Veggies are grand.

But both are better when bread is at hand.

I love bread. I was actually talking to a friend the other day and said, “You know, I’ve never been sad eating good bread.”

And it’s true. Eating good bread is one of the very best eating experiences I could think of.

And I love bread in all forms––as pizza, as the base to sandwiches, and yes, even as the star of a salad.

Panzanella, aka bread salad, is one of those dishes that’s so quick, incredibly simple, and effortlessly satisfying.

I’m not lying: the amount of pure, unadulterated enjoyment panzanella gives me far outweighs the effort it takes to actually make it myself.

And I never, ever make it.

But…I went out to dinner with a friend a few nights ago, and we split a panzanella. It was very similar to the one you see here––filled to the brim with fresh summer veggies and packed with big, chunky bread cubes.

I immediately deemed that bowl of slightly-soggy (in the best way) bread, veggies, and dressing my happy place, so I knew I needed to make my own version asap.

So I went to the market, grabbed some beautiful tomatoes and fresh bread, and went to work.

Panzanella is definitely one of those “choose your own adventure” kind of dishes; it can be as simple or complex as you want. But I went relatively simple with mine, allowing the flavors of the season to really shine:

• Big chunks of fresh tomato, because nothing is better in the summer.
• Thinly-sliced cucumber for some crunch.
• Corn kernels for a beautiful pop of sweetness.
• Wafer-thin slices of shallot, for some bite.
• Mixed, chopped olives for a lil briney moment.
• Crisp, cubed chunks of good, stale, and/or toasted bread.
• Fresh basil, because summer.
• And a quick and easy vinaigrette to finish everything out.

And while all of these ingredients are great on their own, they really shine together. The stale/toasted bread soaks up all of the juices from the tomato and dressing like the perfect carb sponge that it is. It becomes nice and chewy, and all of the veg gives you a different experience each and every bite.

It’s extremely simple, but I swear: the joy this dish gave me far outweighs most other dishes I’ve eaten in recent memory. It’s just all about celebrating those special flavors, textures, and aromas of summer.

And as a self-proclaimed summer-hater, this panzanella has me second-guessing my distain for all-things hot, humid, and hazy.

Since I’m cooking for one, I kind of assumed I’d have leftovers, but no, the recipe, as written, is the exact right amount for a single serving.

That said, it’s easily scalable, so feel free to impress all of your friends, families, and loved ones with your panzanelling. It really is the best way to use up that end-of-summer produce!

Easy Summer Panzanella

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5 from 3 reviews

A quick, easy way to use up that summer produce: panzanella! Add some white beans to make it more of a meal, or keep it as light summer salad.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 1 large serving
• Category: Salad
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: Italian
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

SALAD:

• 2 thick slices good bread, cut into bite-sized cubes*
• 1/4 cup corn kernels (I used thawed frozen, but fresh steamed or canned works too)
• 1 large tomato, cut into large chunks
• 1/4 English cucumber, cut into thin slices
• 1/2 small shallot, cut into thin slices
• small handful pitted kalamata and/or green olives, chopped
• a few leaves of basil, torn into chunks

DRESSING:

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil**
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• pinch salt and pepper
• small squeeze of agave or honey
• pinch of granulated garlic
• pinch red pepper flakes (optional, for some heat)

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Instructions

1. If your bread is dry and stale, great! It’s ready for panzanella. I ended up toasting mine by cutting it into cubes and toasting it in my toaster oven (dry, with no oil) at 375 degrees F for 2-4 minutes. It got a little color (see photos), and it was dried most of the way through.
2. Combine all of your other salad ingredients (including your stale/toasted bread) in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl or jar, combine your dressing ingredients. Shake/stir well to combine.
4. Pour your dressing over your salad ingredients, and mix well to coat all of the ingredients. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary (I always love a few extra cranks of black pepper).
5. Eat immediately!

Notes

*Use your favorite kind of good bread. A sourdough would be great. My market didn’t have a good sourdough, so I ended up with an “Everything Bagel-style loaf.” It was good! If you like the bread, it’s a good bread for panzanella.

**I used the olive oil my olives were marinading in for a little extra flavor! Regular extra-virgin olive oil works great, too.

The post Easy Summer Panzanella appeared first on Fooduzzi.

