Chef's Notes Plus

Chickpeas’ Secret Power: Aquafaba

A crowd favorite and hero of the plant-forward kitchen, chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a versatile ingredient in sweet or savory recipes. Widely known for its high protein and fiber content, this pulse is found in many Middle Eastern and Indian recipes, including hummus, falafel, salads, pastas, and […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Cooking Methods and Suitable Vegetables

Popular belief suggests that it is better to eat vegetables raw or undercooked, as heating supposedly strips the produce of its nutritional benefits. In rare cases, or if the vegetable is poorly prepared, this might be true. Properly executed, cooking actually improves palatability and digestibility as well as nutritional accessibility. […]

Salads

Corn and Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Makes 4 to 6 servings This salad is simple as summer, with the season’s biggest flavor powerhouse ingredients. Serve it as a side dish or as a main course topped with grilled shrimp or stewed  beans. We love it for lunch with a slice of crusty bread to soak up […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Creamy Corn, Hold the Cream

Corn: looks like a vegetable and tastes like dessert. Enjoying summer corn is probably the easiest thing you do all year. To date, we’ve never met a person who doesn’t like it. It can be eaten raw, but even if you cook it, it takes less than five minutes. It’s […]

Side Dishes

Creamy Pinto Beans

Makes 6 to 8 servings Ingredients 1 lb dried pinto beans 5 1/2 cups water 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions 3 ancho chiles, seeds and membranes removed 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano 2/3 cup milk 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 garlic […]

Allergen Friendly, Salads

Creamy Whole Wheat Pasta Salad

Makes 4 to 6 servings We don’t like to dumb food down for kids, but we also know that sometimes kids are picky. So this plant-forward (vegan, in fact!) pasta salad is just a good starting point. The tangy chickpea dressing is creamy like mayo, but packed with protein. Add […]

Main Dishes

Daikon Spaghetti with Chicken and Tahini Soy Dressing

Makes 2 servings The daikon radish (found at any Asian market) is a very large, long root vegetable that has a milder flavor than other radishes. Because they are so long you can use a julienne peeler or a mandoline to slice long, thin, strands of “spaghetti.” Ingredients 1 teaspoon […]

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Diabetes-Friendly Cooking

Amidst the flurry of concerns a new diabetes diagnosis can bring, what to cook for dinner can seem like a huge hurdle. Simple everyday tasks like packing lunch or entertaining friends brings a new set of challenges. Receiving the news that you have prediabetes or diabetes is a food lover’s […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Dress Up Your Roasted Veggies for Thanksgiving

One of the best and easiest Thanksgiving side dishes is a platter of simple roasted vegetables. We’ve talked about the basics of roasting veggies, but let’s talk about how to dress them up for the holidays. For a typical weeknight dinner, you most likely roast your vegetables in olive oil […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Drying Techniques for Preserving Foods

Whether it’s for long-term storage, sweet treats, or prep for a long hike, drying foods is a great way of not just preserving food by extending its shelf life, but also reducing their size and weight for efficient storage or carrying. There are multiple techniques for drying and dehydrating foods. […]