C'est La Vegan

Whenever I go to the Farmers’ Market I always get inspired to try new fruits and vegetables, although sometimes I have no idea what they are or how to prepare them.  I didn’t initially even know that these were fava beans, and even though I’ve never had them and had no idea what to use [...]

There’s nothing like a fresh, ripe mango.  I’d never eaten them until probably a few years ago, and I was totally missing out!  I think I was intimidated by not being sure about when they were ripe, and then not knowing exactly the best way to cut them up.  I finally got over all of [...]

I sometimes forget how great a simple salad can be.  This one is from Janet Fletcher’s “Fresh From the Farmers’ Market”, and I used a mix of baby escarole and frisee lettuces.  Combined with the shallot vinaigrette, avocados, and oranges, this salad is full of different textures and flavors, all of them fantastic.  It calls [...]

Yesterday at Worldfest, I was able to hear Tal Ronnen speak about the work he’s been doing both with restaurants and with Le Cordon Bleu, and afterwards, I was able to meet him at get my book signed.  Being a former meat eater, and someone who loved meat so much I never saw myself ever giving [...]

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at Worldfest yesterday!  We had a great day of seeing old friends and meeting new ones.  Of course my favorite part is trying all the vegan food that’s available! And remember, if you are outside of LA and want to try some C’est La V goodies, [...]

To all the mothers out there – hope you have a wonderful day and someone to make you a great meal!  And to our moms, Jerry and Jan, we love you and wish we could be with you today!

Chicago Soy Dairy recently sent me a sample of their new mozzarella teese, which I think should be coming out to stores shortly, though I’m not sure exactly when that will be.  I wanted to find something that would really highlight the teese, and I’d seen a recipe for White Pizza with Sage in Deborah [...]

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Living in Southern California, there’s no lack of holiday celebrations to take part in today.  If you’re having people over, or even if you’re just having a quiet night in, this Mexican-Style Casserole is the perfect thing to celebrate the holiday.  Now, I say Mexican-”style” because I have to admit that [...]

On Saturday I presented a dessert demonstration at Animal Acres’ Compassionate Cooking Extravaganza, and I had the chance to see a couple of the other presenters including Rod Rotondi, founder of Leaf Cuisine and author of “Raw Food for Real People”.  His presentation about raw foods was extremely informative.  In particular, I really appreciated that he [...]

UPDATE: I just wanted to thank everyone who came out to the Animal Acres Compassionate Cooking demo yesterday, and thanks to Lorri and Cameron for having me on as a presenter!  It was a beautiful day on the farm, and the speakers I was able to see gave really inspiring presentations.  I enjoyed meeting all [...]