Beachside Corn-Potato-Roasted Poblano Tacos

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If you're ready for sunshine and picnics but still experiencing the occasional snow-in-April event, come sit by us. Take two classic beach-boil foods--sweet corn and fluffy potatoes-- from the freezer and combine them with roasted poblanos and Old Bay seasoning to make one killer taco (or three). These tacos may remind you of the shore, but whip up nicely in any chilly spring kitchen.

With the corn and potatoes soaking up a bit of buttery coconut milk, the taco filling is a real charmer, but don't skip the garnishes, which is what brings the freshness that balances the starch. We had intended to use chives in place of the red onion, but had to make do, so feel free to make that swap. And if you're a cilantro hater, try parsley or even finely shredded romaine. But whatever you do, don't skip the squeeze of lime. Cold pilsner optional, but highly recommended.

A note on the potatoes: we use frozen hash browns for convenience, but not for the crispy surface area. Instead, simply baking them leaves them tender and fluffy, and the fine texture means they break down just a bit during mixing and provide a touch of binding. If you want to cook your potatoes from scratch, try baking and cooling (even chilling) the potatoes, then grating them.

Beachside Corn-Potato-Roasted Poblano Tacos

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yields 8 tacos

2 large poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and halved lengthwise

16 oz frozen hash browns (look for a brand that contains nothing but potatoes)

generous pinch salt

1 TBSP olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz frozen (or fresh) corn kernels

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

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

2/3 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

8 six-inch soft corn tortillas, warmed

chopped chives (or thinly sliced red onion), for garnish

chopped cilantro, for garnish

lime wedges, for garnish

Heat oven broiler and place poblanos, cut-side down, on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place on a rack five to six inches from heat source and cook until blistered and black over most of the surface, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully gather the foil ends and wrap into a closed package. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment, spread the hash browns out evenly, sprinkle with salt, and bake until fluffy and beginning to brown at the edges of the pan, 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil gently over medium heat in a large pan and saute garlic, being careful not to burn. After two minutes, add corn, Old Bay, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for three minutes, reducing heat as necessary to avoid scorching. Add coconut milk and stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat to low, and hold until the potatoes are ready.

Meanwhile, unwrap the peppers, make sure they're cool enough to handle, and carefully remove the skins (by this time, they should come away easily). Cut each half in half lengthwise to get a total of 8 strips.

Stir the cooked potatoes into the corn mixture and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

To assemble, place a poblano strip in the bottom of a tortilla, top generously with potato-corn mix, sprinkle on chives and cilantro, and top it all with a light squeeze of lime.

Party Animals No. 29: Spiced Almonds Two Ways (from Pure Vegan) for a Birthday Gift

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When we received the invitation to an (obligation-free) birthday dinner for one of our loveliest friends, we knew we didn't want to come empty-handed.  So out came the cookbooks, and the spiced nuts from Pure Vegan felt like the right fit. We followed directions from the book precisely, but we'll give you the rough outline.

First up, the maple-ginger-tamari almonds. Equal parts grade B maple syrup and reduced-sodium tamari (the book does not call for R-S, but it's all we ever use) are whisked together with olive oil and a dose of powdered ginger. Bake until browned, let cool, et voila.

The vanilla-mint nut recipe is really a recipe for pistachios, but we had extra almonds and no pistachios on hand. (Pistachios do not last long in the MSV kitchen.)

Give the nuts a preliminary toast (about half the total time), and meanwhile, combine one part fine sea salt, one part vanilla extract, and three parts each olive oil and minced fresh mint. Toss together, pop back in the oven for the last half of toasting, and let cool. Or serve warm. Bliss.

Both recipes yield a beautiful nut that isn't too heavily seasoned. They make elegant snacks alone or can jazz up a salad. And don't forget to toss them on top of ice cream. Enjoy.

