Vegan Ghost Pepper Mushroom”Chicken” Sandwich (veganized Wendy’s Jalapeno Fresco Spicy Chicken)

This recipe was inspired by a few things…. First and foremost, it was inspired by Ben, who constantly complains that they stuff I air fry doesn’t have the type of breading that he’s used to having on fired foods. Secondly, it was inspired by Ben criticizing my YouTube thumbnails for not being decadent enough. It’s his prediction that if I make a sloppy sandwich and take a sultry pic of it, then I’ll have a perfect YouTube thumbnail “hunger trap”. Third, it was inspired by Wendy’s discontinued Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which had a long run as Ben’s favorite fast food sandwich. Fourth? Yeah, fourth, it was inspired by my dinner at Donna Jean in San Diego, and Chef Roy Elam’s Nashville Hot Shrooms, which changed Ben’s mind about mushrooms, and change my perspective on vegan meat alternatives. Finally, it was inspired by Healthy Junk Food’s recipe for the aforementioned Wendy’s chicken sandwich.  Combined, all of these inspirations have created a friggin’ impressive, although not at all healthy, and over-the-top spicy fried vegan sandwich.

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Air Fryer Soy Curls Jerky

Beef jerky was not one of those foods that was hard to give up when I went vegan. Sure, I enjoyed the occasional endless chewing sensation of some teriyaki flavored gas station jerky, but whenever I contemplated giving up animal products, I didn’t hesitate because of the inevitable jerky deficit in my life. And when I saw vegan jerky in stores, or online, I was never really tempted to buy it. How could they possibly reproduce the dry rubbery texture of dehydrated animal flesh? How could something plant-derived possibly give me that jaw-popping, tooth grinding sensation?

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Carrot Lox Canapes with Oat Blinis

This video is the second in a series of “inspiration” videos. As a cook,  I am way more inspired by produce that needs to be used up before it goes bad, or leftovers from the night before, than a I am scrolling through fully-stocked grocery store shelves. This video is to inspire you to look at what you have in a new way, and to make something delicious out of it.

In this video, I turn Olives for Dinner’s incredible carrot lox recipe into an impressive vegan passed hors d’oeuvre.

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Vegan BBQ Pork Crescent Cups

This video is the first in a series of “inspiration” videos. These are not so much intended to give you an exact recipe to follow, but to inspire you to play with your food a bit. If I were to consider myself and artist in any capacity, I would say that I’m the type of artist that hates to stare at a blank canvas. I prefer to work with something that’s already there; to improve upon something, or to alter something, as opposed to producing something from nothing. As a cook, I am the same way. I am way more inspired by produce that needs to be used up before it goes bad, or leftovers from the night before, than a I am scrolling through fully-stocked grocery store shelves. This video is to inspire you to look at what you have in a new way, and to make something delicious out of it.

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Smashed Cucumber Salad: Two Ways

The concept of the “smashed” cucumber salad showed up last week on one of my favorite food podcasts. The next day I heard about it on another food podcast. The third day, I stumbled across a picture of it online. Was the universe trying to tell me something? Was it in my destiny to make smashed cucumber salads?

No, I’m not drunk, or anything fun like that, and neither are these “smashed” cucumbers. They are actually SMASHED using a knife or even a frying pan. Originally a Sichuan dish, the practice of smashing cucumbers, salting them, and then vibrantly dressing them has gone mainstream.

Here are my two takes on the concept: One of them is a light, summery take on a Thai green curry. The the other one was inspired by a traditionally meat and dairy heavy Italian chopped salad.

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Vegan Green Bean Casserole Salad

A few (like 10) years ago, my friend Tony and I “summered” in Chicago. We spent the month of July in a sublet that had a box fan (that we purchased) and no air conditioning. Coming from Vegas, we had no idea that such places even existed. The thought of cooking or even eating hot food seemed too much to deal with, so we devised a meal planning strategy. Our idea, you see, was to make cold salads (pasta, macaroni, green… but mostly pasta), and serve those as our side dishes along with a main dish which we cooked in a Crock Pot. I wasn’t vegan at the time, and I did consume more mayonnaise that summer than anyone has the right to, but the point is that we survived a hot summer strategically planning our meals around cold salads.

So, as I was planning this week’s recipe video, I thought about that summer in Chicago. And I thought about how great it was to just have cold dishes in the fridge that could be made in advance, and eaten at any time, without having to heat up the house. I also thought about how much I missed green bean casserole… Inspired by that summer, and my favorite comfort food hot dishes, I came up this recipe.

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Vegan Chicken Spaghetti Salad

A few (like 10) years ago, my friend Tony and I “summered” in Chicago. We spent the month of July in a sublet that had a box fan (that we purchased) and no air conditioning. Coming from Vegas, we had no idea that such places even existed. The thought of cooking or even eating hot food seemed too much to deal with, so we devised a meal planning strategy. Our idea, you see, was to make cold salads (pasta, macaroni, green… but mostly pasta), and serve those as our side dishes along with a main dish which we cooked in a Crock Pot. I wasn’t vegan at the time, and I did consume more mayonnaise that summer than anyone has the right to, but the point is that we survived a hot summer strategically planning our meals around cold salads.

So, as I was planning this week’s recipe video, I thought about that summer in Chicago. And I thought about how great it was to just have cold dishes in the fridge that could be made in advance, and eaten at any time, without having to heat up the house. I also thought about how much I missed green bean casserole… Inspired by that summer, and my favorite comfort food hot dishes, I came up this recipe.

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