Making Something Out of Nothing

MAKING SOMETHI NG OUT OF NOTHING

Pages

Intro

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Pantry suggestions

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Tips

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Breads

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Dips & Sauces

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Soups

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Pasta & Noodles

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Main dishes

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Desserts

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Intro The recipes in this book are the products of years of what I call desperation cooking: the cooking you do when you’re some combination of chronically exhausted, broke, depressed, and unmotivated to feed yourself. The recipes you stumble upon out of necessity or lack of a better idea, on the one hand; and the irrational attempts to satisfy nagging cravings, on the other. If you’ve ever found yourself making crackers from scratch at 3am with no clear idea why, this book is for you.

At a certain low point in my life, I began cultivating the habit of cooking as a type of coping mechanism. It was a way to destress, a way to save money, and a practical creative outlet. Attempting new recipes gave me an approachable project to help me get out of bed on rough days, which filled me with both a sense of accomplishment and necessary calories. My limited financial and emotional resources imposed a Cbopped-style restriction that forced me to become more imaginative and flexible.

The recipes here tend to use few ingredients, not for any sense of “whole” or “clean” eating, but because on a practical level I’m often too lazy to go shopping.

They are also mostly vegan, again, not for any particularly principled reasons but because a plant-based diet uses many cheap and long-lasting ingredients.

These are not highly refined recipes. They are improvisations, lessons from years of desperate trial-and-error. Rather than strict measurements, there are guidelines to adapt based on what you have on hand and what kind of mood you’re in. They are also not glamorous recipes. There’s no instagrammable smoothie bowls or expensive, idk…truffles. This is about working within your means to transform whatever you have into something that gets the job done.

My main lesson is this: There’s always a way to feed yourself, even when it seems impossible. This book is a record of the best ways I’ve found to do it. I hope you find it useful.

-e.g.

Cover image: edited screenshot from http://foodparsed.com (“Recipes made with only flour and water”); image this page: http://knowyourmeme.com. All other photos taken by me.

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Things to always have around There are endless “vegetarian starter shopping lists” or “budget pantry checklists” out there; I’m not trying to recreate those. These are just things I’ve found are easy to buy in bulk and help ensure that even if you haven’t gone grocery shopping in a month (or two), you can still find surprisingly satisfying ways to feed yourself.

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Flour, sugar – Duh, but these are the biggest “something out of nothing” ingredients: with basically just flour, water, and sugar you can make gourmet bread, biscuits, pasta, a roux, a cake, etc. Don’t overlook them because you think you won’t be doing any fancy baking from scratch anytime soon. Keep some brown sugar and powdered sugar around, too, but you probably don’t need anything fancier than all purpose flour.

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Olive/vegetable oil – Another no-brainer but I’ve used inappropriate oils (corn, toasted sesame) to sauté things in a pinch and it always feels shameful.

Do yourself a favor and keep an industrial-sized tin of olive oil in the pantry so you don’t have to sink to my level.

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Rice, pasta – Buy as much as will fit in your cabinets so you never have to think about it. Complex carbs make you feel good and fill you up for a long time, which is why they’re the base of most meals. Mix up the mundanity with other grains like farro and quinoa, or udon and buckwheat noodles.

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Legumes of all kinds – Keep a mix of canned and dried beans and lentils handy, all of your favs. Anyone who’s been vegetarian or depressed knows they can become sad and repetitive but they can also be your most adaptable, most convenient friends.

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A big bag of onions and a big bag of potatoes – They last for weeks, so opt for the big bags. If you have an onion and a potato, you can cook something.

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Celery, carrots, peppers – These can go bad quickly but if you keep them wrapped up in the drawers of your fridge (if you have humidity control, set it to “vegetables”) they’ll hold up for awhile. These are almost never necessary for a basic dish, so when you use them it can make you feel like you’re eating something fancier and fresher than you really are.

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Canned tomatoes (diced, stewed, sauce, paste)– Nothing worse than being one ingredient away from being able to cook something, and tomatoes are often that one ingredient, so keep these around. Lots of impressive but 4

surprisingly simple dishes—chana masala, enchiladas—are just a tomato product away.

homemade

marinara,

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Eggs or egg replacements – I’m not an egg fan, but I have to admit they’re one of the quickest and cheapest sources of protein. They’ll turn a bowl of rice into a complete meal. For vegan replacements, use ground flax meal for binding (keep it in the fridge; 1 TB flax + 3 TB water = 1 “egg”) or baking powder for leavening. Mashed banana or applesauce can be used in baking, and you can usually find an old banana laying around you’re not gonna eat…

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Tortillas, pita bread – Buy big packs and keep em in the fridge, they last way longer than a loaf of bread and solve the problem of “I managed to make something but have nothing to eat it on.” Can also be cut up, drizzled with oil and salt, and baked to make chips – a less depressing choice than the stale Tostitos that have been open in your bed for weeks.

10. Some kind of “dairy” options – I’ll cut corners almost everywhere in the name of making it work but sometimes you really do need some (non-)dairy products to bring a recipe together. Real dairy tends to go bad too quickly for my habits; unsweetened almond or soy milk lasts longer and can be used in endless ways. Coconut milk is rich and shelf stable; I recommend the mini cans if you can find them. I also swear by Veganaise: it can be used anywhere you’d use mayo but also a lot of ways you’d use sour or heavy cream, like in soups or as the base of a sauce. A vegan hack for instant cream is raw cashews + water + blender; buy a big bag in the bulk nut section.

11. Soy sauce, “chicken” flavored bouillon – Two of the simplest ways to add depth and umami to dishes, without having to cook things a long time to develop flavor.

