Curried Hasselback Potatoes (and Other Vegetables)

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In a word, yum. Well done up top, tender and creamy in the middle, and slathered in a quick curry sauce, these Hasselback potatoes are totally fun and totally flavorful.

While starchy, absorbent potatoes--white or sweet--are particularly charming prepared this way, other vegetables--like zucchini and onion--that benefit from a long roast work, too.

And because these vegetables roast largely unattended for some time, you have plenty of time to blend up a chutney and throw on a pot of rice, lentils, or couscous for a low-hassle, deeply satisfying weeknight meal. The veg prep doesn't take much longer than it does to dice vegetables for roasting, so if you have a few extra minutes, treat yourself to a special presentation. You won't be sorry.

Curried Hasselback Potatoes (and Vegetables)

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serves 4

4 medium-large potatoes (Russet, gold, sweet) and/or large zucchini and/or yellow onion

For the curry sauce:

1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
juice of half a lime

Heat the oven to 425.

Make deep cuts into the vegetables at 1/4- to 1/8-inch intervals, being careful not to slice all the way through. Transfer to a roasting pan.

Blend together all curry sauce ingredients. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the sauce over each of the vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes. Spoon an additional tablespoon over each of the vegetables again, gently working the sauce into the crevices with your spoon (by now, the vegetables will have softened a bit and you should be able to work your spoon in easily). Drizzle any remaining sauce over the vegetables and continue roasting until tender inside and browned on top. This will take about an hour, or a little longer, for potatoes, a bit less for smaller, more tender vegetables.

Dead Simple White Bean-Artichoke-Jalapeno Spread

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Mild and hearty, this dead simple white bean spread should please everyone in the house. Brightness from the artichokes, a touch of heat from jalapeno, and sweetness from browned onion, this is a gently seasoned, balanced dish that will pair well with a variety of crackers and crudite, so here's definitely an opportunity to let your veg shine. And because it only takes minutes to put together, there's plenty of time to chop a platter of vegetables and bake up a quick batch of soft corn tortillas into chips. Pantry dinner is served.

To round out this meal, we paired the spread with our Dead Simple Winter Tomato Soup, using the chickpea variation to save time. Easy and satisfying.

Dead Simple White Bean-Artichoke-Jalapeno Spread

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2 TBSP olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced

pinch sugar

1 15-oz can white bean of choice, drained, but not rinsed

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 TBSP water, or as needed

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sugar, and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, 7-10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.

Add all other ingredients, except jalapeno, and process until smooth, pausing to scrape the sides as needed. With the motor running, drizzle in water one tablespoon at a time until the spread is at the desired consistency. Stir in minced jalapeno and serve.

Note: If you like more heat, puree the jalapeno in using the food processor. The pepper can be omitted altogether for those sensitive to heat.

Vegan White Chili

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While this pot contains a little less added fat than our go-to red chili recipe, the end result is still comforting and winter-ready, brimming with two beans and a generous addition of white hominy. Meanwhile, tomatillos not only give this stew a refreshing brightness, they also add body, making this bowl thick without sitting too heavy. Garnish with diced avocado for extra heft and for the gorgeously creamy texture.

Vegan White Chili

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serves a serious crowd, adapted from Saveur

1 lb dried Great Northern beans, soaked 8 hours

12 oz dried pinto beans, soaked 8 hours

12 cups water

2 dried bay leaves

1 tsp liquid smoke

3 dried chipotle chiles

1 dried ancho chile

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

4 habaneros, slit lengthwise

1 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

12 cloves garlic, minced

2 large white onions, finely chopped

2 lbs (20 2- to 2 1/2-inch) tomatillos, husks removed

2 15-oz cans white hominy, drained and rinsed

1/4-1/2 tsp ground white pepper, to taste

Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro, diced avocado

In a large pot, combine soaked beans, water, bay leaves, liquid smoke, all dried chiles, thyme, oregano, coriander, cumin, and slit habaneros. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a very low simmer (you should barely see movement in the pot), and let cook until tender, about an hour. Remove peppers, add 1 tsp salt, and set aside.

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the tomatillos to a food processor and pulse until broken down, but still a bit chunky. When onions have begun to brown, add the tomatillos, beans with cooking liquid, hominy, and white pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a low simmer. Let cook for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Baked Yeast Hush Puppies

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Last week, we promised a side dish that would perfectly complement our country comfort plate, and here it is. If you have a dutch oven and an extra hour or so to burn, you can have sunny, seriously seasoned hush puppies without the hassle of frying. They take very little effort, cake flour gives them a bit of fluff on the inside, and baking them in a dutch oven produces a satisfying, lightly chewy crust that makes these tough to put down.

Baked Yeast Hush Puppies

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yields 1 dozen

6 TBSP lukewarm water

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup grated yellow onion, juices included (or, process the onion into a chunky pulp in a food processor)

3/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup cake flour

1 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/8 tsp cayenne

freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Combine water, yeast, oil, sugar, and onion in a mixing bowl. Whisk together flours, salt, and all seasoning. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat until very well combined. Form into a rough, shaggy ball. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until a bit puffed, about an hour (up to two hours if your kitchen is cold).

Place a dutch oven with the cover inside your oven and preheat to 400.

Sprinkle a little cornmeal over the top of the dough and dust a clean work surface. With dampened hands, fold the dough over itself a few times. The dough will be quite wet, but will stick more to itself than it does to you. (If you're having trouble working with it, wet your hands again. If it’s still unwieldy, add a bit more flour.) Form the dough into 12 balls, placing them on the floured surface as you work. Sprinkle a little more cornmeal over the tops and cover again. Let rest for 30 minutes (up to an hour in a cold room).

Carefully transfer the dough balls to the hot dutch oven, placing them an inch apart. Replace the lid and bake 12 minutes. Remove the lid, bake another 3 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. (Note: we used a 5-qt dutch oven that required us to bake these in two batches. If you need to do the same, instructions do not vary for the second batch.)

