The first time I ever tried Thai food, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it the second time I tried it either. There was a Thai restaurant near my job in Tribeca and everyone loved it. My coworkers always insisted we go there for lunch. To me, everything tasted like it was covered in […]
During my child psychiatry fellowship I had an attending physician I greatly admired. Dr. G. was one of the smartest people I had ever met. She was compassionate and caring, choosing to work with needy adolescents in a municipal hospital rather than make money in a private institution. Dr. G. exposed me to great books, films and […]
Last summer I conducted multiple trials to come up with a gluten-free sausage that would not only taste great but would hold up on the grill. After many attempts, I came up with a recipe that I thought passed the test. But I knew I still wanted to play around and improve upon it. I […]
Confession: I have never been to a Memorial Day Weekend barbeque in my life. But not going to an outdoor event doesn’t mean you can’t make delicious grilled food indoors. This is a very simple recipe for a fresh, healthy and colorful meal. You can mix and match whatever veggies are your favorites. This makes […]
As my cooking skills evolve, I not only have been coming up with new recipes but I’ve been revising old ones. Since I only became gluten-free about a year and a half ago, some of my older recipes need gluten-free versions. And as I have pretty much eliminated processed foods from my diet, some of […]
Growing up, every Sunday my mother would make two things: chicken soup with matzoh balls and a huge pot of tomato sauce for pasta. This weekly ritual represented both her heritage and upbringing: Jewish but always raised in Italian neighborhoods. In fact, my mother’s childhood best friend, Dolores (whose brother, Jackie Vernon, is the voice […]
When I lived in the Bronx, there was a great but strange Chinese take-out place. Great because they made some really delicious food; strange because the food they made so delicious was Italian while their Chinese food…well…not so much. And I lived in a very Italian neighborhood so there were a lot of authentic places […]
I’ve been craving Chinese food so badly lately. When I lived in the Bronx, I used to get Chinese food several times each week. Even when I went vegan, I got a variety of vegetable dishes. When I got home late from work, dinner was easy. I’d walk into the restaurant next to my apartment […]
When you read the label on a package of pasta, it says that a 16-oz. bag should serve 8 people. WHAT? I know portion control isn’t one of my strengths but how can 2-oz. of pasta be a full-size serving for a full-size adult? I swear I eat more than that just testing to see […]
Every time I go to the supermarket, I’m tempted to buy another butternut squash. Then it sits in the kitchen while I debate what to do with it. Another soup? A side dish? Roast it? Mash it? There can never be enough recipes that use butternut squash. So here is another one. I decided to […]
This Bitchin’ Kitchen Supperclub Challenge was probably a meat-eater’s dream. Rib-eye steak cooked in tons of butter with a white wine butter sauce served with french fries cooked in duck fat. Yuck!! Tons of cruelty, tons of calories, tons of fat, tons of NO WAY!! What a great challenge, though, for me to veganize! I […]
I love Mexican food. When I was in med school, I used to hang out at a Mexican restaurant in the city called Mexico Lindo. I was there so often everyone got to know me very well. The owner knew I was a struggling student and gave me free food all the time. I learned […]
One of the foods I REALLY miss eating out is pizza. Yes, I know that in many places, especially in the city, you can get vegan pizza. But for those people not in the city, vegan pizza can still be hard to come by. So you think you can just order a pizza minus the […]
Sometimes when I would order Chinese take-out, I would get Sweet and Sour Chicken. Then I would eat the chicken and not even touch the sauce. I loved the way they breaded the chicken; I think it was a beer batter but I didn’t like the sauce – it was WAY to sweet for me. […]
It might seem daunting to some people: How can I make a delicious lasagna with no dairy, meat or eggs? Easy! How can I make a delicious vegan lasagna that’s gluten-free? No problem! How can I make a delicious vegan, gluten-free lasagna that’s also soy-free? Simple! No long story here. Tom loves lasagna. I wanted it to make […]
This week Bitchin’ Kitchen had their holiday special on TV where Nadia G. prepared “The Feast of the Seven Dishes.” At the end of the episode, they showed Nadia’s Christmas music video, “A Bitchin’ Christmas” which featured several guest stars including Vegan Black Metal Chef. He pops out of a holiday gift box to denounce bacon […]
This week the Bitchin’ Kitchen Supperclub Challenge was an old family recipe of Nadia G’s – a potato cake filled with sausage, eggs and 3 kinds of cheese. Making the recipe vegan didn’t seem like a great challenge. Making it healthier – now that was the challenge! Potatoes are potatoes so no substitutions needed there. Instead […]
This week the Bitchin’ Kitchen Supperclub Challenge was BBQ ribs. I love when the challenge requires me to really veganize the dish beyond just swapping out dairy or eggs. It’s fun to push the limits of my (sometimes limited) imagination and come up with a compassionate version of a meat-centric meal. I decided to make two […]
The “V” Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, the month of Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. “X” is for Xi Hong Shi Chao “Jidan.” Gotcha! I bet you thought it was going to be Xanthan Gum or Xtra Spicy something or other. Ha! Truth be told, I was worried about […]
The “V” Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, a month of Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. Today “U” is for Upma with Millet and Veggies. What is upma, you ask? Upma is a popular hot breakfast dish that originated in South India. In the language of Tamil, upma is written […]
The “V” Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, the month of Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. “R” is for Ropa Vieja. A man’s family was coming to his home for dinner. Being very poor, the man could not buy them enough food. So he went to his closet, gathered some […]
The “V” Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, a month of Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. “Q” is for Quinoa, Mushroom and Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes. It’s probably no surprise that quinoa is my “Q” word. Thank goodness for this delicious, healthy superfood! I love quinoa so much. It’s easy to […]
The “V” Word continues the celebration of VeganMoFo, the month of delicious Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. “P” is for Potato Crusted Seitan. Since I have been gluten-free for many months, I suppose “P” could also stand for “past” and because I miss seitan so very, very much, it could […]
The “V” Word continues to celebrate VeganMoFo, a month of incredible Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. Today “O” is for Onion and Apple Relish Tofu. Ok, honestly, the name of this dish is Tofu with Onion and Apple Relish but I turned it around to make it start with an “O.” Consider […]
