Vegan Recipes

	"Jerusalem" Root Vegetable Slaw "Jerusalem", along with its predecessor, "Plenty" are beautiful cookbooks. They are not kosher cookbooks although only a few pages, from my perspective, require a blind eye. T... Read More
	Snow Peas and Edamame with Tarragon This salad is inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's "Plenty", a beautiful vegetarian cookbook. The photos are vibrant and inspiring. My oldest daughter, Rebekah, born before my conversion, is a... Read More
	French Potato Salad with Asparagus I notice this recipe, or rather one similar, in a magazine about grilling. It is a chopped mixture that reminds me of salad Nicoise. I think that is cool; dressing down the elegance of the t... Read More
	Szechuan Gluten-free Quinoa Noodles (or regular pasta) My sister Leilani, one of four sisters who are fabulous cooks, agrees to spend the day with me playing in the kitchen. The post-Passover lull has been a respite from catering deadlines and the accompa... Read More
	(Gluten-free) Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Broccoli Rabe Whew. This is salad number 5 of the recipes my sister and I were playing with last week. Whittling away at the piles of ingredients we purchased, I'm down to a few simple ingredients. We've ma... Read More
	Roasted Moroccan Yams with Roasted Kale When I started this website, I wasn't a photographer. I'm still not a photographer. I got spoiled and intimidated by both my 'video guy' Gordon and my sister Dawn. I started with some ... Read More
	Baba Ganoush We frequently come to this website for recipes. Working from my home office, I bring what I need to the kitchen on prep days. Sometimes I forget things and it has been very handy to have so many recip... Read More
	Tri-colored Quinoa with Garbanzo Beans I need a quinoa side dish for a client that isn't too heavily sauced. They also want something with garbanzo beans, chickpeas, as they are sometimes called. The menu for 10 is already extensive. I... Read More
	Spicy Yellow Dahl Dip Doing a semi-authentic Indian inspired dinner the other night, semi- authentic only because my experience with Indian food is minimal, I remember that I have a recipe for this dip in my recipe bi... Read More
	Roasted Red Pepper Dip I confess. This website has become invaluable to me as a resource in the kitchen. When I forget a recipe, I just go to the archive. Of course, I'm on a 3G Blackberry; great for email but bad for i... Read More
	Guasacaca (Chunky Avocado Salsa) Okay, you look at the photo and you think 'guacamole'. Look closer. There are actually pieces of diced avocado blended with smooth avocado. You can keep thinking guacamole but this takes it up... Read More
	Vegetarian Fried Spring Rolls I've been wanting to make spring rolls for a long time. Actually, I've been wanting to make Filipino lumpia for a long time. Similar, the wrapper is different; lighter. I tried making my own b... Read More
	Sweet and Sour Sauce This is a great sweet and sour sauce. Easy to make, it hits the right notes of sweet, sour and wonderful. I usually think of restaurant quality sweet and sour sauce with its neon red translucence when... Read More
	Soy Dipping Sauce The name says it all; use whenever you'd like a soy based dipping sauce. Great with potstickers, egg rolls or gyoza. You can also add a little cornstarch and pour it into stir fried vegetables. It... Read More
	Hummus What would a kosher site be without a hummus recipe? We make 20 - 30 pounds of this at a time for events but in small batches. When making large quantities, we soak and cook our beans. For a smaller q... Read More
	Curried Vegetable Empanadas A couple of weeks ago, we started serving a 4 day marathon of meals at a local hotel. The first evening's buffet reception boasted an array of foods representing our diverse Northwest cuisine... Read More
	Can't Eat Enough Guacamole Guacamole and chips, I love guacamole and chips. It is so incredibly simple to make and even more simple to buy ready made when you're in a pinch. Either way, can't do Cinco, Seis, or Siete de... Read More
	Dried Fig and Olive Tapenade Making this recently for an appetizer party, I feel like I finally mastered the balance of texture and flavors. I love buying dried figs from Turkey or Greece. They remind me of my high school days wo... Read More
	Filo Wrapped Asparagus I love wrapping asparagus in filo. It doesn't get much easier to create a thoughtful appetizer. This particular batch is pareve as I wanted to use regular and black sesame seeds. Other times, I ro... Read More
	Vegetables Escabeche Okay, this isn't a Rosh Hashana recipe. It is a great way to use the summer harvest. Using Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook, I flip to a page with a list of vegetables recommended ... Read More
	Gazpacho I serve gazpacho in small cups as appetizers, both passed or on buffets. I also serve it as a starter course in Cosmo glasses. Looks beautiful in a glass bowl, too. Late August and September, with a l... Read More