Pinto Beans with Red Cabbage-Carrot-Pear Slaw in Creamy Mustard-Orange-Walnut Dressing

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Total country comfort food, and good for you, too. While we usually enjoy our main-dish pinto beans (soup beans, as you may know them) with a heap of collards and pepper vinegar, variety is the spice of life. And this simple slaw is awfully charming. Not only are its bright colors a welcome sight in the middle of winter, but the dressing is a real winner. Despite the inclusion of a generous amount of hot stone-ground mustard, the final product is mild, and the consistency is made wonderfully creamy by pureeing in walnuts. This recipe makes a moderately dressed slaw: more than we'd use on a green salad, but with an emphasis on letting the flavor of the vegetables come through. If you know you like a creamier slaw, try increasing the dressing recipe by half.

The smoky beans are a little saltier than we'd normally suggest, but worth it every time. And because they cook in the slow cooker, way more than worth the effort. (If you've never made beans in the slow cooker before, you may want to wait for a day you'll be around the house for the first time, to nail down what works best for your equipment. But slow cookers tend to be forgiving.) A little advance planning gets you a satisfying, classic bean dish. And leftovers to look forward to.

We'll be back next week with another side to complement this cozy meal.

Smoky Pinto Beans (Soup Beans)

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yields about 6 cups

1 lb dried pinto beans, soaked for 8 hours

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp marjoram (or thyme)

2 tsp liquid smoke

4 cups water

1 1/4 tsp salt

Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and drain well. Add them with all other ingredients, except salt, to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until very tender, 6-7 hours. Stir in salt, turn off heat, and let sit, covered, another 20-30 minutes. Serve.

Red Cabbage-Carrot-Pear Slaw in Creamy Mustard-Orange-Walnut Dressing

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yields about 7 cups

1 navel orange

2 dates, pitted

1/4 cup shelled, unsalted walnut halves

2 TBSP stone-ground mustard

1 small head red cabbage (18-20 oz, app. 5-6 inches in diameter)

3 large carrots (10 oz total weight)

1 medium pear

With a paring knife, remove the peel and pith from the orange. Working over a container to catch all the juices, segment the orange and discard the membrane. Using an immersion blender or small processor, puree the orange with its juices, dates, walnuts, and mustard until smooth (bits of mustard seed will still be visible). The dressing should blend readily, but will remain quite thick. Set aside.

Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage, cut into quarters, and cut away the core from each quarter. Shred the cabbage with a chef's knife (or grate, if you aren't comfortable with a knife). Set aside.

Peel the carrots and shred them thinly with a peeler (or grate, if you prefer). Add to the cabbage. Shred the pear, add it to the vegetables and dress, tossing thoroughly. The slaw can be served immediately or will keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Spicy and Smoky White Bean-Tomatillo-Sweet Potato Burritos

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Where there's smoke there's fire. In this case, a pile of smoked paprika pureed into filling sweet potatoes paired with nourishing, creamy white beans slow-cooked with jalapeno and herbs. (And really, you'll overcook the beans a bit to ensure a very creamy finished product.) Throw in a little tomatillo for brightness, and you have one seriously satisfying dinner. Plus, leftover burritos make great next-day breakfasts or lunches, too. We suggest you garnish these with fresh cilantro and gently briny black olives (hit a grocer's antipasto bar to buy only as many as you need--they're much better than canned) to balance out the sweet potatoes, but you can keep these as simple (or stuffed) as you like. And if you can stand a little more heat, a vinegary hot sauce will finish these off nicely.

The white beans will be fairly fiery alone, but know that the heat does mellow a bit when combined with all the starch of the potatoes and the tortilla. If you're sensitive to heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeno, or try replacing it with half of a small poblano for a milder dish.

And finally, the baking isn't necessary if you're in a hurry, but we always bake our burritos to toast the tortillas and help the flavors mingle.

Spicy and Smoky White Bean-Tomatillo-Sweet Potato Burritos

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yields 6 medium burritos

8 oz dried navy beans, soaked 8 hours

1 medium jalapeno, thinly sliced

1 dried bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

1 lb (1 very large) sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch dice

4 oz (a few small-medium) tomatillos, husks removed

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

6 8-inch flour tortillas

sliced black olives (optional)

freshly chopped cilantro (optional)

vinegar-based hot sauce, such as Cholula brand (optional)

Add the soaked beans, jalapeno, bay leaf, oregano, onion powder, liquid smoke, and water to a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until very tender and creamy. Remove bay leaf, stir in 1/2 tsp salt, turn off heat, and let sit with the lid cocked while you prepare the rest of the recipe (the beans will thicken a bit as they stand).

Add the diced sweet potatoes to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, maintaining a steady boil, and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a medium pot of water while you wash the tomatillos. When the water boils, carefully add the tomatillos and boil 3-4 minutes, until they turn from brilliant lime to a darker olive color. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until broken down and saucy. Scrape the food processor out well (no need to wash it) and set the tomatillos aside.

Preheat the oven to 375.

When the potatoes are ready, drain and add them to the food processor. Add about 1 cup of the white beans (they should now be a little saucy, but not drowning--if you have a lot of extra water, drain them), the smoked paprika, and 1/4 tsp salt. Puree until very smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Stir the tomatillos into the remaining beans.

Heat the tortillas (steaming for about 15 seconds each, as you go, works best for us) and assemble the burritos using about 1/3 cup each of the potato and bean-tomatillo mixtures (the potatoes, you may use slightly more than 1/3 cup, the beans, just a bit less), plus garnishes, if using. Roll up and place seam-side down in a baking dish. Bake until hot and a bit crisped, especially at the ends, about 25 minutes.

Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

MSV's Favorite Breakfast: Dead Simple Jumbo Blueberry Buckwheat Pancake Filled with Almond Butter

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If you like earthy, gently sweet, dense, freshly baked handheld foods, then boy, have we ever got you covered. This has been a staple for years in the MSV kitchen, and winter seems like a good time to share. Comforting and filling, it pairs perfectly with a cup of strong, black coffee and easily takes you through the morning, especially since the calories can be adjusted by using more or less almond butter.

