Guys. Guys. This is heaven in a garlicky, beany, herby, butternutty bowl. (Yes, I’m making up words- it’s that good!) Remember I went on and on earlier about how I needed to vegetarianize some French dishes? Well, cross one of the list, folks: cassoulet! What in the lord’s name is cassoulet? Cassoulet is a French dish that originated in the south of France, typically brimming with various sausages, pork skin, and white beans. The cincher is that it is all cooked in a traditional, somewhat funnel-shaped, earthenware vessel called a “cassole“. I obviously do not have a cassole, nor do I eat meat, so you may be asking yourself what rubbish mockery I am posting here. Well, fear not! After intense cassoulet research, I realized that there are a.) a number of veggie versions, and b.) many of them have no need for oven cooking (a.k.a. no need for a cassole). Win. What you do need, however, is white beans. I purchased these beauties from Rancho Gordo. They are the classic cassoulet bean, grown from tarbais …

Today, I have a quick and easy breakfast idea for you. Personally, I know I always fall into the same breakfast routine: smoothies and yogurt bowls. I struggle to call it a rut, because there are so many ways to shake both of those meals up flavor-wise, but regardless, this recipe is a welcome change to the rotation.  Don’t the starfruit look adorable? Like they’re sliding down a yogurt slide! Love it. (Yes, I am a 5-year-old at heart. Speaking of such, this would probably be a cute breakfast idea for your young ones.)The idea is simple: Take a chunk of papaya, size depending on your appetite. I used about 1/4 of a large papaya. Squeeze some lime juice over the coral-colored flesh. Mound on some greek yogurt of choice. I used 0% plain, but vanilla, or even key lime, if you can find it, would be wonderful. Then sprinkle on some ground flax for a punch of omega-3s, and some raw oats for texture, and line up your starfruit slices. Layer on some almond …

As my dear friend Nikolai knows, this recipe is a bit late in coming. I have been scheming away for a few weeks, trying to think of an innovative pumpkin dessert recipe. This has been a huge challenge, given the pumpification of everything under the sun lately. So what was left to pumpify? I settled on these soft, oaty bars, after ruling out various cakes, puddings, tarts, cheesecakes and many more (everything’s been done, man!). I also wanted to keep them vegan, as I was not sure if my dear Nikolai was looking for a vegan recipe or not, and work-friendly, as he wants to bring them in for his colleagues.  So, voila! Here they are. I worked off of Angela’s Healthy Strawberry Oat Square recipe, modifying the topping, changing up the flour for the base, and adding warm fall spices to both layers.  They are moist and tender, with hints of cinnamon and a nudge of pumpkin, and are perfect as is partnered with a cup o’ joe, or how I have been enjoying …