Drag Queen Cooking

Drag Queen/King Taxes: How to do drag taxes & tax deductions as a drag performer

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Are you a drag performer that needs to do taxes and don’t know where to start? I wrote this blog to help drag performer friends that need to file their taxes and looking for tips on deductions, write-offs, and tips. 

Hennessy on a black background, with arrows pointing to parts of their outfit, and the respective costs, showing you how much you can write off for tax deductions.
Here’s a few things I wrote off from my Zombie Makeup photoshoot and look.

One thing I want to state off the bat – taking this info is at your own risk. I am not a CPA or a tax expert. I’m doing my best, just like you. If you are taking my advice, make sure you seriously read this carefully along with all my caveats. 

What I am is a drag performer that’s also a geek about finances and write-offs. I keep track of pretty much all my purchases and my income in excel sheets, and I also work in fintech outside of drag and I did freelance writing for a tax app. 

Here’s how I do my drag taxes and I hope that it can help you as well. 

Do I have to report taxes?

calculator and pen for doing drag taxes

First question, for the “baby performer” or one returning from a hiatus, are you eligible for drag write offs? The first question is, did you earn $600 or more in a year from drag?

A: Yes.

According to the IRS, you are supposed to report this income. (But depending on how big that number is, you get to make that decision. I won’t tell. Obviously, if you make a living doing drag, you need to do taxes.)

B: No.

Okay, then you don’t need to report your earnings! But if this is a low year and you want to do more drag and make money later, you can file a Schedule C anyway. The IRS will keep track of this info, and generally you have roughly five years to turn a profit. It may cost money with your tax preparation tool so it may not be worth it.

“But Hennessy, you say! I may have earned $750 from drag payment and gigs, but it’s really like -$300 once you count all the wigs, costumes, and rhinestones I had to buy!”

This is how writing things off for drag can help you. 

Quick Easy Drag Tax Tips

Here are some easy quick start tips:

  • There are apps designed to help trace purchases in your bank accounts and suggest potential write offs, powered by AI. AI is a pretty contentious word these days, but remember that it can be a tool. You can sift through its suggestions and then mark what may be a write off for you. 
  • If you’ve never collected receipts before or kept track of your purchases, don’t worry. You can likely find a lot of these stored in sites you regularly use to buy things, like Amazon, or eBay. If you regularly use a site to buy wigs, tights, Go through your Venmo statements if you buy from local artists and pay them there. In the future, consider keeping a spreadsheet of all drag-related purchases. 
  • TurboTax is highly overrated, and expensive, when there are many sites you can use for almost free. Keep in mind that most tax apps will make you pay if you have a W-2 and freelance business where you have to fill out a Schedule C, they will make you pay more for filing taxes. You also pay more if you make over $73,000 a year. That said, I actually recommend getting a TurboTax account and walking through the Schedule C process if this is your first time. Then doing the actual taxes elsewhere. The reason for this, is their site holds your hand the most and is pretty intuitive when it comes to potential errors or letting you know about potential write offs.

Keep in mind that you can only write off as much as you earn. So if you made $2,000 in drag in one year, you can’t write off $3000 worth of expenses, the IRS will only reimburse up to the amount you earned, so $2,000. So don’t just spend a fortune in drag thinking you can write it off if you’re not making it back. 

What do I report?

The funny thing with drag is most of what we make tends to be on a cash-basis. It’s pretty well known that waitresses and delivery drivers prefer cash for tips as they don’t have to report the earnings. However, with drag, most of our earnings are quite literally cash and tips. So while you can easily get away with not reporting up to a certain amount, it also means you have less that you can deduct. The general rule would be to report all your earnings: base pay along with tips – cash, venmo, etc for gigs.

If you get a 1099 for drag, you can also mention that it’s part of your overall drag business so that gets included in your earnings. Just make sure you don’t accidentally report it twice if you’re counting your earnings like I do. 

So what can I write off?

all the tools you'll need to style a drag queen wig
Everything you see here is an investment that can be written off.

So here’s the rub. You’re supposed to only write off purchases you made for your business. If it’s a personal purchase, it doesn’t count. But with many entrepreneurs starting out, the line gets blurred. Obviously if you wear makeup outside of drag, you’re gonna use that same foundation and mascara for a fancy night out. And if you bought a clothing steamer for drag, you’re also gonna use it for your regular clothes. This is where you use discretion, but generally, if the purchase is mainly for drag, you’re good. 

