ABOUT ISA CHANDRA MOSKOWITZ
A vegan from Brooklyn? Isa Chandra Moskowitz may have grown up in the land of
pizza and bagels with a shmear, but as a teenager, she had a revelation and went
vegetarian, then vegan.
Experimenting in her kitchen, Isa soon discovered that she didn’t need to rely on
fake meat products to make her meat-and-dairy-free food delicious. Instead, Isa’s
“post punk kitchen” — which is also what she dubbed her popular website —
focused on using fresh ingredients, simple yet effective techniques and explosive
flavors, and the world of vegan cuisine took a great leap forward.
Isa has now authored seven cookbooks that have sold a combined million copies,
and her extremely comprehensive Isa Does It — Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious
Recipes for Every Day of the Week may be her masterpiece.
AVAILABLE ON
2
HOLD THE VEGAN
PUNS, 86 THE
FAKE MEAT
Isa Chandra Moskowitz
makes vegan cooking safe
for food lovers
By Richard Martin
“I mean, I’m just the chef,” Isa Chandra
Moskowitz says with a shrug, having
lost another small battle with the
director on the set of her first series
of cooking videos for Breville. Turns
out what she needs to do to make her
pumpkin ice cream differs from the
artistic vision of the director, but in this
kitchen at least, in a Brooklyn loft, she’s
not the boss.
cookbook author, and a woman who
has clandestinely mastered the art of
cooking without ingredients that 99%
of Americans use in their food. That
is to say, no cow’s udders have been
touched in the making of her pumpkin
ice cream.
Yet when I put a spoonful of that
pumpkin ice cream to my lips, it’s
as creamy and sweetly delicious as
anything you could find in a carton or
even at that new artisanal ice cream
shop down the street. How does she
do it? How does this Brooklyn-bred
gal, who now lives amongst Omaha,
Nebraska’s hip creative class, turn
typical new American dishes into
restaurant-worthy bites with no sign
of bacon or cheese in sight? Nor any
meat or cheese substitutes of dubious
scientific origin? The answers speak in
large part to why we’re here in a sparse
Williamsburg loft, watching Moskowitz
spar with an experienced cooking
show director for a series that will be
called Make It Vegan.
After the shooting for the 10th and
final video wraps, and everyone on
set embraces as if they haven’t been
bickering for the past few days, I press
Moskowitz for clarification on how
she’s been able to attract a growing
audience of believers.
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
It’s a tough pill to swallow for
Moskowitz, a chef whose popular
website is called Post Punk Kitchen,
and who still exudes punk-rock
attitude as she cooks her way through
a universe of meat-and-dairy-free
recipes. Oh, did I neglect to mention
that she’s a vegan? Yes, Isa Chandra
Moskowitz is a chef, a post-punk maker
of delicious things to eat, a top-selling
“I hate saying things like, ‘You won’t
believe it’s vegan!’ Because it’s good
and you don’t need to say that,” she
says matter-of-factly, sitting on a wellworn sofa as the camera crew packs
its bags. “Things have changed so
much and so fast for vegans and vegan
cooking that I can’t imagine that in a
decade I’d have to explain, ‘I promise
it’s good!’”
These changes are due in no small
part to Moskowitz herself, who wrote
3
her first vegan cookbook in 2005 and
whose subsequent efforts, a total of
seven cookbooks including the hit
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan
Cookbook, have combined to sell
roughly a million copies. Her biggest
and boldest book yet, the brand-new
Isa Does It should mark a turning
point in vegan cooking — and vegan
philosophy.
Gone are the days when vegans
had to exist like some sort of cult of
non-meat eaters. In Isa Does It (note
the curious lack of vegan puns in the
title, in favor of wordplay based on
her name), there’s an early section
on “vegan butchery” — how to slice
tofu, for example. There are recipes
for butternut bisque and shiitake
banh mi sandwiches and pesto.
There’s a chapter on mouth-watering
desserts, not what you’d expect to
find in a vegan cookbook. In short,
the distinctions between vegan and
non-vegan cooking reduce like a sauce
on high heat. While ingredients like
nutritional yeast and tempeh do pop
up, and the “milk” or “cream” derives
from nuts rather than dairy, much of
what you’ll find in Isa Does It is merely
combinations of vegetables and grains
that happen to taste delicious together.
Seated across from her, I ask
Moskowitz to discuss some of the
differences between meat eaters and
vegans, leading to this exchange:
What do you think is the obstacle
for people who don’t like to cook
vegetarian and feel that meat has to be
at the center of every dish?
I think that that’s their obstacle — their
thinking! I think they need to change
their thinking and stop seeing things
as proteins and sides, and look at it as
more of an integrated and veggie-filled
or grain-filled plate and adding the
protein from there. You can add it in
lots of different ways, obviously. Also,
you have to take into consideration
that all food has protein. Zucchini has
a great deal of protein for what it is.
