Kabayaki Sauce for One

This makes about ½ a cup, so you’ll want to use it for dips, dressings, and coating your tofu.

• ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• 2 TBLSP granulated sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan.
2. Bring them to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
3. When it thickens a bit, take it off the heat, which should take about 20 minutes, depending on the intensity of your stove.

Use to marinate tempeh, tofu, permeable vegetables (like parsnips, celeriac, or mushrooms), or dress your sushi with it. Yummmm!  

Tofu “Sour Cream” Dip for One

This tastes surprisingly sour, almost like sour cream.

4 ounces silken tofu (about ¼ package)

Juice from a wedge of lemon

1 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

1 TBLSP vegan mayonnaise

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 TBLSP fresh parsley, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will suffice in a pinch)

1 TBLSP fresh dill, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will do it too 

1. Combine tofu, juice, garlic, and salt in a food processor or blender, and whirl until smooth.
2. Remove from the processor and add in the mayonnaise, green onion, parsley, and dill. Taste for salt and possibly pepper
3. Chill for at least ½ an hour before serving.

Makes a good dip, or use it as a topping for potatoes (I like it on sweet potatoes), or you could mix it into your pasta sauce or plop it on your steamed veggies.

Seen here over steamed veggies (broccoli, string beans, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and kale) and rice. 

Tofu Frittata for One

Breakfast can be quick and clean, or it can be slow and messy. This treat is a tasty combination of both, plus it will keep your engine purring all day long.

2 ounces silken tofu (about ¼ of a package)

1 TBLSP vegan butter

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot

Pinch of baking powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Pinch pf turmeric

Pinch of onion powder

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of kala namak, or black sea salt

½ TBLSP olive oil

¼ onion, diced small

1 mushroom, diced

¼ zucchini, shredded

2 TBLSP frozen or fresh corn kernels

4 or 5 zucchini slices and some onion shreds for the top

Sprinkles of shredded vegan cheese

1. In a blender or food processor, combine tofu, butter, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, turmeric, onion and garlic powders, and the kala namak. Set aside.
2. In a small oven-safe skillet (non-stick, if you’ve got it), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and let them cook until they’re soft but not completely cooked through, 2 minutes or so.
3. Add the zucchini and corn to the onions and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Pour in the tofu mixture and turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir the contents a few times to make sure that it’s all pleasantly intermingled and smooth the top. Decorate with zucchini and mushroom slices. Let it cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
5. Place the skillet under the broiler and let it cook for 3 minutes, until the top is browned.  Watch it like a hawk so that it doesn’t burn. When it’s golden, bring it out to sprinkle the cheese on it—not much! A little bit is all you need—and put it under the broiler again for another minute or so. Be sure to protect your hand from the hot handle!

Let it sit on a wire rack (or the stove’s burner) for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan and devouring. Eat the whole thing! You’ve earned it!  

Pan-Fried Biscuit for One

This bready little meal is sugar free, can easily be made gluten free, and has infinite possibilities for variation. It's quick and delicious, too!

1 ½ TBLSP ground flax seed

2 TBLSP water or non-dairy milk

7 TBLSP all-purpose flour (or use gluten-free flour)

Sprinkle of cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking powder

3 TBLSP applesauce

Oil for frying

1. In a small bowl, combine the flax meal and water (or non-dairy milk). Set it aside to form into a nice gloppy mess.
2. In another small bowl (a cereal bowl works well for this), combine the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Stir in the applesauce and the flax glop. The batter will be thick, almost like dough. It will also be sticky, so you’ll have some trouble forming it into patties, but keep after it!
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place the patties into the hot oil. When a peek at the underside shows golden brown, flip them over. Cover the pan for a few minutes to make sure they’re cooked inside.

Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

Variations:

• Toss in some chocolate chips. A tablespoon will do ya.
• Toss in some blueberries. A quarter of a cup should be more than enough.
• Serve with jam or marmalade instead of fresh fruit and syrup.
• Grate some zucchini and add it with the applesauce.
• Grate some carrot and add it with the applesauce.
• Mash up some left-over roasted sweet potato and add it with the applesauce. 