I actually crave these when it gets close to dinnertime. And I made these for my parents a few weeks ago, and they both were like, “These are really good mushrooms.”

So yeah, I think they’ve earned the right of being called “the best.”

The technique for this recipe comes from none other than Dan Souza from America’s Test Kitchen. Have you watched the What’s Eating Dan? series on YouTube? It’s so good.

He kind of reminds me of Alton Brown in the way he approaches cooking. It’s a great series, but his mushroom video in particular is fascinating.

Mushrooms are such a weird, cool, versatile, and delicious ingredient to cook with, and in his video, he talks about why it’s impossible to overcook them (it has to do with the substance in mushroom cell walls called chitin, which is very heat-stable).

That said, I think it’s easy to cook them in the wrong way.

They can be slimy or overly oily and just… not very pleasant to eat.

But! When you know how to cook them right, it’s magic. These sautéed mushrooms are so chewy and meaty and actually kind of sweet thanks to this brilliant cooking method..

I guarantee you this cooking method will change the way you approach sautéing mushrooms from now on. And luckily, it’s very simple:

Step 1: Clean and slice your mushrooms. Add them to a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of water.

Yes, water!

If you’ve ever sautéd mushrooms and cooked them in oil, you’ll know that they really love to suck up that oil. You’ve probably added more and more oil to the pan as the mushrooms cooked because the pan looked dry and your mushrooms start to stick.

Well by starting the cooking process with water, we allow the mushrooms to cook and release their water (which they have a lot of!) before adding a little oil to get them nice and caramelized.

Also, cleaning mushrooms is one of my least-favorite kitchen tasks, but this method has worked well for me:

I stick them in my salad spinner whole, fill it with water, and just spin the mushrooms in the water so that the dirt is gently removed. Then I take the strainer basket out, pour out the water, and spot-clean the shrooms as necessary. Then slice!

Step 2: Let the mushrooms to cook, stirring frequently, until all of the water has evaporated.

You’ll sauté the mushrooms until there’s no more visible liquid at the bottom of your pan and the sizzling sounds “dry.” Your mushroom slices will also shrink through this process since they release a lot of their own water while cooking.

If it looks like the mushrooms have stopped shrinking and there’s still a lot of water in the bottom of the pan, you can carefully tip some of the water out and discard. I ended up doing that with this batch.

Once the sizzling sounds dry, you can go ahead and add your oil and toss the mushrooms to coat. You’ll add salt and pepper to season here as well.

Step 3: Spread your mushrooms in an even layer in your pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes.

Adding the oil at this stage (and not before) helps the mushrooms caramelize and become beautifully chewy –– almost meaty! You’ll notice that the mushrooms brown quickly, so after you wait for a minute or two, toss again, spread into another even layer, and continue this process until the mushrooms are almost browned to your liking.

Step 4: Optionally, add more flavor!

I feel like sautéd mushrooms scream for some minced garlic, so that’s what I added here. I like adding the garlic 2-3 minutes before the mushrooms are done to make sure it doesn’t burn.

I also added some fresh parsley once I took the mushrooms off of the heat, but fresh thyme is excellent here as well.

And that’s that! It definitely takes a bit of time, but it is so worth it. I really love using these mushrooms on pizza or pasta, and there may just be a new creamy vegan pasta recipe using these on the horizon here on Fooduzzi very very soon. 😉

The Best Sautéed Mushrooms

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4 from 2 reviews

My very favorite way to cook mushrooms! I love these sautéed mushrooms on pizzas and in pasta dishes, but they’re great as a stand-alone side!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 2-3 servings
• Category: Side
• Method: Sauté
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 16 ounces mushrooms*, cleaned and sliced
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons high-heat oil (like avocado)
• pinch salt
• 3–4 cranks of freshly-cracked black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• fresh parsley

