with some sophisticated looking presentation. Add a little lime zest for extract colour and richer flavour.

Ingredients

2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup of sugar (1)
1T heaping agar-agar flakes
1/4 cup unsweetened, unsalted cashew butter
A pinch of sea salt
50g bittersweet chocolate (2)

Directions

Puree the soy milk, sugar, agar-gar, peanut butter and sea salt until smooth.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer on medium low for 15 minutes.
Pour into two ramekins and chill uncovered for 20 minutes.
Cover with saran wrap and chill further for 2 hours.
When you’re ready to melt the chocolate, turn the panna cotta out carefully onto a plate.
Melt the chocolate using a double-boiler, or two pans in a makeshift double boiler). Don’t add water, soy milk or other things that may cause the chocolate to seize.
Once the chocolate has melted, either transfer to a piping bag and draw lace on a cool, dry surface (e.g., parchment paper or plastic wrap over a baking sheet) or drizzle with a rubber spoon to the same effect.
Let the chocolate lace setup at room temperature (expect about an hour or two).
Carefully peel off the chocolate off the surface in pieces.
Arrange the lace in thin slices on top of the panna cotta and serve.

  1. Production methods are changing, but some white cane sugars are still bleached using animal bone charcoal. Beet sugar, organic sugar and other
    unbleached sugars are typically fine.

  2. I use a nice fairly traded bar with organic beans and organic sugar.

Purple yam soup with ginger and garlic, fresh dill, bean sprouts and walnuts

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The purple yam gives this very simple soup a vibrant dark purple colour; the walnuts and bean sprouts, a rich texture.

1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup fresh dill fronds and 2T minced
2 cups purple yam, peeled and diced (1/2″)
4 cups vegetable stock
2T nutritional yeast, divided
1T tapioca flour dissolved in 2T cold water
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a larger pan with a lid, bring the cooking oil to heat on medium high.
Add the sea salt, garlic, and 2T dill; saute for 2 minutes.
Add the yam and saute another 2 minutes.
Add the stock and deglaze the pan.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the yam is fork tender.
Remove from heat, add 1T nutritional yeast, and puree the soup.
Return the pan to a light simmer.
Add the tapioca solution slowly stirring continuously until it thickens.
Season to taste.
Ladle out the soup and garnish with bean sprouts, dill fronds, walnuts and nutritional yeast.

Single-serve salted peanut butter and bourbon pudding with bittersweet chocolate shell

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A rich, nuanced and hearty dessert that you get to set on fire.

Ingredients

1/2 water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk (I use soy)
1t apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey, divided
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2T unsalted, unsweetened peanut butter
1T tapioca flour dissolved with 2T water
20g bittersweet chocolate (1)
Sea salt to taste

Instructions

In a sauce pan with a lid, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil with 1/4t sea salt.
Add the oats, cover and simmer on low until most of the water has been absorbed (about 20 minutes).
Puree the cooked oats with 1/2 cup plant milk, peanut butter, and apple cider vinegar and set aside.

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring 3T bourbon to a rolling boil and reduce to about 1T on medium.
Add the coconut sugar and reduce heat to low.
Swirl the sugar in the pan until it melts with the whiskey.
Add the remaining 1T bourbon and — very carefully — light the pan to burn off remaining alcohol.
Simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes to further caramelize the sugar.
Add the oat mixture to the pan and stir to combine.
Simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Slowly add the tapioca mixture to the pan and stir continuously until thickened.
Let stand 2 minutes to cool, and pour into a martini glass.
Sprinkle the top of the pudding with a pinch or two of coarse sea salt.
Shave the chocolate using a box grater, and sprinkle in a thin but continuous layer over the warm pudding.
Let stand to cool uncovered 15 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and let chill at least 2 hours to setup before serving.
Freeze for 10 minutes before serving for a crisper chocolate shell.

  1. I use a nice fairly traded bar with organic beans and organic sugar.

Artichoke and millet mousse with capers and lemon

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A simple side dish that takes advantage of millet and artichoke chemistry to produce an airy, creamy texture. Pictured here with roasted tofu, sauteed kale and a light tomato sauce.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup millet
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
2T nutritional yeast
1T lemon juice
1T pickled capers
1t prepared brown mustard
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
2T olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and sea salt to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed.
Remove from heat, and let the millet fluff for 5 minutes.
With a food processor or immersion blender, puree the cooked millet with the remaining ingredients except the olive oil until smooth.
Slowly dribble the olive oil into the mix while continuing to blend to emulsify.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes to cool and setup.
Season to taste and serve.

Peanut butter and chocolate millet mousse

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Millet provides a light, airy texture to this very simple, rich dessert, garnished here with a few blueberries.

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup millet
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter
A pinch coarse sea salt (or to taste)

Directions

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes to fluff.
Puree the cooked millet with 1/2 cup soy milk until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
Refrigerate cover for 2 – 4 hours to setup (the millet will continue to become lighter while it does).
Spoon out and serve.