Anya Kassoff

Anya Kassoff is the author of The Vibrant Table - Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan and Sometimes Raw Kitchen. She was born in Russia and grew up in a family of passionate home cooks. While following several career paths, one passion remained steady: she ended every day in the kitchen, perfecting her cooking intuition and gaining stro... More

Vegetarian Spring Pho with Sweet Potato Noodles and Heirloom Beans

Tuesday, 02 April 2019

Anya Kassoff

Vegetarian Spring Pho with Sweet Potato Noodles and Heirloom Beans

As though writing a cookbook and trying to stay on top of a second grader’s homework and extracurriculars is not enough, we’re planning a long overdue and major kitchen renovation this summer. When I say long overdue, I am not exaggerating one bit, as we haven’t put a hammer or paintbrush to the kitchen in the thirteen years of living in this house. Something has always topped it on the priority list, which, I know, sounds crazy considering what I do.

Our kitchen is nicely sized and sunny, but has many questionable and outdated details from the 90s along with badly aging countertops, the layout needs improvement, and there is a low hanging ceiling in an otherwise high ceilinged house. There’s lots of unearthed potential, and we are finally coming around to letting it free. To me, this is extremely exciting – the kitchen is my office, the place where the family eats, and also happens to be the central hangout spot in the house.

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soup Pho Sweet Potatoes Vegan Recipes

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Less Waste: Broccoli Stem ‘Tartare’

Thursday, 28 February 2019

Anya Kassoff

Less Waste: Broccoli Stem ‘Tartare’

It seems like a lot of people still see broccoli stems a scraps to be thrown away, but the truth is that broccoli is delicious in its entirety. The stems make up the bulk of the weight for a reason – they are totally edible, incredibly tender inside, and very versatile. To prep them, all you have to do is peel away the tough outer skin, and you’ll be left with a velvety ‘heart,’ which kind of reminds us of an artichoke heart. It can be utilized in so many ways – in fried rice, soups, salads, gratin, latkes, and even apps.

This ‘tartare’ is an unexpected little number to serve on a snack platter, but we think that it will pleasantly surprise any guests. It comes together with the help of staple pantry ingredients, and tastes indulgent…but in reality you’re eating a bunch of broccoli. Win-win all around.

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artichoke heart ‘ heart ’ Broccoli Vegan Recipes

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Candied Chocolate Dipped Citron + Video

Thursday, 07 February 2019

Anya Kassoff

Candied Chocolate Dipped Citron + Video

I’m constantly amazed by the fact that nature gives us the exact things we need during each given season. Citrus season might be my favorite fruit season, just because it’s such a ray of sunshine in the midst of winter bleakness. The contrast between the quiet darkness of this time of year and the bright, juicy, sweet citruses that spring up at the stores is especially intense. Our grocery store is exploding with all kinds of citrus varieties, more than I can count on my two hands. I couldn’t resist getting a few citrons, since they smelled amazing, and I had never tried them before. I knew that they have a really thick rind (they are mostly rind really), which is great for candying. After doing some research, I also learned that citron is one of the original citrus fruit, from which a lot of the other household citruses were developed.

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fruit season Citrus season Vegan Recipes

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New Year Glow Meal Plan: Spaghetti Squash (Pho, Lasagna, Tacos, Pesto Noodles)

Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Anya Kassoff

New Year Glow Meal Plan: Spaghetti Squash (Pho, Lasagna, Tacos, Pesto Noodles)

The New Year Glow Meal Plan is here! All kinds of carb-on-carb, dessert-every-day type of holiday indulgence happened for us over the past month, and at this point we are so ready to fill our plates with 99% plants. That’s what this meal plan is all about. We are employing the amazing, shape-shifting powers of spaghetti squash to create four distinctly different, plant-fueled dishes that will still keep us cozy in this frigid weather (no bone-chilling, cold salads or fully raw dishes here!). We’ve got special pesto ‘noodles’, pho, tacos, and lasagna. As usual, there is a step-by-step weekend prep guide, as well as a shopping list for your convenience :) Hope you enjoy this one!

