'Tis the season of potato salad! Seriously, I've made more cole slaw and potato salads this month than I think I ever have...which is fine with me! We've had a lot of BBQ's, backyard parties, and things to celebrate this summer so we've been loving experimenting with different ingredients, and until last week, I had never thought to toss tahini in my the mix. I know - WHAT?! I LOVE pouring tahini on all things potato normally, and literally make a snack out of baked potatoes with tahini, lemon and dill on the regular. So how had I never poured any in my potato salad and served it up? Well, it was love at first taste. The addition of crunchy veggies and a little vegan mayo for creaminess makes it next-level good. I've been eating the leftovers all week! You AND your dinner guests will love it, too, I promise. So what're we waiting for?! Let's eat! 

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. red potatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped 
3 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup vegan mayo
1 cup tahini
2-4 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 tablespoons freshly chopped dill
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
​Place the potatoes in a large pot of water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

While the potatoes are cooling, chop up the onions and celery and them set aside.

Whisk together the mayo, tahini, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Toss in the potatoes, chopped red + green onions and celery, and toss to combine. 

Serve + enjoy immediately or keep it in the fridge up to a week!

NOTES
Serve 6-8.

Leftovers may need to be tossed as the lemon juice and tahini will separate slightly overtime. 

I know what you're thinking - GREEN kale soup?! Am I crazy?? I'm not, and I promise - this soup is kind of mind-blowingly good. Years ago at a restaurant I had a thick, green soup with a ton of spice. I doubt it was vegan, but I've been thinking about it ever since. And while I never got the secret recipe, I did do my very best to match the flavors and textures from that soup in this one. And I think I came pretty close. This creamy soup is packed with kale (so it's basically a salad, right?) and potatoes for creaminess, with a smattering of butter beans throughout and a ton of rich, smoky flavor. It tastes fantastic alongside a slice of crusty bread or topped with hemp seeds or oyster crackers for a little crunch. Alex gave this soup some pretty dirty looks before he took a bite - but he was totally pleasantly surprised! If he's a convert, I think I can make you one too. Either you're in or you're out at this point...so let's get cooking!

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cups red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups cooked butter (lima) beans
3 packed cups kale, stems removed
hemp seeds, for garnish
​
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onions together until fragrant, 3-5 minutes.

Pour in the potatoes, vegetable broth, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Continue cooking over low-medium heat about 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. 

Add in the beans, reserving a 1/2 cup to the side, and the kale. Stir to combine, and cook 5-10 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a high-speed blender until smooth. Pour in the remaining butter beans and stir. Serve immediately with a garnish of hemp seeds or crackers! 

NOTES
Serves 6.

Butter beans are also known as lima beans, so use whichever. You can also sub white beans here. 

Leftovers last about a week in the fridge or in the freezer indefinitely. 

If you've hung around here for awhile you probably know that I'm a big potato eater, having grown up in the great state of Maine. I like 'em cooked every which way and eat them way more than I probably should. But screw balance, because potatoes are the star of this dish and they are so, soooo worth it here. We started by slicing up our potatoes really thin, adding leeks cooked in garlic and rosemary, and covering the whole thing in a super cheezy sauce and homemade parmesan. It gets nice and bubbly when it cooks up and packs a ton of flavor. Its an easy dish to whip up and would make a great main or side dish at any meal. I used to love when my Mom would make gratin with dinner, so I'm happy I finally recreated the dish - but with a lot more flavor and a LOT less fat and salt than normal. It's cheezy, oozy-gooey, full of rich, savory flavor and something you're gonna wanna shovel into your mouth as soon as you pull it out of the oven - even Grandma will be impressed. Let's eat!

Looking for more with potatoes? Try our super popular Potato Leek Soup, Celeriac Mashed Potatoes, or  Classic Backyard Potato Salad!

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. gold potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 large leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 - 14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons corn starch 
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup homemade parmesan cheeze, to garnish the top

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Thinly slice potatoes and layer them into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Heat the coconut oil in a large cast iron pan over medium heat. When melted, sauté the leeks, garlic, and fresh rosemary over medium heat. Season with the salt and pepper and cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. [Take care NOT to burn the garlic + leeks- they don't taste good.] Remove the pan from heat, toss the rosemary stems, and pour the garlic leek mixture over the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish. 

In the same pan you used to cook the leeks and garlic, whisk together the almond + coconut milks, nutritional yeast, corn starch, fresh chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens - about 5 minutes. Pour this mixture over the leek and potatoes in the casserole dish and use a spoon to gently smooth it over the top, letting it fill the crevices between the veggies. 