First, here are the obvious: 

  • Wigs, nails, pantyhoses, lashes, jewelry, accessories, adhesives.
  • All makeup, sponges, brushes, glitter, even skincare items.
  • Anything you use for styling hair and wigs: Got2B glued, bobby pins, wig stands.
  • Anything you use to make costumes: thread, rhinestones, fabric, glue
  • Dry cleaning for costumes. 
  • Props: signs, party poppers, etc. 
  • Anything used to make drag props like a hot glue gun, EVA foam, markers, paint. 

Some less obvious – long term drag investments:

  • Did you buy a craft table specifically for drag projects? You can write that off, along with a sewing machine, serger, or cutting mat.
  • If you have a lights setup for photos, videos, or digital drag, you can write that off, along with any backdrops, or a camera. 
  • Drag-related classes: dance classes, Skillshare, private lessons for any drag related skill like sewing, wig-making, or performance.
  • App subscriptions like Facetune, or video editing apps for TikTok and Reels. 
  • If you are a producer, artist, or streamer and need a separate laptop or phone for drag, you can also write that off entirely, with your profits being the limit. 

Did you know you can also “write off” drag expenses like losses or unfulfilled services? If a drag creator was supposed to make a wig for you and then dropped off the face of the earth, you can deduct that by including the dollar amount you paid them. Similarly, if you lost money producing a show, you can include that loss by including the expenses you did pay out. 

Depreciation

When you use gear for work, it depreciates. Depreciation is a tough one to figure out, but in short, they will ask you to estimate how much you use an item for drag versus personal use. For a lot of self-reported things, just do your best to estimate what this is. For example, for my phone, I put down that I use it for drag 40% of the time, because it’s also integral for my event production. But my new laptop is primarily for drag, so I put down 80% for that. 

Many tax websites can automatically estimate a value lost over a period of time once you input it. You’ll need to include the date you bought the item, even if it’s before the year you’re filing for. Electronics will slowly degrade so you can write off what you’re losing in value, based on the estimate they give you. 

Car Expenses

Hennessy drinking boba in their car
What would I do without my car for drag?

This gets its own category because it’s complicated, so buckle up. You basically have two ways to do this:

You can deduct the actual expenses of your car (gas, repairs, insurance, tires, car registration, etc) or you can take the standard mileage deduction. 

The standard mileage deduction just asks you how many business miles you drove and gives you a deduction based on that. Personally, I do mileage because it’s a pain to keep gas receipts and such. For this, it’s a pain but I actually do my best to keep track of trips taken for drag, specifically shows I drive to. I look up the general address from my home and then calculate the distance. Then I multiply it by how many times I performed there. You can also simply guestimate and say that 3k of the 10k miles you drove in one year are for drag. 

The bonus for actual expenses is that you can be a lot more particular with the details and write everything off, as it relates to your car. Things like insurance can’t be written off for example, for the standard mileage deduction.

Parking payments and tolls actually go in their own category, so you can still write them off separately for drag. 

Networking & Food

Hennessy at Drag Con, networking
just lil old me in front of my icon, Miz Akeria Chanel Davenport

You can write off networking opportunities – yes, even when it’s a ticket to go see your friend’s show. For food, if you’re also buying drinks to get on a drag acquaintance’s good side, you can deduct this at a 50% rate. Use that info as you will. 

Obviously, if you go to a drag convention like Drag Con, you can completely write off your ticket cost. Even if all you did was take with your favorite Ru girls, it’s still a fair and applicable networking expense. (How would they know anyway?)

You can also deduct your drag meals on the job, which means you can write off your McDonald’s nuggies before or after the show. Obviously, the IRS isn’t going to know if your Taco Bell order was before a gig or not. Again, this can go a long way so don’t get too crazy with deducting random food items if you want to be on the safe side. 

Travel

Of course, if you travel for drag, you can write off anything associated with drag:

  • Flight
  • Hotels / AirBNB
  • Gas money (or you can include it in the itemized car deductions)
  • Rideshare Fees from the Airport to the hotel

Home Office Deduction

According to the freelance tax app I worked at, this is the “gotcha” where some people get in trouble for writing off a small amount of their rent or mortgage off for their small business. However, as long as you do this the right way, you shouldn’t have to worry about this. 

The home office deduction is basically where there is an entire portion of your home only used for drag. If it’s occasionally a drag space but also a guest room / place to watch TV, this renders it ineligible. I have a drag area in my one-room apartment that is entirely dedicated to drag. It’s my sewing and creation area. Even easier, if it’s a room or literal home office.

