Vegan

At home, I like making rustic croutons by tearing bread into bite-size pieces. I want ragged edges—they taste great when cooked and crisped. Croutons are best fresh and take only minutes to make.

This is the type of salad my mom used to make—unfussy and delicious. It’s best with fresh spring potatoes and onions, but it hits the spot any time of year. While I love drinking dry white Alsatian whites, I enjoy making this salad with a good Sancerre.

When I compose a salad, I like to pair buttery flavors with bright ones. Here, creamy avocado is offset by the mustard vinaigrette and peppery radishes. I especially like making this in early spring, when the first radishes appear at the market.

Make this quintessential summer dish when ripe, fresh tomatoes and fragrant basil are abundant at farm stands (or in your garden). Seek out an artisan sourdough to complement them. Be sure to assemble these as soon as the toast is ready. The hot bread releases the juices and tangy sweetness of the tomatoes.

This is the sort of appetizer for a gathering of close family and friends. Picking the artichoke leaves with your fingers and sucking off their flesh encourages (requires?) intimacy. Because artichokes have a strong green flavor, they’re difficult to pair with wine, but a dry Alsatian white should work here.

As much as I love to eat crunchy snacks, I also really enjoy the juicy savory bite of olives. But I temper their saltiness with the anise aroma of fennel, the sweetness of orange, and a little heat. Over the years, we’ve been able to get an increasing variety of olives—even in our local markets. I like combining different Mediterranean varieties and always buy them unpitted.

There are few snacks I enjoy more than popcorn. Maybe it’s because I like watching movies to relax on the weekends. But also, there’s something about its light crispness that’s so appealing—it goes well with just about any cocktail. When I don’t have fresh rosemary on hand—or when I’m craving a little heat—I toss popcorn with a pinch of piment d’Espelette, smoked paprika, or Korean chile powder.

These nuts smell wonderful while baking. I use them in Grilled Chicken Salad with Apples and Roquefort (page 130), but I also eat them as a snack all the time. When I have some left, I put out a bowl for guests. They keep well for up to three days, but they rarely last that long in my house.

If a meal I’m making needs a little protein boost, I must admit that the first thing I think of reaching for is tofu. But since we already use plenty of soy foods, I try to remind myself to consider beans instead. Beans of all kinds are inexpensive and delicious nutritional powerhouses—in short, a food category that deserves daily attention.

I love a good coffee cake to serve as a snack or for breakfast, and when I needed a vegan version, this recipe is the one I turned to. My friend Leslie Cerier is an organic caterer and the author of Going Wild in the Kitchen.

This has long been a family favorite as an everyday kind of cake. A version of it is in my first book, Vegetariana, but here I’ve updated it—no more margarine, milk, or eggs, but the result is still a moist, rich, super-easy treat. I often make it when I’m asked to bring dessert to a gathering, and when I do, I double the recipe so I can leave one of the cakes at home!

Wholesome and seductive all at once, this dark bread can be made in a flash. It’s wonderful with tea as a dessert or as a breakfast bread.

This recipe is one of those that has been passed around from person to person, its origin unknown. I’ve tinkered with it, replacing margarine with oil and adding whole wheat pastry flour. I also concocted the simple frosting, which makes this moist cake totally delectable. Our extended family’s favorite cake for birthdays and other special occasions, this demands just minutes of hands-on time.

Beverly Bennett, also known as the Vegan Chef (veganchef.com), is a talented and creative cook. A number of her desserts are the ones most requested by my sons. When strawberries are lush and ripe, this is an easy way to create a light and healthy dessert in a flash. Please use ripe, juicy strawberries for this; it just isn’t the same if they’re rock-hard and barely red. Make this before dinner, and it will be ready by the time you want dessert.

The preparation of this dessert is almost ridiculously easy, belying its showy result. Though I’d seen similar recipes in magazines for fruit pizzas, the first time I actually had this for dessert was in an Italian restaurant in Paris, presented as “Banana Pizza Chocolatino.” Combining a good-quality pizza crust and chocolate chips with bananas and another fresh fruit results in a most impressive dessert. Use a neutral-flavored crust for this, unembellished with herbs, dried tomatoes, or other savory flavors. I like sourdough, as its slight bite contrasts nicely with the sweet dark chocolate.

Berries and apples are my favorite fruit combination in crumbles and cobblers. I try to have blueberries and cranberries as often as possible for their powerful antioxidant goodness. Here’s a way to enjoy a sweet, delectable crumble, minus the thirty-minute baking time usually required. The twist here is that it’s made on the stovetop rather than baked in the oven.

I’ve become a huge fan of butterscotch lately; I’m not sure if it’s the flavor or the scent that appeals to me most. I love the synergy between the tart apples and the mellow sauce; it’s like making caramel apples in the pan.