Normally I don't do too many interviews on Happy Herbivore, but since its the vegan Month of Food (MoFo) I thought I'd break the mold a little. I had the chance to sit down and talk with Laura Gruen, who happens to be the older sister to my best friend Jim, about her work as a cardiologist and her recent switch to a vegan diet. Here's what she had to say:

So you're a cardiologist, did your work have …

This recipe comes from my e-cookbook Pudge-Free Holidays. It uses up left over pumpkin or sweet potato and brings Autumn right to life with a touch of cinnamon and a kiss of maple. A similar version (though slightly different and a bit simpler) is in my cookbook.

Get ready to clean out your pantries and eat on a dime with this recipe. It's a lil' spicy, delicious and so easy to make. Serve it up with my vegan cornbread and be in heaven with this vegetarian chili recipe!

Yesterday was my birthday and all I could think about was pumpkin-brownies, which was sort of strange considering I'd never had one. I decided to take a stab at making my own and I couldn't be happier. They're pumpkiny but still really chocolately, too -- what a great flavor combination! While this recipe is not 100% fat-free (because cocoa is not fat-free) it has no added fat -- and it's whole wheat! They're like the punky pumpkin sister to my …

Spaghetti squash was on sale at the market so I snagged one, knowing exactly what I was going to make with it: soup. Sure spaghetti squasg can be a low carb option to pasta, but I just love it in my tomato soup. This recipe was originally published in my e-cookbook Pudge-Free Holiday as "Spaghetti Soup" because it sort-of looks like inverse of spaghetti with marinara (instead of a plate of spaghetti with a little sauce, you're getting a bowl …