This is where you take out your tape measure (just go buy one) and measure the dimensions of that space. Then, you need to include the actual area of your home or apartment, and the tax preparation website should come off with an amount to write off for the home office deduction.

If you’re not entirely sure your drag space is eligible and exclusive for drag, this is probably one to skip. 

Other Deductions to Consider 

A clip from my Haute Ones show that I host monthly.

As drag performers, we do a lot of different things. Some of us make wigs. Some of us stream on Twitch or make viral TikTok videos. Maybe you’re like me and you write a drag blog. I’ve also interviewed drag artists that bake! You can put these side gigs in their category, or include it under your drag umbrella. Just remember not to go overboard to invoke suspicion.

The rest in this category are going to depend on what kind of drag you do and what you specialize in. Consider…

  • Audio mixers, editing software, microphones if you’re a singer
  • Shipping costs, postage, Etsy listing fees if you’re a maker of drag items.
  • Web-hosting fee if you’re a blogger
  • Posters, social scheduling tools, FB advertisements for producers
  • Editing or captioning services if you’re a YouTuber or TikToker

Keep in mind that as “supplies” run the gamut in terms of what you can write off, it can be almost anything. For example, you generally can’t write off groceries. But if you do a drag mukbang on Twitch, you can write off what you bought for the mukbang. I host a Twitch Hot Ones parody show, so I write off the hot wings I buy for my performers. I also write off groceries for the ingredients I used for my drag baking episodes.

Even more unusual deductions

evelyn with taxes
Don’t be like Evelyn.

Have you watched Everything Everywhere All At Once? There’s a moment where the character Evelyn gets into hot water for trying to write off a karaoke machine. She mentions that she’s a singer, however, the issue isn’t the karaoke machine itself but how it relates to the laundry business. (And she could write it off, if she presented it as a recreational expense for laundromat socials and events to bring in customers!)

You’d be surprised what unusual professions, or social media influencers can write off. For example, pet influencers can even write off pet-related care and fees if they’re generating an income off their pet! 

For fellow queens, a friend of mine also mentioned she wrote off her botox and fillers. Yes, this is a common deduction for professions like models and exotic dancers. The IRS has also approved breast implants for models. As long as you have a reason as to why it’s related to your business you can write it off. 

Generally, some things that you should stay clear from, that the IRS usually thinks is a no-no are:

  • Groceries 
  • Gym memberships
  • Basically, any regular living expenses

Remember, a lot of these can come with exceptions. But for example, unless you’re a drag + fitness influencer, it’s probably not a good idea to write off protein powder, gym memberships, and more.

Drag for the Long Term

While you can keep writing off things, the IRS will not continue to allow you to have deductions if you’re in the red each year. You will be in trouble if you end up with less than three out of five years of profitable business. If this happens, they might disallow your claimed losses and count your business as a hobby. 

Make sure you aren’t overdoing it and keep in mind this means you do have to pay money on your profits most years. 

What if I get audited?

Well, that could always happen. Keep in mind, the main offenders for audits are pretty big – people that have tons of cash flowing in and not out. Or storefront businesses that deal with a lot more money coming in with inventory. 

I have never been audited, so I don’t have personal experience with the matter. While you can get pretty liberal with deductions, this is a good reminder on why it’s important to be a little careful. The IRS can contest your deductions and ultimately make you pay them back if they don’t believe it’s a business expense. The most important thing is to make sure you are documenting as much as you can. This is hard when so much of drag is dealt in cash! Make sure you ask for receipts for cash payments, and hold onto any receipts for your deductions for at least one year until you’re past the point where the IRS could ask you for the information. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, if this is still too hard to figure out, you can always go to a tax expert. I personally don’t have experience with this, but I am a strong believer – and the best drag performers will back me up – that it is a good idea to hire an expert rather than always doing it yourself. Many drag performers like myself also struggle with ADHD. Finance is a special interest of mine, but if it isn’t for you, going to an expert will give you peace of mind. And they’ll definitely make sure you don’t get into trouble if you make a mistake later down the line! 

This article is not sponsored. I am not being paid by Free Tax USA, or any other site or business mentioned to advertise. I will not accept any sponsorships on the topic of this blog, as I believe it will be a conflict of interest.

If you have any questions, please mention them here. If I don’t know an immediate answer, I’ll do my best to find out and link a source. 

P.S. I write other guides too. Check out my guide on how to get started styling wigs.