Sprinkle parmesan cheeze over the top and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the mixture is golden and bubbling. Serve + enjoy!

NOTES
Serves 8.

Leftovers save well in an airtight container in the fridge up to a week. 

It's getting all kinds of wintery up in here! Okay, so not like actually wintery because I live in Southern California where there is seemingly eternal sunshine - but winterish. Definitely more wintery in some places than others, but tomorrow it is officially December. Almost Christmas, and New Year's and 2016...but before that, we have a hard, long holiday season where the weather is cold and the sweets are always around and maybe you just can't possibly stomach another baked good. I get that. So here I am, offering friendship and a meal that'll pick your immune system off the floor and right the balance of good bacteria in your belly. It's packed full of fall + winter foods and drizzled with a tangy cranberry vinaigrette, which nicely rounds out the sweet and savory flavors. It's easy, it's delicious - let's EAT! 

INGREDIENTS
Salad:
4 cups spinach mix OR mixed greens 
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 medium sweet potato, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 persimmons, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch wedges
1/4 cup pomegranate arils
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Cranberry Vinaigrette:
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sweet white onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon champagne OR apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup OR agave nectar
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash spinach and arrange on a serving plate or in a large bowl. 

Slice sweet potato rounds, arrange onto a lined baking sheet and drizzle with the coconut oil. Add a sprinkle of salt + pepper, if you like. Roast them for 20-25 minutes, flipping about halfway through.

While the sweet potato roasts, prepare the persimmons, pomegranate arils, and pepitas and set aside. 

When the sweet potato is finished, dress the greens with the sweet potato slices, persimmon wedges, pom arils, and pepitas. 

To prepare the vinaigrette, simply combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender until dressing comes together. Adjust to your tastes as needed. 

Toss the salad in the vinaigrette or drizzle it over the top, serve, and enjoy!

NOTES
Serves 2-4, depending on portion size. 

Another easily customized dish. Don't have sweet potatoes? Use squash! Don't have pumpkin seeds? Try sunflower seeds or dried cranberries. The must make here is really that tangy, fall-friendly vinaigrette - it tastes great!

This recipe is SUPER easy, and has become a staple side dish at our place for the holidays. And it's a total crowd-pleaser! Celeriac, AKA celery root (pictured below) gives regular ol' taters a rich celery flavor without the stringiness of using celery stalks or the added sodium of tons of celery salt. Boiled, it mashes up just like potatoes so it hides in there nicely and adds a load of anti-oxidants and vitamin K. Celeriac is an amazing, underrated root vegetable, and we just love it! [It also makes a great cream of celery soup, but we'll save that for another time.] These potatoes are our go-to for holidays, potluck parties, and for when I just want a huge bowl of comfort food. They're great with butter or smothered in gravy, and it's a great way to mix up the whole mashed potato routine, so let's get cooking! 

Looking for more ways to use celeriac? Try our Squash + Celeric Quinoa Stuffing for a GF holiday side dish!

INGREDIENTS
water
2 lbs. yellow potatoes -about 5 cups, chopped into 1 in. chunks
1 lb. celeriac (celery root) -about 2 cups, peeled + chopped into 1 in. chunks
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup vegan butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
​1/2 teaspoon celery salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Chop potatoes and celeriac and place into a large pot. Fill with enough water to just cover the veggies, and cook over medium-high heat until both potatoes and celeriac are fork tender, about 20 mins. Remove the pan from heat, drain the water, and begin to mash using a potato masher (or a fork!). Add in milk, butter, and spices and continue mashing to your desired consistency. We like ours a bit chunky; If you're a silky-smooth kinda person, you can place it all into your food processor instead. Serve + enjoy! Serves 8.

NOTES
You could garnish these with some green onion or chives; we forgot!

These are easily made ahead and re-heated in the microwave, if needed.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week.