Savory Corn Fritters for One

These tasty treats made a satisfying breakfast, but they’d be just as good for lunch or dinner, or even broken up in a salad.

½ cup frozen corn, thawed

1 TBLSP finely chopped shallots (use green onions if you’re out of shallots)

Pinch dried chives

1 clove garlic, diced finely

1 TBLSP coriander or parsley leaves, chopped finely

2 TBLSP flour (I use all-purpose, but brown rice works just fine, too)

2 TBLSP corn meal

2 TBLSP water (more or less)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1. Combine all ingredients until you have a batter that’s loose, but firm enough to plop in a blob onto a hot skillet. It will be quite chunky.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat and spray it evenly with vegetable oil (or brush it with a thin layer of veggie oil).
3. Drop enough fritter batter into the skillet to make a 3- or 4-inch fritter. It should be fairly thin, almost like a pancake, because you want it to cook through to the middle. Cook until the bottom is a golden brown and firm to the touch.
4. Flip the little darlings over and cook the other side until golden.

Serve with savory sauce. I used left-over pineapple dressing in this image, but chutney, ranch dressing,  fig tapenade, banana ketchup—just about any savory sauce would be yummy. 

Portobello Mushroom Sauce for One

This rich and tasty sauce can go on pizza, noodles, rice--almost anything! If you like mushrooms, this will be your new favorite.

1 TBLSP olive oil

2 2-inch across baby Portobello mushrooms, sliced (you can use other kinds for a milder flavor)

2 green onions, diced

½ teaspoon vegan butter

1 clove garlic

1 TBLSP all-purpose flour (you can use a gluten free option too)

1 TBLSP white wine

½ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (I make my own)

3 TBLSP water or vegetable broth

½ TBLSP nutritional yeast

Pinch of dried thyme

Pinch of dried tarragon leaves

½ teaspoon dried chives

Pinch salt

Pinch black pepper

1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I like almond milk, but they’re all good)

1. In a skillet, add the olive oil and mushrooms. Cook for about 4 minutes over medium low heat, until they begin to soften and brown.
2. Add in the green onions and cook for another 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and set it aside.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the vegan butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour and combine well. It should make a paste. Turn the heat down if it’s starting to stick or brown.
4. Add in the white wine, Worcestershire sauce, and the water or broth. Let it thicken a bit.
5. Stir in the nutritional yeast, thyme, tarragon, chives, salt, and pepper. Add in the milk and whisk it in too. Let it thicken a bit.
6. Add this sauce to the mushrooms and toss in the black olives. Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
7. Serve over pasta, zucchini noodles, your favorite faux meats, rice, breakfast biscuits—anything you can think of!

Variations:

• This would be lovely with 4-6 sliced black olives in there, or a crown of chopped and toasted walnuts.

Spring Rolls with Ginger-Peanut Sauce for One

I love these little rolls of sunshine. It’s not as hard to make them as it is to decide what to put into them—go crazy! Let your veggies rule the day! 

For the Dipping Sauce:

2 generous TBLSP peanut butter (or almond butter, in a pinch)

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar or maple syrup

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice (rice vinegar, in a pinch)

Shake or two of garlic powder (or a small fresh clove, diced super small)

Pinch ginger powder (or a small amount of fresh, grated very finely)

Hot water to thin

For the Rolls:

4-6 spring roll wrappers (available in the Asian section of the grocery store)

Crunchy things, including but not limited to:

Mung bean sprouts

1 mushroom, sliced thinly

1 small carrot, julienned thinly

1 inch of cucumber, julienned thinly

Baked tofu, cut into slender slabs

Cilantro leaves, plucked from about 8 stems

Mint leaves, plucked from about 6 stems

2 lettuce leaves, chopped a little

2 green onions, diced

Plum sauce

1/2 Avocado, sliced

Left-over stir-fry

Vegan cream cheese

Alfalfa sprouts

Asparagus, cooked and cut into 2-inch lengths

Green beans, cooked and cut into 2-inch lengths

Pickled red onion

1 mushroom, sliced and sautéed in olive oil or vegan butter

Make the Dipping Sauce:

1. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter with the soy sauce and sweetener of your choice. Thin with the lime juice. (I used rice vinegar when I didn’t have any citrus and it was fine.)
2. Add in the garlic and ginger to taste. Thin with water, if necessary. It should be fairly gloppy, but you want to be able to dip a soft spring roll in there.