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meal plan tacos Pesto Pho Vegan Recipes

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Magic Moisturizer is Here! + Orange-Tahini Mousse

Saturday, 12 January 2019

Anya Kassoff

Magic Moisturizer is Here! + Orange-Tahini Mousse

Happy 2019, friends! Hope you’ve been having an inspiring beginning to the year. Today we’re excited to announce that a small batch of our Magic Moisturizer is now available for sale, as per your amazing feedback. You can read all about it here (and get the recipe if you want to make it yourself), but basically, it’s been our go-to skincare product for the past few years. It’s made with all-natural ingredients that we find to be super nourishing and hydrating for all different types of skin, and it has the most luxurious texture and scent. Click here to go to our shop.

Since Magic Moisturizer is like skin food, made with all food-grade ingredients, we were inspired to create a dessert recipe, celebrating two of the star ingredients in the formula: cacao butter and citrus. The result is this dreamy Orange-Tahini Mousse that takes minutes to put together.

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desert mousse Vegan Recipes

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Orange Chai Latte + Video

Saturday, 22 December 2018

Anya Kassoff

Orange Chai Latte + Video

This has been our favorite, warming drink this fall/winter. Chai is surprisingly easy to make at home, and fills your whole space with the most lovely, festive scent. It tastes like pure coziness, and is also full of spices that are great for digestion and blood sugar stabilization. Today, we are sharing our favorite way to make chai (and a chai latte), which involves lightly toasting the spices, adding some orange peels, and not including any caffeine (though you easily can). We also have a new ‘day of eating’ video for you, which shows you the whole step-by-step process of making this chai :)

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healthy recipes Vegan Recipes

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Plant-Based Meal Plan Mini: Mushrooms (Pasta Alfredo, Minestrone, Gravy)

Friday, 14 December 2018

Anya Kassoff

Plant-Based Meal Plan Mini: Mushrooms (Pasta Alfredo, Minestrone, Gravy)

I’ve noticed a pattern that I fall into every fall. At the very start of it, right as there’s the first serious chill in the air, I get in the mood for all the cozy fall foods. For me, those always involve tons of root vegetables and winter squashes, and I enjoy them very, very thoroughly for the next month or two. That must be why I’m generally already sick of roasted root vegetables and almost can’t look at another squash right around the holidays. Meanwhile, there’s still January, February, and March (maybe even some of April?) to endure. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this :)

Thankfully, there are mushrooms. They have all the elements needed for fall/winter cooking: they are earthy, versatile, satisfying, do well with wintery preparations, and pair well with cozy spices and herbs (and they are decidedly unlike root vegetables or squash). So today we are sharing a meal plan, consisting of 3 distinctly different, umami-bomb mains, centered around a batch of sautéed mushrooms: pasta alfredo, minestrone, and gravy with mash. And as usual, there’s a shopping list and step-by-step prep tips. Hope you guys enjoy this one!

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minestrone pasta alfredo mushrooms Vegan Recipes

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No-Recipe Winter Slaw with Dreamy Orange Tahini Dressing + Selling Our Home w/ my Dream Kitchen

Thursday, 29 November 2018

Anya Kassoff

No-Recipe Winter Slaw with Dreamy Orange Tahini Dressing

This may or may not be news to you, but a really good slaw is easy to make when you’ve got the foundation of nicely shredded vegetables and great dressing. Come fall/winter, and all my butter lettuce and baby green salad cravings get replaced with colorful slaw cravings. Slaw just feels more suitable to winter to me, probably since I can make it with more seasonally appropriate vegetables like winter greens, cabbage, grated raw squash, carrots, apple, etc. Nature tends to provide us with exactly what we need during different times of the year, and I always try to listen to that by taking advantage of what’s in season. It’s also just exciting to switch it up. So, winter slaw will be taking the place of other salads on our table for the next few months.

Maybe you want to join in and give it a try as well? Or maybe you’re a slaw expert already. What this post is really about is the orange tahini dressing that will make any shredded raw vegetables shine, and also a little bit about the sad yet exciting fact that we are selling our home with my dream kitchen.