The sweetness from the lightly cooked berries is an obvious appeal, but don't overlook the charms of the raw almond butter. Almond butter made from nuts that haven't been roasted has a more prominent almond flavor and subtle sweetness of its own that works beautifully with the blueberries and the crispy pancake edges scented with coconut.

And of course, there's no reason you can't make smaller pancakes, but this is designed for any given morning, when an item that cooks without much supervision can be a bonus. Plus, eating this pancake with our hands (kinda like a giant whoopie pie) is really fun.

In a pinch, this also travels reasonably well--especially since there's no fork required--though you will, of course, lose the heavenly crispy edges.

Dead Simple Jumbo Blueberry Buckwheat Pancake Filled with Almond Butter

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serves 1

1 tsp unrefined coconut oil

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 tsp turbinado or brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

1/2 cup water

small handful (app. 1/4 cup) frozen blueberries

1-2 TBSP raw almond butter, to taste

Add the coconut oil to a nonstick pan over medium heat. While it heats, measure out and whisk together all other ingredients, except blueberries and almond butter. The batter will be very thick, but still pourable.

By now, your skillet should be ready. Swirl the oil around the skillet and immediately add the batter. Sprinkle the berries over the surface. Cover and cook until the edges are visibly cooked (this allows for easy flipping, even with the very large pancake), about 3 minutes. Flip and cook, uncovered, until cooked through, another 2 minutes or so.

Transfer to a plate, blueberry-side up. When just cool enough to handle, spread the almond butter on one half. Fold in half and serve with strong black coffee.

Atole de Horchata

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We've been seriously digging on atole over the last few frigid days, specifically, this version made with cinnamon-packed horchata. Start with fragrant rice, nutty (and affordable) pepitas, and a generous portion of cinnamon stick. Add just enough maple syrup to make the corn sing in the final product, and let your stove transform it all into one comforting, fluffy beverage thick enough to drink with a spoon.

Try it out for a light breakfast or a snack any time of day. But keep in mind that, comforting as it is, this atole isn't a sweet indulgence. It's more of a staple item--mild, a little earthy, and soothing. We top ours with extra spice, and strongly suggest you do the same, though it isn't necessary. The horchata recipe calls for vanilla extract for price and convenience, but if you can spare a quarter or so of a fresh bean, use that for a flavorful (and more traditional) substitute.

And, finally, feel free to make the horchata in advance. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Use the spent pulp to bulk up oats--the ground rice cooks up softly, of course, and the ground pepita adds a bit of texture and fiber. Add the pulp to 1/4 cup steel-cut oats, combine with 1 1/2 cups water and cook, essentially, like rice: cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. Sweeten and garnish as you would straight oats. They can be stored in the fridge for several days and reheated on the stove with a little nondairy milk to thin out the mixture, which thickens as it stands.

Atole de Horchata

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yields 2 large or 4 small servings

3 cups horchata, recipe follows, divided

1/4 cup masa harina

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

pinch ground aniseed

Reserve 1/2 cup of horchata in a medium bowl and set aside. Pour remaining horchata into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it begins to boil, working quickly, make a slurry by whisking the masa harina into the reserved horchata. When the pot contents come to a full boil, whisk in the slurry until fully combined, then reduce heat to medium-low, retaining a steady high simmer.

Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened into a near-custard consistency, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the ground spices and set aside. You'll know the atole is ready when whisking causes the mixture to come away from the bottom of the pot. Serve immediately, with spoons, and sprinkle a pinch or two of the spice mixture on top of each cup.

Horchata

yields 3 cups, adapted from Pure Vegan

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup jasmine rice

1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

2-inch cinnamon stick, broken in half

pinch salt

cold water

2 1/2 TBSP grade B maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the hot water, rice, pepitas, and cinnamon. Cover and let soak at least six hours, or overnight. Blend until smooth and strain thoroughly through a nut milk bag, squeezing to express as much liquid as possible.

Combine the milk with salt, syrup, vanilla, and enough cold water (2 to 2 1/4 cups) to make a total of 3 cups liquid. Note that this horchata separates readily, so stir well before each use.

Slow-Cooker Pinto Bean Mole Tacos with Fresh Cucumber Relish

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While there's no doubt the slow cooker is a versatile tool, it's most obvious to make it work for you on dishes that really benefit from, or even require, long cooking over low heat. Like this high-yield, complex, seriously hearty dish of pinto beans in a thick mole sauce. Tomatoes, peppers, raisins, almonds, and chocolate make for one deeply seductive, rich pool in which to cook tender, meaty pinto beans. And what better way to finish them off than by stuffing them into fresh tortillas? Because the beans are so substantial, we topped them with a beautifully cool--and above all, fresh--cucumber relish to provide a refreshing, crisp shot of green against all that red. The relish flavors mingle while you make the tortillas, and that's what we call good eating.

And easy eating. Soak your beans overnight, and, as long as you have a food processor or blender to do the pureeing, get out of bed only 15 minutes early to put together one rewarding dinner.

Or dinners, plural, really. Note that this recipe makes a ton of beans, enough for a couple dozen tacos with leftovers. Consider this a recipe for a crowd or something to feed you and yours all week (to ten days), or try freezing half for convenience. If you don't plan to hold some beans back, double (or triple) the relish recipe.

And if you still haven't, do give fresh tortillas a try. The standard MSV recipe is the recipe from Viva Vegan! using Maseca brand masa harina. Just mix 1 1/2 cups masa with 1/2 tsp salt and add 1 1/4 cups water. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon, then knead it with your hands for a couple of minutes, until it smooths out. That's it. Form into 12 balls, press them in a tortilla press (or roll them out between wax paper) and grill them on a dry griddle for a minute or two on each side, depending on how thick your tortillas are. And do buy Viva Vegan! It's a really nice book.

