Holiday, Main Dish, Pasta, Vegan

Pumpkin Sage Conchiglioni with Cashew Béchamel

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Pumpkin Sage Conchiglioni with Cashew Béchamel

This dish is one of my all-time favorites—complex yet approachable. Part savory, part sweet, it brings together earthy sage, aromatic baking spices, and a subtle drizzle of maple syrup for a flavor that lingers just right. Unlike most pumpkin-ricotta recipes that lean fully savory, this one dances between sweet and earthy in a way that feels both comforting and unexpected.

The pumpkin folds seamlessly into the sage’s grounding flavor, while the baking spices give it warmth and depth. Top it with my creamy cashew béchamel, and you’ve got a holiday-worthy dish that makes a bold statement at the Thanksgiving table (turkey optional). Bonus: it pairs beautifully with both reds and whites—but if you’re asking me, I’d pour a glass of oaky Chardonnay.

No Turkey? No Problem. 🥂🍂

Pumpkin Sage Ricotta

Dresssing

Champagne Vinaigrette

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Champagne Vinaigrette

If there is one thing I like to keep on hand at all times, it is this summer dressing.  It is so simple yet versatile and delicious.  The flavor of Champagne vinegar is very mild and light.  Though not necessarily made of grapes from the Champagne region of France, the quality of the vinegar can vary drastically.  I bought Champagne Vinegar by O.  

It’s not necessarily the grapes but the quality of the vinegar that matters. I like the O brand because its acidity is right around 6%, making it less acrid and more well-rounded in flavor.   This would be wonderful over roasted asparagus, leafy salads, roasted tofu, or a more hardy potato salad!

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Steph

Rice Dish, Vegan, Vegan Bowls

Coconut Rice with Peanuts Chili & Lime

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Coconut Rice with Peanuts Chili & Lime

It’s no secret that I’m a cooking enthusiast.  One of the things I love most is the joy of discovering and trying out new recipes.  I’ve cooked rice countless times, but the idea of using coconut milk was a delightful surprise. When I stumbled upon this recipe in the New York Times, I was immediately intrigued. Replacing most of the cooking liquid with full-fat coconut milk, Christian Reynoso’s original recipe was so good that I only made a few minor adjustments, mostly because I used ingredients on hand.

I love any recipe with peanuts or peanut butter, preferably both! Add a little heat, and now you’ve got me! The original recipe called for Sambal Oelek. Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chili peppers.

Lately, with all things chili paste, I have added Mr. Bing’s Spicy Chili crisp! Their website describes it perfectly. “An intensely flavorful, crispy, not-too-spicy, slightly sweet dream of a condiment created using crunchy garlic and onions, our special fusion of chilies, mushroom powder, spices, and non-GMO oil.” It’s divine. I add it to soups, tofu eggs, tacos, and now, rice dishes!

At first, I was a little skeptical about the amount of lime juice and zest, but I proved myself wrong! The lime juice gives it a zest and amplifies the other flavors. I recommend doubling the recipe and thanking yourself later! Be sure to double everything in the recipe except salt. Salt doesn’t scale in a linear direction like other ingredients. So, if you decide to double, start with a 50% substitution and taste. Remember, salt is a powerful flavor enhancer, and doubling it can easily overpower the other flavors.

As always, tag me if you make it.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Steph

BBQ, Main Dish, Plant-based Meat

Red Cabbage Onion Burger with Sriracha Mayo

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Red Cabbage Onion Burger with Sriracha Mayo

When I decided to write a burger recipe, I wanted to make sure that it was recipe-worthy. And when it comes to burgers, the best burger is a simple burger. I’m a sucker for onions and knew they would be a great addition. I  sautéed red onion and red cabbage, which I seasoned with garlic and red pepper flakes! And boom!  

I finished the burger by lightly toasting the brioche and slathering it with spicy mayo. It was divine. You can add slow roasted peppers, pickled vegetables, vegan blue cheese, guacamole, or even coconut bacon. The truth is there is no wrong way to make a burger!  

You can use whatever protein you want. Whether it’s made out of beets and quinoa, black beans, or Beyond meat, follow these easy steps to build a better burger!

