Anja shows how to make a quick hummus recipe using canned chick peas and canned butter beans as the main ingredients. She blends these with some spices, and makes an almost instant hummus dish. Once, you have this basic hummus dish, you can add different ingredients such as roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers, etc. Unlike traditional hummus recipes, this one does not have any olive oil in it, which makes it is a much healthier recipe. Serve it with crackers, vegetable slices, or as a spread on sandwiches, etc. Enjoy. Continue reading
Category Archives: Basics
How to Make a Vegetarian Alternative to Fish Sauce by Christie Morrison (America’s Test Kitchen)
There are delicious recipes that include fish sauce. Fish sauce adds umami, or depth of flavor and savoriness to recipes.. Most umami-rich foods are animal based, such as bacon or fish or parmesan cheese. However, several vegan foods such as seaweed, mushrooms, and miso also contain umami. And, fermented foods, such as soy sauce, are loaded with umami. Here is an easy to make recipe, developed by America’s Test Kitchen, to make a vegan fish sauce alternative. Or, you can buy a commercially available vegan fish sauce. Continue reading
How To Replace Eggs in Recipes by Gillian B
Gillian demonstrates how easy it is to prepare a vegan egg replacer using chia seeds. Ground flax seeds can be used in the same way. If you don’t want to use a commercial egg replacer, chia seeds or flax seeds are great healthy alternatives for recipes that use eggs as binders. She also talks about what she did to make French toast without using any eggs. Continue reading
Cooking With Spices Using Culture Profiling and Different Food Ingredients by Chef Todd Mohr
In this video tutorial, Chef Todd Mohr shows how he uses his spices to create ethnic food flavors, and how to organize and use them with different types of food ingredients. It’s a good start to help understand how and when to use different spices. Continue reading
Basic Herbs Masterclass with Georgie Socratous
In this video tutorial, Georgia describes the differences between soft herbs and woody herbs, when and how to add herbs to dishes and what to do with the stalks. She describes how to include different herbs with different ingredients, and, she shows how to dry herbs. Continue reading
How to use a Pestle and Mortar by Jamie Oliver
Jamie demonstrates the two basic techniques for using a pestle and mortar, bashing and muddling. He demonstrates how to grind spices with both muddling and bashing. He then creates a wonderful flavored oil by bashing fresh basil leaves and mixing them with olive oil. Finally, he makes a marinade by bashing lemon peel, rosemary, garlic, and olive oil. You can almost smell and taste his dressing, flavored oil, and marinade just by watching his video. Learning how to use a pestle and mortar is definitely a skill worth developing. Continue reading
Cooking with Herbs by Jamie Oliver
Jamie uses several different herbs, which are great for both flavor and health, to show how to harvest the herbs from their stems, and how to chop/cut them to release their flavors for use. He provides tips such as – running herbs under warm water for about 7 seconds to loosen up their natural oils and increase their flavor. Also, picking small leaves and placing them in a cup of water keeps them fresh and perky, ready to be used as a delicious and attractive garnish on your finished plate. Try these simple techniques and take your cooking skills to a higher level. Continue reading
New England Glam Chowder by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Isa prepares a vegan version of the popular New England Clam Chowder using a mix of button and shitachi mushrooms as substitutes for the clams, and cashew cream for the dairy cream. Add some other healthy ingredients, simmer the combination for a short while, and you have a delicious and inventive vegan soup. This recipe looks luscious and hearty. Try it. It might become one of your favorites. Continue reading
Smoked Paprika “Cheese” by Anja
Many non dairy cheese substitutes are made with nuts or soy products. In this video recipe, Anja demonstrates how to make a non-dairy cheese substitute with oats, sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and other spices, and lemon juice. She blends the mixture. She then makes an agar agar and water mixture, which she adds to and blends with the previous blended mixture. She places this combination into molds, which she places in the refrigerator After this “cheese” mixture has set up, she then enjoys her non-dairy “cheese”. You can tell Anja enjoys creating and preparing vegan recipes. You should try this too. You can experiment with adding different herbs and spices. I’ll bet you will be pleased with it. Continue reading
Lasagna with Tofu Spinach Ricotta and Cheese Sauce by Margaret Meyer
Margaret doesn’t have a recipe for this lasagna. She “just makes it.” Watch the video, and you can follow along, and “just make it” too. Although, she uses her own canned pasta sauce, you can substitute store bought pasta sauce, or fresh or canned tomatoes. In this video, Margaret also shows how to make a vegan “cheese” sauce and a substitute for ricotta cheese using tofu. Margaret says this is a family favorite and usually a “no fail” recipe. It’s easy to make. It can be made ahead for use later in the week. Try it. You’ll like it too. Continue reading