	Cucumber Cups with Smoked Trout Mousse (Dairy or Parve) Appetizers can be tricky for a kosher caterer. If I serve a meat meal, appetizers are meat or parve. A dairy meal requires dairy or parve teasers. We don't serve fish and meat together. I have veg... Read More
	Falafel Patties with Tehini (Gluten-free) Serving falafel last weekend to rave reviews, most guests are surprised that it tastes homemade. It should taste homemade as it is a real little red hen process to make. We do everything short of grow... Read More
	Eggplant Filling for Borekas (Boreca de Berenjena) Sigh, another great Sephardic item and I don't have the final photo. Focusing on getting 2 Shabbat events cooked and baked by sundown on Friday, I totally space all my final shots. No photos on Sh... Read More
	Vegetarian Stuffed Grape Leaves I refer to these vegetarian stuffed grape leaves as my 'yuppie' version. The local Sephardim make a very soft rice and parsley filled grape leaf that is very lemony. They are general... Read More
	Dutch Apple Pie Yom Kippur ended a few hours ago. Just as there are those who immediately do some token gesture toward building the sukkah, my thoughts turn to apple pie. I love apple pie in the sukkah and alway... Read More
	Deep Fried Smashed Fingerling Potatoes The idea of smashing boiled potatoes and then deep frying them has been around for a bit. Susie Fishbein has a recipe in her newest book, Kosher By Design Teens and 20-somethings where she sprink... Read More
	Perfect Pie Dough I'm guilty of having a very small repertoire of pie doughs I use in my baking, whether sweet or savory....as in one; this one. This is a recipe from "Baking with Julia" that came ou... Read More
	Crostini Slices of toasted baguettes, crostini is a perfect companion to dips and tapenades. This is a basic recipe and you should feel comfortable to use whatever herbs you'd like. I prefer my crosti... Read More
	Apple Raspberry Crisp I love apple crisp and the addition of raspberries is stellar. Tangy raspberries and tart apples with a crispy cinnamon and nutmeg scented topping. It is the perfect dessert for those not up for attem... Read More
	Classic Crudite Platter with Ranch Dip I found this photo of a classic crudite platter and thought I might as well show a picture of how easy it is to get color and texture with basic veggies. I have a Ranch Dip on this platter but often u... Read More
	Herb-Roasted Olives I love the way these olives absorb the flavors of the herbs in the oven. I like to use different colors of olives for interest. I've also slivered garlic and added it to the olives in the last 10 ... Read More
	Chickpea Salad Going through my photo file from the last few weeks, this salad caught my eye. I'm a fan of chick peas and this salad is perfect with the easy to use canned variety. The texture of the chick peas ... Read More
	Pomegranate Infused Fig and Kalamata Olive Tapenade Tu B'shevat is a great opportunity to meld flavors and work with interesting combinations of foods. This tapenade, which I'm serving with rye crackers, is easy to make and beautiful to serve. ... Read More
	Chocolate Coconut Balls Part of our Swedish offering consists of this surprisingly tasty morsel of chocolate and coconut; pretty much my favorite combination. Hesitant about the uncooked oatmeal, I shrug and toss it into the... Read More
	Quinoa Tabouli During Passover, doing a quick check through this website's recipe archives to find this recipe, I'm shocked to see it isn't listed. That said, there is nothing shocking about me post... Read More
	Honey Quinoa Bread Searching for South American recipes for Hillelfest this past winter, I happen upon a recipe for honey quinoa bread. Tweaking here and there, the bread is very tasty. Slightly nutty, a little chewy, i... Read More
	Red Horseradish I can't really explain why I haven't made red horseradish until this year.....yet another of those "14 years later....." mysteries. Multitasking as I do, I throw some beets into a po... Read More
	Tri-colored Quinoa with White Corn and Black Beans In my 14 year career as a caterer, I have maybe done a dozen tastings. They are time consuming and expensive to produce. I could do the entire event in just a little more time than a tasting. And... Read More
	Grated Horseradish Grated horseradish is a classic condiment for gefilte fish. I used to buy a quality jarred variety but that was when I'd buy frozen gefilte fish. Now, with the homemade salmon and white fish loave... Read More
	Couscous with Seven Vegetables Coming off of an incredible 4 week marathon, I'm staring at my website. Yikes; I'm falling behind in posting recipes! Last night, at my final event before turning the kitchen for Passover next... Read More