Make the Rolls:

Set up a work station like this:

1 dinner plate with cold water in it (nearly to the rim)

1 dinner plate for assembly

1 plate or cutting board with your prepared veggies lined up—everything should be horizontal, to make it easier

1 serving plate

1. Place one wrapper in the plate full of water. Dunk it well, and flip it over. You’ll want to run your fingers all over this one (it feels slippery in the nicest way). The next wrapper will soak while you’re assembling this first one, so you won’t have to stand there impatiently next time. When the wrapper is transparent and very very soft, pick it up by the edges and lay it as flat as you can on the assembly plate. Dunk another wrapper into the water and turn it over to soak while you’re assembling Spring Roll Number One.
2. Lay a pretty veggie (it will show through) on the prepared wrapper. Put it on the wrapper just south of the center. If the wrapper is 6-inches wide, you’ll want to keep your veggies limited to a 2-inch-wide stack in the middle. If your wrapper is larger, you can take up more space proportionately.
3. Layer ensuing veggies on top of the pretty one, being careful to keep everything very horizontal. The stack, when complete, should be 2-inches horizontal, 1-inch vertical, and about 1-inch high. Helpful hint: Mung bean sprouts are wily creatures and you may want to shuffle them like cards before lining them up on the stack.
4. Fold in the SIDES of the wrapper first, snuggling them tightly against the stack of veggies. Over-long or sharp veggies (like julienned carrots) may poke through, so monitor them closely.
5. Now fold the edge closest to you up over the stack of veggies. You can pull on it a bit to get it to completely cover the veggies and most of the far side of the stack.
6. Carefully roll the little darling up, pushing the bottom of the stack over the remaining bit of wrapper. You can tug on the wrapper a bit without tearing it, and the tighter you get the roll, the easier it is to eat.
7. Set the beautiful little roll on the serving plate. Congratulate your self, because it wasn’t as hard as you thought it would be.
8. Repeat steps 1-7 with the remaining wrappers and veggies.

These will keep overnight if you wrap them in plastic wrap, but I don’t know why you wouldn’t just fall on them like a condemned prisoner and devour them at once.

  

Carrot and Apple Salad for One

I kept thinking that carrots (which are sweet and crunchy) and apples (which are sweet and crunchy) ought to hang out together. So on one too-warm day, I gave it a try. Happiness ensued.

2 carrots, julienned or shredded

½ green apple, julienned or shredded (I like grannysmith)

¼ cucumber, julienned or cut into matchsticks

1/8 red onion, diced small

2 green onions, chopped

¼ cup finely diced Italian parsley (cilantro or curly parsley would be nice too)

1 ½ TBLSP pumpkin seeds (sunflower seeds—any seed really)

1 ½- 2 TBLSP rice vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

¾ teaspoon yellow mustard

Garlic powder

Dried tarragon

Dried coriander

Salt and pepper

1. In a medium-sized bowl, place the veggies (carrot, apple, cucumber, onions, and parsley) and toss in the seeds.
2. In a tiny bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (vinegar, oil, mustard, and herbs and spices to taste). You’ll probably want a whisk for this.
3. Swozzle the dressing over the veggies and stir gently.

Serve with something substantial—like a sandwich or a veggie-dog. It’s a light and fluffy salad!

It would probably do well at a picnic or potluck (in larger quantity, of course). I made a double batch, and it was still pretty crisp and tasty the next day. 

Scrambled Tofu for One

There are many variations on this theme, and here is a nice simple one. It’s quick, it’s nutritious, it’s filling, and it’s delicious. Oh, and a very solid protein content, too!

