(Vegan) Double Chocolate Pudding

Children and adults alike love chocolate pudding and have done so for years. Usually eaten as a snack, pudding can be also a refined dessert.
Though it’s easier to buy ready-made pudding (or instant pudding) sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and even gas stations I urge you to try making it at home at least once.
It’s a hundred times better, way cheaper, and you can tweak to make it suit your tastes — more sweet, less sweet, more thick, less thick, and so on.

(Vegan) Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

Here’s a great little recipe in case you have some (or a lot) leftover pumpkin puree from your Thanksgiving baking — a nice way to use it up before it’s forgotten in the back of your fridge.
And if you don’t have leftovers, don’t worry, you can always open up a can of pumpkin puree like I did.

Eggplant Bacon (aka Smoked Eggplant Slices)

Eggplant lovers rejoice and say hello to your new best friend: eggplant bacon.
Slices of our favorite purple-skinned vegetable are seasoned to smoky perfection with liquid smoke, paprika, soy sauce, maple syrup, and a few other ingredients to make the ideal companion to any sandwich, burger, wrap, tartine, crostini, flatbread, bruschetta, et cetera et cetera et cetera...

No-Cook Tomato CousCous Salad

I can say without a hint of doubt that this is going to be THE recipe for what will probably be remembered as one of the most awkward summers of our life (sigh!)
I used the adjective “awkward” instead of more bitter ones just because — being ever the optimist — I know (more like I hope) that sooner or later we’ll find a way out of this ditch.
Anyways, I found this recipe while perusing a French cooking website. I was skeptical at first but intrigued nonetheless. The non-cooking part was what sold me on it. With the heat and humidity rising the very last thing I feel like doing is turning on the stove.

Easy Cocoa Meringues

Last week, while in a dessert frenzy, I made David Lebovitz’s award-winning Creme Brulee.
Not the easiest recipe, but if you’re in the mood to make a dessert that is on the fancy side (reminiscent of one you'd find in a Parisian brasserie), you won’t be disappointed.
A rich and creamy vanilla-laced custard covered in a crisp sugar shell. I actually gave myself a pat on the back, because it was spectacular.

Easy Zucchini Fritters

The word fritter usually conjures up something deep-fried, fat-laden, and overall heavy.
But these Easy Zucchini Fritters are testament that light fritters can be possible.
Grated zucchini joins forces with onion, flour, eggs, and grated Parmesan cheese to make low calorie, delicious little green pancakes that can be a light vegetarian meal or meze or a side dish to any Mediterranean-style chicken, quinoa, or salmon.

Avocado Egg Salad

We are going through difficult times and it might not always be easy to stay positive. Nonetheless we have to try our best.
As we hunker down at home, there’s no time like the present to get busy in the kitchen and try out some new delicious dishes.
I wholeheartedly believe that cooking is therapeutic, for yourself and for those around you.
Serve a delicious meal, everyone is happy. A simple source of comfort and pleasure.
It’s the kind of caring for the well-being of your family that ought to be top-of-the-mind right now.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

I don’t consider myself a mayo-phone (it is eggs and oil after all) but I’ve never been a fan of the standard potato salad drenched in mayonnaise, also known as salads that make you forget you are even eating a potato.
That’s why I love a potato salad recipe that doesn’t call for mayo.

(Simple) Turmeric Yellow Rice

Like most humans, I’m a creature of habit. Admittedly, I’m most comfortable when I have an established routine.
For example, at the gym, 9.5 times out of 10, I pick the same locker. If it is occupied already, it annoys me. Why is that? I don’t know. It just does.
Same thing happens with the treadmill. Yes, my gym has more than one treadmill but I use the same treadmill every time. Not to mention the stationary bike, that particular spot in the stretching area, etc.
In my mind, once I’ve found a good thing or found something that works, there’s no reason to change it. Some people might find it boring, I find it comforting.

(Easy) Herb Roasted Chicken Breast

This is a quick and easy recipe for an incredible flavorful meal. The garlic, the herbs, the olive oil bring a distinctive Mediterranean flair to this simple chicken.
This isn’t only good for dreaming of Mediterranean beaches. With the warm weather approaching, spring picnics, cookouts, and house warming parties will soon dot most of our calendars and this Herb Roasted Chicken will prove to be just perfect.
I mean it’s one of those recipes that keeps on giving.

Golden Milk

Golden milk (aka turmeric milk) is at the top of the list when it comes to healthy beverages.
A mix of turmeric and dairy-free milk along with cinnamon, maple syrup, and a pinch of black pepper. Naturally sweetened, incredibly healthy, and so very delicious. Ready in just 5 minutes.
In addition to soothing me to sleep, golden milk has also helped me appease my nightly sweet cravings before.
Lately, I’ve been replacing my evening sweet treat (usually a piece of dark chocolate with sea salt) with a steaming cup of Golden Milk and find myself feeling completely satisfied.