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Winter Slaw cooking Vegan Recipes

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Poppyseed Dukkah-Stuffed Baked Apples with Coconut Caramel

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

Anya Kassoff

Poppyseed Dukkah-Stuffed Baked Apples with Coconut Caramel

Popping in really quickly today to share the recipe for this holiday table dessert contender – baked apples! These babies are fun to make and on the healthier side as far as desserts go, but still so satisfying and festive. They are taken up to that next level with the pockets of poppyseed dukkah cozied up inside each apple, as well as a crucial drizzle of homemade coconut caramel :D

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Baked Apples cooking Vegan Recipes

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Golden Broth Rice Noodles + Favorite Natural Cold Remedies

Friday, 09 November 2018

Anya Kassoff

Golden Broth Rice Noodles by Golubka Kitchen

Golden Broth Rice Noodles + Favorite Natural Cold Remedies

It seems like everyone around has been sick with a cold recently, so we thought it our duty share another recipe involving our favorite golden broth formula that’s helped numerous friends and family fight so many colds. The broth is infused with all kinds of anti-inflammatory and mineral-rich ingredients that are said to be immunity powerhouses – think ginger, turmeric, black pepper, garlic, kombu, shiitake, bay leaf, and more. It also tastes deeply nourishing and delicious, and has the most beautiful color. There are so many ways it can be served, too. Drink it on its own, use it as a base for dahl or curry, or very simply pour it over noodles and top with some seasonal vegetables, like in this recipe.

Today we are also sharing some natural cold remedies that we find to be powerful, especially when employed during the very first signs of a scratchy throat.

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cold remedies Wellness Vegan Recipes

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Easy Homemade Cashew-Oat Yogurt

Thursday, 01 November 2018

Anya Kassoff

Easy Homemade Cashew-Oat Yogurt

This is a recipe that we’ve been excited to share for a while! The number of plant-based yogurt options has been growing like crazy on health food store shelves, which is amazing, and I always love seeing how companies innovate in this field. Still, I rarely buy yogurt. There are a few things that I find less than ideal about it: the single-use (mostly plastic) packaging, the presence of weird ingredients or additives (gums, etc.), and/or the price, which can often be quite steep. Knowing that I can easily make really good vegan yogurt at home is another huge reason.

This recipe takes care of a few common problems that I’ve personally noticed when it comes to homemade, plant-based yogurt making: it’s not at all finicky (unlike coconut yogurt), and it’s not overly bland (looking at you, 100% cashew yogurt).

Coconut yogurt is notoriously tricky to make at home. The ingredients couldn’t be simpler (just coconut milk + probiotic), but achieving the right texture is not easy. It’s common for coconut yogurt to refuse to thicken and remain the texture of milk, albeit a probiotic one. This is when you start getting into the nuances of which brand coconut milk works and which doesn’t, and what probiotic capsules to use. Not very universal. There are some incredible coconut yogurt brands out on the market (like Anita’s and Coconut Cult), but they are very expensive, hard to find, and honestly so incredibly rich that I can only handle one spoonful at a time.

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Cashew-Oat Yogurt Vegan Recipes

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Matcha Butter Balls + Changes

Friday, 19 October 2018

Anya Kassoff

Matcha Butter Balls + Changes

Hey friends! It’s been a little while. We took a break from posting, while we were in Italy hosting our first Abruzzo retreat. It was a dream come true, and we’ll be sharing more about that very soon.

Before we get into our favorite snack lately, we wanted to talk a little bit about growth and evolution as it relates to this space. We’ve been posting recipes here for close to nine years. It’s a practice that has almost unfailingly kept us inspired and excited about the daily ritual of cooking and nourishing ourselves and others. This whole blog is sort of a family album at this point, since we can pinpoint certain posts to the life events that were happening around us while cooking the dishes. It’s also surreal to be able to put something out there and know that a certain number of people will check out the recipe or even cook it in their own kitchens. It’s a special form of connection that we have with the world, and every time we hear from someone who has made and enjoyed one of the recipes is amazing. It never feels normal or old, truly.

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Vegan Recipes

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Avocado Soft Serve

Saturday, 06 October 2018

Anya Kassoff

Avocado Soft Serve

I often buy those nets of not-yet-ripe, organic avocados to have them ripen later in the week. What ends up happening more often than not is that they all get ripe at the same time, and I can’t use them up fast enough. My solution is to mash up the avocados with some lime juice, then freeze the mash in ice cube trays to use in smoothies, quick avocado pudding and this soft serve, which we are completely obsessed with.

