I have been craving pot pie since the beginning of quarantine, and while I have this vegan pot pie with potato crust I also wanted a more “traditional” pot pie crust. My mom made an absolutely delicious one for a main vegetarian course over thanksgiving (with mushrooms as the main filling) – I am taking her crust recipe and combining it with a more traditional filling.

I adapted from this recipe, lightening it up by using only a crust on top (and in turn cutting down baking time as well). I didn’t take a great pic this time around because it was the first time making it and I expected there to be several tweaks — however, it was essentially perfect and now one of our favorite comfort food dishes so I couldn’t wait to share! In fact, it has already been making its rounds amongst my friends — with a minor mishap of my bestie accidentally using vanilla almond milk instead of unsweetened almond milk so a friendly reminder to DOUBLE check your milk so you do not end up with in inedible dish…

Otherwise, the recipe is pretty foolproof. I am sure we will be making it again soon, and in turn there will be updated (more beautiful) pics here soon. In the meantime, I hope your vegan pot pie is as ugly delicious as ours!

I have made these almond crusted chicken tenders at least a dozen times since quarantine hit. These were originally developed for our Clean Market commissary kitchen, which has been placed on hold while we continue to ride this out. I have a dozen recipes tucked away that are too good not to share, so in the meantime we can now all make these at home.

This is one of the most foolproof recipes – the chicken tenders are completely craveable on their own, but I also love keeping them in the fridge to toss on salads throughout the week for some extra protein. I’ve been known to pull them out of the fridge for an afternoon snack (even munching on them cold) or even pack them for a picnic.  They never seem to last very long – feel free to double the recipe if you are cooking for a family!

To take them to the next level you can dry brine the chicken the night before, or in the AM if you are cooking at night. Simply pat the chicken dry and salt well – leave uncovered in the fridge. This will help season the chicken but if you don’t have time or want to skip this step that’s absolutely fine – it’s a foolproof recipe so you really can’t go wrong.

Serve alone with your fav dip or along side smashed potatoes, cole slaw, pickles, or a top a vegan caesar salad. Enjoy!

I’ve been stocking up on long-lasting veggies, so I found myself with multiple heads of cabbage and cauliflower in the fridge. Inspired by this cauliflower bolognese, I chopped up all the cauliflower I had on hand along with some shiitake mushroom’s in the fridge and sauteed them in a large frying pan. I reserved half of this cauli-mushroom mixture for the bolognese, while realizing that this ‘meaty’ blank canvas would also make a good base for mooshu wraps. With so many pastas, stews, and soups on repeat, I have been craving other flavors – and these veggie mooshu wraps are perfect to satisfy that craving. They are flexible as to what else you add – I like to add lots of cabbage (green or red both work) and a couple shredded carrots. After a quick saute, all it really needs it a drizzle of tamari and coconut aminos. 
Whip up a little dipping sauce and serve in grain free tortillas (I like Siete’s cassava ones for this) or even in cabbage / lettuce wraps. Both are delicious. I was inspired by this mooshu recipe on goop and this lighter on the meat one from NY Times. Feel free to make it your own – almost anything stir fried in tamari and wrapped in a tortilla is delicious!

This recipe was also born pre-quarantine but luckily I fell in love with it; it is the perfect thing to make on repeat. It started when my friend Irina texted a picture of her dinner to our group chat, and, having arrived home only moments ago, I realized I had everything I needed in my kitchen for pantry pesto and a delicious easy zucchini pasta. 

First things first: pantry pesto. If there are a few recipes to get under your belt in terms of cooking, I would say one of them is making a pesto. Pestos and sauces are so versatile they bring a ho-hum meal to a delicious, cravable occasion. You can start by picking an herb or a green (or even a veggie) you have in the fridge and pairing it with a nut or seed you think it would go well with in the pantry. Some of my favorites are basil and pepitas, kale and sunflower seeds, and spinach and pistachio. 

Here is my basic formula for pantry pesto recipe:

• ¼ cup nuts or seeds
• 2 cloves fresh garlic (optional) 
• 1 cup herbs or greens 
• ½ cup olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or acid)
• Pinch of sea salt (to taste) 

This is really where a pantry pasta begins – but you can pump it up with a few other items you may have on hand: 

• Pecorino or nutritional yeast, added to pesto or sprinkled on top 
• Green olives, chopped and added to finished pasta
• Anchovies, added to pesto and pasta sauces
• GF breadcrumbs, toasted and finished on top 
• White beans or chickpeas, tossed in with a brothy pasta 
• Canned tomatoes, simmered down into a sauce with pesto stirred in
• Frozen peas, boiled with the pasta in the last minutes of cooking
• Pan-fried veggies, tossed with pasta and sauce or pesto 

Back to this #pantrypasta, I opted to make my super seed pesto because I had all the ingredients on hand (although I was short on basil, so I ended up using half arugula). Taste your pesto – adjust it and add a little more lemon or salt as needed. It should be salty and delicious. I also absolutely love adding in pan-fried zucchini for a well-rounded pantry meal. 

Hope this brings a little bit of comfort to your meals this week and helps you cook with what you’ve got! And, for a little more inspo, here are a few other pantry recipes I’ve made, or planning to make over the course of the next few weeks: Linguine with Green Olive Sauce and Zesty Breadcrumbs, Bucatini with Butter Roasted Tomato Sauce, and Pasta e Ceci (Italian Pasta and Chickpea Stew). 

Now for the recipe!

This pantry recipe was born when I had a jar of lemony-caper dressing sitting in my fridge. I realized it would make the perfect compliment to chickpeas to make a chickpea ‘tuna’ – bright and briny. Bonus is I could make a big double batch and use it on salads and veggies all week. It was as easy as mashing some chickpeas, adding some onions and celery and lunch is ready in 5.

I didn’t know that in a couple months we would be in the midst of a pandemic, and that I’d feeding myself 3 meals a day off of pantry staples (I am trying to keep any grocery shopping to max once every 2 weeks). This is one of the recipes I am feeling very thankful for since I can pull it together quickly with pantry staples and it is truly delicious (it’s the little wins). You can certainly substitute / add for what you have on hand, just as you would in a regular tuna salad. I prefer olive oil over a mayo base, but you do you. I hope you are able to find some joy, comfort, and a sense of normalcy in the little things, even if it’s making a bowl of chickpea ‘tuna’ for yourself or your family and keeping your bellies happy and well fed. Lots of love!