Almond Soft Gingersnaps

It’s undeniable that there’s no winter season without gingerbread cookies. Most people use a recipe that’s been in their family for generations, while others prefer to scout the internet to try out a new ones.
If you fall in the latter category, then this recipe might be for you.

(Easy) Crock-Pot Marinara Sauce

Let me introduce you to the marinara sauce recipe of my dreams. It’s everything that is good in this world: tomatoes, herbs, and garlic.
The flavors together are like Italy in a jar, the perfect combination of sweet and savory.
It can be a great base sauce for pizza or really anything that goes in the oven such as chicken parm or eggplant parm. But — needless to say it — it’s also great on pasta and you can even make it into a meat sauce with ground beef (not authentic Bolognese sauce but still pretty damn good.) I also use it to make poached eggs with marinara sauce for a simple brunch recipe.
Last but not least, it’s great as a dip for vegetables and mozzarella sticks. Actually mozza sticks with marinara is one of the best things in the whole world.

(Vegan) Easy Crock-Pot Curry Lentils

I honestly believe that the best way to cook lentils is in the slow-cooker.
I’m well aware that the most common method is to cook (or boil) lentils on the stovetop and that the fastest one involves a pressure cooker — but the slow-cooker method delivers the best results not to mention it is also the easiest way to cook ‘em.
Take these Easy Curry Lentils for instance, super easy to make and pack quite the punch in the flavor department. All the ingredients are placed in the Crock-pot for 7 hours and that’s it. You can forget about it.
What you’re left with are healthy and uber delicious lentils that are sure to satisfy even the most- die-hard meat lovers.

Whole Wheat Maple Apple Bundt Cake

I’m not sure if it’s the anticipation of holiday celebration to come, or the nostalgia of helping out in the kitchen when I was a kid, or just the weather changing, but something about autumn makes me want to bake.
This is the time when I want to start filling my kitchen with the smell of pies and warm spices after a hot summer — when turning on the oven was the very last thing I wanted to do.
And when baking is involved around here, apples must also be involved. To me there’s nothing quite like the aroma of apple baking in the oven.
I mean, fall, baking, and apples just go together. That’s a fact and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.

(Vegan) Mushroom and Eggplant Sloppy Joes

Did your mom ever make you sloppy joes growing up?
If so, welcome to the club.
If not, I’m sorry, you poor thing. Sloppy joes are awesome.
When I was in high school I would return home from sports practice starving and I’d eat two open-faced sloppy joes with a side of lettuce. Yum.
My diet has changed since then and nowadays I rarely make sloppy joes — although, wouldn't you know, I have a pretty solid healthier recipe for it.

Crock-Pot Peach Butter

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been over-ambitious and bought far too many peaches at the farm stand.
I’m not saying there’s something wrong with it, it’s just that — just like myself — you’re probably facing an over-abundance of peaches and need to come up with a way to use ‘em before they go bad.
Crock-Pot Peach Butter to the rescue.
This is hands-off the easiest way to make sure your peach haul is turned into something delicious that will keep through winter (if, of course, properly preserved.)

Easy Crispy Chicken

Crispy baked chicken with a juicy meat and a crisp flavorful skin. What’s not to love?
Especially when it’s made in the oven with no breading at all and the only ingredients you need are chicken, spices, and herbs (all pantry staples that you likely already have at home.)
Enters this incredible Easy Crispy Chicken also known as the most amazing oven baked chicken thighs.

(Vegan) Chickpea Shakshuka

Shakshuka is originally a North African dish but over the generations it's become a signature dish across the Middle East as a substantial breakfast or lunch fare.
In the recent years, Shakshuka is taking America and Europe by storm being billed as a healthy dish.
Shakshuka can be seen in so many shapes and forms and today we’re making a vegan version of it, with chickpeas in lieu of eggs.
I’m not sure whether we can still call this dish Shakshuka since there are no eggs, but truth to be told chickpeas work like a charm in this recipe.
I will go as far as saying that you won’t miss the eggs in this vegan version.

Pomegranate Glazed Turkey Meatballs

Ah meatballs. These little bites of heavenly meat are seriously one of my favorite things to whip up, especially when I have a recipe for clean meatballs that are easy to make and delish.
I don’t mean to discriminate against other food, but meatballs are seriously one of my favorite things.
Beef, chicken, turkey, pork, vegetarian, baked, fried, with sauce on top, glazed, etc. The combination of flavors can be endless.