Topic: comfort food

Winter Table: Vegan Mac ‘N’ Cheese From Chef Chloe Coscarelli

Winter Table: Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese From Chef Chloe Coscarelli

My boyfriend and I are embarking on a ‘vegan challenge’ this March. While I’ve been vegetarian and vegan for periods of time in the past, this will be his first time cutting out meat, dairy or any other animal product. Though the month of veganism was his idea, he remains a bit worried that his food choices will be too limited. I’m glad we can still make macaroni and cheese, with this super easy, broccoli-laced vegan mac ‘n’ cheese recipe from Chef Chloe Coscarelli. More »

Winter Table: Mashed Sweet Potato And Turnips With Thyme Butter

Winter Table: Mashed Sweet Potato And Turnips With Thyme Butter

I wasn’t sure what to do with the big bunch of turnips I’d gotten from the local CSA pickup this week, because turnips are one of those vegetables a bit outside my culinary comfort zone. But it turns out turnips mash up almost as nicely as potatoes. I riffed on this recipe from Eating Well, with sweet potatoes and turnips mashed together and flavored with thyme butter (the EW recipe calls for more sweet potatoes than turnips, but I made mine more turnip heavy and that worked out just fine). The result was creamy and light, with a traditional mashed potato consistency but way more flavor and less fat and calories. I did use butter, but you could substitute vegan margarine to keep things dairy-free. More »

Winter Table: Carrot Mac & Cheese

Winter Table: Carrot Mac & Cheese

I’m not a big fan of carrots on their own, but I know they’re good for me, so I like recipes that kind of sneak them in. But in this carrot mac and cheese dish—my riff on this recipe on Leite’s Culinaria from cookbook author Melissa Clark—the carrots aren’t just for stealth nutrients; they actually add to the macaroni’s creaminess and flavor (while helping cut down on calories by replacing some of the cheese). More »

Fakesgiving: A Thanksgiving’s Worth Of Vegan Recipes To Fool Your Loved Ones

Fakesgiving: A Thanksgiving's Worth Of Vegan Recipes To Fool Your Loved Ones

Vegans don’t need to sacrifice taste—or comfort food favorites—to have a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Here’s a meals worth of ‘Fakesgiving‘ recipes, from your main course to your (mushroom) gravy, (sweet potato spelt) rolls and (quinoa) stuffing. Leaving out all the butter, eggs and dairy from some of these staple Thanksgiving dishes can sure cut back on fat and calories, too—so even omnivores might want to give these vegan recipes a look. More »

Autumn Eats: Miso Noodle Soup

Autumn Eats: Miso Noodle Soup

Next time you’re feeling crappy, or the weather is cold and wet, try this chicken noodle soup alternative, made with health-promoting miso, garlic and ginger. Miso, a fermented soybean paste, has a rich, salty flavor and is a great source of B12 (which vegans may lack) and zinc, manganese and copper, three important minerals for immune function support. And one serving of miso has two grams of protein for just 25 calories (it’s somewhat high in sodium, though, which is why this recipe uses water instead of stock or broth). The noodles make it seem like a childhood sick-day favorite, but instead of being packed with sodium and preservatives, it’s full of ingredients that can actually help you get over being sick. More »

Paula Deen’s Butter-Flavored Lip Balm: Putting A Little ‘South On Your Mouth’?

Paula Deen's Butter-Flavored Lip Balm: Putting A Little 'South On Your Mouth'?

Move over, Lip Smackers: Your Dr. Pepper chapstick has nothing on Paula Deen’s new butter-flavored lip balm. Yes, that’s right: The Queen of Southern Cuisine has been slammed for using too much butter in her preposterously unhealthy recipes, but she doesn’t seem to let it phase her, or stop her from expanding her empire into the providence of beauty products. More »