Seared Asparagus and Tofu Sandwich with Garlic-Herb Sauce

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Hello, spring. Crisp asparagus paired with simple seared tofu, all toasted on wheat with this completely gorgeous, dead-simple garlic sauce means meals are full of flavor and light on elbow grease. Because you've got some spring sunshine to soak in.

One of the things that makes this sandwich a breeze is the fact that we don't bother pressing the tofu here. Give it a good sear on the outside to provide an alluring golden crust, and let the inside of your tofu stay blissfully tender to contrast the crispness of the asparagus and toasted bread.

The only thing that takes time with this recipe is roasting the garlic for the sauce. To make it easy on yourself, throw a couple cloves in the oven any night while you're making something else, then you can keep the sauce in the fridge for several days, ready to go. It's a killer accompaniment to this and other vegetable sandwiches, makes exquisite garlic bread, and we can't wait to try it with summer's tomatoes.

Seared Asparagus and Tofu Sandwich with Garlic-Herb Sauce

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makes 4 sandwiches

about 30 asparagus spears, tough ends removed

1 tsp olive oil

generous pinch fine sea or kosher salt

14 oz extra-firm tofu, drained

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

8 slices wheat bread (we like Flour Head)

1/4 cup Garlic-Herb Sauce, or to taste, recipe follows

black pepper, to taste

Heat a countertop electric grill (or griddle or outdoor grill). Toss asparagus with 1 tsp oil and generous pinch salt. Spread asparagus in a single layer and grill until crisp-tender and browned in spots, 7-10 minutes, or as needed. Set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, with the tofu in landscape position (long end toward you), cut it into 8 even slices. When the skillet is hot, carefully add the tofu in a single layer, without touching. Whisk together the nutritional yeast and 1/2 tsp salt, sprinkle over the tofu, and let cook, undisturbed, 5 minutes. Flip the tofu and cook another 4-5 minutes, until golden brown.

Reheat your countertop grill or a sandwich press. For each sandwich, top one slice of bread with two slices tofu, 7-8 asparagus spears, a generous drizzle (about 1 TBSP) Garlic-Herb Sauce, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Sandwich, grill until golden, and serve warm.

Garlic-Herb Sauce

yields 1 cup

2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (we used Thai Kitchen brand)

1 tsp dried dill or other herb of choice, or 1 TBSP fresh herb(s) of choice

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

Heat oven to 400.

Place garlic cloves in a small piece of aluminum foil, drizzle oil over garlic, wrap up, and cook 30 minutes, until softened. Allow to cool before discarding skins.

Combine roasted garlic, coconut milk, herb(s), and salt. Blend until smooth. Chill until ready to use. Will last a few days in a small, airtight container in the refrigerator.

Party Animals No. 28: Big Ears 2014 Sunday Brunch ftr. Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato-Prune-Pecan Tamales

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The Big Ears Festival is a big deal around the MSV house. Since it revived this year after a too-long hiatus, we decided to make it an even bigger deal by hosting brunch on the final morning of the fest. The menu:

• sweet & spicy sweet potato-prune-pecan tamales served with maple syrup and a rich coconut-lime spread
• refried beans served with avocado slices and habanero salsa
• broiled grits cakes
• jicama-grapefruit salad with sweet citrus-mint dressing
• tortilla chips and mild tomato salsa
• ginger-mango agua fresca
• lime-cucumber-mint agua fresca

We cannot get over how great these tamales are. Tons of flavor, but with a fairly short list of ingredients, these little guys hit our homestyle culinary sweet spot. And since the filling is fairly firm at room temperature (it does soften upon steaming), these tamales are some of the easiest to assemble you may ever find.

And note that we had extra dough left, which we formed into plain tamales, and they rival the filled ones for our affections. Like biscuits or tortillas, tamales without fillings make wonderful meal accompaniments, and we found these particularly charming. (Plus, dead simple to form.)