Slow-Cooker Pinto Bean Mole Tacos with Fresh Cucumber Relish

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sauce adapted from Everyday Food

For the beans:

1 lb dried pinto beans

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 ancho peppers, stemmed, seeded, and torn into strips

1 large chipotle in adobo

1/2 cup almonds, toasted (pre-sliced almonds will make a smoother puree)

1/4 cup raisins

3 oz dark chocolate, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

3 TBSP olive oil

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups water

fine sea or kosher salt, to taste

For the relish:

yields about 2 cups

1/4 cup packed cilantro, chopped finely

2 scallions, white and tender green bits, very thinly sliced

1/2 medium jalapeno, very thinly sliced

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt, or to taste

juice of half a lime

1 medium-large cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch thick, 1 1/2-inch long baton

To assemble:

Fresh soft corn tortillas (see note above recipe head) or store-bought soft corn tortillas, warmed in a stack in the oven

To make the beans, add the dried beans to a large slow cooker and pour in enough water to cover by a few inches. Cover with a towel and let soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans, then return them to the slow cooker and set aside. In a food processor, combine the sauce ingredients from tomatoes through cinnamon. Process until smooth, a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Transfer to the slow cooker, add the 2 cups water, and stir well.

Cook on low for 10 hours. At 8 hours, the sauce will still be a bit too thin, so plan to let them cook for the entire 10 hours to thicken appropriately and for the beans to tenderize thoroughly. At 9 1/2 hours, check the beans to make sure they're tender, then add salt to taste. Replace the cover and set aside while you prepare the relish.

Stir together the cilantro, scallions, jalapeno, salt, and lime juice. Add the cucumber and toss gently until thoroughly combined. Adjust salt, if needed, and let sit until mellowed a bit, about 20 minutes, while you make tortillas. Assemble and serve the tacos as soon as the tortillas are ready.

Party Animals Nos. 26 and 27: Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Brunch 2013

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We celebrated Christmas Eve this year by putting together a comforting spread of homemade foods inspired by some of the U.S.'s favorite bits of Japanese cuisine. We kicked off the evening with a cocktail, which we found here.

This Shiba Dog, as they're calling it, is a lovable, dead simple drink. We made one adjustment to the suggested recipe by using nigori sake. We suggest you make an additional adjustment by forgetting the salted rim altogether. It was an overwhelming nuisance. But by all means, mix equal parts nigori sake and grapefruit juice at every opportunity. (And check Barnivore before buying your sake. We somehow failed to back when we bought this bottle, and ended up with a brand that isn't vegan-friendly.)

Next up, Miso Soup with Mushroom Wonton Dumplings. We're working to nail down MSV's official dashi, so the soup recipe isn't quite ready to share. In the meantime, we're enjoying every last test bowl.

For this special occasion, we added some gorgeously salty and savory mushroom wonton dumplings using our gorgeously salty and savory mushroom filling recipe. We omitted the cashews, so the only crunch in the soup would come from the spring onion garnish, and we substituted for the morels the shiitakes we used to make the dashi. Feel free to use nothing but button mushrooms, and you'll still have tasty morsels on your hands.

With time running out after a quick look around town yielded not a single commercial vegan wonton wrapper, we decided we'd have to make our own pasta for the dumplings. Method here, but we used a dough much easier to work with by using roughly 1 1/3 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup warm water. The great little folding tutorial we used is here. Adorable.

Vegan nigiri sushi trio: roasted red pepper (jarred, and we looked for a variety that, contrary to our usual preference, contained added sugar to make sure we got a lovely shot of sweetness); sliced avocado; and blanched, pressed tofu marinated in a simple, addictive soy-miso sauce from Kansha. (Knoxville readers, remember that Lawson-McGhee has a copy of Kansha you can check out--highly recommended.)

And finally, for dessert, we continued the theme by using both matcha and ginger, but also included a nod to the common Western European-American Christmas tradition by including a heap of sorghum (in lieu of molasses) and other spices. The result was a dense, moist, terrific gingerbread cake with a matcha glaze. (Cake veganized from Tartine, matcha glaze spotted in Pure Vegan.) You can see the cake at the very top of this post. It wasn't very pretty, but it was incredibly tasty. And paired beautifully with straight nigori sake.

The following morning, brunch! The MSV kitchen doesn't host this brunch, but we do make a few contributions.

Almond-crusted zucchini strips. So incredibly good. You can find our coating recipe here, but instead of using mushrooms, we cut one giant zucchini into 6 1/4-inch-thick planks. Bake on one side for 15 minutes, flip, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until golden (more golden than this shot indicates, sorry) and mind-blowingly fragrant.

On the side, fluffly little corn muffins seasoned like hush puppies. Yum. This was a first test of this recipe, and we have some ambitions for it, we think. It may reappear before long, depending on our progress with these.

And, finally, Apple-Blueberry Doughnut Cobbler. This bit of ridiculousness comes from BHG. Be warned, the mini doughnuts got a little too crispy in spots (they tasted fine, but were a bit difficult to cut), so we suggest using either full-size doughnuts or covering the cobbler for the first half of baking. And, if you hadn't already guessed, this is only for the serious sweet tooth.

Our version is different from BHG's a little, so here goes:

We made old-fashioned doughnuts the day before to make this a snap to assemble. For the filling, we used two Granny Smith apples, two Honeycrisp apples, and one cup of frozen blueberries. First, measure out the blueberries, but keep them in the freezer. Slice the apples, and cut those slices in half. Toss them with the juice of half a lemon (or lime, of course, but juice the whole lime, if substituting). Whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg. Toss the apples with that mixture, then carefully stir in the blueberries. Top with the doughnuts, drizzle with 2 TBSP of melted nondairy butter or coconut oil, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

See you all next year.

Dead Simple Winter Tomato Soup

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This is one pretty mini-meal in a mug.

