Ugly Vegan Kitchen

Spinach, Wild Mushroom and Pea Gnocchi

I made vegan gnocchi for the first time in college. It was during the time I was studying the Italian language, and it was an epic fail. My gnocchi were too wet, and fell apart in the water. The ones that didn’t fall apart clumped together on the bottom in one big, oddly shaped ball.…
Vegan Cornmeal Galette with Sweet Potatoes, Black-Eyed Peas and Greens

Black-eyed peas were first introduced to Virginia during the 17th century. Grown throughout Asia and West Africa, black-eyed peas favor warm climates, and are extremely tolerant to drought. Thus, crops of black-eyed peas proliferated throughout the Southern United States, and to this day, continue to play an important role in Southern cuisine. This recipe blends common…
Coconut Corn Soup with Soy Curls

This vegan coconut corn soup recipe is what happens when I spend time learning about Guam’s corn soup, have Latin flavors on my mind, and am in the mood for soy curls. Coconut milk, cilantro, lime juice, ground cumin, rubbed sage, and a good amount of garlic make this vegan chicken corn soup oh so…
Slow Cooker Kidney Beans and Coconut Brown Rice

Inspired by Jamaican rice and peas, this slow cooker vegan red kidney beans and coconut rice recipe is easy, tasty and hearty. Allspice, nutmeg, thyme, coconut cream, dark red kidney beans and short grain brown rice create a creamy, savory and delicious family meal. This easy budget friendly vegan coconut rice and beans recipe works…
Watermelon Radish Slaw

This easy vegan red cabbage and watermelon radish slaw recipe is acidic, sweet and slightly bitter in a pleasing way. It’s a delightful salad of very thinly sliced apples, watermelon radishes, red cabbage, carrots and scallions with a classic coleslaw dressing with celery seed and apple cider vinegar. This recipe serves 4. Watermelon radishes are…
Kale Pesto Sandwich with Seitan and Apples

This is a revised recipe for a grilled vegan kale pesto sandwich with seitan and apples. I did very little to change anything, because let’s face it, this is plant based excellence. It’s warm, savory, a touch sweet, cheesy, and very satisfying. This recipe makes enough for 1 very large sandwich or 2 medium sized…
Vegan Tomato Tart with Cilantro Mint Chutney

This savory vegan tomato tart recipe is perfect for brunch, a light summer meal, or whenever your garden provides more tomatoes and herbs than you know what to do with. It’s so easy to make and delicious. It’s really important to thin slice the tomatoes. If you don’t, it will either be very wet or…
Slow Cooker Vegan Plantain Soup with White Sweet Potato and Sweet Corn

Sancocho is a Latin American soup or stew, which can be found in Puerto Rico, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, and a number of other countries. It is often a meal of celebration. Traditionally, it is made with a variety of meats and root vegetables. Many say the secret to a delicious sancocho is allowing…
Vegan Spinach Frittata with Fresh Herbs

Traditionally served at Persian New Year’s, kuku sabzi is essentially a frittata that’s heavy on the herbs and greens, but light on the eggs. Inspired by the classic Iranian dish, this is a vegan spinach frittata recipe with fresh dill, chives, parsley, tarragon, scallions, leeks and blended silken tofu. It’s easy to make, gluten free,…
Pear Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

While working on another UVK recipe, I was snacking on a D’anjou pear. I dipped it into some lemon tahini dressing meant for the other recipe, and found it to be incredibly tasty. So here we are. This vegan pear salad recipe makes a satisfying lunch or a simple side salad. It’s just so vibrantly…
Lemon Artichoke Asparagus Soup

This vegan lemon artichoke asparagus soup recipe was inspired by the springtime flavors of two places I hold dear, California’s Monterey Bay and the U.S.’s Pacific Northwest. For a time, we lived close to California’s Monterey Bay. After a long day of hiking, we would stop off at one of the roadside farms for fried…
Vegan Potato Zucchini Pancakes