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Sweet Potato-Prune-Pecan Tamales

yields about 30 filled tamales, plus another 6 or so plain

For the filling

3 cups chopped pecans

3 cups (about 60) prunes, roughly chopped

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

1 ½ tsp chipotle powder

1 TBSP ground cinnamon

For the dough

24 oz sweet potato, peeled, diced, and boiled until very tender

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

3 TBSP maple syrup

3 ¾ cups warm water

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ tsp salt

1 TBSP baking powder

5 ¼ cup masa harina

To assemble:

corn husks, soaked for about an hour

Heat oven to 400 and toast pecans until darkened and fragrant, about 10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Transfer to a food processor and grind to a minced texture. Meanwhile, mash prunes with spices in a mortar and pestle (alternately, pulse in a food processor).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cooked sweet potato, spices, syrup, and oil. Mix well. Add water and mix again. Sift together salt, baking powder, and masa harina. Add to the wet ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment until fluffy and smoothed out a bit. The dough will remain a little sticky.

Assemble tamales using 2-3 TBSP of dough and a generous TBSP of filling for each. Steam for 40-45 minutes.

If desired, serve with maple syrup and our Coconut-Lime Spread.

The coconut-lime spread is adapted from Saveur, but we found their version far too sweet for our liking. And that goes double when you're already offering maple syrup on the table. So we put the emphasis back on the richness of the coconut milk and ended up with a silky, totally luxuriant condiment.

Coconut-Lime Spread

yields 3/4 cup

1 can coconut milk

1 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/8 tsp pectin

zest of ½ lime

Simmer coconut milk and sugar until reduced to 3/4 cup, about an hour. Stir in pectin and zest. Cool and chill.

Next up, a note on our savory components. Our refried beans aren't actually refried at all, but simply well done and pulsed with an immersion blender and some added oil before serving. Many a meal has been made from them. And while the grits cakes are pretty irresistible handheld munchies, our favorite way to dig into both is to top the grits with the beans, then avocado, and a drizzle of spicy salsa.

To add a fresh element to the table, we combined crispy, juicy, earthy, gently sweet jicama with brightly colored, tart grapefruit and tossed it all in a dressing of mixed citrus and mint. Totally simple and a total winner.

Grapefruit-Jicama Salad with Sweet Citrus-Mint Dressing

2-3 large jicama, cut into matchsticks

4 grapefruit, peeled and segmented

¼ cup + 2 TBSP orange marmalade (bittersweet preferred)

¼ cup + 2 TBSP lime juice

¼ cup apple syrup

finely chopped mint leaves from about 3-4 sprigs, or to taste

Whisk together marmalade, lime juice, syrup, and mint. Pour over jicama and toss well. Add grapefruit and toss gently to distribute.

Since a pal was generous enough to offer to bring the day's cocktail--a tasty ginger-tequila-lime concoction we're bummed we didn't take a shot of--we had time to whip up a couple of refreshing and festive non-alcoholic options. The lime-cucumber-mint agua fresca seen above is total heaven alongside the habanero salsa. Highly recommended for the warm months when you find yourself with a stack of grits, beans, avocado, and salsa. Which we expect we often will.

Also on the table was a ginger-mango agua fresca (which we also failed to shoot) that can certainly be had alone, but mixes well with bubbly, which another guest was kind enough to provide. For an even lighter alcoholic drink option (because seriously, some of us have things to do after brunch), it mixes beautifully with light beer when garnished with a squeeze of lime. Summer in a glass.

Do note that both of these recipes offer guidelines when diluting the mixtures. Add as much or as little water as you like to get a light, refreshing result that you feel like you could drink all day. And finally, we really prefer turbinado sugar for these. If you choose to use white sugar, you'll likely need less than called for.

Lime-Cucumber-Mint Agua Fresca

24 oz cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 cup lime juice

6 TBSP turbinado

3 cups water

3 sprigs mint

Puree all ingredients except mint. Add mint to a pitcher, pour the agua over it, and chill. Serve over ice.