Pureed soups are terrific not only for their comforting texture, but also because it means none of the ingredients have to be carefully chopped. Whether you're feeling too busy or too lazy for a big production, this thick, flavorful tomato soup has you covered. Keep this go-to recipe on hand for a warming, seriously sunny bowl that leaves you feeling energized rather than in need of a nap. All winter long.

For a slightly less smooth, but higher protein, variation, replace some or all of the potatoes with any cooked white bean or chickpeas.

Dead Simple Winter Tomato Soup

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serves 4-6

2 TBSP olive oil

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 28 oz-can whole tomatoes with their juices

1 lb gold or white potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 cups water

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

2 TBSP smooth natural peanut butter (look for one that contains only peanuts)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add onions and garlic, and saute until tender and beginning to color, 5-7 minutes. Add all other ingredients except peanut butter and nutritional yeast. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat, add peanut butter and nutritional yeast, and puree until smooth with an immersion blender. Adjust seasoning and return to the stove to warm through.

Party Animals Nos. 24 and 25: Post-Thanksgiving Party 2013 and a Christmas Party

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Talk about festive. To get everyone started at our post-Thanksgiving party (held annually at the MSV house on the Friday after Thanksgiving) this year, we offered a pitcher of Cranberry-Rosemary Sangria. Really good. We recommend topping off each glass with a bit of dry bubbly to make this drink perfect.

(Also, note that we had the wrong apples on hand when we made the test run, which is what was photographed. We did use the Granny Smith apples called for in the recipe the day of the party.)

The post-Thanksgiving party is mostly about leftovers, but we always provide a couple of soups and a couple of loaves of crusty bread to supplement. This year we made miso soup with a shiitake dashi from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. (This also made for the best possible breakfast the morning after the party) and a carrot-ginger soup from The Curry Book.

And now this weekend is our first Christmas party of the season, and to it we're taking a pitcher of Horchata White Russians. This is a genius idea for a dairy-free, gorgeous, and winter-ready mixed drink. Our recipe came from Pure Vegan, and the sweet, cinnamon-packed horchata, like everything else we've tried from that book, is pretty stunning in this drink.

But it's not the only ingredient, of course. To assemble the drink, add a half-cup of horchata to an ounce each of vodka and coffee liqueur. We made our own liqueur using this super-fast recipe. Ready in days, not weeks. Bring on the cheer.

Roasted Acorn Squash-Orange-Marinated Beet Salad with Zesty Parsley Dressing

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This salad is way more comforting and way less dramatic than it might seem at first glance. Beet juice makes this dish a little visually intense, but on the tongue, it's really just an accent.

Orange slices provide a perfect pop of freshness in both flavor and texture next to gently sweet, soft, roasted acorn squash. The beets, soaked with fresh sage in balsamic and orange juice, are both sharp and earthy, and a wonderful contrast to the orange components. The salad is then topped off with a garnish of toasted pine nuts and a lively parsley dressing (a perennial favorite in the MSV kitchen) bursting with lime, garlic, and a touch of ginger, made totally luscious by pureeing in a handful of pine nuts.

All those parts may seem a little fussy, but the salad comes together with surprising ease. The beets marinate while the squash roasts, leaving ample time to segment the orange, quickly puree the dressing, and toast the nuts.

For a simple side, take an extra minute to chop and lightly saute the greens from your beets, then toss them just before serving with a generous sprinkle of our Savory Nut Crumble. Throw some spare chickpeas in the pan with the greens if you happen to have them on hand. Dinner is done and gorgeous and overflowing with nutrients.

Roasted Acorn Squash-Orange-Marinated Beet Salad with Zesty Parsley Dressing

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serves 2

1 small-medium acorn squash (1 1/4 lb total weight), cut into bite-size pieces

1 TBSP olive oil

generous pinch fine sea or kosher salt

1 small (or half a medium) beet (2-3 ounces total weight), trimmed, peeled, and grated

12 medium fresh sage leaves (from about 2 sprigs), chopped

2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

2 TBSP water

1/2 tsp natural sugar (evaporated cane juice)

generous pinch fine sea or kosher salt salt

1 medium orange

1 TBSP pine nuts

2-3 TBSP Zesty Parsley Dressing, recipe follows, plus more to drizzle, if desired

Preheat oven to 400. Toss the squash with oil and salt and roast until tender and beginning to brown at the edges, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the grated beets, chopped sage, vinegar, water, sugar, and pinch salt. Stir and set aside.

With a paring knife, remove the peel and pith from the orange. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, use the paring knife to segment the orange. Set the orange slices aside and pour the caught juice over the marinating beets. Stir to combine.

If your dressing isn't prepared in advance, prepare it now. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and set aside to let cool a bit. Then pour the beets into a fine mesh sieve and set aside to let drain.

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat, add pine nuts and toast, tossing frequently and watching constantly, until fragrant and just beginning to turn golden in spots, a couple of minutes.

To assemble, add the warm squash, orange slices, drained beets and sage, and 2-3 TBSP of dressing to a serving bowl and toss gently. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and drizzle sparingly with additional dressing, if desired.

Zesty Parsley Dressing

adapted from Moosewood Daily Special

1 small bunch parsley leaves (tightly packed 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 TBSP lime juice (from about 2 small limes)

2 TBSP water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

generous 1-inch piece ginger root (about 3/4 oz), finely grated

1 medium clove garlic

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

Puree all ingredients until smooth.

Party Animals No. 23: Thanksgiving 2013

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For you new readers, the MSV kitchen hosts a real, live Thanksgiving every year. Now that that's out of the way, this is the post that needs no introduction.

But we will add two notes. Recipes below call for both nondairy milk and nondairy butter. This year, for the first time, we used Miyoko Schinner's homemade butter recipe (from the October 2013 VegNews). Our doughs this year were both the fussiest raw and the loveliest finished products we've ever had. Because our kitchen is a home kitchen and not a controlled test kitchen, we can't guarantee either of those were due to the change in butter, but it's the only thing we altered from previous years. But we think it's the combination of that with the cold weather. So you know. As ever, our nondairy milk of choice is our homemade almond-oat.