1/2 pound firm tofu (a little more than half a package)

1 TBLSP nutritional yeast flakes

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch of salt

Several grinds of black pepper

1 TBLSP chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 mushrooms, sliced

1 green onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Soy sauce or tamari (optional)

1. Drain the tofu. Put it into a small bowl and mash it with a fork. You want smallish chunks. You could also dice it up, but I like the texture of the fork-mashing better.
2. Stir in the yeast, turmeric, salt, pepper, and parsley
3. Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic, and sauté until they’re soft and a little brown around the edges.
4. Add the tofu, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, just to heat it through. Slosh with a little soy sauce or tamari, if you like.  

Makes about 2 cups.

Waldorf Salad for One

My mom used to make this on a warm summer day—it’s refreshing, fast, and delicious--it's also a nice winter offering. I like to double the recipe and eat it as a main course and it makes a nice side dish for an al fresco meal, too.

½ an apple (sweet or sour, your choice)

1 rib of celery

1 green onion

A handful of raisins

A handful of walnut pieces

1 TBLSP parsley, chopped

1 TBLSP vegan mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

A squirt of lemon juice

½ teaspoon agave nectar

Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Chop the apples, slice the celery and onion, and put them, with the parsley, raisins, and walnut pieces in a small bowl.
2. In another small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, zest, lemon juice, agave, and salt and pepper with a whisk. (If you’re taking this on a picnic, don’t add the salt, because it will make things wilt.)
3. Drizzle the dressing over the apple mixture and stir to combine.

It's great served on a bed of bitter greens, but it does just fine on its own, too. 

Roasted Carrot Hummus for One

I make hummus every week. Plain old chickpea could get pretty boring, so I often experiment with different beans and herb combinations with marvelous results. But what happens when the main vegetable isn’t a legume at all? Happiness, I tell you; it makes simple joy.

Makes about a cup of dip.

2 cloves garlic

4 carrots

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 TBLSP tahini

1 TBLSP lemon or lime juice. More, if you like it tart.

1 TBLSP olive oil

Sprinkle of dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Place two naked but whole garlic cloves on a piece of aluminum foil and place that on a baking sheet. 
2. Cut a large piece of parchment paper (you’ll be wrapping the carrots in it).
3. Cut the carrots into 1-inch segments. Place them on the large parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle olive oil (be frugal—you don’t need much) and salt and pepper over the carrots. Rotate ‘em around a bit, to make sure that everything is covered.
5. Bring two edges of the parchment paper together and fold them several times to make a tight little packet. You’ll want to fold the other edges together too. Tuck and fold until the little darlings are sealed inside there and place the packet on the same baking sheet as the garlic.
6. Bake everything for 10 minutes. Flip the garlic over and bake for another 10 minutes. (The carrots are getting 20 minutes undisturbed.)
7. At 20 minutes, pull the garlic out and set the little brownish and soft darlings into the food processor or blender. You can touch the packet to see if the carrots are soft yet. They probably won’t be, and will need another 10 minutes alone in the oven.
8. Meanwhile, add the tahini, lemon juice, TBLSP of olive oil, salt and pepper, and the parsley to the food processor. You can give ‘em a little preliminary twirl if you are an inveterate button pusher, but it’s not necessary.
9. When the carrots are soft (a knife should go in fairly easily), open the parchment and plop them into the food processor or blender, and whirl everything until it’s fairly smooth. You might adjust oil or lemon as well as salt and pepper to suit your taste before pulling the gorgeous glop out of the machine.

Serve with Butternut Squash Chips for One (coming soon) or carrots, cucumber, and celery, depending on how lavish you want your treat.

Also makes a great sandwich spread and is especially delicious with Dried Fig Tapenade.

Broccoli Soup for One

The wind howled all night, and although it’s calm and still now, the temperature must be nearly 20 degrees below what it usually is for this time of day. You'd best make soup to warm up your bones!