Ginger-Mango Agua Fresca

20 oz thawed frozen mango

1/4 cup lime juice

2 oz ginger

1/4 cup turbinado

20 oz club soda

Puree all except sparkling water. Strain. Chill the liquefied mango and club soda separately. Add soda just before serving and mix well. Serve over ice.

And since it was also(!) another friend's birthday, we'll leave you with a little shot of a ganache tart we made using our cornmeal-bourbon shortbread recipe for the crust. Cheers!

Habanero and Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

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Fruity and fiery habaneros, brilliantly colored and sweet roasted red peppers, a little garlic and onion, and done. A rough chop, a few minutes under the broiler, and you have a condiment that puts the bottles in your cabinet to shame. At least for as long as the jar lasts. Which isn't as long as you might think.

Most of us don't have the time and energy to make everything from scratch everyday, nor can every plate be a production. For us, an important part of enjoying our simpler meals means having an arsenal of homemade condiment recipes that can be kept in the fridge for a week and stand by ready to make a plain block of tofu or a can of beans into a satisfying meal.

Because, seriously, tofu scrambles and chickpea pancakes are our go-to convenience meals for nights we just can't stand the thought of washing the knife and cutting board(*). If we had to chop an onion every time we went to make them, it would defeat the whole purpose. Keeping this salsa in the fridge makes sure we're always only minutes from digging in.

(*That's also why broccoli is our favorite scramble veg--the florets can be picked apart by hand. And, bonus, if your tofu is set with calcium carbonate, the combo knocks out more than a third of your minimum recommended calcium for the day. That's a pretty powerful easy meal.)

Habanero and Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

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yields a generous 2 1/2 cups

1 small (or 1/2 large) white onion, halved and sliced

1 clove garlic, gently crushed and peeled

2 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and halved

5 habanero peppers, stemmed and halved

1 cup water

1 1/2 TBSP lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)

1 1/2 TBSP white vinegar

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

Heat the oven broiler and place the peppers cut-side down on a baking sheet with the other vegetables (tuck the garlic clove under the edge of a bell pepper half to shield it from the direct heat to keep it from burning). Broil until the peppers are blistered and the onions have begun to brown in spots, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add water, lime juice, vinegar, and salt to a food processor. Add charred vegetables and puree until smooth.

Vegan Lemon Meringue French Toast

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This post is actually a two-fer, because it not only contains this completely fun vegan lemon meringue french toast, but our standard, loveable, dead-simple, cinnamon-laced french toast recipe serves as the base.

We're of the mind that this recipe sells itself, so in between shots of fluffy, barely sweetened vegan meringue, we're giving credit where credit is due, and there's plenty to go around.

The meringue is made from the gel that results from boiling flax seeds, and it was Miyoko Schinner who discovered this one. (Here, it's used as a soft, unbaked garnish, but the great folks at the PPK forums have done some additional work making flax meringue heat stable.)

Speaking of stability, this is fairly delicate stuff. It whips up great, but can't be held, so make sure you have your french toast prepped so you can serve it all up right when the meringue is done.

Whipping the flax gel is straightforward and takes only minutes, but you will need to plan ahead. It whips up best frozen and thawed, which takes time. So make the flax gel right now (really, right this minute), stick it in the freezer where it can sit until you're ready, then simply transfer to the fridge the night before you want to make this dish. Then the whole thing's done in less than 15 minutes.

And full disclosure: that stuff up there isn't lemon curd. It's a mango concoction we had left over from filling doughnuts (recipe soon!) after we ran out of our batch of lemon curd. It tends to go fast. Our totally tasty chamomile lemon curd--adapted from the infinitely useful Vegan Food Gifts--is smoother than what's pictured above, and only that brilliantly colored right after cooking:

Once chilled, which is when you'll actually use the stuff, the fat solids turn it pale and opaque:

And now what we all came for:

Vegan Lemon Meringue French Toast

Note: this recipe has been updated, September 2016

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serves 2 generously, inspiration from here

2 TBSP chickpea flour

1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other nondairy milk, or water)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch salt

2 tsp nondairy butter or coconut oil

2 large slices bread

lemon curd, recipe follows

vegan meringue, recipe follows

Whisk together chickpea flour, water, cinnamon, and salt.