 

Raw, Salad, Vegan

Tarragon Chickpea Salad with Riced Broccoli and Cauliflower

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Tarragon Chickpea Salad with Riced Broccoli and Cauliflower

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Michael Greger, MD, at a conference here in St. Louis. I had read his book, “How Not to Die,” and was delighted to hear him speak. One of the biggest takeaways was learning about a sulfur-rich compound called sulforaphane. Found in certain cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, sulforaphane is a powerful antioxidant that cancels out free radicals in the body and protects your DNA. 

Plant-based Summit 2018

It has also been shown to reduce certain toxins, reduce inflammation, and provide protection from cancer, specifically breast cancer stem cells. It also protects against blood vessel damage in people with diabetes and lowers the levels of fat found in our blood. 

The thing about sulforaphane is that it must be developed before being eaten. The easiest way to do that is to cut up your broccoli and let it sit for at least a half-hour before eating.

Chopping and exposing broccoli to the air allows it to activate the enzyme to promote sulforaphane. And if you’re not used to getting a lot of fiber in your diet, cutting up the broccoli and cauliflower makes it a bit easier to digest!

This dish is best served cold. It can easily be made the day before and it holds up quite well!  It would also be a perfect dish for your Memorial Day weekend! As always tag me and let me know how you liked it!

XO,

Steph

 

 

Soups, Vegan

Potato Leek Soup

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Potato Leek Soup

To me, this vegan Potato Leek soup is the ultimate comfort food.  I make it several times a year, and it never gets old.  I have modified it over the years for several reasons.

First, I switched out russets for Yukon gold potatoes.  Yukons are buttery and creamy, whereas russets are slightly flowery and neutral.  Second, I use coconut milk instead of soy or oat milk.  The full-fat coconut milk gives it a creamy thickness that I love in soup.  Regular plant-based milk made it too runny.  This soup is meant to stick to your bones!

Finally, I started using a few more of the Provencal herbs instead of just rosemary and thyme.  You can buy Herbes de Provence pre-made, or if you’re a spice lover like me, you can make your own.  This simple blend includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf.  You can use it on just about anything, too!  I love it on avocado toast!

Savory is a rarely used provincial herb. It is in the mint family and makes the herb blend so wonderful, in my opinion!  Feel free to use what you have on hand, but if you have some mint, I recommend adding just a pinch or two!

Curries, Soups, Vegan

Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato

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Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato

We are so fortunate to have the best Indian grocery store not too far from our house. There are aisles of spices, rice, and about a hundred kinds of dal! Dal in Sanskrit means “split,” but it refers to split and whole versions of various lentils, peas, chickpeas (chana), kidney beans, and so on. So, the chana dal I used for this recipe is a split chickpea! 

The best part of this recipe was the addition of whole spices. Imagine how good your kitchen will smell while sautéing onions, cloves, a whole cinnamon stick, and cardamom. Delicious! You can use any green on hand. I just happened to have some spinach that needed to be used, but kale is a great option, too.

This is an easy recipe for the Instant Pot, too. Use the sauté feature to cook the onions and spices. Then, pick up the recipe at step three and cook on high for 15 minutes. I cubed and browned my sweet potatoes before adding them to the lentils. If you don’t roast or brown them first, you risk them becoming mushy. 

Italian, Pasta, Vegan

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

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Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

One of my favorite meals as a kid was macaroni and cheese.  Kraft out of a box kinda mac-n-cheese.  It was the first thing I made ever made by myself.  Of course I never read the directions and it was usually too runny.  I remember once even making it using water because we were out of milk.  It was awful, but I still ate it.

Over the years, the Kraft powdered cheese and elbow pasta faded into the recesses of memory and was eventually replaced with conchiglie pasta drowning in a creamy gruyere sauce. When I became a vegan 8 years ago, I figured the days of gooey, melty cheese and pasta were over. And for a few years, they were. Whether it was nostalgia or a renewed craving for my childhood favorite, I set out to make the ultimate vegan mac-n-cheese. 

Many of the sauces I tried used shredded vegan cheese that lacked my desired flavor and texture. I also wanted to use something other than elbow pasta but wanted to stay in the macaroni family. 