¼ cup raw cashews

1 ½ cups water or vegetable broth

¼ onion, chopped fine

1 cup broccoli, chopped coarsely

Pinch dried basil

½ cup cooked white or brown rice

Salt to taste

Pinch ground pepper

1. In a blender, whirl the cashews and ½ cup of the water or broth until it’s smooth, about a minute. (You could replace this with ¾ cup of non-dairy milk of your choice.)
2. In a saucepan, add the rest of the water or broth (a cup), and add the onion, broccoli, and basil. Bring the whole thing to a boil, turn the heat down a bit, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender but not mushy.
3. Add in the rice and the cashew milk and some salt and pepper. Bring the soup back to a simmer.
4. Either use an immersion blender or let it cool a bit and send it through the blender or food processor, whirling away until it’s smooth and creamy. Reheat, if necessary. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.

Shown here with chopped pistachios and a little mushroom. 

Fennel and Mushroom Pasta for One

I love fennel. From its licorice-flavored fronds to its celery-shaped stalk, it’s something I could eat very nearly every day. When you fry it a little, the flavor gets milder, but no less delicious. Yummmmm.

1 serving spaghetti or fettuccini noodles

1 TBLSP olive oil

1 TBLSP vegan butter

2 thin slices yellow onion, cut into crescents

3 mushrooms, halved and sliced

½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

¼ cup white wine or 2 TBLSP vodka and 1 TBLSP water

Sprinkle of flour (use corn starch if you’re gluten free)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, get the water boiling for the pasta. Don’t start the sauce until the pasta’s in the water—it goes fast! Once the water’s boiling, put the pasta in and start the sauce.
2. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter, and sauté the onion and mushroom for a few minutes, until the onion is soft but not yet translucent.
3. Add the fennel and continue stirring and sautéing until the fennel is relaxed, the onions are transparent, and the mushrooms have lost and reabsorbed all their water and are turning a little brown.
4. Add in the garlic, give it 20 seconds or so, and then add in the wine or water and vodka mixture. Sprinkle the flour and stir it in to make a thicker sauce.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on a bed of cooked noodles. Yum!

Brown Rice Congee (Jook) for One

The first time I had this satisfying and filling breakfast, it was as a late night snack in a San Francisco restaurant. I had it again when I was hiking in China, and that’s where I became a real fan. The nice thing about this savory meal is that it’s never the same twice, and you can make a big batch to reheat and eat all week, if time is a problem.

4 or 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (or fresh)

Slosh of vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

3 thin slices of fresh ginger,

¼ cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed and drained

2 ¼ cups water or veggie stock

¼ cup thinly sliced greens (bok choy, spinach, kale, fennel, broccoli, etc.)

Salt or soy sauce

Pepper to taste

Garnish Ideas:

Sliced scallions

Fried shallots

Chopped fresh cilantro

Parsley

Roasted or fried peanuts

Toasted sesame seeds

Pickled ginger

Soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste

1. If you’re using dried shiitake mushrooms, set them in a small bowl of water to soak for 20 minutes or so. You can discard the water, or toss it in with the rice, if you like. Remove the woody stems from the mushrooms and slice them thinly.
2. In a heavy pot, sauté the garlic, ginger and mushrooms in the oil until the mushrooms are droopy.
3. Add the rice and water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking. Cook for about an hour.
4. Add in the greens and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, or until it is like oatmeal or porridge. Some people like it soupy, some people like it pudding-y. It’s up to you. If you simmer too long and need it thinner, add boiling water.
5. Season to taste with salt or soy sauce and pepper. Serve hot with the garnishes of your choice.

Doubles well. 

Rice Pudding for One

I don’t often make too much rice, but this is a great way to use it up, should there be any lingering around in the refrigerator. It’s also an excellent excuse for making too much rice.

½ cup vegan milk (I like almond, but any would do)

½ TBLSP agave or maple syrup

½ cup cooked rice (white or brown)

Dash of cinnamon

Slosh of vanilla extract

1 TBLSP raisins or other dried fruit

Cranberry sauce or jam to top

1. In a small pot, heat the milk to a simmer.
2. Add in the agave or maple syrup and mix in well. Then add the rice and continue to stir until it’s spread out nicely
3. Add in the cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins and distribute well with the vehicle that is your spoon. Let it simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice mixture is luxurious and thick. You can stir it vigorously if you’re so inclined, because you don’t mind breaking the rice kernels for this recipe. Be careful not to do this on high heat or it will froth all up and all over the stove. (Ask me how I know.)