The Most Delicious Completely Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie

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This recipe is one of my most ambitious yet. A modified version of Rose Levy Berenbaum’s pumpkin pecan pie recipe, it uses a fully vegan crust, syrup and pecan layer, delicious pumpkin filling, and yummy chocolate drizzle. I also recommend topping it off with some mouth-watering vegan whipped cream, which is so good you have to make it yourself.

You may have tried a delicious vegan pumpkin pie before, but what about one like this?

I came up with this recipe last year and I made this delicious vegan pumpkin pie live on my baking show, Hennessy’s Great Baking Show, with my friend, Matt Horne. This involved putting together many great vegan elements together, like a delicious vegan pie crust, (recipe adapted from Nora Cooks,) a crunchy pecan filling, and a coconut oil-based chocolate drizzle.

I hope this vegan pumpkin pecan pie recipe brings your October & Autumn festivities a lot of joy!

vegan pumpkin pecan pie

The Most Delicious Vegan Pecan Pumpkin Pie

This is a vegan version of Rose Levy Berenbaum's Vegan Pecan Pumpkin Pie. I experimented with various pie crusts and fillings I've converted her recipe to the most delicious vegan pecan pie! I hope you enjoy this deliciously savory crunchy crust, the delicious pecan filling, and sweet non-dairy pumpkin filling on top.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • 8-9 inch pie pan
  • saucepan
  • pie guard
  • food processor

Ingredients
  

Vegan Pie Crust

  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter, cold & shaped into circles
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold & shaped into cubes

Vegan Pecan Mix

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup corn syrup
  • ½ cup coconut cream
  • 4 tablespoons Earth balance vegan butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Filling

  • 1 15oz can Pumpkin puree
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground clove
  • ¼ salt

Chocolate Topping

  • 2.6 oz vegan baking chocolate or chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • pinch of salt

Instructions
 

Vegan Pie Crust

  • 1 hour before starting, cut your butter & shortening and put them in the freezer.
  • Once cold, put all of the flour, salt, sugar, shortening, and butter in a food processor and process until the dough comes together.
  • Add 3-4 tablespoons of ice water and process.
  • Take the dough by hand, and knead lightly and shape with your hands until it forms a soft dough.
  • It may be tough to roll out, so refrigerate for another 30 minutes to 1 hour so the dough can get cold.
  • When the dough is ready to be rolled, flour your surface and rolling pin and roll it out to fit your 8-9 inch pie pan and crimp out a crust border.

Vegan Pecan Mix

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Chop the pecans into halves, or blitz with a food processor, and then set aside.
  • Combine the sugar, corn syrup coconut cream, butter, and vanilla extract into a saucepan and cook on medium heat. Stir. Once the mixture has melted together, turn off the heat.
  • Arrange the pecan halves on your crust evenly, then pour the mixture over the pecans. Even it out on the pie pan, and then bake for 16-22 minutes. The mixture will be ready once it is bubbling and somewhat firm.
  • Cool in the fridge while you prepare the pumpkin filling.

Pumpkin Filling

  • Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.
  • In a bowl, add all of the ingredients. With a hand-mixer on medium speed, or by hand, whisk all the ingredients until everything is evenly blended.
  • Scrape the mixture evenly over your pecan mix, then bake for 45-55 minutes with a pie guard. The pie will be ready when a knife inserted just into the pumpkin filling comes out clean. The middle will have puffed, but will be jelly-like.
  • Once done, cool the pie on a wire rack for 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge. Once the pie is cool, you can prepare the chocolate topping.

Chocolate Topping

  • First, prepare a double boiler: Put a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan filled with halfway with water. Make sure the water doesn't touch.
  • Break your chocolate into little pieces, or if they are chips, just add them to the metal mixing bowl. Heat the saucepan on medium-high heat until it boils, and lower the heat slightly as the chocolate begins to melt.
  • Add the ¼ cup coconut oil and gradually stir the mixture until all of the chocolate has melted and it is not lumpy – about five minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and set the chocolate aside.
  • Decorate your pie before the chocolate cools completely and hardens. Dip a small spoon into the warm chocolate and drizzle over the cake.
Keyword Pecan Pie, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pie

Here are some photos of the pie-making process!

What’s the perfect way to top off this recipe?

With some delicious vegan whipped cream, of course!

Vegan Whipped Cream Topping

For a vegan whipped cream, all you need is a 14-ounce can of coconut cream, pre-refrigerated, confectioner’s sugar, and almond extract! You can also use vanilla extract, but I’m a big fan of the almond flavor.