Heat fat in a skillet over medium-medium-high heat. When thoroughly heated, dip each slice bread in the chickpea mixture, coating both sides, and cook for 3 minutes on each side, checking the second side after 2 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup for plain french toast or with lemon curd and meringue for lemon meringue french toast.

Chamomile Lemon Curd

yields 1 1/2 cups, adapted from Vegan Food Gifts

6 TBSP hot water

1 TBSP dried chamomile

1 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 3-4 lemons)

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup nondairy butter

1/4 cup cornstarch

Steep chamomile in hot water for 10 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid, and discard chamomile.

Bring sugar and lemon juice to a boil over high heat. As soon as it bubbles, reduce heat to medium. Stir in zest and butter. Stir until melted.

Whisk together chamomile tea and cornstarch until smooth. By now, the pot should be bubbling again. Add chamomile-cornstarch slurry to the pot and stir constantly until thickened, a few minutes. (When it's ready, the curd will begin to come away from the bottom of the pot as you stir.) Allow to cool, then chill.

Vegan Meringue

adapted from Miyoko Schinner

1/3 cup brown flax seeds

2 cups water

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1 TBSP powdered sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Add seeds and water to a small pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat as necessary to keep the pot from boiling over, but maintain a steady high simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the strained gel measures 1/3 cup when you pour the whole mixture through a fine mesh sieve and give it a few good stirs to help release the gel a bit. (More volume, and it will be too delicate to reach stiff peak stage, at least that was our experience.) Reserve the seeds for another purpose.

Cool gel thoroughly, transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer. (It should keep well for some time.) When ready to use, transfer to the refrigerator and let sit for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Place the thawed gel in the bowl of a stand mixer (the gel may or may not still have a bit of ice crystals in it) fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on high for a total of about 9 minutes. (An electric hand mixer will work, too.) Add the cream of tartar after the first couple of minutes, when the mixture turns opaque and begins to gain volume. Add the sugar after 7 minutes, when it should be near stiff peak. Add the vanilla extract at the very end and whip just until incorporated.

The Seriously Serious Salad with Sesame-Crusted Scallions and Peanut Dressing

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It's easy to make a vegetable-centric salad into a satisfying meal by adding beans, grains, nuts, or seeds. Or if you want to get really serious, all of the above. And for a special garnish, take those often discarded scallion tops, crust them in a luscious blend of sesame seeds and almonds, and bake them into crispy little strips. Add a creamy peanut dressing, and salad for dinner is something to look forward to. Good enough to serve friends, even.

If you hadn't already noticed, this salad is no joke: hefty enough for those with higher calorie needs or just the thing for a nourishing, energizing dinner on those days you barely grabbed lunch. But note that if your appetite isn't quite as large, the calories are easily adjusted down by reducing the couscous by half, and you'll still have a meal-sized salad on your hands.

The dressing makes more than needed for this amount of salad, and will keep well in the refrigerator for several days. It's good on everything. And of course, feel free to blend up a batch in advance so you have one less thing to do when you go to make your meal.

The mix of freshly chopped and softer cooked elements, a healthy dose of herbs, a small pepper for heat--in short, the variety of colors, flavors, and textures will keep you loving this bowl to the very end.

If you're new to handling a knife, just go slowly, and don't worry too much about presentation. (Our julienne is frequently closer to baton and never less tasty for it.)