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avocado Vegan Recipes

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Coconut-Ginger Eggplant Fried Rice

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Anya Kassoff

Coconut-Ginger Eggplant Fried Rice

Our farmers market is painted with all the stunning violet and purple shades of eggplant right now. I have the hardest time choosing which eggplants to get, since they are all so different and beautiful: plump, dark ones, speckled ‘graffiti’ ones, skinny Japanese eggplants… I want to buy them all. Eggplant is definitely up there among my favorite vegetables of all time. I also know that it’s quite a polarizing one, since a lot of people don’t enjoy the flavor or find eggplant intimidating to prepare.

Whenever someone tells me they don’t like eggplant, I try to point them in the direction of my marinated eggplant recipe – it’s in our latest cookbook, and it impresses seemingly everyone. Eggplant is spongy and absorbent, so marinating it transforms it into this super flavorful, velvety version of itself that seriously tastes like heaven. I also really like adding eggplant to curry or ciabotta and broiling it in the oven with a miso glaze. It has so much potential to be really delicious!

This eggplant fried rice is our latest obsession. It’s weeknight-friendly, satisfying, and full of fresh, late summer flavors.

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coconut Eggplant Vegan Recipes

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Vegan Herb Frittata (Kuku Sabzi)

Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Anya Kassoff

Vegan Herb Frittata (Kuku Sabzi)

I have a subscription to Bon Appétit, and I haven’t been able to get this Persian frittata recipe out of my head ever since I saw it in one of their issues this past year (there’s also a video of Andy Baraghani expertly making it here). The frittata is called kuku sabzi and is often served during Persian New Year that is celebrated on spring equinox, welcoming spring with the abundance of herbs in the dish. I’m obsessed with any food that requires a ton of herbs, and this frittata is loaded with parsley, dill, and cilantro. I also like making vegan ‘frittatas’ with chickpea flour, since I’m completely in love with socca, and chickpea frittatas are like socca x 100.

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frittata Vegan Recipes

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Grain-Free Tomato Tart with Cauliflower Ricotta

Thursday, 30 August 2018

Anya Kassoff

Grain-Free Tomato Tart with Cauliflower Ricotta

You guys, this tart! It’s one of our very favorite recipes that we’ve developed lately. Beaming with excitement to share it with you.

Our days have been full to the brim preparing for our retreat in Italy, planning a commissioned magazine shoot, and working on a new project that we are hoping to launch in November. It’s amazing to have our hands full with work that we’re in love with, but I would also be lying if I said that it’s all smooth sailing. Stress and overwhelm always find their way to creep in, and it’s been so important to employ our favorite self-love tools and practices to counteract stress and anxiety (much more on this in our upcoming new project!). Slowing down to cook a nourishing tart is definitely one of them.

We are genuinely grateful for summer produce right now, since it needs so little to taste delicious. A lot of it doesn’t even need to be cooked: just chop, season, and serve, which has all been so helpful during this busy time. This tart is not exactly in the chop, season, and serve category, as it requires a little more work and thought. It does, however, depend on the sweetness of late summer tomatoes and cauliflower, and it’s so worth the extra little bit of work than you might be used to during this abundant season.

The tart consists of three elements that seem to have been made for one another: a 4-ingredient, grain-free crust, a savory cauliflower ricotta, and a layer of juicy, caramelized tomatoes on top.

I love making ‘ricotta’ with almonds or cashews, but thought that my usual recipe would be too heavy for this tart, since I needed a fairly good amount of it to fill up the whole crust. Cutting the nut ricotta with some steamed cauliflower worked amazingly well. If anything, the cauliflower contributed to the nutty and savory flavor of the cheese even further, while making the texture fluffy and light. It never hurts to add a dose of cruciferous veg to your meal, either ;) The richness of the ricotta is the best compliment to the sun-fed, juicy caramelized tomatoes that crown the tart. Add a (vegan) buttery crust to that, and you’re really in business.

