Skillet Eggplant and Lentils

I’m packing my bags and getting ready to fly to Portland early tomorrow morning for Vida Vegan Con, the largest gathering of vegan bloggers ever to invade a conference center. I’m so excited to get to teach a photography workshop with two of my idols, Isa and Hannah, and to sit on a panel of Special Diets bloggers that includes the fabulous Kittee, Gena, and Fran. If you’re there, please introduce yourself; I’ll be the woman carrying a box of Kleenex because I’m fighting off a big cold. (You may not want to shake hands!)

With all my travel preparations, I haven’t had much time to cook, but since my family will be fending for themselves while I’m gone (and probably eating too much take-out), I wanted to get one last healthy meal on the table before I go. I had an eggplant that needed using and several basil plants that needed pruning, so I threw together this easy one-pot meal. My husband raved about it (and especially loved the Almond Parmesan) while my daughter grumbled about the eggplant but wound up eating every bite. If you use canned or already prepared lentils, you can have this homely-looking but tasty dish on the table in about a half hour.
Continue reading →

{ 42 comments }

Kale Mallung (Sri Lankan Kale with Coconut)

by SusanV on August 17, 2011

Kale Mallung

On vacation this summer, my family and I had the pleasure of eating at Source, a vegetarian restaurant that opened in San Francisco earlier this year. The entire meal was delicious: E had the lasagna, of course, and I had a chickpea-stuffed rice pastry called Borek. But the the stand-out was the special of the day that D ordered, a tasting plate of 6 or 7 different Sri Lankan curries and vegetables. Each sample was just a few bites, and since it was D’s dinner, I didn’t get to taste enough to remember many of the details, except for one simple dish–kale cooked with fresh coconut. Simple but sublime.

Continue reading →

{ 31 comments }

Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Dressing

August 8, 2011
Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Salad Dressing

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letter D… not D for “dressing” but D as in my husband D, who can’t get enough of this dressing. He’s been pouring it on salads and drizzling it on sandwiches ever since I made it for the first time (we’re now on our second batch). I [...]

Read the full article →

Cashew Carrot Salad

July 31, 2011
Cashew Carrot Salad

I’ve discovered a salad that my daughter will gobble up like candy. In fact, she eats so much of it that she’s almost in danger of turning orange! I’m talking, of course, about good, old-fashioned carrot salad–but with a few updates and improvements.

Read the full article →

Homestyle Green Beans and Potatoes

July 18, 2011
Homestyle Green Beans and Potatoes

I know that after my recent talk about all the San Francisco restaurants where we dined on our vacation, some of you expected me to come back with ideas for fancy, cutting-edge dishes. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but here I am with something so un-trendy, so uncool, that most bloggers would be afraid to [...]

Read the full article →

Waterfalls and Crutches and Bears, Oh My! — Our California Vacation

July 14, 2011
Crutches in San Francisco

On the second day of our summer vacation, our daughter E fell and broke her foot while hiking on a rocky trail in a remote part of Sequoia National Park.  We were about half a mile away from the trail head on our way back, and we hadn’t seen one other person on the trail [...]

Read the full article →

Chili-Stuffed Peppers

June 30, 2011
Chili-Stuffed Peppers

My husband’s been suggesting for years that I stuff some bell peppers, and he always wondered why I would roll my eyes and tell him he could stuff them himself. The truth came out over dinner the other night. It turns out that both of our mothers made stuffed peppers, but while D remembered them [...]

Read the full article →

Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

June 23, 2011
Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

My daughter hated it. My husband described it as “different from any coleslaw I’ve ever tasted.” And I agreed with my husband. So why am I posting it here? Simple: I like odd coleslaws, and this one is odd but interesting. Light yet spicy, this lime and cumin-infused salad is the perfect accompaniment to burritos, [...]

Read the full article →