Dana Slatkin, Vegan and Vegetarian Chef | Recipes

April Cooking Contest

04/05/2013 By Dana Slatkin 1 Comment

This month promises blue skies, warmer weather, and perhaps your first outdoor meal of the year! With Cinco de Mayo coming up, the Farmgirl is having a Mexican moment. I’m loving flavors like smoky chiles, beans in a rainbow of colors, cloud-light Cotija cheese and handmade tortillas. Crowd-pleasing and perfect for easy entertaining, Mexican and Latin flavors put me in the mood for summer. What is your favorite Mexican dish? To enter the contest, send in your recipe, along with a little information about you – where you’re from, what you like to cook, and the source of your cooking inspiration. You have all month and can enter as many times as you wish. All recipes will be acknowledged, tested and tasted. You can enter as many … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cooking Contest

Cashew Cheese with Chipotle

04/01/2013 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

Here’s a lovely serving suggestion from chezbettay.com

...adapted from Heirloom Catering. Spring 2013 is sure to be a defining moment in our country’s history. As our Supreme Court grapples with the legal boundaries of marriage, I find myself thinking about my own margins of acceptance. When I was a kid, I gravitated to the familiar. It was comforting to eat the same foods every day, to be with friends who had similar backgrounds and personalities, to cling to routine. But as I get older, I find myself wanting to try the untried. I crave new tastes, new ideas, anyone and anything that’s out of the box. Maybe that explains one of my new infatuations. It’s rich and creamy, part cheese, part spread, with a smoky pep. And it’s just a little unconventional. This quirky vegan recipe … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dairy-free

Nigella’s Cinnamon Almond Cake

03/22/2013 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

adapted from (Clarkson Potter 2013) Nigellissima, Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes Find Nigella’s original recipe here. Every so often I’ll stumble on a recipe that is just what I needed, exactly when I needed it. This is one of them. Around the time of my birthday last month, one of my friends knew how much I idolize Nigella Lawson, the eloquent and stunning television host of “The Taste” and deservedly successful cookbook author. When Nigella was signing her latest tome, Nigellissima, Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes, at a Williams-Sonoma in Orange County, my friend waited in line for four hours to have her autograph a birthday gift for me. That night, I read my new cookbook cover to cover. I marked dozens of pages with sticky … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dessert Recipes

Banana Bread with Coconut, Oats and Flaxseed

03/19/2013 By Dana Slatkin 1 Comment

< taget="_blank" href="http://www.tastykitchen.com">Tastykitchen.com

Did anyone catch last weekend’s SNL episode where Justin Timberlake rocks out as a lovable block of tofu? “No meat, c’est chic!” he raps. It was one for the Vegheads. And this Farmgirl couldn’t be happier to have J.T. in her corner. But while I’m thrilled tofu has made it into our national zeitgeist and plant-based diets are hip again, mass-produced soy nuggets and energy bars aren’t going to make us any healthier. We know that avoiding processed foods and eating lots of whole foods prepared from scratch will make your body happier (and will probably buy you a few more years on your lifeline). But can you pull off a clean diet while living life in the fast lane? Absolutely. The solution is not at a take-out counter or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen

Spring Cooking Classes

03/11/2013 By Dana Slatkin 3 Comments

fast and fresh mexican easy entertaining class

Get PSYCHED for Spring with 3 new cooking classes from the Beverly Hills Farmgirl! *** SOLD OUT *** 20 years of Beach Chic: The Best of Shutters On The Beach Thursday, April 18 10 am – noon Menu highlights: Bulls-eye Eggs Coast Veggie Burger Salade Niçoise plus that dreamy Butterscotch Pudding Fast ‘n Fresh Mexican for Easy Entertaining *** BOTH SESSIONS ARE SOLD OUT *** Thursday, May 16 10am-noon Thursday, May 23 10 am – noon Menu highlights: Blue Corn Tortilla Soup The Only Guacamole Recipe You’ll Ever Need Salmon + Lentil Tacos y mucho mas! Get Your Baking On (Kids welcome!) Thursday, June 13 10 am … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Events

March Giveaway

03/05/2013 By Dana Slatkin 2 Comments

March marks the arrival of Spring, and the Farmgirl wants you to be ready! With all the fresh salads and light vegetable dishes you’ll be craving this season, a proper knife is key. It must be sharp, easy to handle, and a breeze to maintain. This eco-friendly ceramic knife and peeler set from Kyocera is a Farmgirl favorite. You will love how the sleek knife feels in your hand, slicing vegetables, citrus and herbs to microscopic precision without bruising. The peeler is dishwasher-safe and works wonders on tough jobs like squash and potatoes. Both tools come with a lifetime guarantee from Kyocera. This Giveaway has expired. Check back soon for more contests and giveaways! You can enter as many times as you wish. The winner will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaway

Apple Custard Gratin

03/01/2013 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

Announcing the winner of our February Cooking Contest! This last contest, in which I asked you to share a recipe for someone you adore, drew the Farmgirl's biggest response ever. There were cupcakes, bread puddings, tarts, chocolate French toast, a very memorable asparagus pesto, dumplings, and even a three-course dinner. I loved hearing your stories and getting to taste your delicious cooking. Thank you to every one of you who entered the contest. It was a very close call! In the end, I chose Hidemi Walsh’s Apple Custard Gratin because of its warm, comforting flavors; simplicity (it took me 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes in the oven); and originality. It didn't hurt that my kids gobbled up three batches in two days, including … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Comfort food, Cooking Contest, Dessert Recipes

Farmgirl Winners Circle

03/01/2013 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

Here are a few of the lucky readers who have won 90210 Farmgirl Cooking Contests and Giveaways. You, too, can win fabulous kitchen gadgets, ceramic pans, beautiful serving pieces, Farmgirl aprons, and more. You can enter as many times as you wish! Hidemi Walsh (Sapporo, Hokkaido) Linda Deline (Fayette City, PA) Liz Schmitt (San Diego, CA) Blima Spetner (Beitar Illit, Israel) Vicki Moseley (Seattle, WA) Eydie Desser (Los Angeles, CA) Bethany Davis (Greensboro, NC) Leslie Ann Stokes (Los Angeles, CA) Genevieve Gladys (Boulder, CO) Lucienne Soleymani (Los Angeles, CA) Katia Ratkovitch (Altadena, CA) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cooking Contest, Farmgirl Winners Circle, Giveaway