About Life, Love, and Food

I seek the high road. At its heart, Life, Love, and Food is about writing. I need a place to write; I like to think of my blog as food for thought and a bite to eat. I write about food because it is essential to life, a medium through which we are all connected. Food is the lens through which I examine life in all its simplicities and complexities.

I find the middle ground. I believe in eating whole foods. I believe that when food is minimally processed and close to its natural state, it is food that is maximally nutritious—good for us and good for the earth. That being said, I realize that life isn’t perfect. Sometimes we just have to do the best we can with what we have. Not all of my meals would make a nutritionist smile, but eating well is a daily goal. I focus on eating plenty of whole grains, beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. I eat moderate amounts of dairy and eggs, preferring to use them as “accessory” ingredients to amp up the flavor, taste, and texture of my food.

I am 99.8% vegetarian. I love being a vegetarian! I was a vegetarian before I became a more serious home cook, so vegetarianism is my home turf. It’s rare that I miss meat, but I’m sympathetic to non-vegetarians who are trying to eat healthfully without giving up meat. I’m not an evangelist for vegetarianism—I don’t know that it’s the best choice for everyone. For some folks, not eating meat may always be too radical a change and therefore not a sustainable lifestyle. But I love it and I’m happy to discuss it with you if you are curious about my choices.

Although I am not a vegan, I do have a strong interest in vegan cooking beause I like the new textures and flavors that emerge in vegan cooking. Many of my recipes are vegan, and I have big plans to organize a vegan recipe index for Life, Love, and Food.

I take the low trail. My cooking is simple, homey, and good. I don’t have much interest in fancy food. I like to create dishes in which the flavors sing clearly and harmonize beautifully. Because my style is homey, I think my recipes tend to be accessible to people who are not experts in the kitchen—something that I think is very important in today’s America, a place where home and home-cooking seem to have lost their place in our hearts—or maybe just our schedules. In my mind, there is nothing better than coming home to my own kitchen. Preferably without a sink full of dirty dishes.

And finally, something soulful. I am simultaneously exhilarated and terrified by love. As in heart-pounding, swoony, soulful, romantic love. These days, by some odd twist of fate, I am both dating and in a serious relationship. I think romantic relationships are very interesting, so I write about love often. I like to think that my writing isn’t too sappy, but I am probably not the best judge of that! If you have a strong gag reflex, consider yourself warned!

Won’t you join me at my kitchen table for a cup of tea and some food gossip? It would be my pleasure.

Introducing the Recipes as Themselves

Sometimes you want to read, and sometimes you just want to cook NOW, dammit! That's where a recipe index comes in handy. Listed here are all the of recipes that have been published on Life, Love, and Food. They are organized into general categories, so you can peruse the index for a new dish of a specific type, or you can quickly scroll down to the recipe you want.

The Kitchen Protocols are updated regularly so that is easy and fun for you and me to use the recipe collection. Happy browsing, and happy cooking!

APPETIZERS
Toasted Walnuts with Raw Milk Jack Cheese

BASICS AND EXTRAS
Better
Homemade Ginger Syrup
Homemade Herbes de Provence
Pizza Dough for Calzones and Other Good Things

BEVERAGES
Mexican Coffee
Nigella's Go Get 'Em Smoothie
Rose-Anne's Perfect Chai Latte
Strawberry-Banana Ricotta Milkshake

GRIDDLE FOODS AND THEIR OVEN-BAKED COUSINS
Baked Falafel Patties with Italian Herbs
Chickpea Patties
Multigrain Pancakes for Two with Warm Maple-Apple Saute
Rose-Anne's Favorite French Toast with a Pumpkin-Maple Syrup Topping

DIPS, DRESSINGS, SPREADS, AND SAUCES
Black Bean Dip
Blueberry Cheesecake Sauce
Classic Italian Vinaigrette
Easy Artichoke Sauce
Itty-Bitty-Batch Basil Pesto
Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Dip
Roasted Garlic and Pea Dip
Shawn Marie's Asian Splash
The Chicago Diner's Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

