100% Plant-Based, 110% Flavor · Stay Rude!
Cooking, recipes, technique.
The vegetable most closely associated today with the celebration of Dziady, Samhain, Halloween — call it what you will — is the pumpkin. INGREDIENTS Filling: 300 g pumpkin purée 100 g sunflower seeds 1 tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp ground coriander seeds 3 tbsp nutritional yeast 1 clove garlic salt Dough: … Read more
What’s the worst thing about vacations? Especially when you live alone. In the middle of the forest. The contents of the fridge when you get back. It’s a good idea to get rid of everything in the fridge before you leave, so you don’t get greeted by a newly evolved civilization when you return. And when you come … Read more
Sandwiches built Germany. Actually, not just Germany. All of Europe and North America. Sandwiches that workers took with them to work. And these weren’t sandwiches with fancy cold cuts — workers couldn’t afford that. But, for example, with various spreads, because those were easy to make tasty out of scraps, leftovers, and the cheapest ingredients. Here’s another … Read more
Parsley is an excellent source of iron if you’re on a plant-based or vegetarian diet, or if you eat little meat. The best source, incidentally, is… young nettle — but only in spring, when the shoots are fresh. It makes excellent pesto. However, this is non-heme iron, Fe³⁺ (remember that from middle school chemistry?), which must be … Read more
The Belgian-Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut is working on cell-based cocoa. This is probably the first case of this technology being applied to a plant-based product. The effects of climate-change-driven weather anomalies are already being felt by all lovers of the two pillars of our culture and civilization: coffee and chocolate. Coffee and cocoa prices have been … Read more
I’m not a dessert guy. Nor am I a baker or pastry chef. Though in reality — and not just in my current job — you often have to be a one-man army and do everything. Lately, for added fun, it’s been my eating disorder that’s been pushing me toward experimenting with sweets of all kinds. INGREDIENTS: 30 g thick … Read more
1. You’re on your feet all the time. Your legs and spine feel it. During a workday, depending on the nature of your position, you might easily walk 10 to 20 kilometers. Often carrying heavy loads — in my case, it’s usually up to 20 kg, but hauling 50 kg bags of vegetables is nothing … Read more
It’s amazing how context changes everything. Take, for example, the phrase: “I got a mushroom from a friend.” Sounds very different coming from a chef than from someone into swingers parties, doesn’t it? In my case, the “friend” was my Translator Friend (from my work), and the “mushroom” was a kombucha SCOBY (not Candida). Since … Read more
In 2025, Easter and May Day are unusually close together. Just as I wrapped up my Easter menu, my thoughts turned to recipes suitable for May Day. One simple recipe I created on Easter Saturday fits perfectly — a carob smoothie. Ingredients: 1 ripe (brown) banana (approx. 125g) 200 ml (half a can) of coconut milk 1 … Read more
Hail Seitan (Not to be confused with Satan. I had to — the phonetic similarity still cracks me up. Though honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone out there took it seriously and saw in seitan a satanic conspiracy.) Ingredients: 200 g seitan powder 50 g hemp flour 50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil 50 g oil from sun-dried … Read more