Make Ahead Vegan Samosa Shepherd's Pie

This recipe uses a number of my favorite techniques: mashing, slathering, and drizzling. Imagine a Shepherd's pie meeting the flavors of an Indian samosa. That's where we're headed. Shepherd's pies are typically lamb or meat based, but this is a veg-friendly version. You make a hearty, flavor-packed, vegan base using split peas (or lentils), chopped mushrooms, spices, and crushed tomatoes. Layer this under a thick slather of mashed potatoes and baked until the top is golden and a bit crusted. If I know the week ahead is going to be a crusher, I'll assemble everything over the weekend, and all I have to do is pop it in the oven a bit later in the week. Give it a go, this has been on repeat all winter.

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I forget to mention this in the video, but you can certainly create smaller, individual pies - they're cute, and people love getting their own. And you can absolutely swap in sweet potatoes, just give them a quick peel first.

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Travel: Tucson Gem Show

I haven't done a travel post in quite some time, but we're going to change that trend starting now. I went to Tucson, Arizona last week - in part for the desert sunshine, and, in part for the Tucson Gem Show. It's huge. And it's not just one show, it's actually a multi-week event that spans more than a dozen venues. The fact that I keep thinking about? Some of world's largest tents are deployed. Think about that. People come from all over the world (and I mean allll over), to buy, sell, and exhibit every conceivable gem, rock, fossil, and mineral imaginable. I made a little video of my adventure, and will put some of the reference links and details inside the video description. XO to (the incredibly talented) Tura Sugden for being a great travel partner, and for the cameo appearance ;)...these double chocolate cookies also had a moment.

Also! Thank you to everyone who has sent nice notes about the videos. I figure if I make enough of them this year, I'll get better at it. And playing around with the different formats is exciting (and crazy-making). If nothing else, maybe it will inspire some of you to play around and experiment with something new this year, even if you're not so great at first.

A few of you have asked where to find a list of all my videos in one spot. I keep an up-to-date list on this You Tube page. If you subscribe on You Tube, you won't miss any, but I'll also continue to make sure they live here as well, and that any recipe videos are alongside their corresponding recipe. xx! -h

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Healthful Double Chocolate Cookies

A lot of people have baked these cookies over the past decade. People love them because they're free of any added refined sugar, egg-free, no butter, and gluten-free. They're studded with generously with chocolate, and they're fantastic. The number one question related to them is how to make them nut-free - so kids can take them to school. I took a trip to Tucson last week (I'll post the video soon :), and took the opportunity to remix the recipe. The originals are favorite travel snacks, and I was confident that experimenting with a chocolate version wouldn't be a bad idea. The new version is double chocolate (chips and cacao), and made with crushed sunflower seeds, in place of almond meal. Enjoy! -h

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An Excellent, One-pan, Protein-packed Power Pasta

One-pot meals are the savior of weeknight cooking, and this pasta is one of my go-tos. It's pasta and lentils simmered in crushed tomatoes, finished with lots of chopped kale, saffron, swirls of tahini and chopped almonds. I made a video of how it comes together, but the jist is to simply place most of the ingredients into a big pan or skillet with boiling water, simmer down until the pasta is tender, and plate in shallow bowls with your favorite toppings (I include a list of suggestions). Variations couldn't be easier once you get the hang of the technique. The recipe is included here, and you can also see how I pull it together in the video. As I mention in it, you can easily do a vegan version of this, or use whatever gluten-free pasta you like. I think the reason I always come back to this recipe is because you've got greens, protein from the lentils, and a range of whole healthful ingredients all in one pan. It's a total crowd-pleaser, and leftovers are A+ as well.

Also! A few of you have asked where to find a list of all my videos in one spot. There will always an up-to-date list on this You Tube page. I'm also posting the shorter ones to Instagram. If you subscribe on You Tube, you won't miss any, that's probably the safest bet. In addition to the recipe videos, I'm super excited to post more travel videos. I'm working on one from a trip to (beautiful, sunny!) Tucson, Arizona last week, and a separate video of what I made to take along with me as travel snacks. So, if you subscribe or follow on one of those channels, you'll likely get the heads up. I also link in the 101 Cookbooks newsletter (sign-ups are sprinkled all over)....The videos are far from perfect (especially the ones I'm in laugh/cry), but they're so fun to make, and my hope is that I'll get better at it over the course of the year - 2017 goals! ;) xx! -h