12. Acids – Acids balance and brighten dishes. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) can be used almost anywhere but I also love rice wine vinegar. Lemon juice (bottled or real; actual lemons get moldy fast) can almost magically make a dish that was scrounged together from the depths of your pantry taste fresh.

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Tips of the trade (Learn to fake it) 1.

You don’t have to measure anything. You really don’t. Just let go of that stress. Cooking is (mostly) extremely adaptable and measurements in recipes are just guidelines. Have fun with it, and learn to trust your instincts!

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You can substitute water for (almost) anything that calls for broth or milk. A dash of salt, splash of soy sauce, or small scoop of miso or bouillon will boost flavor but, like, you can always use water if you have nothing else.

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Lower your standards for produce. A wilted carrot, deflated pepper, dried out broccoli, yellowing greens – all still perfectly useable. One man’s trash…

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However, storing food properly will reduce frustration & waste. It sucks to discover that an ingredient you were counting on has turned inedible. Do yourself a favor and look up the best ways to keep different foods fresh. And, get in the habit of putting leftovers away before you start eating so you don’t ruin a whole pot of soup by leaving it at room temperature overnight.

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Learn how to sub for missing fresh ingredients: onion/garlic powder for raw, lemon juice/vinegar for fresh lemon, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, etc.

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A blender is one of the best investments in the kitchen – sauces, smoothies, pureed soups, hummus, pesto. Fuck a slow cooker.

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Stick to your fav, reliable spice combos, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. If you don’t have a clear plan or are trying to disguise crappy ingredients, it’s super easy to ruin something with bad seasoning.

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Technique makes up for a lot. Good kitchen skills compensate for lack of motivation, low energy, and improvised ingredients. Build up an arsenal of things you can do automatically so you can cook with less effort: sauté onions without burning them, cook a pot of rice, roast vegetables, fry/scramble an egg. Bonus tip: watching 6 hours of YouTube cooking tutorials in bed is a perfectly acceptable depression activity.

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Know when to admit defeat. Sometimes there’s just no way to make something edible with what you have; or the thought of plain pasta for the 3rd day in a row makes you spiral. Recognize that you still have to feed yourself. Order delivery, walk to CVS for a frozen burrito, ask a friend to bring you food – whatever you can manage.

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BREADS

I have a love-hate relationship with baking bread. In more ambitious periods I managed to maintain a healthy sourdough starter. In my low points I was googling “pancake recipe for one,” then immediately going back to sleep in shame.

But the truth is making your own bread products is cheap, simple, and therapeutic. Not to sound like a fake-positivity lifestyle blogger, but I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that sometimes all it takes to turn a crappy day around is some homemade biscuits.

PS: invest in a cheap digital kitchen scale and you can make most of these recipes in a single bowl, bypassing having to wash a bunch of measuring cups.

PPS: sorry to my gluten-free friends.

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Pancakes Traditional pancake recipes are so funny to me. Milk, butter, eggs, separating eggs and whipping the whites? Overkill, unnecessary. Pancakes are one step above hardtack: a simple, dependable staple. When you get down to it, all you need is flour, some liquid, a little oil and sugar for flavor and browning, and a leavening agent. Turns out, baking powder works about as good as eggs to leaven the batter, making this a classic accidentally-vegan recipe.

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Mix together the dry ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 TB baking powder, 2 TB sugar, and ½ tsp salt.

Add wet ingredients: 1 c non-dairy milk or water (honestly doesn’t make a huge difference) and 2 TB vegetable oil. You can add a splash vanilla or maple syrup if you like sweeter pancakes. Whisk until smooth.

Let the batter rest for 5 minutes, while you heat up a pan or skillet (cast-iron is best if you have it). The resting time gives the baking powder time to activate so you get the full rising power.

4. With your preheated pan on medium-high, fry the pancakes 2-3 minutes per side in butter or oil. I feel like smaller pancakes are more manageable, but it’s your prerogative. Flip when bubbles appear and the edges look set. As you finish each batch, you can keep em warm in a 200° oven while you finish cooking the rest.

5. Enjoy right away with syrup and butter. Or: let cool, place in a ziploc bag with plastic or parchment paper between layers, and freeze. They reheat great in the microwave for a quick breakfast (or dinner, or midnight snack).

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Basic crusty no-knead bread This is the best bread for beginners, if you’ve never attempted any bread baking before. Don’t be overwhelmed by how many different techniques and recipes are out there. They speak to how forgiving this bread is: it wants to be baked, even if you’re not sure you’re doing it right. KingArthurFlour.com has a great, very thorough tutorial if you want a more extensive explanation of this technique.

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Combine all your ingredients in a large plastic bowl: by weight using a kitchen scale by volume (easier and more accurate) 12 oz lukewarm water 1 ½ c water 16 oz flour (all purpose is fine, no 3 ½ c flour need to buy special bread flour) ½ TB salt ½ TB salt scant TB yeast ¼ oz instant or active dry yeast

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Stir firmly with a wooden spoon till you have a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel.

Let your covered dough rise at room temp for 2-3 hours. Optional: let it continue to rest in the fridge for up to several days; this gives the yeast more time to grow and add flavor to the bread, but it isn’t necessary.

Sprinkle some flour on your counter. Oil up your hands so you can handle the dough easier and scoop it out onto the counter. Cut it into 2 equal pieces, and form each into a round loaf. Or, to make individual rolls, cut into 10-12 equal pieces and shape each into a small ball. The shapes don’t have to be perfect; this isn’t a glamorous bread.

Grease a baking pan (or use parchment paper if you have it), and transfer your shaped loaves or rolls onto the pan. Cover again with plastic or a towel.