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Instructions

1. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add your mushrooms and water, and cook, stirring frequently, until the water has evaporated and the mushrooms have released their water and shrunk in size. The sizzling will start to sound dry, and you’ll no longer see any bubbling. This can take 6-10 minutes. If you find that your mushrooms have stopped shrinking but there’s still a lot of water in the pan, feel free to carefully tip some of the extra water out and discard.
2. Once no more (or very little) water remains in the pan, add your oil, salt, and pepper. Toss your mushrooms to coat.
3. Spread your mushrooms in an even layer in your pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes.
4. You’ll notice that the mushrooms brown quickly at this stage. Toss again, spread into another even layer, and continue this process until the mushrooms are almost browned to your liking. For me, this took 8-10 minutes.
5. 2-3 minutes before your mushrooms are done, add your minced garlic. Continue cooking and tossing until your mushrooms are caramelized and browned to your liking. You can’t really overcook these, so do what feels best! I love a deep golden color.
6. Add your herbs off the heat, toss and serve. Feel free to adjust any seasoning at this stage as well. I like mine with extra black pepper.

Notes

*I used plain ol’ white button mushrooms here, but baby bellas work great too. And as you can see in Dan’s video, any kind of mushroom is really a-okay!

The post The Best Sautéed Mushrooms appeared first on Fooduzzi.

If you’re a sweet potato fan, you must put this recipe on your to-make list this season.

I always have a couple of sweet potatoes in my pantry. Always. They’re one of my favorite starchy meal add-ins, and I especially love them when they’re roasted.

They have such an incredible natural sweetness that’s accentuated when roasted slow in the oven.

And now that the temperatures are dipping (finally!), it’s time for my oven to do some heavy-lifting in the meal department.

While this recipe offers the coziest of vibes, it’s extremely simple and straightforward.

You’ll tossed some cubed sweet potatoes with maple syrup, oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. The potatoes never get too sweet, even with the addition of maple syrup, because the small amount of apple cider vinegar is there to tame the flavors a bit. Then you’ll simply roast the potatoes, covered, at 400 degrees F.

I like popping the top off for the last five minutes of roasting to develop some extra caramelization and flavor, but it should take about 30 minutes for your potato cubes to become soft and tender.

And since they’re nice and soft after roasting, I like to top them with something crunchy. Enter: granola!

I’ve been having a true moment with granola, and I love the crisp, nutty bite it gives this final dish! I used a maple-flavored version, but a cinnamon one would be great as well. Anything with seeds and/or nuts is a plus because they bring even more texture to the party.

And that’s that! A very simple, highly delicious side dish for your this-time-of-year needs.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Vegan Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Granola

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An easy Thanksgiving side dish that’s totally vegan and only requires 7 ingredients! Full of texture, not too sweet, and a big crowd-pleaser.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 servings
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Roast
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ~1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• salt + pepper, to taste
• a few handfuls of granola (maple-flavored or otherwise!)

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine your sweet potatoes, maple syrup, oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix to coat, then dump all of the contents onto your prepared baking sheet, spreading into an even layer.
3. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, then bake for 15 minutes.
4. Carefully remove the potatoes from the oven, uncover, and toss with a spatula.
5. Return to an even layer, cover, and bake again for an additional 15 minutes.
6. Carefully remove the cover and bake for another 5 minutes, or until done to your liking. At this point, your potatoes should be soft and slightly caramelized. The maple syrup burns quickly when the potatoes are uncovered, be vigilant!
7. Carefully remove the pan from the oven, and scoop your potatoes (and any liquid) into your serving plate/platter/bowl. Top with lots of granola, and serve with additional granola on the side!

Notes

Adapted from Eating Well.

The post Vegan Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Granola appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Leave. Lettuce. Alone.

• If you’ve ever had a bag of slimy, brown lettuce in your fridge, this recipe is for you.
• If you’re sick and tired of throwing away unused lettuce week after week, this recipe is for you.
• If you’ve ever ate a salad and thought, “Wow, the lettuce is adding nothing to this dish, and if it wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t miss it,” this recipe is for you.

Essentially, we’re taking everything good about a salad and leaving out the not-so-good (aka the lettuce).

Why? Because of all of those reasons up there. ☝️ And also because it’s probably my least-favorite part of any salad.

I’m never like “OH YES ROMAINE TONIGHT!” Or like “Mixed greens?! Yes please!” Or even like “Kale? HECK YES.”

I just… don’t love lettuce.

But I do love veggies. And that’s how the “Just the Toppings Salad” was born.

Is it weird to eat a salad that is just toppings? Perhaps.

Should that stop you? No. Especially if you’ve fallen victim to the high hopes of working your way through a bag of lettuce in a week only to find it in a very different color in a deep, dark corner of your refrigerator the following week.