Ingredients

  • 14oz refrigerated coconut cream
  • 1/2 confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

For Coconut Cream, I find that the Savoy brand works the best, and I recommend beating the coconut cream with a hand mixer or stand mixer, rather than hand-mixing. Note that this whipped cream is a little harder to stiffen up. As a tip, I recommend also pre-refrigerating your mixing bowl, and using one that retains cold better. A metal bowl works better than plastic.

As with all whipped cream processes, start by whipping on low and increase to high speed until soft peaks form. Your whipped cream is now ready to adorn the delicious vegan pumpkin pecan pie!

What do you think of this recipe? Feel free to let me know by leaving a comment! Try some of these other original dessert recipes on my site as well.

Also, if you enjoyed this recipe, feel free to share it on Pinterest as well!

Pinterest image of a vegan pumpkin pecan pie, enjoyed with vegan whipped cream.
Check out my Pinterest for more of my recipes, or favorite recipes by others as well!

How to make this simple and delicious Bell pepper Pulao

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This Bell pepper Pulao is brought to you by a happy accident. I was trying a recipe and realized I didn’t have half the correct vegetables mentioned. And I added a little more tomato. And a lot more ground cardamom. And the result was… delicious! I’m now sharing my little dish with you, based off an original recipe by a cook I admire. This is a simpler version of a yummy little spiced tomato rice, with just bell peppers, onions, and cilantro to top it, and the delicious spices singing a tune that’ll make you excited for dinner!

delicious bell pepper pulao in a bowl

I’m a huge fan of Vegan Richa. Over the years, I’ve learned so much about Indian cooking, stovetop & Instant Cooker through her books. She recently released an awesome book called Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Cookbook, which I have been pouring over.

One of the recipes I tried recently was her Tawa Pulao, or spiced tomato rice. I was scrambling for ingredients one busy afternoon and realized I only had bell peppers instead of the vegetables she mentioned! However, I was able to make a simple and delicious dish with what I had on hand, also making a few changes along the way, like additional tomatoes and more ground coriander. This is simple and different enough that I thought it warranted my own blog post on my take of a Bell pepper Pulao, inspired by Richa Hingle’s cooking and original recipe.

Here’s how to make this delicious vegan dish – two ways!

delicious bell pepper pulao in a bowl

Bell pepper Pulao

My rendition of this spiced tomato rice, based off Richa Hingle's Tawa Pulao, with some modifications. This simple rice dish is flavored bell-pepper dish with savory spices, and fresh delicious bell peppers.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Indian
Cuisine Indian
Calories 254 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot Pressure Cooker optional
  • 1 large saucepan with lid
  • 1 strainer

Ingredients
  

Seasonings

  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
  • 4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon amchoor (dried mango powder)
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Main Ingredients

  • 16 oz canned diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1 yellow or white onion, diced
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • ½ yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1¼ cup water

To Garnish

  • dash of lemon juice
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

Instant Pot Method

  • Before you start, soak the basmati rice for 15 minutes.
  • Preheat your Instant Pot with the Sauté setting. Heat the oil, and then cook the cumin seeds & fennel seeds for 30 seconds until then darken. Add the onion & cook for about 2 minutes, until they are translucent. Then, add the garlic and ginger paste, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Now, add the entire can of tomatoes, with the remaining spices, save for the salt. Cook for 5 minutes and stir.
  • Now, add your cut bell peppers, salt, and water. Stir well to make sure nothing sticks to the instant pot.
  • Drain your rice and add it to the instant pot. Cancel the saute.
  • Now, place on the lid and set Pressure Release Knob to Sealing, at Manual and High Pressure, with a cook time of 5 minutes. Wait for manual release, which will take about 30 minutes.*
  • Open the lid, fluff the rice, garnish with lemon juice and cilantro as desired, and enjoy!

Stovetop Method

  • Before you start, soak the basmati rice for 15 minutes.
  • Heat your oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook your cumin seeds and fennel seeds for 30 seconds. Add the onion & cook for about 2 minutes, until they are translucent, while stirring. Then, add the garlic and ginger paste, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Now, add the entire can of tomatoes, with the remaining spices, save for the salt. Cook for 5 minutes and stir. 
  • Drain the rice. Now, add your cut bell peppers, salt, water, and rice. Stir, cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low-medium, and then cook for an additional 5-8 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Make sure to stir to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
  • Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice, and enjoy!