Let the dough rest and settle again. (It won’t expand much this time.) If your dough was in the fridge, rest at least 60 minutes. If it was already room temp, 30 minutes is fine.

Preheat your oven to 450° while the dough rests. When the oven is hot, slash the top of each loaf with a sharp knife (like when you microwave a fro zen meal, you need to let the steam escape), then bake the bread 25-30 minutes.

Don’t pull it out too early fearing it will burn: you want a golden, crunchy crust and cooked-through inside.

Store in ziploc bags at room temp, or double wrap in plastic and freeze for a future day when you don’t have the time or energy to do it all from scratch.

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Biscuits, as you like them Like bread, homemade biscuits can seem intimidating, because everyone swears their technique is the only way to achieve the best result. But once again it’s much easier and forgiving than people make it seem. Choose which fat and liquid to use based on how you like your biscuits and what you have on hand .

Fat Butter: the water content turns to steam in the oven to produce the lightest, tallest biscuits Vegan margarine: similar texture to butter, but can leave an aftertaste

Liquid Buttermilk/milk/cream: classic fluffy, evenly browned biscuits with a flaky inside; some people swear they can taste a difference between milk and buttermilk, but others can’t

Shortening: very neutral flavor; I like half shortening and half margarine

Vegan buttermilk: almond/soy milk plus a splash of ACV replicates the flavor, but less sugar and fat leaves them paler and less fluffy Coconut milk: richer than other vegan choices, but can be dense

Coconut oil (solid): passable, but a weird choice if we’re being honest 1.

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Preheat your oven to 450°.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: 3 c flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 ½ TB baking powder, and 1 TB sugar (optional, for browning).

“Cut in” the fat: Chop 6 TB of your chosen fat into ½” cubes and add to the dry ingredients, then use your fingers to blend the flour into the butter until you have a fine, crumbly mixture.

Add 1 c of your chosen liquid and stir quickly but gently for 20-30 seconds to form a soft dough. Don’t overmix or your biscuits will be less crumbly.

Form dough into a large rectangle on a floured counter. Knead by folding the dough in on itself about 10 times. Use your hands to gently press into a ¾”-1” thick rectangle, then cut into round or square biscuits.

Place biscuits on a baking pan with edges touching. Brush the tops with melted butter to enhance browning. Bake for 12-18 minutes.

Eat while still warm: slather in butter, jam, or country gravy, or scoop up soups or dips. Microwave day- (or two-) old biscuits to re-soften.

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Simple flatbreads These won’t win any flavor or beauty contests, but they’re great in a pinch when you’re halfway through cooking a meal and realize you need some kind of bread product to eat with it. They only take 20 minutes start-to-finish, meaning it’s quicker to make these than to run out to the store. Experiment by adding crushed garlic, chili flakes, or other flavorings to the dough.

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Mix 1 ¼ c flour, 1 tsp yeast, and ½-1 tsp salt in a large bowl.

Add ½ c lukewarm water and 2 TB olive oil and stir roughly with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute to form a sticky dough. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, start preheating a pan (cast-iron is best) on medium-high.

Place rested dough on a floured counter and divide in four equal pieces. Shape one piece into a ball, then use a rolling pin to roll it out as thin as you can, in a circle or oval.

Cook in the (ungreased) pan for about 1 minute each side, while rolling out your next flatbread.

Continue this process until they’re all finished cooking.

These freeze great (are you noticing a trend here?), and can be reheated in a few seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in a warm oven.

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DIPS & SAUCES

There’s something luxurious about making a dip for no special occasion, when you’re not planning to share. I’m partial to anything creamy and warm that can be made with just a few ingredients, and then mindlessly scooped up on crackers or bread. In the same vein, I’m partial to any sauce that makes a meal taste less healthy. A good sauce can transform something utterly bland into something actually enjoyable, so it’s good to have a few go-tos in your back pocket.

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Caramelized eggplant dip I don’t intentionally strive for “minimalism” in my cooking, but this luscious recipe adapted from MinimalistBaker.com really does support the “less is more” concept. Even though it uses a whole onion and eggplant, this amount can easily be eaten in one sitting, so scale up if desired.

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Preheat your oven to the broil setting. Slice an eggplant in pinky-width slices, and pat each slice dry with a paper towel. Place on a baking rack and lightly drizzle with olive oil.

When the oven’s hot, put the eggplant in on the top rack. Check the slices every couple minutes, turning once or twice. Drizzle more oil if either side starts to dry out. Remove and let cool once they are soft and just starting to turn brown (you don’t want them to get any crunchy parts).

Meanwhile, start heating up a few TB olive oil in a heavy pan on medium.

Rough chop an onion (and some garlic if you want, but I don’t find it really makes a difference) and start caramelizing: low and slow. If they start to dry out before they’re deep brown and practically melting, add 1 TB water and keep the pan covered.

When the eggplant’s cool to the touch, gently peel the skin off each slice. (Bonus: I like to eat the skin while I work as a fun little treat.)

Add the eggplant flesh to a bowl along with the caramelized onions and a spoonful of tahini or yogurt (also optional honestly).

Mash with a fork, salt & pepper to taste, and scoop up with pita wedges, bread, or anything else you can think of. That’s it!

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Cashew herbed cheese This reminds me of the spreadable garlic & herb cheese spread in a tub we would inevitably have at any family gathering growing up. Because this vegan “cheese” doesn’t aim to be melty, it’s a very realistic imitation. More good news: it’s a myth you need to soak cashews for hours before you grind them, as long as you have a blender from this century and a little patience.