Kale, brown rice, and quinoa all have
protein. You don’t have to get the
protein from one source, because you
are getting it from multiple sources.
All of the essential amino acids are
represented in what we’re eating if
we’re eating a lot of whole foods. Meat
doesn’t have to be the center — we
should think more about the flavors
and textures of a varied plate.
Vegans are often perceived as either
being on the defensive about their diet
or going on the offensive to prove that
they’re right in their choice. But your
writing doesn’t usually go in for that
kind of rhetoric, right?
I find that meat eaters go on the
defensive and offensive more! For
me, this is just how I eat and what I
do and I’m not preaching it to you. I’m
never going up to a meat eater and
questioning him. I just do what I do
and those are my ethics. Sometimes
people rush to judgment, like, “Oh,
you’re a vegan, so you think I’m a bad
person.” But that’s on them. I just cook
and try to be a chef and I happen to be
a vegan — we’ll leave it at that and see
how other people react. If someone
asks me why I don’t eat meat and I tell
them, then I’m not judging them, but
they asked.
And to be clear, while Moskowitz
doesn’t typically bang the
(synthetically made) drum for
veganism, she’s no less dedicated
than more outspoken advocates. You
have to think it has to do with her
upbringing. Raised in a decidedly
4
less hipster section of Brooklyn than
the one we’re speaking in, Moskowitz
found her calling as a chef and a
vegan as a teenager, in an era and a
neighborhood where the very word
vegan was foreign. Her family quickly
accepted her decisions (one of her
sisters and her mother have become
vegans as well), but the vegan lifestyle
has certainly been challenging in a
country known for its fixation on the
hamburger and its love of the outdoor
(meat-based) barbecue.
Rather than testing her resolve, this
proximity to cowboy culture seems to
have inspired her. With Isa Does It, the
growing following on the Post Punk
Kitchen site and now the Make It Vegan
cooking videos, Moskowitz is poised
to break out as a star chef, one who
happens to favor veggies and grains
over meat and dairy.
“There’s not a lot of vegan chefs,” she
notes. “I think when the established
food culture lets there be a vegan chef,
there will be. There’s a lot of incentive
not to have a celebrity vegan chef. A lot
of people have an investment in meat
and that’s a big deal right now. I think
it’s challenging to the establishment
and that has to be fought for. I think
that more vegans have to fight for it
and more vegans have to cook better
food. Let’s stop putting soy cheese with
a ‘z’ on everything and chicken with
quote marks on everything. Let’s start
cooking real food and start being chefs.
Let’s be food-focused, and changes will
happen.”
It’s a formidable mantra, and one that
Moskowitz puts into practice. Anyone
who cooks from Isa Does It will
instantly see what she’s getting at —
this is food that’s so richly satisfying,
the focus won’t be on what’s not in
there but on what is.
As the last equipment gets wheeled
out of the loft, and Moskowitz’s first
serious cooking shoot comes to a
close, she looks to be in need of a
change of scenery, maybe a hearty
meal. I let her wind down with a couple
of rapid-fire food questions, and her
answers make me want to head back to
her book to cook more vegan dishes.
You wake up and you’re hungry for a
big brunch on a Sunday. What are you
making?
5
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
A stint living in Portland, Oregon, a
city that even has vegan bars (some
beer, wine and spirits are made with
trace animal parts), offered a reprieve
for Moskowitz, but she now resides
in Omaha, with her Nebraska native
boyfriend; and, as she points out, it’s a
place that’s very “meat-centric,” seeing
as how it is “in the shadow of Omaha
Steak.”
What about a late-night craving?
If I’m going out, I’ll have falafel as a
late-night snack. I have a recipe for
falafel burgers in the book.
Is it hard to do falafel from scratch?
No, it’s super easy. I do Israeli-style
falafel. Basically, it’s soaking the
chickpeas until they’re tender and
then chopping everything up in a food
processor and forming it into a burger
and pan-frying.
There you have it: what sounds
intimidating on paper is actually
attainable. As more and more people
go vegan for environmental or political
or personal reasons, Isa Chandra
Moskowitz is looking like the face
of sensible veganism. Early in our
conversation, I’d brought up a speech
she’d given at a vegan conference, in
which she discussed her philosophies
and how she evolved from more of
an activist to an advocate. We started
talking about cows, and I suggested
that for her, being a vegan is more
personal than political.
“Yeah,” she replied. “I mean, I don’t
want anyone else to eat [cows] either,
but I’m not going out of my way to
preach against it. Instead, I’m making
vegan food and hopefully making it
accessible.”
6
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
Scrambled tofu for sure. Avocado
and roasted potatoes. Toss in some
guacamole, some cilantro, some salsa.
