Vegan Good Eats

When your family loves hummus, screw around with it: white truffle white bean hummus with mushrooms and thyme

“Joel Luks Jacobs, make hummus,” dad says in an authoritative imperative, using a guttural and rough sounding “h.”

Very Fiddler on the Roof-like of him.

No please or thank you. He used my full name. That’s when you know your family means business.

They like their hummus, well, my hummus, and that means I have to keep a seemingly bottomless supply coming. And there is nothing like the traditional: Chickpeas, tahini, cumin, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a touch of sumac berries, parsley [...]

Where to eat? Pan-roasted organic mushrooms with toasted walnut-red pepper

A fantastic holiday (or any day) recipe from Prego’s executive chef John Watt. Vegan Good Eats puts his vegan cooking chops to the test. The result is an earthly orgy of organic mushrooms coupled with a silky sauce, dotted with salsa verde.

They ask, “where do you eat?”

I respond, “where do YOU eat?”

Nothing is perhaps more annoying than answering a question with another question, but that specific somewhat mischievous act proves a point. I eat where you eat: at restaurants. Sometimes, [...]

Vegan Har Gow: Traditional Chinese Dumplings with Shiitake and Red Spinach

Don’t you love learning new words in a different language you do not speak? I am silly as I love to practice my pseudo make-believe accent and attempt to sound authentic. Then I laugh at myself and cook. Then eat.

Dumplings are so flexible. Once you know the technique, you can fill them with whatever you like. Although these are traditionally made with shrimp, I am known for ignoring tradition. After all, I am a cultural mutt and think things get [...]

Vegan Tempeh Lettuce Wraps

I have to acknowledge that indeed, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro has an acceptable selection of vegetarian and vegan menu items. Their tofu lettuce wraps have been a recent addition, but I believe mine are better, because most home cooking should be, and because I use tempeh and wild mushrooms.

A perfect summer appetizer, light lunch, or meal, one can add a myriad of different accompaniments other than the lettuce cups to create exotic flavor combinations and textures. The presentation is stunning, [...]

Chinese Mushroom Steamed Buns a la Dim Sum

I am sure you have heard the joke: “I’ll have dim sum… And dim some more.” Well if you do not remember it, then you weren’t obsessed with Will and Grace circa 1999. I was, and still am thanks to Karen’s whimsical, dysfunctional and unpredictable zingers. Like Karen’s addiction to prescription drugs washed with martinis, it is easy to get carried away eating dim sum as traditionally, carts go around the restaurant and it is up to you to keep [...]

Vegan Banh Xeo: Traditional Vietnamese Crepe

Up until recently, I had no idea what Banh Xeo was never mind how to pronounce it. It just seemed like an exotic name that needed more investigation. So I did some investigating. I researched, I googled, I youtubed, I library-ed, and most importantly, I ate. I visited a couple of restaurants and ordered one doctored up. The traditional Banh Xeo is filled with fatty pork, shrimp, and dipped in stinky fermented fish sauce made from aging decomposing anchovies in [...]

Spinach Mushroom Tarragon Quiche/Kugel with Quinoa

Quiche of Kugel? I can’t really tell but it doesn’t really matter as this recipe tastes heavenly coupled with a glass of wine. Using beans and tofu as a velvety base, the quinoa pearls are beautifully balanced with the custard, spinach and mushrooms. Serve with a light salad, your favorite gravy or sauce and pour yourself a generous glass of vino, just like Julia would.

Real men eat quiche, and real mean are vegan. Perhaps we eat quiche with the pinky [...]