Because this tart is plant-based and doesn’t contain eggs to thicken the ricotta, and because I didn’t want to over-complicate the recipe with any vegan thickeners, the ‘cheese’ is quite soft straight out of the oven. It’s still possible to get a nice slice though, if you work with a sharp knife and a dependable pie server. The ricotta layer does thicken up after a night in the fridge, so your leftovers will be even more sliceable. We hope you’ll give it a try!

Click for GRAIN-FREE TOMATO TART WITH CAULIFLOWER RICOTTA Recipe

Serves: one 10" tart

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Plant-based Vegan Recipes

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Simple Mango Gazpacho

Saturday, 11 August 2018

Anya Kassoff

Simple Mango Gazpacho

I’ve been on a raw food kick lately. I find that it’s what my body craves in the summer heat, and it always helps me feel lighter and more alive if I’m feeling down, dull, or generally far from my higher self :) I’ve been eating a ton of salads, zoodles, juicy melon mono-meals, and pureed soups.

So, gazpacho has been a weekly staple for us. I like to vary the recipe every time I make it so as to not get bored, and also because there are so many possibilities to explore in the gazpacho realm. Check out our Red Lentil, Spicy Strawberry, Watermelon, and Pineapple Cucumber gazpacho recipes.

This mango version is so refreshing with its lovely balance of sweet, savory, and spicy notes. It couldn’t be easier to make, too – just throw everything in the blender, chill, and enjoy.

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raw mango gazpacho Vegan Recipes

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Cold Almond Butter Noodles, Our Weeknight Go To

Thursday, 02 August 2018

Anya Kassoff

Cold Almond Butter Noodles, Our Weeknight Go To

We lean on this meal at least once a week, especially in the summer. It’s dead simple to make, requires pantry staple ingredients, and the flavor is so impressive. I was a little hesitant to share this recipe, because I thought it might be too basic, but I wish I knew about it a few years ago, when putting together a quick but tasty weeknight meal was still a creative struggle :)

This recipe is all about two things: 1) the sauce and 2) keeping your ingredients as cold as possible. The sauce is a combination of everything that’s good in this world. It’s spicy, salty, creamy, and a bit sweet. It’s great for so much more than slathering on noodles, too: dip anything in it, like summer rolls, raw veggies, your fingers…

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cold noodles Vegan Recipes

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Ciabotta – Easy Summer Vegetable Stew from Abruzzo

Saturday, 21 July 2018

Anya Kassoff

Ciabotta – Easy Summer Vegetable Stew from Abruzzo

Today we are continuing with our Abruzzo recipe series, in which we share traditionally plant-based dishes from Abruzzo, Italy. We are hosting a vegan/vegetarian retreat there this October (there are still a few spots left!), and our research of local ingredients and eating traditions has led us to cooking and trying some amazing plant-based meals from the region.

This simple summer vegetable stew is the perfect example of the genius simplicity and quiet elegance of Italian peasant food, which mostly depends on the freshness and quality of the ingredients. Ciabotta (also known as ciambotta) is a common summer dish in Abruzzo, as well as all throughout southern Italy, and it’s everything we want to be eating this summer.

My aunt back in Russia makes something similar to ciabotta, a dish that she invented herself, and I’ve been craving it so much this summer. I was super excited when Anna, our retreat partner and Abruzzo local, told me that southern Italy has a similar dish that I should try making.

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Ciabotta vegetable stew Vegan Recipes

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Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Donuts with a Coconut Glaze

Saturday, 07 July 2018

Anya Kassoff

This post was created in partnership with Nuts.com.

Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Donuts with a Coconut Glaze

We’ve got a subtly red-white-and-blue treat for you today. Donuts! First though, let’s get this out of the way: these donuts are vegan, gluten-free and baked, so there’s nothing classic about them. There will inevitably be textural and flavor differences, when compared to the (delicious) fried donuts that you would acquire at a donut shop. These baked donuts are so good in their own right though: they’re studded with blueberries, sweetened with maple syrup, and made extra special with a sunny tanginess from lemon juice/zest. There’s also a perfectly glossy, four-ingredient coconut glaze that’s completely irresistible. Making these guys is definitely a much easier venture than frying up proper donuts at home, so that’s another bonus. In fact, though they look impressive, they do not take long to prepare at all.