Notes

* Alternatively, Richa’s original recipe mentions to let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, and set from sealing to venting. However, my recipe contains more water from the canned diced tomatoes, so I opted for natural release, which is better for soups and watery dishes. If you are using regular cut tomatoes, do Richa’s method and you can take your dish out faster. 
The calorie info is taken from Richa Hingle’s book. However, this is with her original recipe made up of, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, carrots, and green beans, as well a smaller serving of tomatoes, so my version will be slightly different. 
Keyword bell pepper, Pulao, Rice, Tomato
Pulao right out of the instant pot

Do We Need All the Spices?

It’s not Indian food unless it has all the spices! Contrary to an (annoying) q’white popular belief, they are not all the same, and unique to dishes —  you will be missing a lot of the flavor if you neglect many of the unique spices. You can find many of the ingredients at your local Indian grocery, or online.

The small amounts of cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and amchoor actually come together to make a spice mix called pav bhaji masala. Originally, Richa teaches you how to make your own pav bhaji masala with her ratios of these ingredients.

It goes as:

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼  teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅛  teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼  teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon amchoor (dried mango powder)

And you only need one tablespoon of pav bhaji masala for this recipe! But I bungled this up by adding too much ground coriander, which is actually taken out of my chai mix. Which I actually use for everything, so my mix ended up being all over the place! The version I gave in the instructions is the closest rendition possible to my creation, which is why it’s a little off from the ratios given by Richa in the beginning. (But now you know in case you ever need to use pav bhaji masala again.) If there are any ingredients to skip, the amchoor and cloves may be negligible but definitely don’t miss out on the cardamom and coriander!

Why Bell peppers?

If you’re like me, you sometimes start prepping dinner without the ingredients and have to make do. Sometimes, it’s a mess, and other times it’s a eureka moment that gives you a dish such as this. The bell peppers add such a delicious crunch to this recipe that compliments the soft, mushy rice and fragrant tomato. I also think yellow and white onions pair with this dish better, though Richa originally suggests white or red onion. Her original recipe contained red bell peppers, green bell peppers, carrots, and green beans. There was a larger vegetable ratio, but I hope my version is sort of like a lazy, more risotto-type rice you can quickly throw together and give you a simple yummy eating pleasure.

I know I enjoyed it, as the Bell pepper Pulao leftovers were gone for breakfast the next day!

Does it have to be Canned Diced Tomatoes?

Short answer: Yes.

Well, for me. For you, it might be different. I learned a secret when I was studying from my first cookbook, which set the foundation for a lot of habits I have today. Katheryne Taylor explained in her book, Love Real Food, that she always uses canned tomatoes, especially if they’re organic. Apparently, right when tomatoes get canned right when they are ripe, so they’re actually much fresher than tomatoes you might buy at your local grocery store by the time they get to you. Honestly, the Roma tomatoes I usually end up with are not juicy and savory. Some tomatoes are so good, that in Chinese culture, we sprinkle some sugar on them, and eat them as a dessert. That doesn’t really work with what I get, (maybe I’m buying the wrong produce. I’m usually too cheap to buy organic tomatoes, plus they go bad too soon.)

There’s been many times where I made recipes where tomatoes were meant to be a source of liquid, and I ended up bombing the recipe because my tomatoes were too dry. I always thought it was me, until I switched to canned tomatoes. I haven’t had that issue since and the difference has been like trying to make art with kiddie chalk instead of charcoal! You don’t want your food to taste like chalk, do you?

So if you are in a place where you can source the juicy, juicy tomatoes, be my guest! In the meantime, for best practices, I recommend the canned tomatoes if you’re not sure.

If you like this Bell pepper Pulao recipe, you should definitely check out Richa’s amazing book.

I own all three of her books, Vegan Richa Indian’s Kitchen, Vegan Richa’s Everyday Kitchen, and her Instant Pot Cookbook. I can’t recommend this cooking and baking genius enough!

Also, if you’d like to try other Indian-inspired recipes, here are a few others I have on my blog:

Admittedly, despite trying probably hundreds of Indian recipes at this point, I’ve been hesitant to blog about any because I wanted to make sure I was putting my own creative stamp on it, while be true to the essence of this diverse and beautiful cuisine I respect so much. So cheers to my first dish!

Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. I get a small commission if you buy items through the links provided, with no additional cost to you.

Let’s Make Chetna Makan’s Delicious Upside-Down Pear Cake!