I definitely don’t know what that’s like. Definitely not.

Groceries are just too dang expensive right now to allow for that. At least in my opinion.

That’s why I’ve been making a version of this salad every day for lunch for about a month. It’s everything I love about a salad, and find that I’m eating more veggies this way because I’m not at the mercy of the lowly bag of lettuce anymore.

I am FREE. And you can be free too, my friend.

I realize this has been a chaotic and silly little post about a lettuceless salad, but it really is very good.

And of course, the beauty of this salad lies in whatever ingredients you have on-hand. I always have a mix of veggies like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, carrots, and olives, but anything you love in a regular salad will work.

I also am just so incredibly into roasted, salted sunflower seeds on my salads right now, so those are not optional. Unless you don’t like them. In that case, you do you.

Add some chickpeas for protein and toast up some bread on the side, and what do ya know! A tasty, veg-filled salad with nary a lettuce leaf in sight.

Out with the food waste, in with yummy, lettuceless salads. Yes, please.

“Just the Toppings” Salad

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Yep, you’re looking at a salad without lettuce. And if you’ve thrown away your last bag of slimy, brown lettuce, this recipe is for you!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 salad
• Category: Lunch
• Method: Chop
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

YOUR FAVORITE SALAD INGREDIENTS LIKE:

• 5 baby carrots, sliced thin into circles
• 1/4 an english cucumber, sliced thin into circles
• 6–8 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chickpeas from a can
• a handful of marinated olives
• 2–4 tablespoons roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• salt + pepper
• Everyday Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette (or your favorite dressing!)

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Instructions

1. Cut up all of your ingredients and place them in a bowl.
2. Toss with your dressing and enjoy!

Notes

I think a nice Mediterranean spin on this recipe would be fab by using marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, and maybe even some vegan feta… YUM.

The post “Just the Toppings” Salad appeared first on Fooduzzi.

And I know. This is definitely one of those websites where we say things like “obsession” and “SO GOOD” and “omg wowwww” quite a bit.

But like, truly. This grain bowl? Ob-sessed.

And I know. It’s silly to be obsessed with a grain bowl. It’s just a bunch of veggies, a grain, and some dressing.

But man do I look forward to it every day when I’m eating it for lunch during work. And I thank my lucky stars I was feeling motivated enough the Sunday before to make a big batch to feed me quick, nutritious, delicious lunches all week long.

Do you farro? It’s a revelation for me. So much better than quinoa (IMO!) and just a lil more fancy than rice. It’s so chewy, so toothsome, and just really great in a salad like this. It’s a whole grain wheat, so it’s not gluten free, but it is oh-so very delicious.

As for the veggies/additions in this salad, my faves are:

• Cucumber because I love that crunch
• Red pepper again for crunch (and sometimes I go roasted red pepper if I’m feelin’ extra fancy)
• Chickpeas for their creamy proteinness
• Shallot sliced real thin (or green onion… just something with a lil bite)
• Kalamata olives for something tangy and fun (omit if you’re not an olive person, but feel free to double the amount if you’re an olive fiend like me!)
• Grape tomatoes because you can find good ones pretty much any time of year

Feel free to pick and choose your Ultimate Veggie and Topping Lineup here, but those right there are my go-to.

As for dressing? I like this Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette. Nay. I love this Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette. And I sometimes make it extra thick by adding a bit more hummus so that it clings to the farro in just a very seductive and luxurious way.

Have I made you excited about this grain bowl yet?

What if I told you that I like to add a little bit of green to the party for even more health and fun?

Some baby kale and fresh chopped parsley is excellent, but I feel like spinach, basil, or mint would be great too. These are going to be “right before you eat it” additions, so they don’t get slimy and gross sitting in the fridge with their other grain bowl friends.

To meal prep, I store all of the grain bowl + veg + chickpeas in the same container all mixed up. Then, when I’m ready to eat, I scoop some out, add some baby kale and parsley, and drench it in my dressing.

Easy peasy, really filling, super delicious, and just a very quick meal prep option if you hate doing it like I do!

Let’s win lunch together now, shall we?