	Crumb Topping I always sprinkle this crumb topping liberally on my babkas. It is a simple mix of flour, sugar and margarine. It lends texture and crunch to the babka crust. I also use it on my rugelach for the same... Read More
	Oven Baked Yam Fries Yam fries are very easy to make in the oven. Would have made my life easier knowing that before I did an event last summer; I fried them on the stove top. Took forever and the demand was constant. To ... Read More
	Chinese Sesame Balls ~ Gluten-free I've only made sesame balls twice in my life. Yesterday and today. I watched a video online, found a recipe in my Maui Extension Cookbook and pulled a recipe from About.com. Yeah, wish me luck jus... Read More
	Classic Tuscan Vegetable Soup I'm not going to lie to you; I'm beat! It's only the 9th of January and the year feels 1/2 over given the number of events already lined up into June. Passover menus are set and ... Read More
	Italian Lentil Soup with Escarole Making Shabbat dinner at Hillel gives me an opportunity to try new recipes. The JConnect group, young adults 22 to 32, are a little more sophisticated than the undergraduates. They'll eat ... Read More
	Kalinga Heirloom Unoy Picking up a bag of intriguing rice months ago, today is the day I decide to cook it. Locally purchased at a very funky, worn warehouse store off the industrial section of the city, it reminds me of m... Read More
	Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel Topping I spend the last of the holidays on the amazing apple crisp diet. Making a couple of pans for my friend Susan for Sukkot, I peel another 5 pounds of apples for myself. The handy apple peeler and corer... Read More
	Chattanooga Beets with Pomegranate Pips Shabbat dinner this week at Hillel is inspired by "Breast Cancer Awareness" month. Dinner is all things pink: cream of tomato soup, spinach salad with strawberries, pink salmon, roasted pink... Read More
	Fruit Cocktail Salad a la 1960's Occupy Wall Street is at the forefront of the news these past 2 months. Everyone is making the connection between the sit-ins of the 1960's and the firmly rooted crowds in cities across the nation... Read More
	Quinoa Stuffed Cabbage Shabbat dinners at Hillel require a vegetarian option when meat is being served. This week is stuffed cabbage so I'm making some with quinoa and baby portabello mushrooms. Using the same sauce as ... Read More
	Fig and Raspberry Tart with Sesame Almond Crust This is another favorite of mine from "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan. Called a "raspberry-fig crostata' in the book, a crostata is a tart in Italian. With Amanda Knox's ... Read More
	French Apple Tart Rosh Hashana and weeks of holidays are fast approaching. I'm crazy busy with catering and want to get more recipes uploaded. Solution at this point: put foods for the holiday onto my catering even... Read More
	Oven Roasted Heirloom Carrots On Thursday nights at Hillel, a CSA display is setup for subscribers to pickup their share of the week's crop. Community Supported Agriculture is a great way to support the farmers in the area pro... Read More
	Fresh Green Beans with Lemon Zest Catering a meeting tonight, I want a simple vegetable dish. Northwest green beans are in abundance right now. I like them tossed in olive oil in a hot wok and left ever so slightly crisp. The hot oil ... Read More
	Mango Vinaigrette (I'm recycling this recipe. Purchasing the most amazing mangoes this summer, I've been making vinaigrette every chance I get. This is a reminder to try this recipe!)I just read that mangoes ar... Read More
	Roasted Vegetables with Hummus Sandwich Catering a vegetarian retreat last week, I decide to make a roasted vegetable sandwich. I purchase a loaf of ciabatta and slice it through horizontally. Using my Hummus recipe (see the archive), I swi... Read More
	Spelt, Rice or Wheat Pasta Salad with Stir-fried Vegetables I want to make an assortment of gluten-free salads for my sister's party. I have a box of spelt pasta and decide to use it. Rude awakening! Spelt is not gluten-free. It's not even in my dictio... Read More
	Saffron Rice Salad with Fresh Mint My sister Jeanette's birthday is a great reason to make a number of summer salads. Back in the beginning of the bakery, she would work with me the weeks her husband worked in Alaska. I start ... Read More
	Fresh Blueberry and Peach Tart It's the 4th of July weekend. Here in Seattle, we know the bluest and most clear skies are on July 5th. The city empties as citizens with time and resources make their annual pilgrimage to hush-hu... Read More
	Strawberry Rhubarb Tart In the spring, just as Passover is approaching, I start looking for rhubarb. One of our more popular desserts that time of year is Apple Rhubarb Crisp. I make it ritually for the Hillel Passover lunch... Read More
	Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (Dairy or Pareve) There is a large group of customers from the old bakery who love this basic, easy to make frosting. Back then, needing a pareve frosting for Shabbat cakes and wedding cakes, we make this by ... Read More