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Add 1 c raw cashews (pre-soaked only if you’re patient), 2 TB lemon juice, 2 TB water, a splash of ACV, 1-2 TB nutritional yeast, and ½ tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your blender. Process for several minutes until as smooth as possible, scraping down the sides a few times. Taste and adjust for saltiness/acidity.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in herbs: whatever combo of oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, and dill that you like. If using dried herbs, use about ½ tsp each; if using fresh, use about ½ TB each, finely chopped.

Either eat right away, or, for a denser cheese: wrap in a cheesecloth and place in a colander (with a plate underneath to catch the drained liquid) in the fridge for a few hours. Unwrap, garnish if you’re fancy, and enjoy.

Spinach dip Frozen spinach: it’s always there in the freezer, even though I rarely use it or have clear memories of buying it. But, the upside is that there’s always some around when I get a craving for spinach dip. Like a mug cake, you can easily whip up a single serving of this dip, baked in a small cruet.

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Preheat oven to 375°.

Thaw 1 package frozen spinach in a strainer, squeezing out all the liquid.

Mix together ½ c Veganaise or mayo with 1 c (vegan) cream cheese or cashew cream.

Stir in spinach. If it seems too thick, thin with water or milk.

Season to taste with S & P, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast. Top with bread crumbs if desired.

Bake 15-20 minutes in a pie dish or other shallow vessel to maximize crispy, bubbly surface area.

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Vegan “Velveeta” This one’s divisive, I know, but I personally love the way this sauce mirrors Velveeta in that no one quite knows what it’s made of or why it’s good . There are certainly more “high tech” vegan cheeses out there, but this one is pretty straightforward and fills exactly the role you need it to.

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Blend ½ c cashews with 1 c unsweetened almond milk till totally smooth.

Add: 2 TB lemon juice, 2 tsp vinegar (ACV or white), 1 TB vegetable oil, a squirt of yellow mustard, 2 TB nutritional yeast, 1 TB cornstarch (arrowroot powder also works, if you have it), and a dash each of paprika and turmeric (for color). Blend again till smooth.

3. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over very low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens.

Add more milk if it seems thick.

Taste and adjust for salt, tanginess, and color. This recipe really requires tasting and adjusting a few times to nail the perfect flavor, so follow your gut.

4. Eat over boring vegetables to add some excitement, or stir in some salsa and diced jalapenos for a queso thing. Best enjoyed in sweatpants while watching TV.

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Vegan gravy, 2 ways For some reason, store-bought vegetarian gravies are mostly mushroom-based.

I’m not a big fan of mushroom-y sauces, so for a long while I thought gravy was impossible to convincingly recreate without meat. Turns out, making brown gravy (a la that McCormick instant powder) and white country gravy is…so simple. Maybe you already know this, but it was a major discovery for me.

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Melt 4 TB butter or oil in a small pot over medium heat. You can also use whatever oil, spices, and burnt bits are left in the pan after cooking something. Add 4 TB flour and whisk so every grain of flour is coated in the hot oil. Cook for up to 10 minutes, till the roux is a light golden brown, to get rid of that raw flour taste and to develop thickening power.

Gradually add 2 c liquid – room temperature or warm is best, so you don’t “shock” the hot roux and create lumpy gravy. Whisk continually until the liquid is all combined and you don’t see any lumps.

• For brown gravy: use 1 ¾ c vegetable broth plus ¼ c soy sauce .

• For country gravy: use 2 c (vegan) milk.

Continue heating over low, whisking frequently, until gravy is desired consistency (it will thicken more as it cools). Salt & pepper and enjoy.

Aioli, many ways The “aioli” you get at most restaurants is just a re-branding of less-glamorous mayo. Get over the stigma and keep some (vegan) mayo on hand so you can always whip up a sauce to go with potatoes, rice bowls, tacos, etc.

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Stir together ¼ c mayo and ½ TB lemon juice, lime juice, or ACV. (Note: I especially like vegan mayo for this sauce because it’s less sweet than real mayo; or, look for reduced sugar mayo.)

Whisk in condiments and spices to the mayo base. Try these or get creative: • 2 TB thick hot sauce (sriracha/Valentina’s); dash garlic powder • 2 TB ketchup; 1 TB spicy mustard; 1 TB relish or finely chopped pickles; ½ tsp each garlic powder and onion powder • Half a mashed avocado; 1 TB finely chopped cilantro; 1 clove garlic paste (use a garlic press or fine grater) • 1 tsp ginger paste; 1 clove garlic paste; ½ tsp lemon zest; dash cayenne 17

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SOUPS

Soup is one of the main things I cook and eat, but I realized I often get into a rut and make the same two uninspired soups all year long . If you’re like me and agree that the world doesn’t need another vegetarian chili recipe, here are some ideas you might not have tried before.

The great thing about soup is that it is endlessly adaptable and hard to screw up, but I do have three general pieces of advice: First, always build layers of flavor; don’t just dump everything in at once and pray for the best . Just about every soup should start with sautéing some aromatics (onions, garlic, carrots, celery, peppers), or by slow roasting vegetables. Add spices before the liquid so they can toast and develop. Second, whatever liquid you use will be a major component of the soup, so choose wisely. If you’re going to use just water, make sure the other ingredients are flavorful enough to stand on their own. Third, consider texture.

Sometimes you want a velvety smooth puree, but sometimes you want something chunkier. Think about the final experience when deciding how large to chop ingredients, how long to simmer the soup, and what order to add each ingredient.

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Vegetable broth This is barely a recipe, but I wanted to include it because it’s an essentially free way to turn your garbage into something as good or better than anything you would pay $2/can for at the store. Lifehack.