Recipe Index
8
11
13
15
17
20
22
27
30
32
QUINOA CAESAR SALAD WITH TOFU
DRAGON NOODLE SALAD
NEW ENGLAND GLAM CHOWDER
BISTRO BEET BURGERS
MEATY BEANY CHILI &
CORNBREAD MUFFINS
ROASTED RED PEPPER
MAC & CHEESE
NIRVANA ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
PUFFY PILLOW PANCAKES
PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
ROSEMARY
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
Serves 8 · Total time: 45 minutes (not including quinoa cooking time) · Active time: 20 minutes
“Put some quinoa in it.” It’s almost become my motto. I mean, why not? Everything
needs quinoa! Even Caesar Salad. This one really is a meal and it makes a ton
because I love it as leftovers. It tastes great the day after and, honestly, still pretty
darn good on day 3. But feel free to halve it if need be. I am in love with the
dressing; it’s creamy, garlicky, briny and tangy and just the kind of stuff you want
to stick your face in. The little bites of salty smokiness from the tempeh croutons
bring everything together. I highly recommend using the simple make ahead notes
for this one; otherwise, it may be too much to pull together on a weeknight.
Recipe notes
• Make ahead: Make the quinoa a day in advance. Soak the cashews all day so
that you can just come home and whip up the dressing. You can also marinade
the tempeh all day, but if you do, reduce the soy sauce by 1 tablespoon.
• For the roasted garlic, you can either roast a head of it in advance or buy some.
Often big fancy places like Whole Foods will have roasted garlic cloves for sale,
or you can even nab some from the salad bar.
• Variations: Use chickpeas instead of the tempeh. If you like, and you’re feeling
rich and fancy, add some toasted pine nuts as well!
8
Quinoa Caesar Salad (continued)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
between your fingers
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
For the rest:
6 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
8 ounces chopped romaine
4 ounces baby arugula (or chopped
arugula)
1 avocado, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Mix together all marinade ingredients
and marinate the tempeh for at least
30 minutes, giving everything a stir at
least once.
To cook the tempeh, preheat a large
heavy-bottomed pan, preferably cast
iron, over medium high heat. Sauté
the tempeh in 2 teaspoons olive oil
for 10 minutes, until well browned.
Add splashes of marinade a few times
as you cook, so that it soaks up even
more flavor.
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
For the marinade:
Assemble the salad in a very large
mixing bowl. Toss the greens with the
quinoa and then add the dressing.
Serve topped with tofu and avocado!
Breaded Tofu (recipe follows)
Briny Caesar Dressing (recipe follows)
9
Quinoa Caesar Salad (continued)
Breaded Tofu
Briny Caesar Dressing
3/4 cup fine store-bought breadcrumbs
(I use whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
between your fingers
Makes 1 1/2 cups
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
14 ounces extra firm tofu, sliced into 8
slabs widthwise
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
If you don’t want to put together the
entirety of the Quinoa Caesar Salad,
you can use this as a base for the
Caesar of your dreams.
1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2
hours and drained
1 head roasted garlic (about 10 cloves,
see note)
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 cup capers, with some brine
Preheat a large nonstick pan,
preferably cast iron, over mediumhigh heat. On a dinner plate, use
your fingertips to mix together the
breadcrumbs, dried herbs and garlic.
On a separate plate, pour the soy
sauce.
3/4 cup water
Place a tofu slab in the soy sauce and
toss to coat. Then dredge it in the
breadcrumbs, tossing to coat. (Use
your dry hand to handle the tofu in the
breadcrumbs, otherwise you’ll get a
crumb mitten on your hand.) Put each
coated tofu off to the side of the plate
and continue until all tofu is coated.
Put a thin layer of olive oil in the pan,
and then transfer tofu slabs to the pan.
Let cook for a few minutes then flip,
using a thin metal spatula so that you
don’t scrape off the breading. Cook for
about 7 minutes total, adding a little
extra oil to the pan as needed, and
flipping occasionally until browned on
most sides.
Simply add all of the ingredients to a
small blender or food processor and
purée until smooth. Scrape down the
sides every now and again to make
sure you get everything. Keep tightly
sealed and refrigerated until ready to
use. Keeps for up to 5 days.
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the All In One™
Once browned, remove from pan and
slice on a bias into 1/4 thick pieces.
Shop Now
Shop Now
10
Summer evenings are incomplete without a noodle salad like this to slurp
up. Peanutty, sesame-y, spicy and loaded with crisp and cooling radishes and
cucumbers.
8 ounces rice pad thai noodles
1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
8 cups crisp salad greens
Place a bed of greens on each plate
and top with noodles. Sprinkle with
sesame seeds, top with a little cilantro,
and serve.
Peanut Dragon Dressing
To garnish:
Fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons toasted or black sesame
seeds
Prepare the noodles according to
package directions. It’s very important
not to overcook them! Often the
package says to boil water, then turn it
off and let the noodles steep for about
8 minutes. Set a timer to be safe. Once
soft, immediately drain and run cold
water over them until cool.
Assemble the salad:
In a very large mixing bowl, toss
noodles, radishes and cucumber with
most of the dressing, setting aside a
little bit for drizzling.