	Dried Cranberry Scones (Dairy or Pareve) I'm sad every time I think about it. Last year, after Passover, a friend tells me that he was at a seder and my name/business came up during dinner (let's hope I wasn't a plague!). Apparen... Read More
	Rice Krispie Treats with Marshmallows and Sprinkles Lag B'Omer is a picnic day, an upshurin day, a day to be casual and get the kids outside to play. BBQ's, hot dogs, hamburgers ~ nothing too fancy. Desserts are simple, too. Rice Krispie treats... Read More
	Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats A customer gives me this recipe for a party. I want to go the natural peanut butter route and use one free of the added oils. I have a tough time getting these bars to get firm enough to slice until I... Read More
	Baklava Layers of fillo separate ground nuts tossed with spices, repeated to a stack of yum and drizzled with a lemony syrup. I should make baklava more often. Always disappearing from buffet tables, I love t... Read More
	Israeli Salad Israeli Salad, it doesn't get any more universally Jewish than this. Served with pita and hummus, falafel....it is simply the easiest salad to serve to add fresh crispness. I believe that there is... Read More
	Orange Mango Stevia Smoothie (or Margarita Mix) My idea of a vacation is a week in Mexico at the start of the off season. This usually coincides with the post Passover recuperation. Ah, not this year; 2 weeks in Bali last February and Acapulco last... Read More
	Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free Flan or Flop? Designing the Mexican dinner as a 'MEAT' meal, I need a parve dessert. I want to do a flan and happen across this recipe online by Mark Bittman. Look at it ~ such promise for being free of glu... Read More
	Citrus Thyme Vinaigrette Dressing Just prior to Passover production we make a dinner for one of the local not for profit organizations. Fingering through my recipes, I come across this salad dressing. I'd forgotten about it; ... Read More
	Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes (or chef's choice of vegetable) We served 350 lunches at Hillel on Thursday. Friday's crowd was slightly less at about 300 guests. Having 6 hours before serving 125 for Shabbat dinner, I send my exhausted crew home. Dinner is pr... Read More
	Apple Rhubarb Crisp (Kosher for Passover) This is my favorite Passover dessert. I ate an entire 8" round pan of this for breakfast and lunch yesterday and today. Forget the plate. I just stuck a fork into it and told my crew 'don'... Read More
	Oven Roasted Asparagus Okay, so I'm uploading this picture after saying this would be a week of chocolate. Scroll to the next recipes...and, more chocolate tomorrow! The sun came out today with a whopping 60 degree... Read More
	Asian Noodle Salad with Oven Roasted Tofu Since opening, this continues to be our most popular pasta salad. I can't imagine how many tons of this salad have been eaten! We use the Chinese style egg noodles and add green onions a... Read More
	Roasted Golden Beet Citrus Salad This beautiful salad reminds me of my friend Chami who now lives in Fort Lauderdale. I enjoyed this ten years ago at her Shabbat table, a table always abundant and novel. Roasting the golden beets in ... Read More
	Wendy Wark's Gluten Free Flour Mix Tweaked This recipe is from Wendy Wark's book, "Living Healthy with Celiac Disease" (AnAffect 1998). I lifted it from "Cooking Gluten-Free!" by Karen Robertson. Since I couldn't fi... Read More
	Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Apple pie is very simple to make; especially when using the pie crust recipe from Baking with Julia. Growing up, pie was always challenging...will the crust turn out? Will it be too dry and crack, or&... Read More
	Hamentachen Filling - Apricot In the past, we've purchased our apricot filling in large 40 pound buckets. It isn't always easy to find pareve. Last year, there was a huge snow storm in the East and the trucks weren't g... Read More
	Hamentachen Filling - Prune Prune Lekvar is available in bulk quantities by special order at the bakery supply, in 50 pound buckets. Hmm, sort of a lot since it isn't the best selling hamentachen filling. But, it is really e... Read More
	Cleo's Awesome Bean Salad It's been brought to my attention that the availability of certain produce is sparse or cost prohibitive in Israel especially this time of year. With that knowledge, I'm intent on uploading a ... Read More
	Hamentachen Filling - Poppy Seed I received an email today asking if I have a recipe for poppy seed filling. I'm thinking two things; 1) someone noticed I didn't put up a recipe for poppy seed filling and 2) I have a can open... Read More
	Wild and Basmati Rice Salad This is a wonderful salad with fish, beef, lamb and chicken. Wild Rice and Basmati rice are married together and tossed with Herbes de Provence containing aromatic bits of lavender. We include a smatt... Read More