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Everytime you cook, save the scraps you trim from vegetables like onions, garlic, potatoes, leeks, celery, carrots. Any root vegetable will do. You can also add bell peppers or mushrooms, although I personally don’t love those. Avoid greens or anything bitter like cabbage, broccoli, or beets. Keep the scraps in a 2-quart plastic container in your freezer.

When you’ve filled the container, add the scraps to a large pot with about 6 c water, 2-3 TB salt, and a few bay leaves. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 1 hour, until the water has turned a rich reddishbrown.

Let the broth cool slightly, then pour the broth through a strainer into a large bowl.

Dispose of the now-soggy vegetable scraps.

Store the broth in quart-sized screw-top containers in your freezer so you’ll always have some on hand whenever you need broth for a recipe.

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Roasted red power soup I don’t spend too much time stressing about nutrition, because eating a variety of foods is usually enough to get what your body needs. But, when I feel like I need a boost of vitamins, I love this soup that packs so many vitamin A-rich foods into one meal. Because everything gets roasted and then thrown in a blender, it’s also a perfect way to use up produce that’s about to go bad.

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Preheat your oven to 400°.

Rough chop a yellow onion, 3-4 carrots and 1 small peeled sweet potato (or a similar amount of squash/pumpkin) .

Half 2 red bell peppers in vertically and remove seeds. Quarter 2 tomatoes.

Place everything except the tomatoes in a large roasting pan and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Season well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any other spices you like.

Roast the vegetables for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

When they seem almost done, add the tomatoes to the pan, which only need a few minutes to get soft.

Optional: while the vegetables roast, cook ½ c red lentils in 1 c veggie broth in a small pot until soft. The lentils won’t add much to the flavor of the soup, but they will add some extra protein.

6. When the vegetables are all nicely roasted, pull them out and let cool.

Then, puree in batches in a blender along with 1 c veggie broth, or the lentils & broth you cooked earlier.

Add more water or broth if necessary to thin. Stir in 1 can of full-fat coconut milk and taste for salt and other seasoning.

7. Optional: to get the soup extra smooth, pour through a fine strainer.

(Plus, the puree left behind in the strainer can be eaten as an equally delicious baby food-like bonus meal.)

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Red lentil tortilla soup What is tortilla soup? No one knows. Anyway, I’ve found that most vegetarian version are bland and watery, but this one, inspired by VeganRicha.com, makes a heartier meal thanks to the addition of red lentils. Note: this recipe is fairly small, so feel free to double it and eat it over several days.

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Heat some vegetable oil in a large pot over medium, then sauté ½ a white onion, 1 jalapeno, and 1 poblano or bell pepper, all diced, for 5-7 minutes.

Add 3-4 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp paprika, and ½ tsp cayenne and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add ½ c red lentils along with 2 c water or veggie broth and 1 can diced tomatoes (I like the fire roasted kind). Bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are completely cooked, about 12-15 minutes.

Taste and cook a few more minutes uncovered if necessary to reach desired consistency. Add a dash of Cholula or Tabasco to up the spice level.

Serve topped with raw jalapeno, red or green onions, radish, cilantro, and of course lime juice and crushed tortilla chips.

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White bean soup I love white beans because they can make a soup thick and creamy without any cream, flour, or even blending. They’re also one of the best canned beans in my opinion, meaning this soup comes together amazingly fast.

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Chop and sauté 1 onion, 2 celery stalks, and 1-2 carrots, in a large pot with some olive oil for a few minutes. Add some minced garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp thyme.

Add 2 cans of drained and white kidney or cannellini beans to the pot along with 1 TB chicken-flavor bouillon + 3 ½ c water.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, remove about 2 c of the beans from the soup into a small bowl. Use a potato masher or even a fork to mash the beans into a smooth-ish puree, then stir back into the soup to thicken it.

Taste and add salt if needed, then enjoy! Get creative by adding chopped spinach, kale or roasted mushrooms in the last 5 minutes of simmering.

Split pea soup (Nature’s Soylent) Even old ladies don’t make split pea soup unless they’re trying to use up a ham bone, so vegetarian split pea soup is definitely an unsexy meal. However, split peas are shockingly high in protein, and all the soup really requires is peas and water, so I’m kind of in love with it as a kind of austere but filling meal; eating it makes me feel like a monk living a simple, hardworking life.

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Add 1 ½ c split peas, 3 ½ c water, 2 tsp salt, 1 diced onion, 2 stalks diced celery, and 2 diced carrots to large pot. You can sauté the vegetables first, but it’s not really necessary here. You can also add a dash of liquid smoke to recreate the smoky ham flavor, but again, not necessary.

Bring to a boil them simmer on low heat about 1 hour, until the peas have broken down. Thin with more water to your desired consistency.

Serve with lots of cracked black pepper, croutons or toast, and a dash of lemon juice to balance the earthiness.

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PASTA & NOODLES

Growing up we only ate pasta on nights my parents were too exhausted to do anything more than boil some water and defrost some meatballs, so I’ve always thought of it as an underwhelming meal. Plus, for me the final result usually doesn’t seem to make up for all the hassle of waiting for a pot to boil, and then having to wash a colander afterwards...

But over time I’ve learned some simple but delicious pasta meals you can make even when you have very little to work with. There’s nothing wrong with dumping a jar of Newman’s Own over some penne every once in awhile, but here’s some more interesting alternatives.

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Vegan ricotta gnocchi This recipe was a game changer that taught me how simple making fresh pasta could be. I’ve made tofu “ricotta” before, but I was skeptical it would hold together in pasta dough until I tried it on a whim. The genius of homemade gnocchi is that it might even be faster than cooking pasta from a box, because it only needs to boil for a few minutes after you make the dough.

