"New Recipe a Week": Vegan Buddha Bowl

Not every new recipe a week I try works out, but every now and again, one gets elevated to permanent Pepperplate status.

Tonight's is one of those.

I've been a big fan of the vegetarian 101 Cookbooks website for many years. I also have two of Heidi Swanson's cookbooks: Super Natural Cooking, and Super Natural Every Day. (I'm been wanting her third, Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel, but haven't grabbed it yet.) I think I've only made one or two recipes over a decade of following her that have completely bombed. (And when I say, completely bombed, I mean they weren't winners for our taste buds. Not that the recipe was somehow bad.)

Just about a year ago, I did a Top 25 list of "new recipes a week" that were winners for our household. Lots of them were Heidi's. (And I should mention, I still stand by that list, if you're wanting a place to find some new cooking and baking inspiration.)

All this to say, tonight I made Heidi's Vibrant Vegan Double Broccoli Buddha Bowl. And even though I *may* have added a little too much garlic (is that actually a thing?), it was quite tasty — and quite pretty, with all the greens popping to the forefront. I told my husband it was like a salad, but more interesting. For what it's worth, I added all the toppings she recommends (minus the hot sauce for me — but my husband liked the hot-sauce addition). The only thing I would change for next time is I would toast the almonds longer. I think it would add a little extra both in flavor and crunch.

This Buddha Bowl was really easy and quick to put together — especially since I cooked up quinoa in my Instant Pot over the weekend — which was also super easy, thanks to my friend JL's cookbook Vegan Pressure Cooking. Her book is helping me to focus more on pre-cooking grains and beans, and to freeze them so weeknight cooking goes a lot faster. Once I've got this trick solidly up my sleeve, I'm hoping to learn to make and freeze breakfast burritos — if you have any suggestions on this process, let me know in the comments below.

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Do you have any vegetarian or vegan recipes you've been blown away by recently? I'd love to hear about them in the comments. I'm always on the hunt! And ... happy cooking!

My "new recipe a week" Top 25

I honestly can't remember when I started my "new recipe a week" project. It was an Instagram thing for me before I started recording them anywhere else, and that's been going for a few years at least.

While I haven't hit every single week, I realized when looking back over my Pepperplate recipe list, that I've hit way more than I thought I had. (Some weeks I'd miss, but some weeks I'd try two or three. I think it's all balanced out in the end.)

Of the 100-plus new recipes I've given a shot over the past couple of years, 25 of them were yummy enough to stick around. Thanks to a couple of friends who've asked, I'm sharing that list with you today.

I've divided the dishes out by categories. Note: because I'm vegetarian, you won't find any meat on this list. It's also worth saying that lots of these dishes are also vegan, gluten-free, or easily prepared one of those ways.

I do have about a dozen cookbooks I still page through, and I love grabbing them from the library and skimming, but more and more, I head online to find recipes.

My favorite sites include:

• 101 Cookbooks: Heidi Swanson's site is easy to use, and, since she's also a photographer and traveler, beautiful. I have never cooked anything that completely flopped from her recipes, and I have both of her cookbooks as well. (The few recipes that haven't been winners for us have been due to taste.)
• My New Roots: Sarah Britton earns the title of recipe queen, in that, of all of the new recipes I've tried, it's her Big Comfy Sweet Potato dish that I've cooked over and over again, not only for my family, but for dinner parties. You'll find the recipe link below.
• Food52: Food52 can be hit or miss, mainly because it's a community recipe site. That said, I've found that if you stick to recipes that have received tons of likes, or that are contest winners, you're usually good to go. And they've got an awesome blog for foodies. Really great cooking resource.

OK, on to my top 25.

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Main courses

Big Comfy Sweet Potatoes: The dish I mentioned above. OMG. SO yummy.

Wintery Mushroom, Kale and Quinoa Enchiladas: I'd never made my own enchilada sauce until this. And it was excellent.

Heidi Swanson's Baked Oatmeal: Yum. Just yum. Great for breakfast, brunch, and morning potlucks.

Open Face Egg Salad Sandwich: I prefer chives to dill in this. Whatever you do, don't overlook the garlic step. (This is actually a Heidi Swanson recipe from one of her cookbooks, reproduced on a blogger's website.)

Refried Beans with Cinnamon and Clove: I placed this in main courses because I use them as a taco salad base. This recipe makes a TON, so use a big pan and be prepared for leftovers. Side benefit: it makes your house smell yummy.

Broccoli-Basil Mac and Cheese: Use delicata squash! So much easier!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos: More yum. (Pictured above.)

Asparagus and Brown Rice: Love this, but make sure you rinse the chickpeas really, really well.

Cheese-Crusted Eggs: Super easy.

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Salads/Soups/Sides

Lime Peanut Coleslaw: Good side to the Big Comfy Sweet Potatoes, if you're wanting something else or having a group.

Carrot-Dill-White Bean Salad: I could eat this all day.

Farro Kale Salad: Use non-sweetened dried cranberries if you can.

Garlicky Greens: Garlic makes everything better. I've made this with kale, spinach and chard. All good.

Cherry Tomato Cous Cous: Makes a ton, so good for lunch leftovers.

A Simple Tomato Soup: Such an easy homemade soup. I pour over brown rice, add a dab of coconut milk cream, and top with toasted slivered almonds.

Roasted Carrot Soup: The only bad thing about this recipe is that it doesn't make much.