The recipes for biscuits, cranberry relish, and roasted apples with balsamic drizzle are unchanged from last year.

For our main dish this year, we made a shepherd's pie filled with earthy, meaty Puy lentils, tender eggplant, and rich toasted pecans further flavored by a pile of garlic and given a touch of sweetness and a bit of color from grated carrots.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

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serves 8

For the potatoes:

1 1/2 lb white or gold potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

2 TBSP olive oil

freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1/2-1 cup nondairy milk, warmed

For the lentils:

8 oz eggplant (half of a medium), peeled and cut into 1/4-1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup unsalted pecan halves

1 cup dried Puy lentils

2 1/2 cups water

2 TBSP olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots (about 2 oz total weight), minced

6 oz carrot (2 large or 3 medium), peeled and grated

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried marjoram

2 TBSP low-sodium tamari

1 tsp liquid smoke

1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth, divided

1 TBSP chickpea flour

To prepare the potatoes, boil them in enough water to cover by a couple of inches until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well and quickly transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the beater to mash the potatoes thoroughly on low speed, a minute or two. Add the salt, oil, pepper, and nutritional yeast, and beat another half-minute to incorporate, adding nondairy milk to reach your desired consistency. Switch to the whisk attachment and whip for five minutes, until fluffy. (Alternately, use any method you like to mash to the potatoes.)

To prepare the lentil mixture, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the eggplant in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast 20 minutes, until browned on the edges, tossing halfway through. After tossing, add the pecans to the oven and toast them for the remaining 10 minutes, checking occasionally to avoid burning. Let cool, then process into crumbs in a food processor.

Reduce oven to 350.

Meanwhile, place the lentils in a medium pot with 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, 20-25 minutes. Set aside in a mesh sieve to allow to drain thoroughly.

Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the onion, garlic, and grated carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the basil, parsley, marjoram, tamari, and liquid smoke. Stir thoroughly and cook for another couple of minutes.

Whisk together 1/4 cup vegetable stock and chickpea flour to make a slurry. Add the lentils to the skillet, stir to combine, and add the slurry. Stir well and cook until warmed through. The mixture should be very moist, but not saucy. Add more stock, if needed, or continue cooking to let excess moisture cook off, if needed.

Remove skillet from heat, stir in eggplant and pecans, and adjust seasoning. Transfer the lentil mixture to a deep 9-inch-round pan. Scoop the mashed potatoes on top in large dollops all over the surface and gently smooth out to cover. Bake 20 minutes, until potatoes are lightly browned.

This is pretty much the same old beloved dressing we've made each year, but we streamlined the process and went with a chunkier, looser assembly. If you prefer a tighter, more sliceable dressing, simply skip the oven-drying of the cornbread, crumble it rather than cube it, and press the final mixture tightly into the dish before baking.

And finally, we left it out of the recipe this year, but you can add 1/2 tsp of fennel seed along with the walnuts, if desired.

Spiced Walnut-Fig Cornbread Dressing

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serves 8-10

1 loaf (generous 1 lb) cornbread, cut into 1-inch cubes

2/3 cup dried mission figs, quartered

2 TBSP oil

1 large yellow onion, very finely chopped

2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

8 oz walnut halves, finely chopped / crumbled in a food processor

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rubbed sage

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 TBSP low-sodium tamari

fine sea or kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup nondairy milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2-1 cup vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the cornbread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook until dry and barely toasted, 10-12 minutes. Set aside to let cool, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Reduce oven heat to 350.

Meanwhile, place the figs in a heatproof bowl and pour in hot water to cover. Let stand 20 minutes, drain, and add them to the cornbread.

Heat 2 TBSP oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion and rosemary until the onion turns translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the walnut crumbles and all spices, including tamari. Stir and cook until warm, fragrant, and no liquid remains in the bottom of the skillet, about 3 minutes.

Add the contents of the skillet to the mixing bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate, breaking up any large cornbread pieces, but being careful not to reduce it to crumbs.

Whisk together the milk, 1/4 cup oil, and 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock. Pour over the mixture and stir well. The mixture should be very moist, but not wet. Add more stock, if needed, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake 45-60 minutes, until golden on top.

So, those are biscuits, because we failed to get a shot of the spaghetti squash. But it tastes way better than it looks, anyway, so don't skip this one (and do feel free to reduce the oil to make it friendly for any weeknight meal). In fact, go ahead and double the Savory Nut Crumble recipe when you go to make it for this dish, because you're going to want to have some on hand to sprinkle on other meals throughout the week. In fact, even if you never make this squash, take five minutes to make a batch of the Savory Nut Crumble. It's a green salad's best friend.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with a Savory Nut Crumble

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serves 6-8, adapted from The Cheesy Vegan

1 small-medium spaghetti squash (about 2 1/2 lbs total weight)

1/4 cup olive oil, plus additional 2 tsp, for roasting

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Savory Nut Crumble, recipe follows, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Split the spaghetti squash lengthwise, discard the seeds, rub the cut sides with 2 tsp oil, and roast, cut-side down, until tender, 45-60 minutes. Let cool.

Add the thyme, basil, rosemary, and paprika to a skillet with 1/4 cup oil and warm gently. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh into a serving dish. Remove the oil from heat, grate in 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and toss thoroughly with the squash. Top generously with the Savory Nut Crumble and serve.

Savory Nut Crumble

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw walnut halves

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

Process the almonds in a food processor until broken up into small pieces. Add all other ingredients and process into crumbs. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Oh, hi, pie. We never use anything but Gesine's pie dough. It just works. (Unless we're making a cookie crust, of course. Because those are just dead simple.)

Sorghum-Maple Pecan Pie. We used Isa's recipe, replacing half of the maple syrup with sorghum syrup. We also whipped up a batch of vanilla salt (made by stirring the contents of 1 vanilla bean into 1 TBSP fleur de sel) to sprinkle on individual slices, as desired. Ridiculously good with the vanilla salt. Expensive, but good.

