Love Cooking Plants

07/25/2026

Garlicky Spinach Stew
I grew up eating this Syrian style garlicky, lemony spinach stew. It’s been a while since I have made it, and I can’t believe how delicious it turned out.
Ingredients:
5 lbs spinach, cleaned, triple washed, drained.
3 Tbs minced garlic
1 big bunch of cilantro
1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
2 tsp vegetable bouillon paste
3 Tbs plant based ghee or butter
1 1/2 tsp salt and pepper seasoning mix
1 tsp 7 spice mix (Syrian spice blend)
For the yogurt sauce:
2 cups plant based yogurt
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
Directions:
Start by rehydrating the TVP in 2 cups hot water, add vegetable bouillon mix well, set aside.
Cut cleaned spinach into 2 inch strips, set aside. Chopped cilantro, set aside.
In a very large pot over high heat, sauté the rehydrated TVP in ghee, add 7 spice mix, 1 Tbs minced garlic, and the salt and pepper seasoning. Mix well, continue to fry until garlic is fragrant, about 4 minutes. Adding the spinach will be in phases. First, bunch of spinach added to the pot. Will take a few minutes to shrink as it’s getting sautéed and exposed to the heat, add the second batch while continuing to stir, as soon as it shrinks add another batch. Keep repeating until done with all the spinach. Season with a little bit of salt, add chopped cilantro, cover. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until spinach is cooked all the way through but still bright green. Taste the seasoning and adjust to your liking. While the spinach is cooking, prepare the garlic yogurt sauce by mixing the mixed garlic with the plant-based yogurt, add salt and taste the seasoning to adjust your liking. I grew up eating this spinach stew with rice pilaf cooked in ghee, I made the vegan version of it. Enjoy with plenty of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

07/23/2026

Cooling Summer Pasta Salad
This summer pasta salad is packed with deliciousness, nutrients, it’s vegan yogurt based, with a little kick!
Ingredients:
2 cups dry pasta, shells, cooked al dente according to package directions.
2 cups of the pasta, cooking water, room temperature or cold
1 large eggplant, about 1 lbs. peeled into a zebra pattern
3 Tbs Fly By Jing chili crisp and oil
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped parsley
1 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 cup tahini paste
2 cups plant based yogurt
1/4 cup pinenuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F, prepare a baking sheet by adding a parchment paper. Cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Toss the eggplant with 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 Tbs chili oil, and 1/2 tsp salt. Roast in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes turning once halfway through the cooking time. In the meantime: Add plant yogurt to a large bowl. Fry the garlic in half of what is left of the olive oil. Add to the yogurt, add tahini, salt, and the pasta cooking water. Mix well, add cooked pasta, chopped parsley, and cooked eggplant. Toss to combine. Fry the pinenuts in the rest of the olive oil. Pour over the pasta salad, drizzle the rest of the chili oil and enjoy. This salad tastes really good as it sits in the refrigerator.

07/21/2026

Spinach Orzo Salad
This and is what I really want to eat right now. Made with spinach orzo pasta sundriedtomatoes kalamata olives capers lemon vinaigrette and topped with shaved parmesan

Ingredients:
1 cup pine nuts
2 Tbs Maple syrup
6 oz raw orzo pasta, cooked according to the box direction and drained.
12 oz baby spinach
1 cup olive oil, extra-virgin.
1.5 cup Lemon juice
1 tsp Lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp peeper
1 cup sliced Kalamata olives
1 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained.
1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese.
Directions:
start by cooking the pinenuts in the olive oil, then drain The oil of the pine nuts into a mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside. in a large mixing bowl add the cooked orzo pasta toss it with half of the dressing, then add the spinach and the rest of the salad ingredients save some of the shaved Parmesan cheese to add on top, Toss the salad, and garnish with the left over shaved Parmesan. Bon appétit.

07/19/2026

Umami Miso Mushrooms
Whenever I make these mushrooms, they are the first thing to disappear off the table.
Ingredients:
2 lbs mixed mushrooms, I used Enoki and King trumpet
2 Tbs plant based butter
2 Tbs chopped garlic
1 Tbs red miso paste
2 Tbs dark soy sauce
3 Tbs Mirin rice wine or Japanese sweet rice vinegar
1 tsp Sergio’s Seasoning by Golden Steer
https://www.goldensteer.com/CHAZA97069
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine minced garlic, miso paste, soy sauce, Mirin or sweet rice vinegar, and Sergio’s Seasoning. Whisk together, set aside.
Clean mushrooms, cut off hard ends, shred with hands or a fork.
Add plant butter to a medium pan over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, cook tossing frequently until mushrooms are browned and most of the liquid has evaporated. Create a small opening in the middle of the pan, add the prepared sauce, toss, lower the heat and cook until most of the sauce has evaporated in your left with a thick, sweet and savory glistening sauce. Garnish with the sliced green onions, and serve over steamed white rice. Enjoy!

