Serving up creamy, rich vegan desserts since the beginning of ‘vegan desserts,’ and there’s still nothing better — Blending silken tofu up in order to create a creamy dessert is one of those things that sounds like only a vegan could love. Tofu, in my dessert? Yes, tofu in everyone’s dessert! It works perfectly, seamlessly every time. I have long maintained that this is the absolute best, most…

And why an immersion blender is the tool I rely on for making creamy vegan dressings in my home kitchen — My personal favorite salad dressing is a very thick Balsamic served at Delfiore Pizza & Food Co. in my hometown of Patchogue, New York. I could never quite figure out how they did it, and my mother insisted eggs must have been involved to get it quite so viscous, but…

A delicious way to preserve your extra fruit and feel a bit fancy, without too much effort — Asweet fruit curd is a versatile and delicious way to preserve citrus and other acidic ingredients. They are wonderful when filling up a shortbread tart, filling a layer cake, or simply topping a one-layer snacking cake. …

Romy Gill’s ‘Zaika: Vegan Recipes From India’ is all about creating big flavors with simple ingredients — “For me, to write this book was very, very important,” chef and writer Romy Gill tells me over the phone from her home in the United Kingdom. The book is Zaika: Vegan Recipes from India, and it is a homage to her mother and the way she grew up eating…

1981’s ‘World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking’ taught Western home cooks how to use spices other than salt and pepper — Madhur Jaffrey is the queen of Indian home cooking, a title she’s held for quite some time thanks to the numerous influential cookbooks she’s published. I have so many of her books that I’ve not actually used all of them, including World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. …

Why does it often feel so fraught and judgy? — This was first posted as the October 5 “From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy” newsletter. You can sign up here. The first time I saw the word “fat” used as a descriptor without a whiff of judgment was when the show Two Fat Ladies was playing on Food Network. It…

A quirky, egg-free vegetarian cookbook from 1968 offers unexpected inspiration — When I bought Pegeen Fitzgerald’s Meatless Cooking: Pegeen’s Vegetarian Recipes, it was because it seemed quirky enough. Published in 1968, both the foreword and introduction are staunchly in favor of ethical vegetarianism. “As you know, I am a vegetarian,” she begins. …

This cake is elegant yet homey — perfect for a small (safe) celebration as temperatures drop to denim-jacket levels — Depending upon where you live, right now the air might be getting a bit cooler. It might seem like time to get cozy again, with the oven on, to roast some vegetables or bake a cake. For those who are indeed feeling a chill in the air, now’s the perfect…

This tahini-or-cashew caesar dressing is a versatile food-brightener and mood-enhancer every vegan should have in their arsenal — Nothing brings me back to being a kid like a Caesar salad wrap. The creamy dressing enveloping all that romaine lettuce, contrasted against warm protein, wrapped in a tortilla that got a bit of grilling to crisp up? It felt grown-up and it felt healthy, despite the richness of Caesar…