What I'm cooking this February

plus a Valentine's day Menu from The Vegetarian Reset

When I went to California for my book tour in January 2023, I fell in hopelessly in love with the beautiful orange and lemon trees in many backyards. New York winters do not have that splash of color!

😍

However, I have started to explore winter vegetables in more depth, and have found several recipes that bring cheer to the depths of January and February. So here’s what I’m cooking this month.

Steal my seasonal shopping list

PS - I’ve gone the extra mile for The Mandarin Man’s exquisite Kishu oranges and can say they are worth the investment. They’re sadly sold out this season, but bookmark this link for next January.

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What I’m cooking

(Note: Photos are snapshots of the respective websites and link to them directly where applicable)

• Susan Spungen’s Root Veggie Waffles on Susanality

  I always struggle to eat more root veggies because I don’t like that sweetness in my vegetables. But what’s not to like about these waffles? I’m planning on making these for a weekend brunch, possibly using Einkorn flour, oat flour or cassava flour.

  

• Hetty Lui McKinnon ‘s Vegetarian Hot Pot on To Vegetables, With Love

  My only hot-pot experience was in the peak of a muggy summer in NYC and somehow still enjoyable. But I can confidently say that winter is the perfect time to try a hot pot and who better to walk you through it than Hetty?

• Lukas Volger’s Miso-Marmalade Roasted Tofu on Family Friend by Lukas Volger (possible paywall)

  I’m loving this creative seasonal take on tofu and on my way to buy that orange marmalade. I might even add some chili peppers to this one, reminiscent of Mike’s Hot Honey.

• Cabbage Parmesan Soup by Melissa Clark for NYT cooking

  So simple, yet so much depth in this soup. A delicious way to eat lots of cabbage. I used potatoes in place of the rice in the soup and drizzled a generous dose of Enzo’s Fresno chili-infused olive oil.

• Oh and also try this Celeriac Soup from RecipeTinEats. I love this often-overlooked root vegetable and this is the perfect way to ease into it.

  

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Question for you.

Would you be interested in doing a live Zoom cooking workshop with me? I’m toying with the idea of offering these 4x/year, each time a deep-dive cooking class into a topic where we would make 2-4 recipes in an hour plus Q&A. You would get recipes + a shopping list and a recorded replay of the session. Many of you wanted a lower cost way to work with me compared to the Vegetarian Reset Lab and this is a step in that direction. Here are some of my most requested topics and I’m taking requests too!

• Gluten-free Indian cooking

• Healthy/gluten-free/dairy-free desserts

• Smoothies

• Working with beans and lentils

Ideas from The Vegetarian Reset

If you’re trying not to lose momentum from your mostly healthy January, try this take on some favorites from my cookbook for a special home-made Valentine’s.

• Start with the Caprese Salad (page 88) but make it seasonal by using orange slices in place of tomato. Do not skip the good olive oil and get your hands on flaky salt like Maldon. Pesto as a garnish is <chef’s kiss>.

• The Curried Mushroom Lentil Bolognese (page 76) makes the perfect umami centerpiece. Serve over zoodles as pictured or just use your choice of pasta. I love Jovial Whole Wheat Linguine.

• You might break up with me if I don’t offer you a chocolatey dessert, so the Hazelnut Brownies (page 175) it is! Made with almond flour, hazelnut butter and sweetened with dates, this one scored a 10/10 on my CGM and is the stuff that dreams are made of.