07/16/2026

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07/13/2026

Japanese Inspired Avocado Toast
I love ume! It’s Japanese sour pickled plums. It is very aromatic, and fragrant, and taste with a very deliciously peculiar kind of sour. Naturally this would pair perfectly with avocados!
Ingredients:
2 thick slices of sourdough bread
3 large avocados, scooped out of peel, pit removed.
1/4 cup Japanese ume vinegar
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced Persian cucumbers
1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup fine chopped parsley
2 large shiso leafs (Japanese basil) thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup light olive oil
2 tsp black sesame seeds
Directions:
Start by making the avocado mash: To a medium sized bowl, add half of the sliced radishes and cucumbers, lemon juice, avocados, minced garlic, half of the salt, chopped parsley, and the sliced shiso leaves. Mash the avocados as you are mixing. Taste the seasoning to adjust your liking. In a separate bowl, marinate the sliced onions with the Ume vinegar and rest of the salt. Set aside. Over medium high heat and a large pan fry the slices of sourdough in the light olive oil on both sides until golden, brown, & delicious.
To assemble: divide avocado mash between both slices of toast, garnish with the slices of cucumber and radishes. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on top, add the marinated onions, all across the toast. Enjoy right away! I could eat this every single day.

07/09/2026

Cheesy Corn Empanadas
These empanadas are crunchy on the outside, creamy corny and cheesy on the inside.
Ingredients:
1 package plant based puff pastry, I used Pepperidge Farm.
4 cups fresh corn of the cob or drained and rinsed, canned corn
2 cups shredded plant based mozzarella
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 Tbs all purpose flour
2 tsp Table 40 Seasonings by Golden Steer
https://www.goldensteer.com/CHAZA97069
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 Tbs chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 small Serrano chili, minced
2 Tbs plant butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F, prepare a baking sheet by adding a parchment paper on it, set aside.
Large over, medium high heat sauté the onions in the butter, seasoning with salt and pepper, cook for about seven minutes or until transit. Add garlic, followed by corn and jalapeño, continue to cook until corn is golden brown and onions are cooked through. Sprinkle with AP flower, cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Add plant milk continue to stir. Add veggie bullion and table 40 seasonings, followed by the shredded mozzarella, stir to combine and takeoff heat. Allow to cool.
In the meantime, prepare the puff pastry by extending it a little bit with the rolling pin, cut each sheet into six equal pieces. Add a heaping table to each dough rectangle, fold in half to close shot, pinch with the fingers, to seal, then crimp the edges with the fork.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.
This is amazing on its own, but I also like to serve it with a little bit of plant based sour cream, mixed with lime juice and chipotle pepper. Buen Provecho!

07/05/2026

Super Creamy & Smooth Hummus.
Growing up my dad used to buy the hummus for home from the hummus guy up the hill from our house. It was a tiny shop with one guy standing in it around a really big pot of boiling garbanzo beans that were cooked to perfection. You could buy them whole or he would prepare the Hummus on the spot by puréeing the garbanzo beans with a special mortar and pestle as he quickly added the rest of the ingredients, before putting it in a bag while it was still warm. This is exactly how I remember the taste.
Ingredients:
2 cans organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or 28 oz, drained, and rinsed.
2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
1 tsp sea salt
1 lemon, juiced (about 3 oz)
1 cup organic tahini.
1 cup filtered water
Directions:
Add all the ingredients to a food processor, process, until very smooth. To serve, sprinkle with ground cumin and a drizzle of olive oil.

07/03/2026

LA Style Chinese Mandarin Salad
This is an iconic Los Angeles salad. You can find different versions of it all around California. You can add seared tofu to make it a meal salad.
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups chopped lettuce
1 cup thin sliced green onions
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
3 mandarins, peeled and segmented
1 cumquat, sliced
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 cups thinly sliced almonds, toasted
For the crunchy sliced wonton wrappers:
1/2 package wonton wrappers, thinly sliced
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs neutral oil
For the salad dressing:
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp mandarin zest
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsp Sergio’s Seasoning by Golden Steer
https://www.goldensteer.com/CHAZA97069
1/4 cup neutral oil
Directions:
Start by making the crunchy wonton wrappers. Toss the wonton strips with the neutral oil and soy sauce. Air fry for about 13 minutes at 350°F, or until light brown crispy.
To make the dressing, add all the ingredients to a jar, shake well to incorporate, taste to adjust the seasoning to your liking.
To make the salad mix all the vegetables, and sesame seeds together, toss with the dressing before serving, garnish with the crispy wonton wrappers, and the toasted almonds. Enjoy!
Golden Steer | Steaks, Seasonings, and Butters 


07/03/2026

I made it to the top 5 thanks to your love and generosity!
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One chef will win $25k, a feature in Taste of Home, and a cooking experience with Carla hall.