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First, make tofu ricotta: Press and pat dry a block of firm tofu. Crumble it into the bowl of your blender along with 1 tsp lemon juice, ¼ c nutritional yeast, and a dash each of garlic powder and salt.

Start the blender, and slowly drizzle olive oil in while its running until it’s emulsified but not totally smooth.

Transfer the ricotta to a bowl and whisk with 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax + 3 TB water, set for a few minutes) for a few minutes. Whisking adds air to keep the gnocchi light and fluffy.

Optional: Stir in 1 ½ c roasted and mashed beets, pumpkin, or sweet potato to flavor the dough. Get creative, or keep it plain.

Then, add 2 ½ c flour and ½ tsp salt to the ricotta and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is combined. Add a little more flour if it feels too wet.

Place your dough on a lightly floured counter and knead gently for a few minutes. Then, press the ball into a thick circle and cut into eighths. Roll each eighth into a ½” rope and cut each rope into 10-12 pieces. You can get fancy and do that thing where you roll each gnocchi over a fork to make them prettier, but it’s not necessary.

If you want to freeze the gnocchi: arrange, uncooked, on a floured baking tray and freeze for an hour or so, then place about 20 gnocchi per ziploc bag and freeze till ready to eat.

To cook the gnocchi: boil gently in salted water until they float at the surface for 2-3 minutes (add another 1-2 minutes if they were frozen). Serve with your favorite sauce and vegetables.

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10-minute lemon butter angel hair This is the world’s simplest pasta recipe that requires almost no ingredients, yet the unusual cooking technique makes it taste as rich as a good carbonara or a trendy cacio e pepe (plus, no water to boil or colander to wash!). Adapted from Sue Kreitzman’s recipe available on Food52.com.

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Melt 4 TB butter in a medium pot. Break 4 oz angel hair pasta into fourths, about 2” long, and add to the pot. Stir to coat and let the pasta toast in the butter for a few minutes, as if you were making risotto or rice pilaf.

Meanwhile, mix 2 tsp chicken-flavored bouillon into 2 c water, and microwave a few minutes until the broth is hot.

When the pasta’s toasty, add the hot broth to the pot. Crack in a bunch of black pepper. Then, simmer over very low heat for about 10 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and you’re left with a thick, buttery sauce.

Spoon into a bowl, squeeze as much lemon juice as you’d like over the top (I use a whole lemon’s worth), adjust the salt & pepper, and enjoy!

Creamy sun-dried tomato pasta One summer I worked at a farmer’s market and the “pickle guy” gifted me a bunch of sundried tomatoes in oil that I didn’t want or know what to do with.

They sat around in the back of my fridge until I improvised this pasta sauce on a day when I had no other kinds of tomatoes laying around. Imagine a rich vodka sauce, minus the fuss and heaviness of all that cream and cheese.

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Blend 1 c cashews and 1 c water until super smooth.

Add about 5 sundried tomatoes and a splash of the oil they’re packed in, and blend again till smooth. Add a handful of nutritional yeast, 2+ TB lemon juice, 1-2 cloves garlic, and salt & pepper to taste.

Start cooking whatever kind of pasta you like in salted water. Meanwhile, add the sauce to a small saucepan and heat on low.

Before you drain the pasta, add a scoop of the pasta water to the sauce (or more if you want it thinner). Then, add the drained pasta to the saucepan, simmer for a minute so the sauce sticks, and enjoy!

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Chunky veggie marinara This is PEAK clean-out-the-fridge meal. Whatever vegetables you have go in the pot and simmer till they’re transformed into a cohesive meal. Feels like a small victory: Pat yourself on the back for not giving in to the 79¢ jar of marinara, and for not letting another bag of celery rot in the bottom drawer.

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Gather all your aging vegetables: onions, garlic, carrots, celery, peppers of any kind, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, etc.

Finely dice them all—a food processor works, but I like to make this when I want to feel like I’ve accomplished something, so I set up my laptop with Netflix playing nearby while I tediously dice.

2. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pot on medium. Add your vegetables and let them sweat.

While they’re cooking, crumble a pack of tempeh. Mix a few TB soy sauce with an equal amount of water in a separate pot. Simmer the tempeh crumbles for a few minutes to remove bitterness and adds some meatiness. I like tempeh because it’s cheap and lasts awhile in the fridge, but you can substitute packaged ground beef substitute, or leave the “meat” out.

Drain the tempeh, add to the main pot, then spice it up: garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, or just the trusty jar of Italian Seasoning.

Sauté a few more minutes till fragrant.

Add a large can of crushed tomatoes, and a few bay leaves if you have em.

Simmer covered for 20 minutes or really as long as you feel like. If it looks thick, add some water, and if it looks thin, add some tomato paste.

Remove the bay leaves, adjust salt & pepper (1-2 TB sugar can help balance it as well), and serve over pasta. This sauce freezes excellently, so make as large a batch as you need to in order to use up your old vegetables.

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Chili oil noodles One of my favorite easy meals is topping noodles with a bunch of raw vegetables and chili oil for the best combination of salad and pasta—fresh & raw meets filling comfort. Either buy chili oil or follow the technique below from TheWoksofLife.com to make your own. Because there’s nothing to cook but noodles, this comes together in less than 10 minutes, and is endlessly versatile.

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To make chili oil: in a small pot, heat 1 ½ c vegetable oil, 5 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, and 3 TB Sichuan peppercorns over low heat for 30 minutes to infuse the flavors. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then pour through a fine strainer into a bowl containing ¾ c Sichuan chili flakes (or regular red pepper flakes in a pinch) and 1 tsp salt. Store in a jar in the fridge, will last for months.