Meal Prep Farro Grain Bowl

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5 from 1 review

A super quick, easy, nutritious, filling vegan meal prep farro grain bowl! Endlessly customizable so you’re never bored of this stunner.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 5-6 servings
• Category: Lunch
• Method: Boil
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 cup farro
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced or diced
• 1/2 large red bell pepper (or any color you fancy), diced
• 1 small shallot, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced or torn
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper
• Creamy Balsamic Dressing
• To serve: some sort of green (baby kale, regular kale, spinach, etc) and some sort of herb (parsley, basil, mint, a combo of the three, etc.)

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Instructions

1. I like to pre-soak my farro for even quicker cooking the next day. It always seems like a major thing to soak a grain the night before, but if you add a cup of farro to a container, fill with water, and let it sit covered in the fridge overnight, your cooking time will be cut in half the next day. Huzzah!
2. Cook your farro according to package instructions (for me and my pre-soaked farro: I put my drained farro in a pot with 3 cups of water. I brought it up to a boil, reduced the heat to medium-low, and cooked uncovered for 10 minutes. Then I just drained the excess water).
3. Pour your farro into a large bowl or onto a large baking sheet to cool.
4. Meanwhile, prep your veggies: slice your cucumber, dice your red bell pepper, slice your shallot, pit and slice your olives, slice your tomatoes, and drain and rinse your chickpeas.
5. When the farro is cooler (not CRAZY hot, but it can still be a little warm), combine it with the vegetables and chickpeas. Mix to combine, and season with a small, three-finger pinch of salt and pepper.
6. Store your farro/veg mixture in a container by itself. Then, when you’re ready to serve, mix a few spoonfuls of it with your greens/herbs of choice and a few glugs of your dressing!

The post Meal Prep Farro Grain Bowl appeared first on Fooduzzi.

It’s so easy, so good, so FRESH, and so easy to iterate upon depending on what you have on-hand.

I really love cucumber. It’s easily one of my favorite “vegetables that’s technically a fruit.”

I love it sliced in my water, I love it sprinkled with some salt and eaten plain, and I love it in a cocktail (don’t knock it til you try it!).

But perhaps the most common way I use it? In salads.

I love the fresh, juicy bite it gives any salad, and using it as the star in a salad like this? Nothing better!

Like I mentioned, you can customize this salad based on the ingredients you have at home.

A lot of the time, I don’t have avocado (or the one I do have isn’t ripe yet… or it’s too ripe. You know how avocados are.), so I just leave it out. Or double-up on the edamame!

I also really love keeping with the “green” theme here and use green onion instead of shallot, but my store was completely out of green onions when I was making this recipe to shoot photos. So alas, we have shallot, and it worked just fine.

Every once in a while, I’ll top this salad with furikake (a Japanese seasoning that’s primarily made with seaweed and toasted sesame seeds). Trader Joe’s sells a version that’s vegan, and it’s a nice way to add even more green and texture to the dish!

As for what to serve the salad with? I love it alongside a burger, some gochujang maple tofu nuggets, or even as a fresh side to something like THE Buffalo Falafel Waffle. You really can’t go wrong!

Enjoy this savory, zippy, slightly sweet, kinda tangy cuke salad, friend!

Quick & Easy Cucumber, Edamame, and Avocado Salad

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5 from 1 review

A simple quick side that is savory, zippy, slightly sweet, and kinda tangy! Just a really great balance of flavors here and easily customizable based on the vegetables you have on-hand!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2-3 servings
• Category: Side
• Method: No Cook
• Cuisine: Asian
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (use tamari to keep this gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• Pinch red pepper flakes (or small squeeze of Sriracha!)
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shelled edamame, thawed if frozen*
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced into half circles
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 small shallot, sliced (you can also use 2 green onions, sliced)
• 1 small handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A sprinkle of furikake seasoning or toasted sesame seeds, optional

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, granulated garlic, red pepper flakes, and brown sugar. Whisk well to combine, until the brown sugar dissolves.
2. Add the edamame, cucumber, avocado, and shallot, and mix to coat all ingredients in your sauce. Gently stir in your cilantro. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.
3. Top with furikake or sesame seeds if desired! Best enjoyed as soon as you make it.

Notes

* I buy mine frozen, so I just toss them in a cup and cover them with hot water to quickly thaw!

