One cold night in December 2009, I stood in my tiny NYC kitchen wondering what I'd make for dinner that night. I had so little on hand but it was just too cold to consider going back out.

Scott asked if I could make Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie, which would have been perfect for such a bone-chilling night, but sadly, I was all out of flour. 

That's when I resolved to make a soup that tasted like pot pile …

Today I'm blogging about the Mexican Dip because it's a secret gem in my cookbook--meaning, it will probably get overlooked because of it's unoriginal name... but names are deceiving! This dip is unbelievable!

It cheesey--except it doesn't have an ounce vegan "cheese" in it. It's also allergen-free: no gluten, no soy, no corn and no sugar! (It's made from beans!)

Although I designed this dip with parties in mind -- it whips up so quickly that it's perfect during …

We all have ingredients we lean on and for me that's chickpeas (with tofu licking it's heels). I always fall back to chickpeas when I'm creating recipes because they're basically the plant-based version of chicken. They can and do go with just about anything...

However, I didn't want chickpeas to be my crutch when I was writing my cookbook and above all else, I wanted to showcase every bean and legume--really encompass and embrace all the variety legumes offer. 

…

Happy New Year! 

In honor of my husband's southern heritage, I whipped up one of my most cherished recipes in the cookbook: cornbread. 

Hoppin' John is "the" traditional New Years dish in the South, but cornbread is often served as a side and since I'm always up for an excuse to make this recipe... I indulged.

I can't even put it into words how obsessed my testers & I were with this bread. Now that I think about …

Let the countdown begin!

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to blog about a recipe in my cookbook every  dayfor the next 25 days---until 1/25 the day my cookbook will be in stores nationwide! 

[FYI some B&N's will have my book early as part of a in-store "New Years" promotion and it will be available on the Kindle and Nook 1/18 but the *official* release date is 1/25] 

In the meantime, help spread awareness of my cookbook by …