Cook noodles: I like soba or ramen, as they only take a few minutes to cook, but you can also use angel hair or cellophane rice noodles. After draining, drizzle with a bit of sesame (or vegetable) oil to prevent sticking.

3. Slice/dice a bunch of crunchy stuff: cucumber, peppers, carrot, radish, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes, etc. Anything you have that you like raw.

4. Toss your noodles with as much of the sauce as you want, then top with the raw vegetables.

Garnish with crushed peanuts or cashews, sesame seeds, cilantro or mint, green onions, etc. Delicious eaten hot or cold.

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MAIN DISHES

Depression can make it hard to muster up enough energy to make an actual meal.

Common tips about saving time by cooking large batches can seem even more out of reach – plus, the prospect of 4 days eating bland lentil stew feels like more of a burden than a blessing. I don’t have any magic solutions to these problems, but here are some of my favorite, filling meals I’ve made time and again. I tend to think that finding simple ways to introduce variety is a more useful planning tip than trying to jumpstart your mental health by “meal prepping.” For example, make the chilaquiles on the next page one night, then eat it as a taco filling the next day, and over rice the next day.

Even though it’s hard sometimes, consistently eating well-rounded meals goes a long way toward helping you feel healthier and more stable. If you’re stuck in a rut of mindlessly eating snacks and coffee in lieu of real meals, do what I do: eat some ramen or pretzels/chips while you cook an actual dinner; that way, you’ll have the energy to get through cooking, plus you’ll eat less, so you can save some leftovers for the next day.

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Tofu chilaquiles Mexican food is very conducive to my style of cooking because the same basic ingredients can be combinned and transformed in countless different ways. If you’re getting bored of making rice & beans 3 nights a week, this is a great recipe to mix things up. It’s also a great way to prepare tofu—which as any vegetarian knows, gets boring fast. If you don’t feel like making the sauce, canned or jarred red enchilada sauce will work too.

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Optional: Prep a block of extra-firm tofu by draining the water from the package and freezing for a few hours, then thawing in the fridge overnight. I highly recommend this if you have the time, because it totally transforms the tofu’s texture and allows you to remove a lot more water before cooking, meaning it will then be able to absorb a ton of flavor.

Saute 1 chopped onion, 2-3 cloves garlic, and 1-2 diced jalapenos in vegetable oil until soft and fragrant. Add 2 tsp cumin, 1 TB chili powder, ½-1 tsp cayenne, ½ tsp oregano, and 1 tsp salt and saute 1 minute longer.

Add half of this vegeable mixture to a blender along with a can of diced tomatoes and (optional) 1-2 chipotles en adobo. Blend until the sauce is smooth, then set aside.

Squeeze as much water as possible out of the tofu and crumble by hand. Add the crumbled tofu to the vegetable pan and stir to coat in the spices.

Slowly add 1 c veggie broth and simmer over low until it’s mostly evaporated.

Pour the sauce over the tofu and stir to combine. Add a large handful of tortilla chips (or bake cut-up corn tortillas if you don’t have any chips) and simmer in the sauce until softened.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with cilantro, lime juice, (vegan) sour cream, avocado, etc.

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Haluski This Polish dish is my ultimate comfort food, and like most comfort foods, requires only about 5 ingredients. I apologize to all roommates past and future who’ve put up with me stinking up our apartment with sautéed cabbage smell.

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Quarter a large green cabbage and cut the core out. Thinly slice and set aside.

Melt a lot of butter in a large pot over medium. Like half a stick to start. Add a large yellow onion, halved and sliced thinly.

When the onions soften and start to darken, start adding cabbage to the pot.

If it doesn’t fit all at once, wait for it to shrink down until it can all fit. Add more butter, 1 tsp salt and (the secret ingredient) 1 tsp celery seed.

Continue cooking uncovered, stirring every few minutes, over low to medium heat, for 20-30 minutes. You don’t want anything to burn, but you also don’t want it to turn to watery mush. Ideally, everything will slowly caramelize and meld together.

Optional: cook 8 oz egg noodles or farfalle while the cabbage finishes. Egg noodles are traditional, but I honestly usually don’t add noodles, because I’m lazy and also think it’s rich and filling enough without it.

When the cabbage & onions are browned beautifully, mix with the noodles plus 2-4 more TB butter, and taste for salt & pepper. Then maybe 1 more TB butter...

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Aloo Gobi (Indian potatoes & cauliflower) If you don’t regularly cook Indian food, it can be intimidating and expensive to attempt a recipe that requires several spices and ingredients not common at mainstream US grocery stores. But this recipe for aloo gobi, adapted from Aarti Sequeira’s available on FoodNetwork.com, is totally unintimidating without feeling dumbed down.

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Optional: make a ginger-garlic paste by processing ¼ c garlic cloves, ¼ c peeled chopped ginger, and 2 TB vegetable oil in a blender or food processor until it forms a paste. Save in a jar in the fridge.

In small bowl mix 2 TB ginger-garlic paste (or sub 1 ½ tsp each finely minced ginger + garlic), 1 TB coriander, ½ tsp turmeric, and ½ c water.

In a large pot, heat 2+ TB vegetable oil over medium-high until very hot. Add a sliced jalapeno or serrano pepper plus 1 tsp cumin seeds. Cook until the seeds stop sputtering in the oil. (If you don’t have cumin seeds, add 1 tsp ground cumin to the bowl of spice mix.)

Add the bowl of spice mix to the pot and cook for about 2 minutes, until the paste thickens and darkens in color.

Add 1 small cauliflower and 2 russet potatoes, cut into similar-sized chunks. Stir so all the vegetables are coated in the spices. Add ½ c water to the pot, cover and simmer over low for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook for about 5 minutes longer, till the water is evaporated and the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked but still firm.

