Peaceful Kitchen

One of my favorite plant-based recipe creators is Catherine Perez. On social media she is @plantbasedrd. Her blog also contains her recipes, and last year she came out with this beautiful cookbook, which was lucky for me following my social media break. On my IG account I had saved so many of her recipes into a special food collection, which of couse were no longer available to me once I deleted IG from my life! We’ve used the cookbook so much already that the pages have become disconnected from the spine.

I don’t think I’ve ever made a recipe of hers that we haven’t liked (we being my husband and me; our kids are so hit or miss on some of our meals that I don’t include them in these ratings!). They are accessible and flavorful, convenient and fast- her meals are perfect for weeknights. She does use oil and salt sparingly, but you could easily augment if you are going SOS (salt oil sugar) free. Her recipes also lean gracefully into her Latin heritage.

We used her cookbook for our meals over Labor Day weekend, and here are some of our favorites.

Peach Upside-Down Baked Oatmeal

Bang Bang Cauliflower with Gochujang Stir-Fried Green Beans (with mini egg rolls from Costco, and noodles made using a different cookbook!)

Red Lentil Falafel with Tzatziki sauce (p.72!) and Pickled Red Onion (tabbouleh made using a recipe from a different cookbook!)

And last but not least- Sweet and Sour Tofu- which is, hands-down, just as good as take-out.