The post Quick & Easy Cucumber, Edamame, and Avocado Salad appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Truly. Years. And only because I love to say it out loud.

Buffalo Falafel Waffle. Go ahead. Say it, and tell me you don’t smile while doing it.

I also just really love buffalo’d stuff. I recently bought two giant bottles of Frank’s Red Hot at Costco, and the dent I made in one in just a few weeks is… concerning.

But I really do love it. As can be seen here, here, here, and here.

I believe this is the first waffle recipe on the blog. And the fact that it’s for a savory waffle is a bit odd for me, since I tend to sway sweet when it comes to breakfast food.

But I think you could honestly have these waffles as a lunch. Or dinner! Pair it with a zippy salad with lots of veggies, and… yum. Just really a lot of yum.

You may notice that these waffles are rather small, and that’s because I used a mini waffle maker to make them! It was my first time using this machine, but I really liked it (and I really love that it takes up no space when I go to store it).

Plus, I was able to make 4-5 small Buffalo Falafel Waffles with it, each taking about 8 minutes to cook through. Perfect for two meals for lil ol’ me. Definitely a fan!

The waffle ingredients are pretty straightforward (and veganized from this recipe!), but the only kinda-weird thing that you’ll need to do is make a “flax egg” out of ground flax and hot sauce. Flax eggs are typically made with water, not hot sauce, but the hot sauce is pretty crucial in the recipe, so I figured it would make sense to swap it for the water!

I also opted to serve these with a big ol’ dollop of creamy buffalo sauce, avocado, and parsley, but get creative! Green onion, some sort of salsa, and / or crispy chickpeas would all be great on top too.

So go forth and spread the love of eating (and saying) Buffalo Falafel Waffles! Crisp, spicy, and oh-so fun.

The post The Buffalo Falafel Waffle appeared first on Fooduzzi.

I’m so so so excited for you to try it, friend. Seriously.

Gochujang! Are you familiar with it?

It’s a Korean fermented chili pepper paste that’s thick, salty, spicy, a little sweet, and umami-y, and wow. It’s kind of popping up everywhere these days!

I got my first taste of gochujang at a bibimbap restaurant in Portland a few years ago. My bibimbap was drizzled with a sauce made primarily of this sweet-spicy paste, and after one bite, I asked for extra because I loved it so much. Love at first bite!

I’m a big spice fan, but I find that gochujang is a little more special than a typical hot sauce. It’s fermented, so there’s a pronounced funk (in the best way possible) thanks to the fermented soy in the paste. It’s also thicker –– it’s a thick paste versus something you can shake, drizzle, or pour into your food.

If gochujang has never been in your fridge before and you’re feeling a little bit ambitious, check out this recipe for a homemade version from Hyosun of Korean Babsang! Otherwise, I suggest checking out your local Asian or Korean markets to see what you can find. If you’re in Pittsburgh like me, you can try heading to a place like Sambok Korean Groceries.

From my understanding, gochujang comes in a variety of heat levels, and the spiciness of the gochujang you’re using will obviously affect the final flavor of this two-ingredient recipe. I suggest starting with a small amount of gochujang and working up to a point that works for you.

This Gochujang Maple Sauce, unsurprisingly, is made from just two ingredients: gochujang and maple syrup. That’s it! It’s definitely spicy, but not blow-your-face-off spicy thanks to the smoky-sweet hit of maple syrup.

My go-to ratio is 1 part gochujang to 2 parts maple syrup. I wrote the recipe for a whole batch of these tofu nuggets, but scale up or down based on your needs.

When the sauce coats these crispy tofu nuggets, it’s sort of reminiscent of a BBQ sauce. Smoky, sweet, and spicy, but with a little more depth. You will LOVE it!

And yep, I truly do make this recipe all of the time! Pretty much weekly. It’s my go-to tofu nugget sauce these days, and I can’t get enough. Gotta love a recipe as simple as this!

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I know that’s a very vegan thing to say. But it’s true!

I’m not arguing with you –– right out of the package, tofu isn’t great. But if you treat it the right way, say, by making these Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets, tofu can (and should!) be incredibly delicious.

I have a few other tofu recipes on the blog (here and here are two fab examples), but this one might be my favorite.