11
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
Serves 4 · Total time: 30 minutes · Active time: 20 minutes
Go beyond
the kitchen.
INTRODUCING FOODTHINKERS.COM
Essays, articles, recipes, videos, and eBooks
from some of the brightest minds in the culinary world.
www.FoodThinkers.com
Serves 6 to 8
Total time: 35 minutes (not including soaking time for cashews) · Active time: 15 minutes
Recipe notes
• How fishy do you like it? Nori is pretty mild as far as seaweeds go, but the
potency varies depending on the brand and how fresh the nori is. Start with one
sheet, then taste after everything is added at the end. If you think it needs more
sea, you can still add another chopped up sheet. Just mix it in and let the flavor
meld, off the heat, for about 10 minutes.
• To efficiently chop nori, it works to chiffonade it. That means roll up and slice! So
tightly roll up your nori sheet like a cigar, and thinly slice. Then run your knife
over the curled up bunches to get them into even smaller pieces.
• If you’d like it even more chewy and you have a million dollars to spend on
fungi, then go ahead and replace all of the white mushrooms with shiitake.
13
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
This is for all you fishheads out there. A mix of mushrooms stand in for the clams
to create a super satisfying chewiness, while some chopped up nori gives this
chowder a true taste of the sea. It’s thick and creamy and loaded with the finer
things, like potatoes and carrots. Crumble some saltines over the top and you’ll be
able to hear the Atlantic Ocean lapping at your feet. For authenticity, make sure to
serve this while talking like a character from a Stephen King movie.
N.E. Glam Chowder (continued)
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2
hours
2 cups vegetable broth
4 teaspoons organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
2 medium carrots, peeled, sliced into
1/4 inch thick half moons
3 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly
sliced
8 ounces white button mushrooms,
sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into
3/4 inch chunks
3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Fresh black pepper
1 to 2 nori sheets, finely chopped (see
note)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Optional toppings:
Fresh chopped parsley or chives for
garnish
Saltines for crushing over the top
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium
heat. Sauté onion and carrots in the
olive oil with a pinch of salt for about
10 minutes, until carrots are softened.
In the meantime, we’ll make the
cashew cream. Drain the cashews and
add them to the blender along with the
vegetable broth and cornstarch. Blend
like crazy, until smooth. This can take
anywhere from one to five minutes
depending on your machine. Scrape
down the sides with a rubber spatula
every now and again to make sure you
get everything.
Back to the soup. Add mushrooms
and celery. Cook briefly, for about 3
minutes, just until mushrooms are
softened. You want them to keep their
texture.
Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, nori
and vegetable broth. Cover and bring
to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to
a simmer. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or
until potatoes are tender. Be careful to
keep a close eye so as not to overcook
them or they will turn into mush.
Stir in the cashew cream mixture and
gently heat, uncovered, for about 7
minutes, until nicely thickened. Add
the tomato paste and lemon juice and
taste for salt and seasoning. Add a little
extra water if it seems too thick. Serve
garnished with parsley or chives, if
you like, and a few saltine crackers. A
wedge of lemon looks pretty, too.
AVAILABLE ON
14
Makes 6 burgers · Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes · Active time: 20 minutes
Well, everyone loves burgers, and this is a fine, upstanding, burger-citizen made
with some of my favorite ingredients. Brown rice, lentils and beets! They all
combine to form the perfect storm of vegan burgerness. It’s not that they taste
exactly like hamburgers or anything, but they do taste exactly like awesome
veggie burgers. Rice provides hearty texture to give you a substantial bite. Lentils
are my go-to ground meat, so they were a natural addition. And beets give the
burger an intense (vaguely disturbing) meat-like appearance, but they also add a
lot of flavor, earthy and slightly sweet. Just something that takes your VB to the
next level. Make the mixture the morning of or evening before to have these on
the table in no time.
Recipe notes
• One very important part of this recipe is the cooking method. You want to get the
burger charred. Not burnt, but charred, which really just means, uh, burnt only
in some places. The best way to achieve this is with a very hot cast iron pan.
Other pans may react differently to high heat and may not give you that perfect
char. So if you’re not using a cast iron pan, the next best thing would be to
transfer them to a baking pan after cooking, brush with oil and stick them under
the broiler for a few minutes.
• If you’d like to bake these instead, do so at 375°F, 8 to 10 minutes each side, then
stick under the broiler to brown them.
• I use a food processor to make these happen quickly, so you’ll have to do some
finagling if you don’t have one. You can shred the beets with a hand shredder,
then use a potato masher to mash everything together. It will come out a bit
chunkier, but still yummy!
• If you have a tree-nut allergy, then sunbutter or tahini will make an excellent
substitution!