Serve hot, topped with cranberry sauce or jam, or just a bit more cinnamon, whatever pleases you.

Variations:

• Stir chocolate chips into the hot pudding just before you take it off the heat for chocolate rice pudding.
• Try chopped dried apricots instead of (or as well as) raisins for a taste of sunshine.
• Top with granola for a crunch with your pudding.

Radish Dip for One

Some days call for a celebration and you’re just independent enough not to need a whole party to mark them. Here’s just enough dip to make your tongue as happy as the rest of you.

Makes about ½ cup

1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 radishes, quartered

4 ounces vegan cream cheese

1 teaspoon of vegan mayonnaise or less

1 teaspoon lemon juice (about a wedge’s worth)

Salt and pepper to taste 

1. In a food processor, pulse the garlic until it’s finely minced. Add the radishes and grind away on them until they’re finely minced too.
2. In a small bowl, place the cream cheese and stir in the radish and garlic mixture. Add the vegan mayonnaise and lemon juice, which will make it much easier to stir. You might want it thin if your dipping vehicles are delicate, so add more mayo or lemon juice at will.
3. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

Dip chips or crudités into this little treat or spread it on a piece of bread and top with avocado.   

Variation:

• Horseradish would be an exciting addition, just a bit, grated fresh right in with the garlic and radishes.

Quick-Pickled Cabbage Confetti for One

I love pickles, don’t you? Did you know that they don’t have to be made of summer cucumbers and they don’t have to take a long time and a huge amount of kitchen real-estate? In fact, if you want a pickle right now, you can just march into the kitchen and pickle something!

1 TBLSP olive oil

1/8 head of cabbage, sliced thinly (red or white, both are yummy)

¾ of a large carrot, shredded

3 thin slices of red onion, diced

2 ½ TBLSP granulated sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 TBLSP fennel seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large frying pan, place the olive oil, sliced cabbage, shredded carrot, onion, sugar, and vinegar. Cook it on medium-high heat until about 2/3rds of the liquid is gone.
2. Add the fennel seeds and the salt and pepper and continue cooking until the rest of the liquid is gone and the veggies are tender.

Makes a great side dish for faux dogs, but, as you can see in the picture, I like it on my pizza.

Variations:

• Use caraway seeds instead of fennel for a more traditional sauerkraut flavor.
• Jazz it up with cumin instead of fennel seeds.
• Add shredded fennel bulb for a stronger licorice flavor.

Fried Rice for One

I love Chinese food. There’s something about how practical it is, using whatever is in the kitchen, how quick it is, oh, and how fried it often is, that I find irresistible.

2 dried shiitake mushrooms

½ cup long grain rice (brown or white, whatever suits you)

1 TBLSP peanut oil (or olive oil or sesame—whatever you’ve got)

1 TBLSP minced carrot

¼ cup chopped cabbage (green or red)

1 stalk of broccoli, chopped, stem and all

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ inch peeled fresh ginger, minced

¼ cup tofu (I like to use name age, a baked purchased product, but raw is good too)

1 TBLSP soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

A slosh of rice vinegar

Peanuts for garnish

1. In a small pot, cook rice in 1 1/14 cups water, bringing it to a boil, covering, and lowering the heat. You can also use about 1 cup of cooked left-over rice.
2. Place the shiitake mushrooms to soak in enough water to cover for about 10 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Chop the carrot, cabbage, and scallion, mince the garlic and ginger. Destem and chop the mushrooms when they’re soft enough.
4. Once the rice is finished cooking, set it aside.
5. In a frying pan or wok, heat the peanut oil and fry up the carrot and cabbage. When it’s starting to soften, add in the mushrooms, scallion, garlic, and ginger.
6. Add the rice and give it a good stir. If it’s yesterday’s rice, keep stirring until it’s heated through. You may need to add some water or oil to keep it from sticking to the pan.
7. Toss in the tofu, and when it’s heated, add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Garnish with peanuts, as liberally as pleases your palate.