Pear-Cranberry Pie. To our tongues, this pie tastes exactly like the season. To fill our pie, we stirred together the following:

2 pears, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

zest of 1/2 lemon

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

2 TBSP quick-cooking tapioca

To finish it off, we suggest milking the top and sprinkling with a cinnamon-sugar mix (we use 1 part cinnamon to 2 parts sugar). Then bake until golden and bubbly.

Oaxacan Cornbread-Stuffed Roasted Poblanos

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These roasted poblanos, filled with a savory, fruity, cornbread stuffing, make a terrific main dish for any fall entertaining you may have on the calendar. The apples and prunes pair perfectly with the fiery bits of the peppers, while the cornbread provides comforting heft and texture. Throw in a healthy amount of onion and garlic for heady aroma, and you've got yourself a feast.

Because there are so many components, this dish does require a fair amount of time to assemble. Make the cornbread and wild rice a day or two in advance to make prepping these peppers substantially easier. In a pinch, you can omit the rice.

These peppers are best served fresh, but if you have leftovers, they freeze reasonably well and make for satisfying, effortless dinners. Reheat them, wrapped loosely in foil, in the oven for 45-55 minutes, until heated through.

Oaxacan Cornbread-Stuffed Roasted Poblanos

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yields 10 peppers, serves 5, stuffing adapted from Saveur

1 cup water

1/4 cup dried wild rice

1/2 loaf (generous 1/2 lb) cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch dice

4 TBSP olive oil, divided, plus another 1-2 tsp

1 large white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

1 large (7-8 oz) tart apple, such as Granny Smith, cored and chopped

3 oz pitted prunes (about 12), quartered

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 TBSP orange zest, from about half an orange

fine sea or kosher salt, to taste

10 poblanos (about 5 inches long with a 2-3-inch-wide top)

Bring the cup of water to boil and add the wild rice. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until tender but not too soft, about 50 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid and set aside.

Meanwhile, dry the diced cornbread on a cookie sheet in a 400-degree oven until gently toasted, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and celery, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the apple, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and let cook 5 minutes. Remove cover, raise heat to medium, add the prunes, cumin, pepper, parsley, and orange zest. Stir well and cook until the mixture is hot and there is no water in the bottom of the skillet, 2-3 minutes. (The mixture will still be moist, but the bottom of the skillet should not have any pooled liquid remaining.)

Add the contents of the skillet to the cornbread, season generously with salt, add the remaining 2 TBSP olive oil, and stir gently to combine. Gently break up any large chunks of cornbread with your spoon, but take care not to reduce the mixture to crumbs. Set aside.

Cut a hole around the stem of a pepper. Remove and reserve the stem, (shake off loose seeds, if any, from the stem, but mostly these will be anchored tight--don't worry about those). With a spoon, scrape out any thick membrane and seeds from the inside of the pepper. Replace the top, set aside, and repeat with remaining peppers.

Pack each pepper with about 1/3 cup of stuffing, pressing gently to fill, replace the stem, and arrange in a 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle with 1-2 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle on a generous pinch of coarse salt. Bake at 400 degrees until dark, very tender, and blistered in spots, 30-40 minutes. Serve hot.

Roasted Potatoes in Garlic-Ginger-Chile Sauce

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Now that temperatures in East Tennessee have taken a nosedive, we've been looking for ways to indulge in substantial dishes without feeling like we've eaten a brick. Small plates are a seriously satisfying way to answer cravings without overdoing it. Serve these creamy, spicy, gooey roasted potato gems as part of a larger spread, or serve them alongside a stack of toothpicks at a party for a flavorful appetizer. 

This sauce is fun to whip up at a party, too, because it's a neat showcase for the chemistry of cooking. The thin mixture rapidly becomes luscious and thick before your eyes in a hot skillet, the tomato paste turning dramatically sweeter as the fragrances of garlic and ginger strengthen and mingle. That means once the potatoes are roasted, this dish is both a quick path to comfort food and an impressive-looking show of cookery. Not bad for a handful of ingredients you probably already have hanging out in the kitchen.

Roasted Potatoes in Garlic-Ginger-Chile Sauce

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serves 6 as a small plate or appetizer, adapted from Saveur

1 1/2 lb bite-size yellow or white potatoes, or larger potatoes cut into 1-inch dice

2 TBSP peanut oil, divided

16 dried arbol chiles

1 cup no-salt-added vegetable stock

1/4 cup low-sodium tamari

1 TBSP corn starch

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 2-inch piece ginger, sliced (generous 1-1 1/4 oz)

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 TBSP dark sesame oil

Preheat the oven to 400. Toss the potatoes with 1 TBSP of oil and roast for about 1 hour, until very tender and golden, tossing halfway. Set aside.

While the potatoes cook, place the chiles in a bowl and pour in hot water to cover. Cover with a kitchen towel and let soak. When the potatoes are done, discard the soaking liquid.

Whisk together the stock, tamari, corn starch, vinegar, and tomato paste until smooth. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 TBSP of peanut oil thoroughly in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and chiles, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sauce and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring very frequently, until thickened and fragrant. Add the potatoes, cook an additional 2 minutes, and continue to stir very frequently.

Remove from heat, stir in the sesame oil, and serve.

Party Animals No. 22: Infused Gin, Carrot Butter, and a Double Peanut Butter Tart for a Potluck with Pals

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The gin, from the ever-handy Vegan Food Gifts, was infused with fresh ginger, cinnamon, and orange zest. This was our first infused booze--a gift for the host--and we were fully romanced by the results. The added flavors came through both smoothly and deeply. We can't think of a better gift for the cocktail enthusiast in your life than infused liquor.

Carrot Butter Bread Spread from the Candle Cafe cookbook: We served this with baked pita crisps made from Flour Head pita. Both this spread and the double peanut butter tart, we're afraid, suffered from what we like to think of as an uncharacteristically heavy hand. The tart was a total guess, and it turned out to be indiscriminately rich, and some of the nicer notes we hoped to feature were drowned. 