15
Bistro Beet Burgers (continued)
1 1/4 cups cooked, cooled brown rice
1 cup cooked brown or green lentils,
drained well
1 cup shredded beets
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between
your fingers
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (or finely
crushed fennel seed)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons very finely chopped
onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smooth almond butter
1/2 cup very fine breadcrumbs
Olive oil for the pan
To serve:
6 burger buns, shredded lettuce, sliced
dill pickles, finely diced onion and
ketchup. I would add a layer of avocado
instead of a vegan cheese, but that’s just
me.
Peel beets and shred with the shredder
attachment of your food processor, then
transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside.
Back to the food processor, switch out the
shredder attachment for a metal blade.
Pulse the brown rice, shredded beets and
lentils 15 to 20 times, until the mixture
comes together but still has texture. It
should look a lot like ground meat.
Now transfer back to the mixing bowl
and add all the remaining ingredients:
salt, pepper, thyme, fennel, dry mustard,
onion, garlic, almond butter, and
breadcrumbs. Use your hands to mix
very well. Everything should be well
incorporated, so get in there and take
your time, it could take a minute or two.
Place the mixture in the fridge for 30
minutes to chill.
Preheat a cast iron pan over mediumhigh. Now form the patties. Each patty
will be about 1/3 cup of mixture and
should be formed into 3/4 inch thick
discs.
Pour a very thin layer of oil into the pan
and cook patties for about 12 minutes,
flipping occasionally. Drizzle in a little
more oil or use a bottle of organic
cooking spray as needed. Burgers should
be charred at the edges and heated
through.
Serve warm! They taste pretty great
heated up as well, so if you want to, cook
them in advance, refrigerate, then gently
heat in the pan later on.
16
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
I’m no Texas chili expert, but I am a culinary reality TV expert, and one thing that’s
for sure is that if chefs on a cooking competition talk about Texas, they talk about
chili. And if they talk about chili, they have to state no less than 10 times that Texas
chili has no beans in it. They’ll say it in slow-mo and with echo and dubbed over
techno music. Texas chili has no beans. Did you hear that? NO BEANS! So this is
my reverse homage to Texas chili. A mean pot of stew filled with all my favorite
beans! It’s thick and stick-to-your ribs, and super duper meaty thanks to the cooked
down lentils. Serve with Cornbread Muffins and guacamole.
Recipe notes
• You can make this on the stovetop instead of in a slow cooker. Just use 2 extra
cups of water and let the stew simmer for about 45 minutes.
• If you don’t want to futz with two different kinds of whole beans, either kidney or
black beans could go solo, too.
17
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
Serves 8 to 10 · Total time: 1 hour · Active time: 20 minutes
Meaty Beany Chili (continued)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced medium
1 green pepper, seeded, diced medium
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced (seeded, if
you want it less spicy)
3 to 4 tablespoons mild chili powder
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups water (plus extra as needed)
Set your slow cooker to “sear.”
Sauté the onion, green pepper and
jalapeño in the oil with a big pinch of
salt for 5 to 7 minutes, until onion is
translucent.
Add the garlic, and sauté until fragrant,
about 30 seconds. Add remaining
ingredients, cover and set to slow cook
for at least 8 hours.
Taste for salt and seasoning, and thin
with a little water if necessary.
Serve!
1 cup dried brown lentils
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans, rinsed
and drained (15-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed
and drained (15-ounce can)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons lime juice
Cornbread Muffins (recipe follows)
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the Fast Slow Cooker™
Shop Now
18
Meaty Beany Chili (continued)
Cornbread Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Total time: 40 minutes
Active time: 10 minutes
These are what I consider the perfect
cornbread muffin for breakfast or
for chili. Beautifully golden, not too
sweet, plenty of corn flavor, and lots of
great texture, too, thanks to fresh corn
kernels baked right in. As usual, fresh
kernels cut right from the cob are best.
But frozen is perfectly fine, too! Just
make sure they are thawed first.
If you’d like to turn this into a berry
muffin, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of
vanilla with the wet ingredients along
with 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, then
fold in 1 cup of berries.
1 cup almond milk (or your favorite
non-dairy milk)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat
pastry flour
1 cup cornmeal, medium ground
1/3 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a
muffin tin with cooking spray.
Measure out the milk and add the
apple cider vinegar to it, then set aside
to curdle.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix
together the flour, cornmeal, sugar,
baking powder, baking soda and
salt. Make a well in the center and
add in the milk, oil and applesauce.
Stir together the wet ingredients in
the well. Then mix the wet and dry
together just until the dry ingredients
are moistened, being careful not to
overmix. Fold in the corn kernels.
Fill each muffin tin most of the way
with batter. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.
Tops should feel firm to the touch and
a knife inserted through the center
should come out clean.
Remove from oven and when cool
enough to handle (usually 10 minutes
or so), transfer muffins to a cooling
rack to cool the rest of the way.
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil,
melted
2 tablespoons unsweetened
applesauce
1 cup corn kernels (thawed if using
frozen)
AVAILABLE ON
19
This is a beautiful bright orange mac, flavored with pepperoni-pizza-type
seasonings: fennel, thyme and oregano.
