sassy pepper and friends
A sassy lady pepper stands in the foreground in front of a merry band of dorky veggies doing a kick line
Plant-based cooking with a side of snark
sassy pepper and friends
A sassy lady pepper stands in the foreground in front of a merry band of dorky veggies doing a kick line
Plant-based cooking with a side of snark
Good Tips2023-10-26T17:17:56-04:00

Good Tips

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

An insane amount of my brain’s real estate is devoted to food. My internal food-chatter is relentless — while I’m walking my dog, watching a not-very-engaging TV show, or at 3 a.m. trying to fall back asleep. Should I turn my fresh kale into maple-sesame chips, or use it to make Meera Sodha’s luscious Tuscan kale saag? What should I make for the dinner party I’m throwing three weeks from now? Do I have enough dark chocolate chips to make another mousse? Yes, I’ve tried meditation and yogic breathing. Neither works. I’ve come to accept who I am: A woman who loves thinking about, discovering, and cooking creatively flavored plant-based suppers. There are worse habits.

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The Shift to Plant-Based Soul Food

Did you know that Black Americans represent the fastest-growing plant-based demographic in the country?

The Pew Research Center reports 8% of Black Americans eat vegetarian or plant-based diets, compared to 3% of the non-Black population. Much of the recent growth is attributed to COVID. Black people were disproportionally affected by the epidemic, due to higher incidences of COVID risk factors like heart disease and diabetes. As a consequence, there’s increasing recognition, within the community, of the relationship between food and health.

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A Taste of Tempeh

Tempeh is the underdog of the plant-based protein world. It shouldn’t be. Like it’s better-known, squishier cousin, tofu, if you think you hate tempeh, you simply aren’t cooking it the right way. In other words, with all due respect, it’s you, not the food.

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All About the Sauce: 5 Simple Saucy Suppers for More Flavor in 2024

January is a big month for making resolutions. Most require us to quit something we find pleasurable. The increasingly popular Veganuary campaign admonishes you to stop eating animal products. Similarly, Dry January demands that you stop drinking alcohol.

This approach has never worked for me. As soon as someone tells me, “don’t eat that!” I crave it even more. Now that we’re a few weeks into 2024, I bet more than a few Veganuary and Dry January participants are chiding themselves for not sticking with their admirable resolutions. Read More

Eat Your Values: How Food Can Reduce Your Environmental Footprint

Donald Trump eats meat. Bill Clinton does not.

As a political activist who has attended more gala fundraisers than there are lawsuits against our former Orange President, I often wondered, as my comrades and I were served over-cooked chicken and tough fillet dinners, how can all of these kind-hearted, generous people, who care deeply about alleviating suffering, and the health of our planet — be eating animals?

Good News Veg is a preach-free zone, so I will educate and advise. Want to reduce your environmental footprint? Stop eating so much damn chicken and beef.

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3 Questions for a Stress-Free Dinner Party

Think about the last time you hosted a dinner party or an extended family meal. At what point while you were cooking or setting the table to be perfectly “just so,” did you think, Why the hell did I decide to do this? 

My friend Patti says, “If you don’t hate your guests by the time they arrive, you haven’t worked hard enough.” Dinner Party Hosting Anxiety (DPHA) is a thing, experienced by even the most seasoned host. I blame Martha Stewart.

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2023 Guide: 10 Essential Kitchen Tools for Plant-Based Cooks

Last year, I debuted my first annual Essential Cooking Gadgets list for the vegan kitchen, inspired by my friend Jan’s wisdom that the right kitchen tools make all the difference. After trying her velvety New York-style cheesecake (made with her KitchenAid Mixmaster), I was sold. Although I’ve not eaten cheesecake in some time, I have held on to Jan’s advice, and assembled a group of reliable gadgets and appliances that make cooking easier and more fun.

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Just Say No! to Cold Turkey

January 1st kicks off yet another Vegan Holiday, this one a monthlong celebration, Veganuary. (We’ve barely had time to recuperate from World Vegan Day, celebrated a mere two months ago!). Vegans are considered by many to be joyless and dour, yet we certainly have busy holiday calendars.

Veganuary is intended to make our New Year’s resolutions lists, up there with Dry January.

I’ll say it loud, and I’ll say it proud: I’m vegan, and I’m anti-Veganuary.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’d be thrilled if hundreds — even dozens — of Good News Veg readers went vegan this month. A good place to start would be the Epicurious 5-Day Comfort Food Meal Plan. Or, read why chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (who unapologetically hunts, cooks and eats meat) decided to take the 30-day vegan challenge, how he felt about it halfway through, and the 60 Great Vegan Recipes he created for the task.

Why am I against Veganuary?

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My 10 Favorite Cookbooks

In the early days of my learning-to-cook journey, (before Al Gore invented the Internet), I was a sucker for just about any cookbook that had “Vegetarian” in the title. My library was impressive. It took a cross-country move (i.e., packing) for me to realize I didn’t cook from most of those books. Some had a couple dog-eared pages with smears of dried sauce, signifying my go-to recipes. But the rest? Inspired writing, and hunger-inducing, air-brushed food photography do not always translate into useful cookbooks. I gave many of them away. (Today, I’d deposit them in my Little Free Library, but those weren’t invented yet, either).

Now, here’s how I buy a cookbook.

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