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This Upside-Down Pear Cake by Chetna Makan is absolutely delicious, caramel-y, and addicting to make. It’s quite an easy cake and so delicious!

two slices of Chetna Makan's cardamom pear cake
Two rich slices of pear cake!

I’ve had the joy of making this deliciously moist and yummy pear cake three times now and it’s one of my favorites from Chetna’s book, The Cardamom Trail. I’ve had my eye on this recipe for awhile now because it’s actually the first recipe in the book! I made this cake for my monthly live Twitch baking show, and it was so much fun! Full video of the stream coming soon.

This cake has an absolutely delicious dark caramel exterior and crunch, and the hints of cardamom and almonds mix perfectly together. I put my own take on it with a Chai Masala mix, substituting the cardamom and a different sugar.

Chetna Makan's upside-down pear cake
Yummm!

Here’s my adapted notes from Chetna’s original recipe for the Upside-Down Pear Cake.

Chai Masala versus Ground Cardamom

Rather than ground cardamom, I use my Chai Masala mix, which I use for making tea. It takes a bit of effort to grind the cardamoms, so I’ve been swapping my chai mix quite often and I haven’t noticed a difference, especially since it is mostly green cardamom. This is a recipe I took from amazing blogger Richa Hingle. Here’s how to make my Chai Masala, if you’d like to take a go at it. Otherwise, it’s much easier to use ground cardamom.

Chai Masla Mix

  • 3/4 cups green cardamom pods
  • 5 cinnamon sticks or 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup cloves
  • 2 tablespoons black peppercorns

Then you grind it all together in a spice grinder and transfer to an airtight container.

Subbing Brown Sugar for Muscovado Sugar

Chetna also suggests Muscovado sugar, which is a sugar substitute which is brown, and has a toffee-like taste. I wasn’t able to find it easily in my local grocery stores, so I tried it once with white sugar, and a second time with brown sugar. Both times tasted good, but I think brown sugar is closer to the Chetna’s intentions.

What Kind of Pears?

There are a variety of pears to use, but I used typical thick green pears that you can find in the states. I believe these were either the thicker D’Anjou or Bartlett pears, while thinner pears in the States are the Concorde or Conference pears. There’s a whole chart here if you’re interested.

While I used the same pan 9-inch width, these fat pears seemed a little on the bigger side, so while I had an excess of pears, I was able to make this cake with just three pears (six halves) rather than four pears, or eight halves. I would buy four pears if you go with thin pears, but with the larger kind, I doubt you’ll need more than three. Because of this, I believe the baking time also shortens. Check your oven at about 45 degrees, and if a skewer comes out clean, you should be good. Both times, I baked at 50 minutes and the cake was definitely quite done, though not dry at all.

two slices of Chetna Makan's cardamom pear cake

Chetna Makan’s Cardamom Caramel Upside-Down Pear Cake

This Upside Down Pear Cake by Chetna Makan is absolutely delicious, caramel-y, and addicting to make. It's quite an easy cake and so delicious!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 22 minutes
bake time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British, Indian
Servings 12 people

Equipment

  • 9-inch pan
  • electric hand-mixer or stand-mixer
  • Peeler
  • spoon for coring
  • zester

Ingredients
  

Topping

  • 50 grams unsalted butter about 3 tablespoons
  • 100 grams brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Chai Masala or ground cardamom
  • 3-4 whole pears, peeled, cored, and halved

Cake

  • 150 grams white sugar
  • 200 grams unsalted butter, softened about 7 tablespoons
  • 150 grams self-raising flour*
  • 50 grams ground almonds
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • zest of 2 oranges

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease your 9-inch pan with baking spray or butter.

Caramel Topping

  • In a saucepan, heat the butter with the sugar and cardamom mix on medium-low, until just combined. Stir, and don't let it overheat and crystalize. Then, pour the sauce into the tin and spread it evenly over the base. On top of the topping, add your halved pears in a circle, flat side facing down.

Cake

  • For the cake, add the ingredients together and mix with an electric whisk until fully combined. Then carefully pour the mixture over, making sure you don't move the pears as you do. The mixture should be just enough to go over the pears but it's okay if the tops of them show through a bit, as the cake will rise.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Then leave in the pan to cool for 10 minutes, and carefully turn over to reveal the beautiful pears on top. Enjoy!