Recipe notes
• If you don’t have any pizza seasoning lying around, simply use these spices:
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed or ground fennel, 1/4 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon
thyme, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• You can make this a baked mac, if you prefer! Transfer the whole shebang to an
8 × 8 casserole and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
20
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
Serves 4 · Total time: 30 minutes · Active time: 20 minutes
Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese (continued)
1/2 pound macaroni or other small
pasta
3/4 cups cashews, soaked in water for
2 hours
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced medium
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
(optional)
1 roasted red pepper (jarred or
homemade)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons pizza seasoning (see
note)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the Hemisphere™
Control
Preheat a 2-quart sauce pot over
medium heat. Sauté onions in oil with
a pinch of salt for 5 to 7 minutes, until
onions are translucent. Add garlic
and sauté for 30 seconds or so, then
transfer to a blender or food processor.
Boil a large pot of salted water for
cooking the pasta. Once boiling, cook
pasta according to package directions.
Drain the cashews and add them to
the blender along with the vegetable
broth, corn starch, nutritional yeast,
red peppers, tomato paste, pizza
seasoning, salt, mustard and turmeric.
Blend until very smooth. Scrape down
the sides every 30 seconds or so and
test for smoothness.
Transfer the sauce in the blender back
to the sauce pot where you cooked the
onions. Turn the heat up to medium
and let cook, stirring very often, until
thickened. This should take between 10
and 15 minutes. Taste for salt. It should
taste slightly salty because you’re
going to be pouring it on the pasta.
The pasta should be done while the
sauce is thickening, so drain and place
pasta back in the pot you cooked it in.
Set aside.
When sauce is thickened, add it to the
pasta in the pot, and use a large slotted
spoon to mix well, taking care not to
break the pasta. Serve!
Shop Now
21
Serves 8 · Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes · Active time: 30 minutes
The thing is: enchiladas are a pain in the butt. A worth-it pain in the butt, but a pain
in the butt, nonetheless. This version, in casserole form, is a little less so. Don’t get
me wrong, it still makes more dishes than you want to do, but it’s a lot easier than
stuffing each tortilla.
Now that I’ve scared all of you posers away with that foreboding introduction, I’ll
let you in on a little secret: this is ridiculously amazing. Shh! Layers of corn tortilla
sopping up spicy, fragrant, red sauce then overstuffed with mushrooms, pinto
beans and roasted potatoes. On top is a voluptuous cashew cream that will have
you rolling your eyes to the back of your head like a zombie. An enchilada zombie.
This is definitely more of a Sunday night supper, but if you want to enjoy it on a
weeknight, it can happen. Make the enchilada sauce the night before and be sure
to soak your cashews. Everything will come together in a snap! Although there
are four components, I tried to keep them all simple enough so that they work
together well and don’t cause too much grief.
Recipe notes
• If you’re not feeding an army, you can halve this recipe in an 8 × 8 casserole.
Just make sure it’s a deep one or you’ll have an overflowing enchilada monster
on your hands.
• If you want to add extra heat, there are a few ways I can recommend doing it.
Sauté a sliced, seeded jalapeño with the onion for the filling, or try an extra
jalapeño in the sauce.
• The white sauce is not entirely necessary, but it’s easy enough to do and it looks
(and tastes) great. If, however, it’s too much to finagle at the moment or you
forgot to soak cashews, then you can just serve topped with some guac. If you
wanted to serve with your favorite meltable vegan cheese instead, then I can try
to look the other way.
• I love the tenderness of pintos here, but feel free to use black beans! I bet lentils
would be yummy, too. But that’s no surprise because I always think lentils
would be yummy.
22
Nirvana Enchilada Casserole (continued)
For the potatoes:
Make the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut
into 1/2 inch pieces
Preheat oven to 425°F.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Enchilada sauce:
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced medium
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
(use 2 if you like more heat)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano (Mexican,
preferably)
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon agave nectar
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with
parchment paper. Toss the potatoes with
the oil right on the baking sheet. Sprinkle
with fresh black pepper and salt, and
toss to coat. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce
the heat to 350°F, flip potatoes and bake
for 10 more minutes. Leave oven at
350°F, because that is the temp that the
enchiladas need to bake at.
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium
heat. Dry toast the cumin and coriander
seeds in the pan for about 2 minutes,
stirring frequently, until they’re fragrant
and a few shades darker, just be careful
not to burn. Add the oil and sauté the
onion, jalapeño and garlic with oregano
and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes,
until onions are translucent. Add the
tomatoes, salt and agave, cover pot, turn
the heat up to bring to a slow boil. Let
cook for about 20 minutes.