Devour with the rapt attention of a thousand wild dogs.

Variations:

• You can use whatever veggies you have on hand—just put the longer-cooking vegetables in the wok first (like squash, yellow onion, or broccoli), and work your way to the things that need less heat.
• Frozen veggies will do well in this dish too, if that’s all you’ve got.
• Try it with a different kind of grain, like quinoa, farro, or bulgur wheat.

Broccoli and Apple Soup for One

Now that the days are short and cold, I want soup to heat my bones. This one will stick to your ribs too!

¼ head of broccoli, with stems

1 apple (of the sweeter variety, like golden delicious or Macintosh), chopped coarsely

1 TBLSP vegan butter

¼ cup thinly sliced or finely chopped yellow onion

¼ cup water, plus 1 cup water or vegetable stock

1 sprig of lemon thyme or thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ of a lemon’s zest

Sprinkle of fresh chives for garnish

1. Cut apart the florets from the stems of the broccoli. If the outer skin of the stems is tough, peel it off with a vegetable peeler. Slice the stems into rounds and chop finely.
2. Cut the apple in half. Chop and put half in a blender or food processor with a ¼ cup of water and blend until it’s got only a few flecks of skin in the creamy smoothness. This should give you about ½ cup of fluids.
3. Heat a thick-bottomed small pot on medium heat. Melt the butter and add the onion and the rest of the chopped apple (not the puree you made). Lower the heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the apples are softened.
4. Add the broccoli (all of it) to the apples and onions, which smells surprisingly good. Add the water and the apple puree. Toss in the thyme and the lemon peel. Increase the heat, bringing the pot to a boil, then reduce it again to maintain a low simmer when the pot is covered. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and using an immersion blender, or letting it cool a bit and using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it’s as smooth as you want it.
6. Return the soup to the pot, if necessary, reheat, and add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Pour the lovely greenness into a serving bowl and garnish with chives.

Serve with a chunk of bread or some crackers. Yum! 

Simple Cauliflower Scramble for One

Among the many nice things about this dish is how many variations you can come up with. You could toss in just about any vegetable, use whatever herbs and spices make you happy, or keep it simple and serve it along with a lot of interesting breads and such. Yummy!

¼ head cauliflower

Slosh of coconut or olive oil (you could use vegan butter too)

1 or 2 slices of onion, diced (about 2-3 TBLSP)

2 TBLSP mushrooms, diced (optional)

Pinch of thyme

Pinch of oregano

Pinch of garlic powder

Sprinkle of turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste

2 TBLSP (or less) water

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1. Remove the stem from the cauliflower and dice the rest up. You don’t need to preserve the floret shape unless you really want to.
2. In a skillet, over medium heat, heat up the oil of your choice and add the onion and mushroom (if you’re going this route). Saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent but haven’t lost all their shape.
3. Add the cauliflower and spread it out evenly across the bottom of the skillet. Without stirring or moving it, let it cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown a bit.
4. Toss in the thyme, oregano, garlic powder, and turmeric, and add the water if it seems a little dry. You could instead add a little more of the oil/butter if that’s the way you roll. Now that you’re stirring it, the cauliflower should be golden all over plus the yellow color of the turmeric. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until your desired softness is reached. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (you don’t want to do this earlier or the cauliflower will be dry).
5. Add in the nutritional yeast and combine well.

Serve with toast, waffles, fruit—whatever is your morning pleasure.

Variations:

• Wrap it into a tortilla with faux cheese and some greenery for a lovely breakfast burrito.
• Put a layer of chopped-up asparagus on top of the cauliflower in Step 3 and let it steam while the cauliflower is browning. That’s what I did in this photo. Yummm.
• Switch out the herbs for something more clearly ethnic, like chili and oregano for Mexican, garum masala for Indian, basil and tomato of some sort for Italian. You see where I’m going with this.
• Leave out the turmeric and serve it as a side dish with something more substantial for dinner.