	Greek Salad Dressing Greek salad dressing is another dressing easy to make from scratch. We use it on our classic Greek Salad but it is suitable for any green salad. ... Read More
	Moroccan Roasted Carrot Salad Moroccan Carrot Salad is a year-round favorite. Years ago, we blanched the carrots until just tender and quick chilled them in an ice bath. More recently, we oven roast them until the crunch is g... Read More
	Quinoa with Black Bean Salad Not having much experience with quinoa, I searched the web and found a recipe. Feeling my way, I went about adjusting this and that until I came up with this version. We make a corn salad with black b... Read More
	English Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill English cucumbers, thanks to the hothouse method of farming, are in abundance year- around. Cucumber salad is another good basic salad to have in your repetoire. It is always lovely with sal... Read More
	Balsamic Vinaigrette Robust and flavorful, this balsamic vinaigrette is a basic that should always be on hand. Make it by the pint and store it in the refrigerator. Use it on green salads, roasted vegetables and pasta sal... Read More
	Caesar Salad Dressing This is our famous Caesar dressing, without fish or eggs. Some may argue its authenticity but I don't argue with a throng of teenagers at a Kiddush buffet. Pictured here is a mix of romaine leaves... Read More
	Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Fresh Basil Mediterranean Pasta Salad is quick and easy as the only thing to cook is the pasta. Use gluten-free rice pasta for those who are wheat intolerant. Everything else in the salad just requires a quick ch... Read More
	White Bean Cholent with Roasted Fennel Okay, I don't have the 'after' photo for this pareve cholent for the obvious reason; no photos on Shabbat. Harried as everyone else on an early Shabbat, I don't think to siphon some fo... Read More
	Easy Dark Chocolate Frosting This is an all around great chocolate frosting. I've been making it since I was a kid. It is easy to make in a matter of minutes. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat until light and ... Read More
	Mediterranean Wheat Berry and Wild Rice Salad This great wheat berry and wild rice salad is a combination of two recipes given to me by two different clients. One uses only wheat berries and the other uses a bottled salad dressing. I pr... Read More
	Wheat Berry Tabouli with Fresh Mint A customer recently asked for a tabouli made with something other than bulgar wheat. Wheat berries came to mind as I like their chewy texture. After assembling this salad, I find the scale of the whea... Read More
	Sesame Pear Vinaigrette I love this salad dressing and, unfortunately, didn't get a photo of it after it went onto the salad! Rushing around to serve 50 guests, I totally space getting the final shot. Oh well, use y... Read More
	Lentil and Roasted Pepper Salad At first glance, this salad seems like a lot of work. Maybe because the first time I made it was for a couple of hundred people. Salads always take long for that many people. At any rate, start the le... Read More
	Green and Red Coleslaw Slaw with Mandarin Oranges Given this recipe by a client for a Shabbat weekend of festivities, it looks like one I've made from the Kosher By Design series, Susie Fishbein's major contribution to kosher cooking. As usua... Read More
	Sweet Corn Salad with Black Beans Sweet corn and black beans, a classic summer time salad I enjoy no matter the season. Of course, I insist on juicing the limes so I get the full blast of tangy citrus. The bell pepper adds a bit of cr... Read More
	Gluten-Free Rice Penne with Provencal Eggplant and Sweet Peppers Rice penne pasta is a great substitute for regular pasta and instantly turns this into a gluten-free salad. We've made this salad since the beginning of the catering business. The classic combinat... Read More
	Syrian Beet Salad Earthy beets, boiled to the perfect tenderness are tossed with the freshest of herbs and lemon juice creating a richly colored salad. I insist on fresh squeezed lemon juice in my kitchen, especia... Read More
	Tu B'shevat Dried Fruit Treats This is a little assortment of sweets that require no cooking. I had a bit of marzipan leftover after making the Marzipan Pear Cake so I thought I'd use it up. I softened the dried figs by soaking... Read More
	Raspberry Vinaigrette I don't have a long-winded story to accompany this recipe for my famous Raspberry Vinaigrette. We have served this from the beginning and it is our standard salad dressing at Passover. I'm cal... Read More

About Leah

Hi! Thank you for stopping by to watch me, Leah, cook kosher. I've been the owner operator of my boutique catering firm in Seattle, Leah's Catering, for the past 14 years.
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