SOUPS AND STEWS
Black Bean Soup
Black Bean Soup with Rice
Ful Edamame
Garlic, Chickpea, and Kale Soup
Garlic, Chickpea, and Kale Soup in Butternut Squash Broth
Greek Avgolemono Soup
Homemade Tomato Soup for Winter Days
Kiki's Mint Pea Soup (via Anne)
Lunar Gazpacho
Lydia's Stew (or Chickpea and Rice Stew)
Matt's Chickpea and Artichoke Heart Stew
Moosewood Chili
Moroccan Chickpea Stew with Carrots and Raisins
Rustic Lemony White Bean Stew
Saturday Lunch Soup with Orzo Pasta
Smoky Pumpkin Soup
Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes (variation: with Kale)
The Perfect Carrot Soup
Tomato Vegetable Soup with White Beans
White Bean Minestrone
White Bean Soup Provencal

SANDWICHES, WRAPS, SCRAMBLES, AND SAVORY EGG DISHES
Egg and Cheese Muffins
Egg Burrito for One
Faux Tuna Sandwich Spread
Greek Sammiches
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spinach and Dijon Mustard
Nigella's Avocado Bruschetta
Seasoned Black Beans
Simple Baked Egg for One
Southwestern Tofu Scramble
Theresa's Egg Scramble with Vegetables and Cottage Cheese
"The Robin," or Vegetarian Tuna Fish Sandwich with Pesto and Avocado
Tofu Burrito Filling, Stewart Family Recipe

PASTA AND RICE DISHES
Penne Pasta with Ricotta-Pesto Sauce
Penne Pasta with Chickpeas in Ricotta-Pesto Sauce
Slightly Modified Ricotta Pasta with Tomatoes al Forno
Vegetable and Brown Rice Medley with Scrambled Eggs

CASSEROLES, CALZONES, ENCHILADAS, AND TOSTADAS
Black Bean Tostadas
(Daphna's) Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Matt's Calzones
Spinach and Zucchini Calzones
Spinach Enchiladas with Cupboard Enchilada Sauce
Theresa's Spinach Artichoke Calzones

VEGETABLES AND SALADS
A Nigella-Inspired Salad: Romaine Lettuce with Toasted Walnuts and Vintage Cheddar or Green Apples
Avocado Corn Salad
Black Bean Salad
Broccoli Slaw
Crunchy Celery, Apple, and Cheddar Salad
Green Lentil Salad with Lemon-Garlic Dressing
Herbed Roasted Potatoes
Matt's Spinach and Orange Salad
Roasted Broccoli and Tofu
Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Rose-Anne's Chicago Salad (or Main-Dish Salad with Homemade Croutons, Toasted Walnuts, and Shredded Cheese)
Salad with Crisp Greens, Strawberries, and Honey-Balsamic Dressing
Steamed Broccoli with Vegan Caesar Dressing
Steamed Vegetable Salad with Scallions
Summertime Wheat Berry Salad
(Nicole's) Tabbouleh with Grilled Vegetables
Thai-Inspired Salad with Radishes and Roasted Potatoes
Ugly Chili Fries

GRANOLAS AND OTHER OATY THINGS
Addictive Peanut Butter Granola
Crunchy Breakfast Granola
Daphna's Banana Oatmeal
Deluxe Granola
Maple Nut Granola
Peanut Butter-Glazed Granola

BAKED GOODS AND SNACKS FOR BREAKFAST OR ANY TIME
A Northerner's Butter-Crusted Cornbread
Apple Muffins
Baked Oatmeal Brulee with Banana, Cardamom, and Cinnamon
Breakfast Crostini
Classic Hippie No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
Daphna's Garlic Bread
Health-Foodie Nutty Buddy
Mocha Ricotta Muffins
Nutty Energy Bars
Peanut Butter-Peach Breakfast Parfait

DESSERTS
Almond Blondies
Basic Vegan Sugar Cookies
Bastardized Basic Vegan Sugar Cookies (Variations)
Blueberry Crumble
Dairy-Free Peach Sorbet
Daphna's Baked Apple French Toast
Excellent Brownies
Ian's Thumbprint Cookies
Orange Pudding Cake
Raspberry Cookie Pudding
Toasty Oatmeal Cookies
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Walnut Wafers
Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies
Whole Wheat Less-Is-More Cookies or Whole Wheat Cookies with Walnuts and Milk Chocolate Chips