Season to taste with salt, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve with rice.

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Lentil mini-meatloafs Even if I wasn’t vegetarian, I think this recipe is better than any traditional meatloaf. You don’t have to cook it in a muffin pan, but it’s fun and makes it super easy to pack for lunches.

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Preheat your oven to 375°.

Make a flax egg: stir 1 TB ground flax with 3 TB water and set aside.

In a medium pot, cook 1 c brown lentils in 2 c veggie broth + 2 TB soy sauce.

If the liquid all evaporates before the lentils are finished, add a little water and continue to cook until the lentils are completely soft. Let cool.

Sauté ½ an onion and ½ a red bell pepper, both finely diced, until soft. Add some minced garlic and sauté another minute.

Use a potato masher to slightly mash the lentils (this helps them stick together). Then, mix in the flax egg, the sautéed onions/peppers/garlic, ½ c breadcrumbs or oats, 1-2 TB vegetable oil, 1 TB dried parsley, 2 TB ketchup or tomato paste, and ½ tsp each salt & pepper.

Scoop the mixture into the cups of a muffin pan. These won’t rise like real cupcakes so you can fill to the top of the cups. Spread a thin layer of ketchup on top of each one.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the ketchup glaze is just starting to burn around the edges. Let cool then run a knife around the edge to remove from pan.

Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy for an iconic American meal.

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Chickpea salad Like lentil meatloaf, this chickpea salad surpasses its meat inspiration in taste, cheapness, and convenience, Plus, what’s better than the satisfaction of calling something you made mostly from jarred and canned ingredients a “salad�?

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Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. With a fork or potato masher, roughly mash until the chickpeas are broken up but not pasty.

Stir in things with crunch and color: finely diced celery, bell pepper, red or green onion; sliced almonds or roasted sunflower seeds; craisins, raisins, or halved grapes, etc.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 TB (vegan) mayo, 2 TB ACV or lemon juice, 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard, and a few dashes of hot sauce.

4. Mix the dressing with the other ingredients and taste for salt & pepper.

5. Tastes best after a few hours in the fridge so the flavors in the dressing can meld. Can be eaten on a sandwich, on crackers, in a lettuce wrap, or just straight out of the bowl.

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DESSERTS

I’m not a huge dessert person, but every now and then the animal part of my brain asserts itself and demands something sweet. Then I find myself staring into my cabinets in search of something I can make, so I don’t have to resort to eating plain spoonfuls of sugar. In my opinion, the best dessert recipes satisfy this sweet craving without involving any elaborate techniques or ingredients—or making a huge batch that will either be consumed all in one sitting or left 90% uneaten after the craving disappears.

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Chocolate chip cookie dough, reconsidered When I get a cookie craving, I usually don’t have the patience required to do it the right way—or to bake the dough. In a moment of enlightenment, I realized that I don’t need egg if I’m not baking it. This led me down the slippery slope of testing the limits of “cookie dough”: just how basic could I make the recipe? It got dark… Anyway, here’s the middle ground between an actual cookie recipe and my more extreme experimentation. PS: you really shouldn’t eat raw flour, but I’m not the cops so make your own decisions.

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Mix 1 c flour, ¼ c each white & brown sugar, and ½ tsp salt in a bowl (best is a Pyrex bowl with lid so you can put it straight in the fridge.)

Add ½ c softened butter (or ¼ c each butter and shortening) and stir with a wooden spoon till all combined. Technique is less important here since it won’t be baked, so don’t worry about over-mixing. If the dough seems dry (due to lack of egg), add water 1 TB at a time.

Stir in a splash of vanilla and 1 c chocolate chips, and enjoy by the spoonful.

Buckeyes Similar to my approach to cookie dough, buckeyes are great because they distill a sweet craving into the most basic components: if you want something chocolatey and peanut buttery, keep it simple and just make some of these.

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Mix together ½ c smooth peanut butter, 3 TB softened butter, 2 c powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla.

Pinch off small amounts of the dough and roll into bite-sized balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper if you have it.

Stick a toothpick into each ball then place the pan in the freezer to harden.

When the balls are frozen, gently melt 1 c chocolate chips and 2 TB butter in the microwave.

Dip each ball in the melted chocolate, leaving a small bit of peanut butter showing. Return to the pan and remove the toothpicks. Chill again until firm.

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Lemon bars I never understood the trend of “secret ingredient” dessert recipes that “sneak” healthy ingredients like tofu, avocado, or black beans into otherwise normal desserts. If you’re also tired of dodging recipes for lemon bars made with cauliflower, here’s a more straightforward way to do it: 1.

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Preheat oven to 350°; grease a square baking pan.

Make a shortbread crust: stir together 1 ½ c flour, ½ c powdered sugar and a dash of salt. In a food processor or with 2 knives, cut in ½ c cold butter chopped in small pieces, until the dough just comes together.

Press the crust evenly into the pan and bake until the edges start to brown, about 20 minutes.

Make the filling: whisk together 2/3 c lemon juice, the zest of 2 lemons (optional), ½ c white sugar, ¼ c cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a pot over low heat. Add ½ c coconut cream (or the solids at the top of a can of coconut milk) and continue whisking until the mixture thickens.

Pour the lemon filling over the crust and bake another 15 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing so the filling can fully set. Top with more powdered sugar and enjoy.

Vegan hot cocoa This “non-recipe” from MinimalistBaker.com is quickly whipped up in the microwave and way better than any powdered kind.

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Microwave a large mug of almond/soy milk for 1 minute.

Add 2 TB chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar, 1 TB cocoa powder, and 1 TB sugar.

Continue microwaving in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until totally smooth and hot.

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