The carrot butter, on the other hand, was very nice on its own. Lightly sweet, and light all around, we tried giving it a nudge with an extra dash of salt and a generous addition of fresh thyme. We should've let the essence of carrot be what it was. Next time, we will, and rather pair this with a separate dip to add contrast and heft. Cook and learn.

Gochujang-Brown Rice-Adzuki Bean Burgers with Kimchi and a Ginger-Parsley Spread

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Spicy, nutty, and substantial, this burger is ready for cool weather. Toasted pecans, sesame seeds, and oats provide great depth of flavor while brown rice and adzuki beans provide binding and a satisfying, chunky body. This burger gets nice and crisp on the outside while the ground toasted nuts keep the texture firmer on the inside. 

For those who like it hot (that's us), there's a generous helping of gochujang paste baked right in that pairs well with the cooling, tangy ginger-parsley spread and sweet-funky butternut squash kimchi. Feel free to adjust the quantity if you're sensitive to heat. 

Gochujang-Brown Rice-Adzuki Bean Burgers with Kimchi and a Ginger-Parsley Spread

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yields 8 burgers

For the burgers :

1/2 cup dried adzuki beans, soaked 8 hours 

1/2 cup dried brown rice of choice

3/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

3 TBSP gochujang paste

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup pecan halves (unsalted) 

2 TBSP sesame seeds

For the Ginger-Parsley Spread :

1/2 cup plain nondairy yogurt

2 tsp seasoned rice vinegar

1/8-1/4 tsp salt, to taste

1 2-inch piece ginger (generous 1 oz), minced

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley

To serve: 

8 buns

kimchi, store bought or homemade 

Drain and rinse the adzuki beans, then cook at a low simmer in 2 cups of water with the pot lid cocked. When the beans are nearly done, around 45 minutes, add 1/4 tsp of the salt and cook until tender, another 15 minutes, or as needed. Drain well.

Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water to boil in a small pot, add the brown rice, cover, bring back to a boil, and immediately reduce heat to low. Let cook undisturbed for 30 minutes, until all water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Preheat the oven to 375. 

Transfer the cooked rice and beans to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and gochujang paste. Mash roughly with a potato masher, leaving plenty of chunks. Set aside.

In a dry skillet, toast the oats, pecans, and sesame seeds, tossing frequently, until the oats are toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a food processor and process until the pecans are well ground. Stir into the bean and rice mixture. Press a handful of the mixture together. If it holds, shape into 8 tightly packed patties. If not, mash the mixture until it holds together when shaped.

Bake for 15 minutes, flip carefully, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until browned and crispy on the outside. Leftovers are best reheated in the oven. 

To make the ginger-parsley spread, puree all ingredients until uniform in texture. Adjust vinegar and salt to taste. Serve burgers topped with the yogurt spread and kimchi.  

Party Animals No. 21: Jumbo Chocolate Cream Puffs for a Birthday Celebration

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So, these are pretty fun. We made these cream puffs using the eclair recipe from Miyoko Schinner in the October VegNews.  We're not certain how much this recipe totally "works," but it's worth pursuing. And the flax gel is pretty exciting. 

Note also that Miyoko's homemade vegan butter recipe in that same issue is really great. The flavor beats out the leading vegan margarine, easy, though the nondairy milk you use probably makes a difference. We used homemade almond-oat milk, which we assume helped the flavor of the butter to be fresher. 

To fill these cream puffs, we used a variation of our dead simple peanut butter mousse, substituting almond butter for the peanut butter and strongly brewed coffee for the lemon juice.

Chickpeas and Kalamata Olives in a Spiced Tomato Sauce

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The name says it all: satisfying chickpeas and potent olives are thrown into a pan with a pile of tomatoes, lemon slices, and an assertive blend of spices, then left to cook into one impressive, saucy, Moroccan-inspired  dish. Make the rice while it simmers, and dinner is served. And really good.

Since making your beans from the dried state results in a firmer bean than canned, we suggest doing that here for a satisfying main-dish texture, not to mention flavor you can control, and lower cost. Do note, if your beans take longer than the suggested time in this (or any) recipe, don't panic. Older beans can take longer to cook, sometimes significantly.

To allow comfortably for the longer cooking time, try putting this together on a weekend day while you're doing other things around the house. You'll be rewarded with a dish worth the extra wait. Or make the beans in advance, on an evening while you're cooking a different meal. With beans already prepared, the whole thing comes together in just about half an hour. If you do use canned, you'll need 2 1/2 cups of beans, well rinsed and drained, and add a bay leaf to the whole mixture before covering to let simmer. Remove it along with the spent lemon slices before serving.

Chickpeas and Kalamata Olives in a Spiced Tomato Sauce

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serves 3-4

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked 8 hours

3 1/2 cups water

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt, divided

2 TBSP olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes

1 TBSP smoked paprika

 1 TBSP turbinado or brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

scant 1/2 cup kalamata olives (meaning, aim for under the line rather than over)

1 lemon, scrubbed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas. Place them in a pot with the water, bay leaf, and liquid smoke. Cover, bring to a boil, cock the lid, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a low simmer until tender, about 60 minutes, checking occasionally after 45 minutes. When the chickpeas are almost done, add 1/4 tsp of salt (reserve the other half) and continue cooking until done. Drain well. 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chickpeas and cumin and cook for 3 minutes, tossing frequently.  Reduce heat to medium-low, add the garlic, and cook, stirring/tossing constantly, an additional 2 minutes.

Carefully crush the tomatoes individually into the sauce pan with your hands and pour in their liquid. Stir in all remaining ingredients, except reserved salt, topping with the lemon slices. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer, uncovered, an additional 5-10 minutes, until thickened to the desired consistency (increase the heat a bit, if needed, to maintain a steady simmer). Taste and add the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, if needed. 

Remove lemon slices and serve over rice, any grain of choice, or with a generous serving of crusty bread.