Once cooked, purée until smooth
with either an immersion blender
or by transferring to a blender or
food processor. If using a blender,
intermittently lift the lid to let steam
escape so that it doesn’t build up and
explode and kill you. Also, note that if
you use an immersion blender you really
have to blend a lot to get the seeds to
smooth out. Taste for salt and set aside
to cool.
23
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
For the filling:
Make the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat a large pan over medium heat.
Sauté the onion in oil with a pinch of salt
for about 5 minutes, until translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté just until
fragrant, 15 seconds or so. Add the
mushrooms and salt, and cook until
they’ve released a lot of their moisture,
about 5 minutes. Add the pinto beans
and lime juice and cook just until heated
through, 2 minutes or so.
1 onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly
sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups cooked pinto beans (2 15-ounce
cans, rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
When the roasted potatoes are ready,
toss them into the filling mix. Taste for
salt and set aside.
White sauce:
Make the white sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2
hours
Drain the cashews. Add everything to
the blender and purée until completely
smooth. It’s rather thick, so definitely
scrape down the sides with a rubber
spatula often to make sure you get
everything. Refrigerate until ready to
use.
3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
24
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
Nirvana Enchilada Casserole (continued)
Nirvana Enchilada Casserole (continued)
For assembly:
Assemble this bad boy:
18 8-inch corn tortillas
So we’re just going to be adding layers
of sauce, tortillas and filling, then
topping it all off. Let’s begin.
Optional toppings:
Pepitas
Fresh chopped cilantro
Recipe notes
Here’s the order to do everything in to
get this done in just over an hour:
1. Preheat oven, prep potatoes, and
begin your mise en place.
2. Roast the potatoes.
3. Start the enchilada sauce.
4. Start the filling.
5. While all that is cooking, blend the
cashew sauce.
6. Assemble, bake and go relax!
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the Smart Oven®
Lightly grease a 9 × 13 casserole pan.
Ladle in a thin layer of enchilada sauce,
then layer 6 tortillas into the pan. Now
things are going to get a bit messy!
Ladle in another layer of enchilada sauce
(about a cup’s worth), and flip each
tortilla to smother in the sauce. Each one
should be coated, but you should still
be able to see the tortilla, that is to say,
it shouldn’t be drowning in the sauce.
Next, layer the tortillas so that they’re
slightly overlapping and covering the
bottom of the pan.
Now add half of the filling, and pour
on 1/2 cup or so of sauce. Layer in 6
more tortillas and repeat the process
of smothering each of them in a cup
of sauce. Cover with the remaining
filling. Once again pour 1/2 cup of sauce
over the filling and add the final layer
of tortillas. Smother those in a cup of
sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce (if
any) for serving.
Finally, top with the cashew sauce. I pour
it directly out of the blender and try to
ribbon it in thick globs over the top. It
doesn’t have to be neat; it will look cute
pretty much no matter what.
Place in the 350° oven and bake
uncovered for about 30 minutes. The
topping should be lightly golden.
Shop Now
Remove from oven and sprinkle with a
handful of pepitas and chopped fresh
cilantro if you like. Now it’s ready to
serve!
25
With
the Fast Slow Cooker™
the Hemisphere™ Control
Shop Now
the Control Grip™
the Breville Sous Chef ®
BrevilleUSA.com
These pancakes were inspired by the movie Dan in Real Life. Honestly, I don’t
remember much about that movie except for one thing: the pivotal pancake scene.
Juliette Binoche was flipping these magnificent golden brown creatures on a
griddle. I think she was pissed off about something in the scene, but all I could
concentrate on were those puffy pillows of pancakes, perfectly golden brown,
lined up like jewel cushions on display.
I fussed and fussed with my pancake batter until I achieved these perfect results!
27
Photograph by Vanessa Rees, from Isa Does It
Makes 6 pancakes · Total time: 30 minutes · Active time: 20 minutes
Puffy Pillow Pancakes (continued)
Recipe notes
• Don’t use an electric mixer for the batter. Overmixed pancakes tend to result in a
dense pancake. I simply use a dinner fork to get everything mixed.
• You have to let the batter rest for 10 minutes or so. The vinegar and the baking
powder need time to react with each other, and the gluten needs to settle in and
rest.
• Don’t crowd the pan. Even in my big cast iron, I don’t make more than two
pancakes at once. If you have a large pancake griddle, then use it! (PS: Just for
the record, I don’t have one.)
• Don’t use too much oil in the pan. It will result in a tough exterior. A very thin
layer of oil is what you want, and a spray can of organic canola oil works
perfectly for this.
• Preheat the pan for a good 10 minutes. I use cast iron and put it on moderate
low heat (right around 3 on my stovetop), but you will probably need to adjust
a little to get the temp just right. Remember, the temp is not set in stone. Lower
and raise in tiny increments as needed. Even turning the dial 1/4 inch can result
in big changes.
• Use a measuring cup (with a rounded bottom if possible) to scoop out the batter
for uniformly sized pancakes. And remember to always spray the cup between
scoops, to prevent sticking.
