No-Egg Gnocchi with Roasted Garlic Cashew Nut "Cheese" {Vegan}

It's a new year, and the 5 Star Makeover group has undergone a transformation. We have a new logo and name:

As you can see, we're now the Creative Cooking Crew, helmed by Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks and Joan of Foodalogue. Rather than doing makeovers, our mission each month is to create original dishes inspired by a theme.

This month, the challenge was to create a vegan dish inspired by a meat or animal-product-heavy meal. I drew inspiration from one of my very favorite fattening things: gnocchi slathered with plenty of butter and Parmesan cheese.

North African Eggplant & Chickpea Tagine-less Tagine, The Third and Final Installment of the Preserved Lemon Trilogy

Okay, so technically a "tagine" is a North African (usually Moroccan) dish that is cooked in a clay pot of the same name. I don't have one (yet), so I'm not sure if I can correctly call this a tagine.  Maybe I should just say "stew."  But that might give you the incorrect impression of  heaviness and heft. In fact, while this is far more stew than soup, the spices and layers of flavor combine to create an overall sensory effect of scented, perfumed lightness.  Perfect for winter, but absolutely appropriate for warm weather as well.

My Preserved Lemon Obsession, Part II: Tunisian Sandwich with Homemade Harissa

 

My obsession with preserved lemons began here, and it came about thanks to a job I got working in the kitchen of a vegan cafe. I was tasked with coming up with a sandwich, and rather than settle for yet another incarnation of the ubiquitous veggie wrap, I wanted to make something surprising.  Something different. Something just bursting with seasoning and spices - something that,  let's face it,  you don't always find at a vegan eatery.

And then I read about the Tunisian sandwich. Now, a traditional Tunisian sandwich contains tuna and egg - obviously not vegan. But I thought that the other ingredients that are often used - potatoes, capers, black olives, harissa, and of course, preserved lemon - sounded as if they'd hold up pretty well on their own.

An Antidote for Gluttony: Spicy Baked Tofu with Chinese Celery

Thanksgiving leftovers are all well and good, but sometimes you need a little break from all that starch and heaviness. Something nutritious, incredibly flavorful, but light and easy on the tummy - and of course, a lot less likely to take up permanent residence around the waistline!

Southwestern-Style Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocados

The other day around dinner time, I was feeling noshy, but not starving. I wanted something healthy and light, but also satisfying. Well, lucky me - I just happened to have  all the fixings for an old favorite of mine on hand. I used to make a version of this salad all the time, but somewhere along the way I completely forgot about it. I'm so glad it's back in the rotation!