Macaroni pasta is broadly defined as any short, cylindrical extruded pasta. Extruded, meaning the pasta is made by forcing a dry semolina-and-water dough through a die. Spaghetti, rotini, fusilli, penne, bucatini, macaroni, and rigatoni are all examples of extruded pasta.  I opted for a gluten-free corn based rigatoni. 

My gruyere recipe was tangy and delicious. And I felt the tang was always missing from my vegan sauces until I discovered a sneaky little ingredient that would be the game changer. Saurkraut. Yes, sauerkraut.  

Like cheese, sauerkraut’s characters tangy flavor comes from the ubiquitous lactobacillus bacterial (lactic acid) species that are used to make the famous Swiss gruyere. Trust me, kraut made all the difference. 

This recipe also uses potatoes as a thickener. I do not like using extracted starches like corn starch or tapioca starch. They typically leave a bitter taste and have no nutritional value. The mighty potato, however, has the starch I needed and contains vitamin C, potassium, and B6. 

I like to make my bread crumbs, too. My go-to is always sourdough. I like, I mean, I love sourdough bread. Not only is it easier to digest and has a lower glycemic index, but it also has low gluten sensitivity and beneficial bacteria, and sourdough maintains many of the original nutrients that are processed out of other kinds of bread, like iron, magnesium, B6, B12, and zinc.

As always tag me if you make it and let me know how you like it!
XO,
Steph

 

 

Plant-Based, Summer Recipes, Vegan

10 Must Try Recipes Before Summer’s Over

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10 Must Try Recipes Before Summer’s Over

Summer is almost over, and before it is, I pulled 10 of my must-try before-summer recipes.   I’ve covered everything from soups and appetizers to main dishes and desserts!

One of my favorite things to use is our pizza oven. It is honestly my new favorite toy! It takes a bit of work, but it is worth the effort. This recipe is one of my favorites, and if you don’t want to make it on the grill, you can easily throw a tray in the oven!

 1. Charred Broccoli and Garlic Ricotta Toast

Summer wouldn’t be summer without watermelon! This is one of my favorite soups, and I think you’ll like it too! If you can find a “Black Diamond” watermelon, grab one! They’re worth the price!

2. Watermelon Gazpachco

Who doesn’t love a yummy, beautiful bowl for lunch or dinner? I love pickling and canning fresh vegetables from my garden.   Onions are my new favorite thing to grow! I keep pickled onions on hand nearly year-round. This recipe uses tomatoes, quick pickled onions, and micro-greens!

3. Hummus Bowl with Roasted, Raw, and Pickled Vegetables

I made the following recipe for the Fourth of July a few years ago. These tiny treasures only take a little while to make, but they do need some freezer time, so it’s best to make them the day before you want to eat them! If you like red, white, and blue, skip the matcha in the cheesecake and add key lime juice to your white layer! This recipe is also 100% raw vegan.  For the rose cheesecakes, I added Anima Mundi Herbals Dirty Rose Chai collagen powder, a plant-based collagen that is super bio-available.

4. Raw Key Lime, Blue Spirulina, and Rose Cheesecakes

Summer is usually a pretty busy time for us. We travel a lot, everyone runs in different directions, and sometimes I want a quick meal. My go-to is pasta! Cacio E Pepe in English means cheese and pepper. This simple delight is on the table in under 30 minutes.  This recipe is perfect for you if you have cherry tomatoes growing in your garden!

5. Cacio E Pepe with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Fennel Pollen

If you have been with me for a while, then it’s no secret that I love Mexican food. I could eat it every meal daily and never grow tired of it. Tacos are my mainstay; I eat them for breakfast and dinner. The only thing that is second to tacos in my book is a creamy, delicious dip served with tortilla chips.   Hence, my following recipe. Muy, muy delicioso!

6. Smoky Poblano Corn Dip

An oldie but goodie is my Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Mango Salsa. Mango season is now! I love them so much; their sweetness perfectly complements the spicy curry and sweet potato. If you don’t have a spiralizer, most grocery stores will have sweet potatoes spiralized or butternut squash, which has a similar color and flavor and makes a fine stand-in.


7. Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Mango Salsa

Another mainstay of summer is my Poke Bowl with Compressed Watermelon.  In place of Ahi Tuna, the compressed watermelon is an impressive imposter.  If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, don’t worry; you can use a straw and a gallon-size ziplock!  It’s a little bit of effort for a whole lot of flavor.

