Recipe: Cuban-Style Black Beans

Cuban-Style Black Beans
Food & Wine Magazine, Sep 2025, p. 48
5 stars

Tasty!!! Best black beans we've made and will probably make from now on.

Ingredients: black beans, white onion, green bell pepper, tomato paste, bay leaves, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, dry white wine, ground cumin, dried oregano, Kosher salt, black pepper, water

Tips/Notes:

• Used 2 cans of black beans beans instead of dry
• Did not add 5 cups of water -- instead, use liquid in cans of beans and don't add more than 1/4 c of water
• Used 1 white onion instead of 2
• Used 1 large green bell pepper instead of 2
• Used 1 bay leaf instead of 4
• Used 3 garlic cloves instead of 4
• Used 1 tsp of Kosher salt altogether (don't add the salt at the end in step 4 (the 2 tsp) -- it had plenty of salt!)
• Added red pepper for heat

Recipe: Crispy Tofu Tacos

Crispy Tofu Tacos

NYTimes
5 stars

This definitely beats the Vegan Tofu Taco Crumbles recipe we tried a few weeks ago. So delicious -- and it's the red tomato paste at the end that takes this to the next level. I actually prefer this to regular taco meat!

Ingredients: firm tofu, tomato paste, soy sauce, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, olive oil, black pepper; avocados, mayo, lime zest and juice, tortillas, onion, radishes, cilantro

Tips/Notes

• After adding the tomato paste, it says to continue baking 10 to 15 minutes; it needs an additional 5-10 minutes on top of that
• Used crunchy taco shells
• Didn't make the avocado cream
• Used white onion instead of red onion
• Added lettuce and tomatoes

Recipe: Bucatini with Shiitake Cream Sauce

Bucatini with Shiitake Cream Sauce

Food & Wine Magazine, Oct 2025, p. 50

4.9 stars

Super delicious and flavorful -- restaurant worthy! It's very mushroom-y because of the mushrooms in the sauce AND chopped up. We made it plant-based by using plant-based sausage. The leftovers have been so good.

Shiitake Cream Sauce: oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, shallot, dry white wine, heavy cream, olive oil, red pepper

Pasta: bucatini, spicy Italian sausage, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, shallot, dry white wine, chicken stock, olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper, lemon zest and juice

Tips/Notes:

• Use plant-based sausage
• Used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock
• Next time add 50% more mushrooms to the pasta

Recipe: Vegan Tofu Taco Crumbles

Vegan Tofu Taco Crumbles
Sam Tumball (ItDoesntTasteLikeChicken.com)
4.5 stars

This was fine, not amazing. I have another NYTimes recipe for something similar so will compare. For this one, the tofu was still really wet even though we baked it longer; didn't use all the salsa as that would've caused it to be even more wet!

Ingredients: tofu, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, soy sauce, oil, salsa

Had this in hard shell tacos with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro, avocado

Recipe: Protein Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Protein Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Chelsea Plummer (MaesMenu.com)
4.7 stars

Pretty good -- good for a snack and breakfast!

Ingredients: high-protein oats, chocolate chips, overripe banana, unsweetened applesauce, natural peanut butter, vanilla protein powder, chia seeds, hemp seeds, maple syrup, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, pinch of salt

Notes:

• Didn't add hemp seeds
• Add more cinnamon
• Add 2 pinches of salt
• Next time add some date sugar to add some sweetness

Recipe: True Food Salad

True Food Salad

Our own recipe

5 stars

I ordered True Food's seasonal salad a month or so ago and thought to myself -- "This is delicious" and "I can make this!"

The ingredients basically are the following:

• Mixed greens
• Honey-roasted carrots (olive oil, honey, salt, pepper)
• Roasted cauliflower (olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper)
• Baked tofu (olive oil, cornstarch, garlic powder, fine sea salt, pepper)
• Feta cheese
• Dates
• Pistachios
• Tahini apple cider dressing (I found a Sriracha version - use less apple cider vinegar, though)

I found recipes for the different components linked above. We served this with falafel. DELISH!!!

Recipe: The Tostada That Wants to be a Memela

The Tostada That Wants to be a Memela

Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2017, p.118

4.7 stars

Really good weekday dish. We cut out a LOT of steps to make this easier on us as well as healthier. Served with a simple side salad

Main ingredients: white corn tortillas, black beans, white onion, garlic, queso fresco, epazote or oregano, bay leaf, vegetable oil, rendered pork fat or bacon grease, dried avocado leaves, Kosher salt, store bought salsa

Rajas variation: poblano chiles, white onion, garlic, vegetable oil, dried oregano, Kosher salt

Chorizo variation: chorizo, eggs, vegetable oil, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:

• Used canned black beans
• Did NOT fry the beans
• Added some salsa macha we already have on top 
• Heated up some healthy Siete taco shells
• Roasted the poblanos in the oven
• Used plant-based chorizo

Recipe: Bean Bourguignon

Bean Bourguignon

America's Test Kitchen
4.8 stars

Wow - you would not miss the meat in this dish. Really great deep flavor from the mushrooms. Had this with toast.

Ingredients: Christmas lima beans, portobello mushrooms, dried porcini mushrooms, carrots, pearl onions, shallot, garlic, flour, thyme, dry red wine, white miso, soy sauce, tomato paste, bay leaves, parsley, extra-virgin olive oil, table salt, pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Used a can of butter beans and a can of cannellini beans since we couldn't find Christmas lima beans (next time, use 3 cans) -- and so skipped the first 2 steps in the recipe 
• Used baby bellas instead of portobellos
• Used chopped white onion instead of pearl onions
• Could add barley to it next time 

Recipe: Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder

Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder

Food & Wine Magazine, Nov 2025, p. 44
5 stars

I wasn't sure about this recipe and how it would turn out, but it was easy, flavorful, and delicious! Restaurant-worthy! I can't wait to eat the leftovers.

Ingredients: smoked salmon fillets, frozen corn, celery, small red potatoes, scallions, shallots, chicken stock, heavy cream, flour, olive oil, butter, Old Bay seasoning, red pepper, thyme, Kosher salt, black pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Used double the number of celery stalks -- could actually triple it next time
• Used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock
• Used 1 tsp of Chesapeake Bay seasoning instead of 1/2 tsp of Old Bay seasoning
• Next time, could add cannellini beans to the chowder for protein (if we don't want to add smoked salmon)

Recipe: Creamy Tuscan Chickpea Soup

Creamy Tuscan Chickpea Soup

Food & Wine Magazine, Sep 2025, p. 40
5 stars

This soup was DELICIOUS! We've made various soups like this, but this was different and extremely flavorful, I think due to the sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients: Italian sausage, chickpeas, lacinato kale, celery, yellow onion, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, chicken stock, heavy cream, extra-virgin olive oil, basil, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:

• Used plant-based (Beyond) Sausage. Next time, cook and keep separately as it got gummy in the soup when we ate leftovers.
• Used more celery than called for
• Used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and less than called for (used some water)
• Add Parmigiano-Reggiano on top next time so the cheese doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan
• Added a little more cream

Recipe: Cheesy Chickpea Salad Toast

Cheesy Chickpea Salad Toast

Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2023, p.18
4.7 stars

We'd made this before, but I'd forgotten to take a photo and blog about it. It seems like it would be an odd mix of ingredients, but it all really works together. You need EVERYTHING, though, we didn't use dill. Really good -- super flavorful. Great with chips and a salad.

Ingredients: bread, chickpeas, celery, extra sharp cheddar, cornichons, red onion, dill, butter, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, flaky sea salt, hot sauce