Inspired by Slovak zemiakové placky (which translates in English to “potato pancakes”), this is a recipe for baked vegan potato zucchini pancakes. It preserves some traditional elements (potatoes, garlic, etc), but does take some departures (vegan sour cream, etc). I also prepare them by baking them, instead of frying them. A bit traditional, a bit…
Vegan Soy Curl Paprikash

This is yet another revision of this vegan chicken paprikash recipe. Now, it is gluten free and eliminates the prepackaged vegan sour cream. There’s also a richer, creamier vegan paprikash sauce made with silken tofu, raw cashews, lemon juice and more. This is still the kind of meal that you want to serve over egg-less…
French Onion Wild Mushroom Soup

This is based on the vegan french onion soup recipe I came up with in high school, but it’s taken up a notch with some wild mushrooms. Over the years, I have used different dried wild mushroom blends to make this soup. Basically, I buy the blend I can find in my chain grocery store.…
Orange Miso Chickpea Salad with Pita Chips

This is a simple recipe that works great for lunch, a midday snack or a light meal. It requires few ingredients, and minimal time to execute. The flavor is umami goodness. In some ways, this salad is a deconstructed hummus with a bit of a nod to Asian flavors. Overall, it is creamy and delicious!…
Vegan Antipasto Salad

This Italian-inspired vegan antipasto salad recipe hardly qualifies as “ugly”. It’s completely gorgeous, which is just so Italian. Italians have a way of making everything beautiful. And while it may not be a traditional antipasto (an appetizer that includes meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, olives, artichokes, etc), it’s a delicious, fresh and herbaceous vegan Italian salad!…
Sweet Potato Chickpea Stew

Puchero is a peasant stew from Spain, but is prepared in a number of countries in Central and South America, and in the Phillippines. The word “puchero” translates to “stew pot” in English. Many times, the broth is made from meat or cured bones. Depending on the country preparing it, there are variations in some of…
Vegan Cuban Black Beans

This is an easy Cuban-inspired vegan black beans recipe with canned beans, green peppers, smoked paprika, dried oregano, white wine vinegar and more. Enjoy these delicious vegan (or vegetarian) Cuban black beans over rice as a meal, or as a side to an entree, like Slow Cooker Vegan Ropa Vieja. Because this recipe uses canned…
Slow Cooker Stewed Kidney Beans, Carrots and Chard with Bulgur

This recipe is inspired by the cuisine of the Middle East. It is incredibly simple, uses ten ingredients, and has a nice, subtle, low key flavor. If you are looking for a dish that’s comforting, budget-friendly and healthy, this is the one for you. And man, the carrots! The carrots taste so good. They really…
Fennel Carrot Soup

This vegan fennel carrot soup recipe is spicy in a warming way from the ras el hanout, bright from the lemon juice, savory from the fennel bulb, and a bit sweet from the carrots. All in all, it uses few ingredients, cooks up fast, and is very easy to make. And best of all, it…
Vegan Cabbage and Noodles

This vegan cabbage and noodles (or halušky/haluski) recipe is simple and delicious! It’s one of my favorite comfort meals. If you’re an American with Slovak (or Slavic) roots, you may be familiar with the beloved dish. In our household, it consisted of lots of butter, onions, cabbage, broad noodles, salt and lots of black pepper.…
Mandarin Orange Salad

One very cold and snowy evening in Colorado, I was looking through my pantry asking myself the age old question, “What can I make for dinner tonight?” Sometimes, it’s good to be stuck in a snowstorm. It’s like your very own episode of Chopped. I ended up recruiting some stray items from the…
Smoky Medjool Date BBQ Jackfruit

The vegan gluten free barbecue jackfruit can be enjoyed in many ways–on a sandwich, in a taco, on pizza, on top of a baked sweet potato, and more. The naturally sweetened barbecue sauce is sweet, slightly spicy and smoky delicious.
Vegan Grits and Greens Casserole

I first published this recipe almost a year ago, but there’s always been some elements about it that I felt weren’t quite right. Today, I revisited it, and improved it a lot. Blended silken tofu helps create creamy grits that are out of this world. All-in-all, this recipe is much better than the original, and…