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Baking

The Life Changing Loaf of Bread: OK, it hasn't changed my life, but it's rather good.

Olive Oil Granola: The best thing about this recipe is that you can alter to the nuts and seeds you prefer. Just keep the ratios in mind. Great over yogurt.

Maple Syrup Scones: I love these so much.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies: I love these even more.

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Other Sweets

Fudgesicles: Good anytime, probably best in summer.

Crisp Raw Apple Pie: This. Pie. Is. Brilliant. Vegan. GF. Raw. And seriously brilliant. I use pomegranate, and I don't use the Wild Orange Oil.

Alicia Silverstone's Crispy Brown Rice Squares: Kids love these! Adults love these! I love these!

Pine Nut Brittle with Rosemary: Perhaps an odd mix of flavors, but really tasty.

Salted Maple Honeycomb Candy: Mmmm. That's all.

Questions? Let me know in the comments! And happy cooking!

I made my own ginger beer. You can too.

I love all things ginger, but I'm a particular sucker for ginger beer. As a part of my "40 before 41" journey, I wanted to learn to make what seemed to be a fairly easy non-alcoholic drink.

A friend of mine who concocts the ginger beer (of which I'm quite fond) for a local bar agreed to show me the ropes (and pass along his basic recipe), and so last fall I spent a morning helping him with a fresh batch — which mostly meant chopping and squeezing a whole lotta citrus, and watching him stir a humongous vat of the stuff.

A few weeks ago I finally got around to making a gallon of my own. It was an easy process and so I'm here to share the details of what I did with those of you who might also be aspiring ginger-beer-makers.

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Ginger Beer

Basic Ingredients

• 325 grams of ginger juice, or 1.5 lbs whole ginger
• 1 lb. raw or white cane sugar
• 1/4 lb. of honey
• 3 limes
• Champagne yeast (I used Red Star Pasteur Champagne Active Dry Wine Yeast, purchased at a local homebrew shop for about $1.50)

Bottles: Reusable flip-top cap style — I used four 34 oz. ones from IKEA, but eight 16 oz. ones would work too

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Instructions

1. Juice your ginger, or peel and chop the whole pieces.

2. Boil ginger, sugar, honey and lime with a 1/2 gallon of water (for an hour if ginger pieces, 5 minutes if ginger juice).

3. Fine strain liquid, add water up to 1 gallon and shake to mix.

4. Fill each bottle, making sure to leave some room at the top. For each 16 oz. of liquid, add about 25 granules of champagne yeast.

5. Seal securely, shake well, and store in a warm, dark place for 48 hours.

6. After 48 hours have passed, refrigerate immediately to stop the carbonation process.

Drink, and smile. Or mix 4 ounces of ginger beer with 1.5 ounces of rum, pour over some ice, garnish with lime, and smile even more through your first housemade Dark 'N' Stormy.

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A few additional notes:

• I used a juice extractor to juice my ginger. I'm not sure whether the bother of the machine was more or less work than peeling, chopping and then using cheesecloth to fine strain would have been, but I'd probably stick with the juicing process if I did it again.

• My bottles did not explode, but I hear that they can, so store your bottles carefully with this potential in mind.

• My ginger beer had quite the kick to it. At times, so much so, it made me cough. There are all sorts of possible reasons for that — from the ginger itself, to the type of honey, to things I'm sure I know nothing about. Next time, I'll probably try lowering the amount of ginger just a wee bit, and maybe play with limes and lemons, but it is a bit of a crapshoot.

Big comfy sweet potato

Yes, it's actually called that. And its sauce topping is titled "Red Blanket Sauce."

Cute.

And tasty.

This #newrecipeaweek comes courtesy of Sarah at My New Roots, which I think I'll be making regular visits to for cooking inspiration. (Her mission statement, as posted at the top of her site, is "How to make healthy choices every day." And, on top of that, her photos are gorgeous and inspiring for me as I learn to maneuver this blog world.)

The thing my husband and I liked best about this meal was its utterly unique, and unexpected, flavors, including spices cooked in coconut oil, cocao powder and dates.

Sarah comments that her Red Blanket Sauce is good for topping much more than just this dish — think rice, lentils, scrambled eggs, etc. And though I haven't tried any of those yet, I think it's likely I'll agree.

Let me know if you give this a go in your own kitchen and what you think.

Alicia Silverstone's crispy peanut butter treats

OK, not a #newrecipeaweek for me, but one of my go-to sweet-snack recipes. I found this Crispy Peanut Butter Treats recipe in Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet cookbook, which is a great resource for vegans, as well as those who are interested in attempting a vegan diet and lifestyle. (As is Silverstone's website.)

I've made these time and time again — not only are they super easy but they take very little time to pull together. And they're bowl-lickable.

Adults and kids alike have no idea that they're both gluten free and vegan. They're that dang good. (And for that reason, make a great option for potlucks when you aren't certain of individual diets and preferences.)

I will note that the official ingredient list includes carob chips, but I've not found that they add enough to actually keep using them.

The best brown rice crisp cereal I've found that holds up to the brown rice syrup and peanut butter is Barbara's. I've tried others and they just don't have the same crunch. I have replaced the peanut butter with almond butter in the past, and they're just as good. I'm sure you could try sunflower or hazelnut butter, too, if you've got family and/or friends with allergies.

Now that I think about it, I might try these once with Justin's Chocolate Almond or Hazelnut Butter. Hmm. That could be quite brilliant, actually.