My husband and I often share meals. However, the same food might look quite different, as I strive to add more plant-based foods. When I say that, I mean real food, coming from the earth, not what you might find in the supermarket (natural food or not) in a box, can or frozen. I am not referring to Impossible or Beyond burgers or anything like that.  This post was sparked by the morning cereal (porridge) that I make. The base recipe is simple: 2/3 cup organic steel cut oats The other 1/3 cup is millet and buckwheat groats 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional) 2 c ..read more

Sometimes when my husband is not around and I am free to make a little or big mess in the kitchen, I do so. These pancakes don’t make too much mess, take not long to make and the result is so worth it, especially when I tuck some into the freezer to eat later. The abundance of blackberries this year and my good sorghum gluten-free sourdough starter inspired me to make these. Sourdough Sweet Potato Pancakes (with Blackberries) Makes about 6 medium to large pancakes 1 cup brown rice or teff flour or a combo or a gluten-free flour mix ½ teaspoon salt (optional) ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon ..read more

My hands are caked with soil. You can call it dirt, if you wish. But it is soil. My seeds are planted in small pots to let them germinate. Last year, I started them in egg cartons but I don’t have any right now so small pots it is. Yes, I am typing with grimy fingers because I didn’t want to forget that I wanted to write about how important it is to not lose your sense of humor. Truly, I don’t know of a place where you can get another one. We need to honor our uniqueness because each of us is different. I will continue to repeat, for some of us the past year has been challenging. Perhaps you ..read more

When I say gut health, people listen. Why? Because many of us have tummy troubles. People tell me that when they travel their digestion usually gets disrupted. Some people get diarrhea, some get constipated, some people feel bloated or gassy. These symptoms are real. So, here’s some gut education. Few of us truly understand the gut and the role that it plays in our health.  Only recently (in the past 10 years or so) have scientists done a deeper dive into the role of the microbiome and how it affects us – and not just our gut. You see your body is a semi-closed system. When one part gets ..read more

There are two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein I picked and ate a ripe blackberry this morning. It was, and is, a miracle. Autumn is upon us. I can tell by the change of weather, the air, and the light. Fall is fire season where I live. And sadly, fire season started early – in August. Luckily, I was safe but many others were not. Whoever thinks that climate change isn’t real might need to seriously rethink. Instead of that, I will focus on miracles as I somehow keep coming back to them because I believ ..read more

It’s a Pink Pearl, not a Gravenstein True to being the renegade that I am and the one who gravitates toward the “bright shiny objects”, I am going to use both Gravenstein and pink pearl apples in this recipe which I initially made at the Gravenstein apple fair in Sebastopol, California> I included this recipe in my cookbook The New Fast Food. It’s still a winner, and easily changed to suit your taste. Don’t like curry? Leave it out. Want it spicy? Add cayenne or a fresh hot pepper. Even grated ginger would be good. Want to make it a main dish? Add baked tofu chunks or cooked black or French ..read more

Being a vegan is great all year round but it is never more fun and exciting than in the spring. As the world wakes up from winter, markets are bursting with spring produce. Asparagus, peas, radishes, carrots and vegetables in all the colors of the rainbow are coming into season. It’s time to make something fresh and tasty and let your mouth know it is spring. Enjoy these vegan recipes featuring spring veggies that you can make right now. Your mouth, you mind and your belly will thank you! Asparagus Recipes Seasonal Sweet Onion, Mushrooms and Asparagus Melange The dish exemplifies late spring p ..read more

I have been fermenting vegetables for about 10 years, but maybe longer. I just cannot recall. I learned the method from Wild Fermentations, the seminal book by Sandor Katz. His recipe is 5 pounds of cabbage and 3 tablespoons of salt. I rarely make a batch of 5 pounds at once, as I am the only person in my family eating these amazing fermented foods. Here I share with you, my method, such as it is. I generally am attempting to use as little salt as possible and avoid using a brine (water and salt). I believe in letting the vegetables make their own “juice”. They did, in this instance, but I wil ..read more

Whether you are trying to work through the hidden gems in the back of your freezer or hoping to manage items you recently stocked up on–it’s helpful to have a clean and well-organized freezer. Closed up and hidden until we need something, the freezer tends to get overlooked when planning meals but chances are there is a lot of value in your freezer. If you’ve found yourself with a little extra time on your hands it may be time to investigate what’s in the freezer. We all have the need to keep busy now but there are only so many Zumba or yoga classes that you can do. Even I have found that ther ..read more

I originally wrote this post a number of years ago but the information on the Instant Pot still rings true but some of the facts don’t: I have been using an Instant Pot for many more than a couple of years. It’s more like 7. Sadly, Bobby Anderson no longer driving a truck or talking about the Instant Pot but I do hope that he is still eating well. Since the original post, I wrote my cookbook Vegan Under Pressure which many in the whole food plant-based world, call their Instant Pot Bible. It contains cooking charts similar to those in the New Fast Food and the cooking directions have been ..read more