If you're from anywhere else in the US and you think you know what good Mexican food is, I can tell you straight up: YOU'RE WRONG. Only in Southern California can you get authentic, traditional, spicy Mexican dishes made with love. And of course in California, we like to mix things up. Do it our way, you know? Thats probably why San Diego has become famous for putting its own twist on traditional carne asada burritos and adding french fries. Maybe it was the surfers who did it first, maybe we'll never know, but ordering a California Burrito anywhere in So Cal means that you're getting a stuffed burrito - including french fries. And it is DAMN delicious. The french fries add a bit of crunch and flavor to the burrito and help balance out the spiciness from the 'meat' and must-have hot sauce. Because we're such big Beyond Meat fans we used their beefy crumbles as our meat substitute and loved it. You can make your own french fries or buy your favorite frozen ones and bake 'em up, but either way this is a MUST TRY. In this recipe we made the traditional burritos into tacos for two reasons; first, we love tacos (who doesn't?), and second we have a hard time finding big flour tortillas that don't contain a bunch of sketchy ingredients. Tortillas should just be flour, water, salt and lime. Anything else, especially gross preservatives, and you can count me out. Instead we bought small organic corn tortillas and doubled 'em up, traditional style, and then put all our fillings (including a heart handful of french fries) inside. Add a squeeze of lime, a sprinkle of cilantro and hot sauce, and if you want - although traditionally not included- a little vegan cheese, and you've got a taco party on your hands. Let's eat! 

INGREDIENTS:
French Fries
3 medium russet potatoes, cut into french fries OR about 3 cups of your fave frozen french fries
1 tablespoon coconut oil (only if making your own fries)
salt to taste

Meaty Crumbles
2 cups Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles (or faux meat of choice- like in our jackfruit asada tacos!) 
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Everything Else
1 lime, quartered
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 chopped cilantro
corn tortillas
hot sauce + salsa, to taste
vegan cheese for sprinkling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
French Fries
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you're making fries from scratch, wash your potatoes well and slice into into fries about 1/4 inch thick. Coat a baking sheet in the 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, then spread your potatoes or frozen fries onto a baking sheet and bakes until golden and crispy, about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Set aside.

Meaty Crumbles
Pour meaty crumbles and coconut oil into a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add in cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder and salt. Stir well to evenly coat the crumbles in spices, and cook over medium heat until the crumbles are heated through and smelling delicious.

Everything Else
While the meaty crumbles + fries cook, prepare the rest of your ingredients; Slice the lime, avocado, and onion and chop the cilantro. Heat a separate cast iron pan, or pop the tortillas in the oven for a few minutes to heat warm them. When they're ready assemble the tacos starting with 2 layered corn tortillas, then top with beefy crumbles, fries, avocado, onions, cilantro and as much lime + hot sauce or salsa (or both) as you like. If you're adding a sprinkle of cheese, toss that on too. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to a week, but the corn tortillas should be heated fresh for each meal (duh). Enjoy! Makes 4-6 tacos.

It's Alex. I grew up in Southern California and my grandparents live in the South Bay area. As a kid, we would visit the San Pedro Fisherman's Wharf to eat tons of seafood and to watch the scary-huge cruise ships lumber by as often as we could. The fish market sells all kinds of seafoods by the pound, but the thing everyone really comes for - and a favorite of ours - was the Famous San Pedro Shrimp Tray. The meal is served on a big plastic tray (like from a food court), covered in newspaper, and topped with an overflowing mixture of shrimp, potatoes, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and corn smothered in a spicy, delicious tomato-based sauce that you could sop up with the crusty toasted bread served on the side. The veggies and sauce make the whole thing, and we thought it would be super easy to sub out those little crustaceans with some healthy plant foods. We were right! We replaced the shrimp with seasoned hearts of palm and mushrooms, which both taste similar to and have a texture similar to the original- but you know, vegan. This hearty meals serves 4 or leaves you with leftovers, but you won't mind. We recommend serving it alongside a crusty baguette and with a squeeze of lemon. Let's eat! 

INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
1/2 cup white cooking wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon black truffle sea salt (regular sea salt works here, too)
1 - 14.5 oz can hearts of palm, drained
1 1/2 cups mushrooms (we used shiitake, but oyster or lobster mushrooms would be great, too!)

Sauce:
2 - 6 oz. cans tomato paste
6 oz. soyrizo (soy chorizo), optional - but worth it
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cube vegetable boullion
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black truffle sea salt (or regular sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cup water

Everything Else:
1 tablespoon oil
2 large bell peppers, seeds removed + roughly chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped 
4 medium red potatoes, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
2 cobs of corn, halved
1 tomato, roughly chopped
cilantro, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
To make marinade, combine white cooking wine with lemon juice, Old Bay and salt. Drain hearts of palm and slice into 1/2 inch circles. Roughly chop mushrooms and places 'shrooms and hearts of palm slices into the marinade. Let marinate at least 1 hour, or as long as overnight.

