Use Garlicky Bread Crumbs as a topping for pasta dishes, tacos, salads, and wherever you want a pop of crunchy garlic. I use them in place of Parmesan cheese. This is a something-for-nothing recipe because you can use the heels from your bread loaf or day-old French bread that you might otherwise just throw away. Garlicky Bread Crumbs Add a sprinkle of flavor to pasta dishes, salads, and more. It's a good way to use up stale bread, including the heels. Makes about 1 1/2 cups or 6 servings. Sorry that I can't show that in the servings field below, but it's fine if you print the recipe. Cuis ..read more

If there were ever a time to ditch chicken eggs, this is it. Egg prices are soaring because of the highly contagious Avian Flu, which has already caused farmers to kill millions of chickens this spring. Use Aquafaba (Chickpea Broth) instead of Eggs for Baking Aquafaba is essentially free. I poured it down the drain for decades! Now I know that  three tablespoons of aqufaba replaces one egg in many recipes for cakes, cookies, and breads. You can whip it like egg whites to make meringues and other fancy desserts. I even use it in place of milk in frosting, tablespoon for tablespoon. Visit ..read more

I scored a George Foreman grill at a thrift shop for three bucks. I love how quickly it grills vegetables, especially eggplant. I eat them hot off the grill as a side dish. These tender grilled eggplant slices would be excellent layered with tomato sauce for eggplant casserole or eggplant subs. About the George Foreman Grill The small George Foreman grill is handy for cooking for one or two. We ditched our gas grill as part of our commitment to electrify everything. As our electrical grid relies more on renewable energy, all our appliances and our car get greener and greener. My grill has fixe ..read more

I’m taking a break this summer to nurture the Evelyn Jackson Wild Life Garden, named for my wild and wonderful Aunt Evelyn. I’m encouraging and adding native plants to welcome pollinators, birds, lizards, and other wildlife. Last summer, we added a two pools, a bog garden, and a rain garden. This year, I’m focusing on planting and encouraging the parts to work well together. Soon I’ll list it as part of Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park project. Like our kitchens, our gardens are a primary way we interact with the world. We can use them to make a difference by encouraging biodiversity, av ..read more

Dear Cook for Good Supporters and Friends, I’m taking a break from running the Cook for Good project, at least through the summer. You may have seen that coming, as I posted fewer recipes and blog updates. I’ve canceled all the Cook for Good supporter payments, saying thank you so much to each of you. Many of you have been with me and Cook for Good since the project went public. My longest-term supporting member, April M., joined on May 28, 2011. Given everything that is going on in the world, my Taster and I are fine. In fact, I’ve gotten my first shot of the vaccine, channeling Dolly Parton ..read more

In the competitive world of vegan dining, one dish stands out as the fiber champion: Pine Cones Alfredo. While amateur vegans merely trade fiber-free foods like meat and dairy for beans, artichokes, and kale, the pros rely on robust recipes like this to get their grams up. My Uncle Eliot graciously allowed me to share his recipe. He saw it as essential to being named a Top Fiber Fellow for five years in a row. “It ain’t rabbit food,” he said between chews. “Nothing amps your microbiome like pine cones.” Pine Cones Alfredo are: Crunchy Creamy Woodsy Filling Free-range Thrifty Gluten-free Floral ..read more

Want to brighten someone’s day with a bouquet but don’t have a spare vase? My friend Elise taught me to use clean aluminum cans for flowers! The shiny silver looks modern on its own. You can also wrap the can to hide a sticky label strip or just for fun. Here, I used a scrap of bird-themed wrapping paper for birder friends. I use a can opener that cuts the lid in a way that doesn’t leave sharp edges. If you don’t, wrap the edges in sturdy tape to avoid injury. When the blooms are past their glory, your lucky recipient can reuse or recycle the can instead of returning a vase ..read more

Lemon Tahini Dressing brings the brightness of citrus and the magic of umami to salads, roasted vegetables, and baked potatoes. You may be tempted to eat it by the spoonful. This creamy dressing is a dairy-free, climate-friendly alternative to ranch or blue cheese dressing. Save money by using the lemon zest instead of an extra lemon. Lemon Tahini Dressing Tangy, creamy, and savory, this dressing works well on salads, roasted vegetables, and baked potatoes. Makes just under 2 cups of dressing or 14 servings. Prep Time10 minutes Ingredients 1/2cup olive oil 1/4cup tahini 1/4cup shoyuor ot ..read more

My editor asked why I nixed soy in Wildly Affordable Organic. I cited the influential 2009 article in Men’s Health that made a case for soy being the “most dangerous food for men.” The story cited peer-reviewed papers, which I read  to verify my stand, checking for financial interest on the part of the authors. The anti-soy warning rang true, because my Taster lost his strength and energy during a period when I cooked a lot of mock-meat soy products. (I was fairly new to cooking all plant-based, and finding ch1k’n was a relief.) He returned to normal within a few days after I switched bac ..read more

Marinate frozen and pressed tofu in this homemade barbeque sauce, then bake or grill it for a healthy and thrifty main dish. (The image above shows baked cubes and a grilled triangle). Use it in sandwiches, on salads, tucked into a taco, or just as the protein anchor for a meal. If you’re in a hurry, use bottled barbecue sauce. You can use the barbecue sauce by itself on beans too. Barbecued Tofu Meaty slabs or squares of tofu, marinated in a spicy barbecue sauce Servings3 servings Ingredients 12ounces Frozen and Pressed Tofu Barbecue Sauce 1/3cup shoyuor soy sauce 1/3cup ketchup 2 ..read more