The Recipe Box

Smashed Cucumber with Tahini and Everything Chile Oil

"A surprising juxtaposition of texture and flavor -- fresh, palate-cleansing cucumbers paired with an earthy sesame dressing, enlivened by a daring spicy oil." - Hetty McKinnon, To Asia, With Love

This simple salad is great to serve as a snack or as a side to a bowl of noodles. Smashing the cucumbers tenderizes them, while a sprinkling of salt delivers a lovely pickle-like quality. It was delicious!

Everything Chile Oil

"This is my version of Szechuan Chile oil (sometimes called mala hot sauce), which I have called 'everything oil' because, well, it makes everything taste better." - Hetty McKinnon, To Asia, With Love

Hetty has never led us wrong before, so we made the oil and have now used it three times since! Mixed into mayonnaise on corn on the cob, as a marinade for grilled eggplant, and as a dumpling dipping sauce. It was a ton of fun to work with such unique ingredients... Korean Chile flakes (G ochugaru), Szechuan P eppercorns, S tar A nise, and more. A serious flavor bomb...

Broiled Greek Tomatoes

Talk about simple... Broiled tomatoes are a classic side dish in Greece (and much of Europe for that matter). This recipe is great for any time of the year. We topped our tomatoes with SKORDO Greek Seasoning, a natural pairing. Use it as a base recipe with your favorite seasoning, see variation ideas in note below.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elote) with Adobo Seasoning

Elotes are the best way to eat corn. Big statement, but I stand by it. The sweet corn topped with aromatic Adobo Spice Blend (Mexican oregano, freshly ground cumin, and more), mayonnaise, lime juice, and cotija cheese is a combination we can't get enough of. We make this close to once a week in the summer - it's so easy!

Strawberry + Tomato Salad with Sizzled Mustard Seed Halloumi

This recipe is from the new cookbook Cook This Book, written by Molly Baz (of Bon Appetit's YouTube fame). With a massive chapter on Salads and Molly Baz's self-proclaimed love for Caesar salads, we had high expectations. The whole family loved it! We will definitely be making it again this summer. It was fresh, flavorful, and unique. Her recipe calls for peaches but we couldn't get our hands on them this early in the season in Maine so we substituted strawberries.

Chargrilled Summer Vegetables with a Dhana-Jeera Dressing

Every year, as soon as it is warm enough outside, we fire up the grill. I love grilled veggies and was so excited to find a great base recipe in Meera Sodha's cookbook East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Beijing. We used SKORDO's Thai Seasoning to spice up our dressing without a lot of additional heat for the perfect balance.

Couscous, Cherry Tomato, + Herb Salad with Ras el Hanout

We spent three weeks cooking dinner nearly every evening from the cookbook Ottolenghi Simple... read our cookbook review here. Here's one of our favorite recipes we made. A delicious way to incorporate the iconic Middle Eastern blend, Ras el Hanout, into fresh flavors. We look forward to making this for many cookouts this summer!

Roasted Eggplant with Curried Yogurt

We spent three weeks cooking dinner nearly every evening from the cookbook Ottolenghi Simple... read our cookbook review here. This was such a delicious bite! Roasted slices of eggplant with layers of flavor and texture on top. We paired it with another recipe from the book, an herbed cauliflower salad. Fresh, flavorful, and filling.

Turmeric Coconut Smoothie Bowl

Sometimes what we choose for breakfast can help wake us up and feel energized as we start our day. We created this fun and beautiful smoothie bowl to both energize and brighten your morning. This turmeric, ground ginger, and coconut infused breakfast is just what you need to wake up and hit the ground running!

Berry Hibiscus Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie Bowls are beautiful and leave so much space for fun ingredients, to blend in but also as crunchy toppings. This hibiscus petals, ceylon cinnamon, and kava infused breakfast is packed with fresh fruit, antioxidants, and a splash of stress relief (that's the kava!)

Advieh Spiced Chocolate Sauce

Healthy sweets sound like a trick, but this recipe from the team at S+P Plant Based Foods is our kind of bamboozle. This decadent chocolate sauce is the pantry staple we all deserve!

Vegan Malai Kofta

This recipe is from Shelby Faux and Payson Cunningham, the talented plant based cooks at S+P Plant Based Foods in Portland, Maine. The bright colors and bold flavors in this dish are sure to brighten any day!

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