While marinade comes together, make the sauce by whisking together tomato paste, soyrizo, mixed garlic, vegetable boullion cube, spices and water in a large bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet. Cut bell peppers, onions, red potatoes, corn, and tomatoes. 
Place corn and potatoes into a medium pot and boil until fork tender. Add bell peppers, and onions to pan with heated oil and cook until they begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add in the cooked corn coblets, potatoes, and tomatoes and cook all together, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Add sauce mixture to the pan and stir tom combine. Simmer for 15 minutes.
While veggie + sauce mixture simmers, pour the hearts of palm and mushroom marinating mixture into a medium sized pan and cook over medium heat until leftover marinating liquid reduces and thickens. Remove from heat, add to sauce + veggie mixture and stir to combine. Cook for another minute or two, until mixture is a bit soupy and everything is well combined. Serve with crusty bread and a squeeze of lemon. Leftovers last in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week, but may need a little water added when reheating because the sauce will thicken as it cools. Serves 4-6.

Zucchini season is in full swing, and we've been eating it up any way we can. I'm a sucker for tender, buttery zucchini dishes and anytime its been roasted. I eat it chopped, cubed, sliced, and diced. But I rarely eat it grated. It was Alex's idea, really. He wanted potatoes AGAIN for breakfast, and I didn't think I could do it. But then he had a brilliant idea- COMBINE 'EM! And deep fry 'em! I was sold. We grated up our favorite veggies and added some homemade chia egg and flour to thicken it up, then threw in some spices to kick up the heat and flavor. Topped with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh cilantro, this desperate breakfast turned into a weekday favorite at our place. Healthiest recipe? Nope. Most delicious? Quite possibly. Let's eat!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups potatoes, peeled and grated
2 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 cup onion, grated
1/2 cup water + 3 tablespoons chia seeds, blended
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup coconut oil (for frying)

lemon/ lime wedges, cilantro, and hot sauce for garnish & serving

DIRECTIONS:
Grate peeled potatoes, zucchini, and onion into a large colander. Let drain over a sink for about 5 minutes, using a paper towel to gently squeeze out ay excess water.
While draining, heat 1/2 cup coconut oil in a large cast  iron pan (or frying pan) on medium heat. (Oil that isn't hot enough won't cook the fritter well and too hot will burn it. Aim for between 325- 400 degrees, if you have a thermometer. Also, use coconut or another HIGH HEAT oil is substituting. Anything less will smoke & burn!)
Once veggies seem to stop draining, transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add blended chia seed mixture & garlic, and stir to combine. Next add in the flour, baking powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, salt & pepper, and stir to combine again. Scoop 1/4 cup amounts of mixture into the heated oil and press gently with the back of a spoon to slightly flatten. Let cook for for a couple of minutes, until golden brown, before flipping. Once fritter is crispy and golden, use a spatula to move it to a paper-towel lined plate, where it can absorb the excess oil. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon (or lime!), come chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of sriracha. Mmmm. Freeze leftovers or refrigerate for up to a week. Makes 10-12 fritters. Enjoy!

A good potato salad recipe can save you from any disaster. Potatoes are almost always on hand in this house, and Alex considers my potato salad the very best (or so he tells me). Its been a solid 75 degrees most days since we've arrived, and its got me feeling like its mid-July. I whip up a batch of this potato salad anytime I'm feeling like eating something summery. Barbeques (veg-g-q's?), picnics, poolside- this is my go to snack. It'll fill you with some good stuff, and its cheap enough to make and share with a group. I usually use Veganaise brand vegan mayo, but we've made it before with both homemade vegan mayo (coming soon!) and the Trader Joe's brand, and both work fine. Add extra veggies if you like, or throw in a bit of smoked paprika, I guarantee it'll come out perfectly delicious everytime. 

Ingredients:
6-8 medium sized red potatoes
1 teaspoon salt, for boiling
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups vegan mayo
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:
First, scrub those potatoes clean. Bring whole potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large soup pot for 20-30 minutes, until skins begin to crack and a fork in easily inserted. Try not to overcook the potatoes or they'll get crazy mushy. (You know they're overdone when the skins peel completely away from the flesh.) Once they're done, take them off the stove, drain the water out, and let them cool either on the counter or, preferably, in the fridge until cool. The colder the potatoes, the better the recipe will turn out (things are less likely to get mushy when mixed if they're cold), so if you have time to refrigerate the cooked potatoes overnight, do it. 
While the potatoes cool, chop the celery and green onions, and set 'em aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, and spices. Toss in the celery and onions, and toss to combine. 
When the potatoes have cooled, cut them into 1 inch chunks and toss them in a large mixing bowl. Add in the veggie-filled dressing, and gently toss to combine. Serve with a sprinkle of green onions or coconut bacon. Makes a bunch (you know, 6-8 potatoes worth), and saves well covered in the fridge for about a week. Enjoy!