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Directions

1. clean corn and remove silk.
2. remove corn from cob, using a knife or corn zipper
3. place corn and any liquid amassed in a medium sized serving bowl
4. drain and rinse beans, place in same bowl with corn
5. add cilantro, onion, jalapeno and diced avocado
6. add lime juice and toss all ingredients together, making sure to coat avocado with lime juice
7. adjust to taste with salt, pepper and additional lime juice

Directions

1. Begin by chopping off the ends of your zucchini and peeling off the skins.
2. To create the zucchini ribbons, pull out your mandoline (or, you may use a peeler or even, very carefully, a knife, to create the same idea; the size of your ribbons will just be different). Place one zucchini at a time on the cutting board and slice off rustic ribbons that run the length of the vegetable, turning the zucchini and working around it as you go. When you get to the center, you may have a little nubbin left over; you may eat it, add it to the ribbons, or use in something else.
3. Place the zucchini ribbons in a colander set over the sink. Once all the ribbons are cut, salt the top of the pile and let it sit, draining slowly, while you continue working.
4. Set a sauté pan on the stove and add 1/2 cup of slivered almonds. Warm over medium-low heat until toasted.
5. In a food processor, combine 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds, chopped parsley, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until well mixed and similar to the texture of a pesto. Add up to another 1/4 cup olive oil; blend. Taste, and adjust for salt if desired.
6. Run the colander of zucchini ribbons under cool water to rinse; dab dry with paper towels.
7. Place zucchini ribbons in large bowl and add pesto alfredo sauce. Toss thoroughly to cover ribbons.
8. To serve, garnish zucchini with chopped parsley and crushed red pepper flakes, as desired.

Hearty Spanish-style paella, easily customizable. You can really use whatever meats and fish you wish. This can easily be made vegan (which I have done may times) by using a vegetable broth and vegan chorizo or other meat substitutes.

I used a 15 in. paella pan for this recipe. A paella pan is not essential, but do be sure to use a pan big enough so that the rice is not more than 2 inches deep.

This recipe has been adapted from several recipes and tweaked over several attempts to get just the right balance. I think this version hits the nail on the head, but feel free to tweak further to suit your own tastes. Let me how it comes out!

—Carol P.

Directions

1. Heat 2 tbs oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 8 minutes, turning midway to brown on all sides, but not cooked through. Do same with chorizo if it is not already cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add another tbs of oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion and red pepper and cook until softened, about 5 min.
3. Add garlic and smoked paprika. Stir to coat and cook for two minutes.
4. Next add tomatoes, turn heat to medium-high and cook for 1 min. more.
5. Add the rice and saffron, stir to coat.
6. Add broth, salt & pepper to taste, and bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-high.
7. Then add the chicken, chorizo, and peas and distribute through pan. Continuing cooking on medium-high heat until the most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.
8. Place shrimp on top of rice and push down gently so that it is slightly submerged in liquid but still visible atop the rice. Add more broth if too dry (there should be just enough liquid to submerge shrimp).

   Cook until shrimp is pink and opaque, approximately 5-8 minutes. Lower heat and cover pan with lid or aluminum foil for 5 minutes.

9. Off heat and keep pan covered for another five to ten minutes to let rice set.
10. Squeeze lemon juice on top, garnish with parsley and place lemon wedges around sides of dish.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C/440°F. Wash your vegetables. Cut into cubes of about 1-2cm in size.
2. Pour half the oil onto a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 2 minutes. Meanwhile peel the garlic and the onion. Roast the them on your preheated baking sheet for 2 minutes – meanwhile chop the ginger and the chili into small pieces.
3. Pour 2/3 of the sauce over the pasta, toss until well coated, then drizzle with the remaining sauce. Decorate with a few basil leaves and serve immediately.

Directions

1. Roast your chestnuts in advance. I roasted mine in the oven – make cross hatches on the round side of the chestnut and place on a baking sheet in a 400 F oven for about 20 minutes. Peel them as soon as you’re able to handle them as it becomes difficult to peel once cooled completely.
2. Cook quinoa according to package. I add a little oil and season the cooking liquid with salt + white pepper.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350 F for this dish.
4. Finely chop up the scallions and chestnuts.
5. Peel and grate the ginger.
6. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, maple syurp and grate ginger. Once well combined, add the scallions and chestnuts.
7. Cut of the tops of the persimmons and a sliver of the bottom (for standing support). Carefully hollow out the flesh.
8. Make sure you remove whatever core and seeds are prevalent. Chop up the flesh and add to the mixing bowl.
9. Add the cooked quinoa to the mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients together.
10. Re-fill the hollow-ed out persimmons with the filling and place in an oven-proof dish. I would leave the tops off until the last few minutes of cooking to avoid burning the leaves.
11. Pop the stuffed persimmons into the oven for about 25 minutes. Place the tops back on about 5 minutes prior to them being done.

Vegan gingerbread cookies may sound like they’d be difficult to pull off or a bit of a project to make, but this recipe will prove all the doubters wrong. You can form them into people shapes or make a whole house out of the dough, whatever you feel up to doing. The possibilities and creativity are endless, and adults and kids will both be into this holiday baking project. You don’t need any fancy ingredients or equipment either, which is always a pleasant surprise, and you can mix up the spices to suit whatever you have in your spice cabinet or your own tastes. This recipe calls for a spicy, savory mixture of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves; feel free to adjust the ratios to your liking. For sweetness, you could use your choice of demerara sugar, coconut sugar, or evaporated cane juice. If the dough is crumbly when you’re rolling, just add a few tablespoons of water or chill in the fridge for a few minutes.

And keep in mind that these cookies are a bit molasses-forward, so if you’re not a fan, you could use less and add more of the spices. Try with candied ginger, stevia, honey, or just lots of freshly ground black pepper if you want more of a kick. Make as much as the dough as you can to build a mansion of a gingerbread house. No one will know these cookies are vegan, and you’ll find yourself going to this recipe again and again whenever the holidays roll around. —The Editors

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Into a large bowl, sift 2⅔ cups of the flour, the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, cloves, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, molasses, milk, and vanilla.
4. Using a whisk, an electric mixer, or your hands, mix the sugar mixture into the flour mixture until uniform. Flatten the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
5. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll out the dough out until it’s a scant ¼ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and arrange on a baking sheet.
6. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, until the edges are just browning. Let cool before serving.