8. Poke Bowl with Compressed Watermelon 

For this Kansas City native, summer is not summer without BBQ.  Honestly, I don’t miss meat. I miss the smell and flavors of slow-roasted barbeque.  Jackfruit is wonderful because it has the texture of meat and loves to soak up the flavor of any marinade or sauce.  I lived in North Carolina for a while about 25 years ago, and when my work said they were bringing in BBQ, I was stoked.  Then, when I opened my little styrofoam box and found slaw on top of my meat, I almost threw it in the trash.  Not to mention, it was also a vinegar-based BBQ instead of tomato-based.  I still hate vinegar-based BBQ. It’s not natural.  However, I did make nice with the slaw on top of my sandwich, and now I can’t get enough!

9. BBQ Jackfruit Sliders

My friends, let’s end with a dessert, shall we?  This simple sorbet recipe uses one of my favorite summertime ingredients, the lovely, delicious, and often overlooked rhubarb. A vegetable is often used as a fruit in the culinary world.  When choosing rhubarb, look for crisp stalks that are firm and tender. Try to avoid stalks that are too hard or thick. Unlike its friend, the strawberry, color doesn’t have much impact on taste.

10. Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet

Enjoy, my friends!  It’s been a long, hot summer, for sure.  I don’t know about you, but I am exhilarated by the notion of cool autumn weather!

Much love.  See you in September.

XOXO,

Steph

 

Aging, Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Psychology

Don’t shoot the messenger

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Don’t shoot the messenger

This piece was written by my good friend and neighbor, Kelly Wolz.  It is dedicated to all the girls I’ve loved before, my sisters of the present, and all the women I will meet and share life with in the future.

My sentiments exactly.

XOXO,

Steph

———–

I have been seeing a lot of reviews on the Barbie Movie, and to be honest, I haven’t seen it, and I’m not sure if I will.

It’s not that I’m not a supporter of females or blind to all the adversities we feel and deal with daily. Trust me. I could write a book on how dirty I and some women in my industry have been played.

Disclaimer, I know what I’m about to say will come off as wholly arrogant, and that’s okay. I feel a bit entitled and proud of my hard work and where I am, and it didn’t come easy.

Sadly, I’m not the norm regarding confidence, and I’m incredibly comfortable in my skin.

Here is the truth. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows regarding being a confident female. Unfortunately, that confidence comes with extreme guilt, sadness, hate, and wonder.

Regarding the hate, I take action from Jay Z’s playbook “Gone brush your shoulders off.”

It’s the wonder of women that always gets me messed up. Women always wonder what other women have or how they walk around with such confidence—constantly questioning the validity of their own persona and doubting that someone with a certain face, size, kind of car, hair, makeup, kids, husband, no husband, etc could be so happy.

Instead of being happy and proud, most women are in disbelief and wonder why someone could be so delighted with who they are and what they have.  

Just know, What’s good for me or someone else, may not suit you. Good thing, I am me, and you are you.

And for me one of the hardest things for me as a female is to watch another female (especially if it’s someone I respect) bring another female down. What’s even worse than that???

Witnessing such beautiful women struggle with what they see in the mirror and then letting that image affect them mentally.

So you know, some of the most physically beautiful friends and family I have, maybe some of the most insecure people I know.

Society has led people to believe we should be concerned and worried about women who don’t charm the world and the insecurities they may have as a result. (Don’t worry about us; our milkshakes can still bring the boys out to the yard). 😉

I am more concerned about our children and the women who hold the power to charm the world and feel that pressure always. They spend their time counting calories, feeling the need for the best of everything: the perfect body, hair, clothes, and makeup.

It’s almost as if the world treats them like performers. Their sole purpose is to be easy on the eyes of society.

And the moment they take a break from trying to impress the world, they feel that negative energy from everyone because people hold so much value in their beauty that they don’t take the time to see their inner beauty.

Ladies, can we make a pack? To be more supportive of each other and more open about our confidences and insecurities. Can we build each other up instead of ripping each other down when we think someone has surpassed where we want to be?

Let’s use our women super powers and determination to ensure our children have fewer adversities than we do. We are all in this together ❤️