The Seriously Serious Salad with Sesame-Crusted Scallions and Peanut Dressing

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serves 2 generously (see note in post)

For the dressing:

3/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 TBSP reduced-sodium tamari

1 TBSP sesame oil

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP mustard powder

1/2 TBSP turbinado

1/2-inch knob peeled fresh ginger, sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup water

For the scallions:

2 TBSP hulled sesame seeds

2 TBSP unsalted almonds

1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

3 TBSP chickpea flour

3 TBSP water

8-10 scallion tops, from 4 scallions

For the salad:

1 cup water

1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame

1 cup dried couscous

1 head romaine, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch strips

4 scallions, white and tender green parts (tops reserved for garnish), very thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and julienned

1 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned

1 cucumber, seeded and julienned (peeled, if desired)

4 large basil leaves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped (or substitute flat-leaf parsley)

1 serrano pepper, finely chopped (or less, to taste)

1 avocado, pitted, skinned, and sliced

freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

To prepare the dressing, add all ingredients to a half-quart jar and blend with an immersion blender until smooth, a minute or two (or use a standard blender). Set aside.

Heat oven to 375.

To prepare the scallions, use a coffee grinder to grind sesame seeds and almonds into a meal. Add salt, pulse to combine, and transfer to a pie plate.

In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together chickpea flour and water. Individually, dip the scallions into the chickpea mix, scraping each side along the edge of the bowl to release excess batter. Press both sides into the sesame-almond meal, shake off excess, and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake until crisp and toasted, being careful not to brown (read: burn) them, about 10 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, heat 1 cup water in a pot over high heat. Place edamame into a steamer basket over the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Upon boiling, remove the steamer basket, add couscous to water, and stir to combine. Replace steamer basket and cover, turn off heat, and let sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. (If you don't have a steamer basket that can be handled when hot, steam or blanch the edamame separately.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all chopped vegetables, except avocado. Add the edamame, fluff the couscous with a fork, add, and toss well. Add avocado and black pepper, toss gently to incorporate, and serve, garnished with the scallions and dressing on the side.

Red Beans and Broiled Grits Squares with Roasted Okra

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Pair easy, slow-cooked, slightly saucy plump red beans with simple slices of roasted okra and addictive, seriously peppery cakes of grits that are crusty on the outside and creamy inside, and you have one satisfying meal.

Though this dish is ready to go as-is, if you have extra time and energy, try crusting the okra before baking.

Red Beans and Broiled Grits Squares with Roasted Okra

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serves 4

For the beans:

8 oz dried kidney beans, soaked for 8 hours

2 cups water

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1 dried bay leaf

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 TBSP chickpea flour

1 TBSP nutritional yeast (optional)

1 TBSP olive oil

3/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

For the okra:

2 cups frozen sliced okra

2 tsp olive oil

generous pinch fine sea or kosher salt

For the grits:

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt

3/4 cup quick-cooking grits

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

2 TBSP olive oil

To serve:

hot sauce (optional)

Drain and rinse soaked beans and add them along with 2 cups water, onion powder, marjoram, bay leaf, and liquid smoke to a slow cooker. Cook on low until tender, about 7 hours. Drain again, reserving the cooking liquid. Set aside.

Heat the oven to 425. Toss the frozen okra with oil and salt. Cook until browned and tender, about 45 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Prepare the grits by bringing 2 1/2 cups water and salt to a boil over high heat. Add grits, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring very frequently, for 5 minutes. Add pepper and oil, stir until the grits have soaked up the oil, and remove from heat. Transfer to a loaf pan and chill until firm, about half an hour.

To finish the beans, heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpea flour and toast, tossing, for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add the nutritional yeast and oil and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Whisk in the reserved cooking liquid from the beans and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes--it will not thicken dramatically, but it will gain a little body. Stir in the beans, adjust seasoning, if necessary, and keep warm.

Heat the oven broiler with a rack in the second highest position. Slice the chilled grits and transfer to a baking sheet. Broil until crusty on top and golden in spots, about 15 minutes per side.

To serve, top two grits squares with a generous helping of beans and finish with okra. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

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.