It takes a little bit of time (just 40 minutes baking –– I like to workout during that time!), but one batch yields a few servings. In fact, I love making a batch at the beginning of the week to make dinner a bit easier for a few nights!

Yay for working smarter, not harder!

The reason why I love this recipe so much is because of the very scientific way we make nuggets from a big block of tofu –– we tear the block into bite-sized pieces.

Why is tearing your tofu better than cutting your tofu (in my highly opinionated opinion)? Because you get a lot of craggily edges!

The uneven texture of torn tofu helps collect that marinade (aka. more flavor!) and creates peaks and valleys that get extra crispy and crunchy. Plus, we’re using cornstarch for even more of that crunch-factor.

Yes, you can do a traditional breading situation where you have multiple bowls of liquids, seasoned breadcrumbs, and flour and need to coat each nugget in stages and whatnot. But I certainly do not have time for that, and cornstarch is a one-and-done solution that really works great and yields a perfectly crispy nug!

I make these all of the time, and I’m so excited to finally share them with you! Two of my new favorite ways to dress up these cute little nugs will be on the blog within the next few weeks, so be sure to check back if you’re looking for some ideas! Enjoy, my tofu-lovin’ friends!

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These past few years have been… a lot. But I’m feeling hopeful for this new year.

I set some goals for myself (I do better with goals than with resolutions, which always seem so much more intense), and I’m really excited to pursue them.

Amongst the goals I set for myself, one was wanting to make an effort to try new dinner recipes this year. I get in dinner ruts a lot, and during those ruts, I tend to default to staples like rice, tofu/beans, and some sort of veggie.

It’s fast and filling, but after a week or two of the same thing over and over and over, it gets pretty boring.

So! In an effort to be more creative in the kitchen, I created THIS. And I don’t really know what to say about it other than it’s really really good.

I actually created this on a whim one night during the holidays when I was by myself, and I was really tickled with my first attempt.

In order to share it with you today, I tweaked the recipe just a bit, and I know we now have a total winner here. I mean LOOK AT THOSE COLORS! How could you not be excited about dinner when it looks like this?!

Let’s take each layer step-by-step, okay?

The Crust

I used a frozen pizza crust for this recipe. It didn’t have any toppings –– it was just the crust.

I don’t typically love frozen pizzas, but when you’re treating them like a flatbread and adding your own ingredients to the top, I dig it.

Feel free to use a fresh pizza crust or make your own if you’re feeling ambitious!

The Sauce

When I originally made this recipe, I knew I wanted some sort of flatbread/pizza situation for dinner, but I didn’t have any traditional pizza sauce.

Enter: Hummus.

I’ve used hummus… a lot on the blog. Like so much. But that’s because:

1. I nearly always have it in my fridge.
2. It’s a great base upon which you can add fun ingredients to turn it into something new.

So I added a wee bit of salsa and some adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers, and oh boy. So good and delightfully creamy!

It dries out just a bit when you bake it, kind of like regular tomato sauce does. I loved this!

The Toppings

This is where you can get really creative, but I chose to top my flatbread with sautéed bell peppers, green onion, frozen corn, and garlic. And I tossed in a little bit of smoked paprika to really round out the flavors (the “Smoky” portion from the name of this recipe comes from that smoked paprika, as well as the adobo in the sauce).

I like to pre-cook toppings like this because the flatbread crust just isn’t in the oven long enough to cook them all the way through. Plus, you can control how cooked the ingredients are (for example, I like my peppers to have a bit of a bite!) if you pre-cook them.

A few minutes before the flatbread is ready to come out of the oven, toss on some black beans. I don’t like to add them any earlier because they dry out and split. They still taste okay (they might be a little mealy if you really cook them), but they’re definitely not as pretty, you know?

The Toppings for on Top of the Toppings

And, of course, we need to jazz it up even more once it’s out of the oven. Add some cilantro, a drizzle of lime juice, some thinly sliced green onion, and maybe a dash of hot sauce if you’re feeling zany.

The fresh ingredients on top make this flatbread SO special. It’s just a flavor bomb that you never want to stop eating.

And that is that, my friend! I hope you give this flatbread recipe a shot because it really is so tasty and fun.

Not to mention full of veg if you’re doing the whole Veganuary thing.

Yay for flatbreads!

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