• Once you drop the pancake in, refrain from futzing with the uncooked pancake
too much. However, don’t be afraid to delicately nudge the batter a tiny bit
with your fingers to get a more circular shape and even cooking. But the batter
should spread a tiny bit and puff up all on its own.
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the Smart Grill™
Shop Now
28
Puffy Pillow Pancakes (continued)
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond milk (or your favorite
non-dairy milk)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl, sift together
flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Make a well in the center.
Measure the milk into a measuring cup.
Add vinegar and ground flax seeds,
and use a fork to vigorously mix the
ingredients until foamy. This will take a
minute or so.
Pour the milk mixture into the center
of the dry ingredients. Add the water,
canola oil and vanilla, and use a fork to
mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms.
That should take about a minute.
It doesn’t need to be smooth, just
make sure you get all the ingredients
incorporated.
Preheat the pan over medium-low heat
and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
Lightly coat the pan in oil. Add 1/3 cup
of batter for each pancake, and cook
for about 4 minutes, until puffy. Flip the
pancakes, adding a new coat of oil to
the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes
or so. Pancake should be about an inch
thick and golden brown.
Rest pancakes on a cooling rack covered
with tin foil until ready to serve. To
reheat, place pancakes on a baking sheet
covered with tin foil in a 300°F degree
oven for 5 minutes or so.
Blueberry Ginger Sauce
16 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup sugar (more to taste)
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
Place blueberries, water and sugar
in a 4-quart pot and mix. Add the
conrnstarch and mix until it is
dissolved. Bring to a slow boil. Add
ginger and let simmer until thickened,
about 7 minutes.
29
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Makes 1 quart
Everything you want in an ice cream. Smooth, rich, creamy and frosty! Lots of
pumpkin purée, a hint of molasses and warm spices like ginger and cinnamon
make this amazing ice cream taste like pumpkin pie.
We boil the cashews to make them very soft, as well as temper their flavor. This
way, when you take your first licks, all you taste is pure pumpkin and cream and
an autumny heaven. I doubt anyone will detect cashew. And if they do, so what?
Cashews are delicious.
To make your own pumpkin pie spice, it’s just 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon
ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon allspice.
MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH
the Smart Scoop™
Shop Now
30
Pumpkin Ice Cream (continued)
1 cup rice milk
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon organic corn syrup
1 tablespoon light molasses
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
First, boil the cashews in water for
about 30 minutes. Drain them and add
to the blender.
Add all remaining ingredients and
blend until completely smooth.
Blend for about a minute, then test
for creaminess. It should take about
3 minutes total to get everything as
smooth as possible.
Preset your ice cream maker to a hard
gelato setting and pour in ice cream
mixture. Once it’s churned, you can
eat immediately as a soft serve, but
for scoopable results, seal tightly and
freeze for about 24 hours.
31
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
1 cup unroasted cashews
Makes 2 dozen cookies · Total time: 30 minutes · Active time: 15 minutes
There is something otherwordly about the rosemary chocolate combination, and it
makes these my favorite cookies in the world. Did I already say that about another
cookie? It was a lie. These are buttery, golden, sublime and just slightly exotic. If
you haven’t tried the rosemary chocolate combo, be prepared to fall in love.
Recipe notes
• I simply use a fork to mix most cookie recipes. True, it takes a little more elbow
grease and time to beat the oils and sugars adequately, but for me it’s somehow
worth it not to have to break out the hand mixer. If you don’t see the logic in this
(because there really isn’t any) then feel free to use your hand mixer!
• I also use a cookie disher, which is a small ice cream scooper. For years I relied
on nothing but a tablespoon and my eyeballs to make sure my cookies were the
same size, so you can do that, too.
• Make sure that your coconut oil is at room temperature. It shouldn’t be clear and
melted, just somewhat creamy without any large lumps.
AVAILABLE ON
32
Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies (continued)
2 tablespoons lightly packed, fresh
rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup almond milk (or your favorite
non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
(golden preferred)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate semisweet chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease
two large baking sheets.
In a large mixing bowl, use a fork
to beat together the coconut oil and
rosemary, until relatively smooth. Add
the sugar and beat for about a minute.
Add the non-dairy milk and flax seeds
and beat once again, for 30 seconds or
so. Mix in the vanilla.
Add about half the flour, as well as the
salt and baking soda, and mix well.
Add the remainder of the flour, along
with the chocolate chips, and mix well
until it looks like, well, cookie dough.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough
onto cookie sheets in rounded
spoonfuls. Flatten gently with your
hands. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until
bottoms are golden brown.
Let cool on sheets for 3 minutes or so,
then transfer to cooling racks to cool
the rest of the way.
33
Photograph by Zero Point Zero, from Make It Vegan
1/2 cup refined coconut oil, softened
Connect with
Subscribe
to Breville
@BrevilleUSA
/BrevilleUSA
FoodThinkers.com