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This is How You Step up Your Guacamole Game

I'm all for a straight-ahead, no-fuss, guacamole. Nine times out of ten, that's how I approach it. Let the avocado shine. Don't distract with tomatoes, or pomegranate seeds, or too much lemon, or too much lime. I wrote some thoughts about guacamole basics here. That tenth occasion? I'll work in a wildcard, or take a surprise approach. Something along the lines of what you see pictured here, a recurring favorite. It's a recipe I shared years ago in Super Natural Every Day, loosely inspired by a preparation I came across in Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. Imagine guacamole topped with fragrant, Indian-spiced onions and garlic, green chiles, and mustard seeds. The creamy, ripe avocado melds beautifully the savory bits, and the vibrant cooking oil works its way into all the little valleys. People love this with chips, toasted pita, or naan bread. If you're in any sort of a rut, give this a try.

A quick side note - I can also imagine a Thai-spiced version being wonderful (with green curry in place of the Indian curry paste.

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How To Make the Creamy, Toasted Coconut Milk of Your Dreams

Let me start by saying, if you already make your own nut milks at home, you have to try this. I mean - walk to your kitchen, turn the oven dial, and get some coconut in there. You have to trust me here. I started making homemade toasted coconut milk a few months ago, and it has become one of my favorite things. It's creamy, rich, nutty, and intense. I enjoy it immensely on its own, and as an ingredient in other preparations as well. It's a real flavor punch. Imagine all the ways you can use it to make some of your favorite preparations even better. It's great in chai tea, in morning oatmeal, baked oatmeal(!). You can use it in a wild range of sweet preparations, but it's also good as a way to add a little je ne sais quoi, to broths, soups, and weeknight curries.

You can see how it comes together in a video of the process here, and you can find the recipe down below, as well as a few notes. Let me know if you make it, and if you do, please let me know how you're using it!

A couple notes. If you want to totally geek out on this, play around with the toastiness of your coconut. If you toast coconut deeply, you're going to have a different profile than a more lightly toasted coconut. I tend to ride the dark side of the spectrum, but it's wild the difference between a milk made with lightly toasted versus dark. Both delicious, just different.

Also, like all pure coconut milk, it will separate. And it solidifies in the refrigerator. Use it as you would canned coconut milk, and expect it to behave similarly (i.e. you might need to warm it up a bit, and give it a good stir before using)...

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A Glow-promoting, Luminizing Breakfast Beauty Bowl

One of the very best ways to work toward beautiful, luminous, glowing skin is through eating well and mindful hydration. Your skin is often a direct reflection of the internal eco-system of your body, and, being nice to your inside is one of the best ways to positively impact your outside. It's the foundation you need to support good skin, bright eyes, strong hair, thick eyelashes, healthy nails, and on and on. Eating a seasonal, plant-centric, whole foods diet is a great place to start, but I thought I'd take today to highlight a few skin-friendly superstars in this Luminizing Breakfast Beauty Bowl - they're extra beneficial and skin-supportive, and quite easy to work into your day to day.

The base of this beauty bowl is a simple mixed berry smoothie boosted with some chia. The berries are compact, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory powerhouses, rich in cleansing fiber and collagen-boosting Vitamin C. I use mixed berries (blackberry, blueberry, strawberry) for a bit of diversity (and because they're quite easy to come by in most freezer sections) but if you really want to step up your Vitamin C game, you might trade in acai for the berries now and then. Switch it up - diversity in your is also important.

Use whatever plain, unsweetened, yogurt you prefer - coconut yogurt, Greek yogurt, nut milk yogurt, or sheep or goat milk yogurt - the probiotics here are a big help in balancing out your inner digestion and overall internal ecosystem. Use whatever yogurt works for you. Chia helps with tissue repair and skin regeneration. That's the foundation here.

Beyond that, you can boost your beauty bowl with as few or many other ingredients as you have on hand. Pick at least a handful. Here (pictured) you see digestion-friendly pineapple wedges, pomegranate seeds (thought to help reduce UV photo damage), Vitamin C-rich citrus (blood oranges and mandarin segments), a sprinkling of nuts and granola, some crushed dehydrated raspberries, and a sprinkling of bee pollen.

I love serving this sort of thing as a DIY breakfast option. You can make a big batch of smoothie (pourable straight from the pitcher), and then offer up a "buffet" of toppings. Everyone can customize their own bowl to their liking ;)!

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