Notes

*Self-raising flour is quite easy to make. For every 1 cup of flour, add 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda and half a teaspoon of salt, and ta-da! That’s self-raising flour.
I highly recommend using at least an electric hand mixer to mix this. The ingredients will be chunky, so it’ll be quite a work-out by hand.
Keyword pear cake, upside-down cake

Other Notes

Like other British recipes, Chetna’s recipe covers the measurements in grams and ounces rather than tablespoons and cups for butter and flour. I’ve included some approximates for you all since it was quite confusing with me for the butter. But for best practices, make sure to measure and weigh for yourself!

For self-raising flour, I can usually find this at my local supermarket, but in case you don’t, it’s easy to make in a jiffy. Just make sure to add an additional teaspoon of baking soda to the mix since that is a separate measurement.

Self-Raising Flour

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Nut-Free Variation

One of my drag friends was bummed he couldn’t try this cake because of its nuts. Luckily, this can be made quite easily nut-free. I don’t believe you’ll miss too much by taking the almonds out. You could sub the 50 grams with an additional bit of flour, but it’s such a small amount that I don’t believe it would affect the cake if you baked it without. Let me know if you try it!

What do you think of this cake? If you enjoyed this Upside-Down Pear Cake, definitely also check out the incredible book The Cardamom Trail by Chetna Makan.

It’s chockful of delicious recipes, and I also tried a savory tart that I documented earlier. Thank you Chetna for sharing with us!

Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer.

How to Make These Delicious Vegan Pepper & Cheese and Soyrizo Tamales!

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Who doesn’t love a delicious, savory tamale on a winter’s day? Now that I’ve put together this vegetarian & vegan tamale recipe, plant-based fans can also enjoy these delectable treats with mouthwatering flavors like soyrizo and potato, and poblano pepper and vegan cheese.

soyrizo vegan tamale
so yummy!
soyrizo vegan tamale

I’ve made tamales about three times now, and this is the guide I wish I read when I first started! The first time I made tamales, I used a lard-based recipe with poblano peppers and cheese. They were delicious, and even my second-generation Mexican American boyfriend admitted, and I quote, “these are exactly how my mom makes them.” But that recipe – while amazing – isn’t the most friendly to lactose intolerant folks & strict vegetarians. Although I’m a “bad vegetarian,” for my baking show, I wanted to make a recipe accessible to more people since many of my friends are dairy-sensitive and plant-based.

It was definitely hard to find a vegan tamale recipe! I scoured through different recipes to find examples for lard-free masa, and I want to give a shout out to Isabelle Eats for her guide! Isabelle is a Mexican American cook, and I love how helpful her recipes are, along with her stunning website.

So with this recipe, I adapted my favorite pepper & cheese recipe into one that doesn’t use lard, and can be easily substituted with vegan cheese. I also found this incredible Soyrizo and Potato recipe that I’ve also adapted to Isabelle’s lard-free masa. The recipe link also includes an adobo which I didn’t have time to try, so mine is a simpler version. Definitely feel free to check out their recipe as well though.

Keep reading to learn more about how to make this vegetarian & vegan tamale recipe.

Materials and Tools You’ll Need

Tamale-making is not for the weak, and after I made tamales the first time, I understood why my friend mentioned that it was an all-day endeavor. Here are two must-haves to invest in if you’d like to make this vegan tamale recipe:

  • Tamale Steamer
  • Kitchen Twine

A stock pot could also work if you can add a steaming rack to it, but make sure it’s large enough so the tamales can be upright. For the kitchen twine, you could also use strips of ripped corn husks for the old-fashioned way. But they’re a little less stable, and more likely to spill out if you’re making vegan cheese tamales. They aren’t expensive, so I would pick up a packet from your local Safeway or something to give yourself the option.

To make the poblano pepper & cheese peppers, I also recommend the following tools:

  • aluminum foil
  • zip-loc bag

This is essential in the process of charring the poblanos and then steaming them in a bag.

Finally, here are some other things to make your life easier, but you could get away without.

  • Gloves (for handling peppers)
  • food processor

You can always sub a blender for the food processor instead.

Lard-Free Masa

Cheers again to Isabelle Eats for the vegan masa recipe. I was very picky scouring the web for the right recipe, as some had mixed reviews. I was worried that the masa texture wouldn’t be right with oil as a replacement for lard, but that was absolutely not the case. They tasted just as savory and delicious.

You can easily make a batch of 45 tamales with Isabelle’s recipe. While other recipes mentioned that they used hand-mixers to knead the dough together, Isabelle mentioned that she just kneads it with her hands. I tried it myself and had to say I find it the more preferable option! The dough starts off quite wet and then turns into the texture of shaggy sand.

To see a visual guide, check out my video here from my live baking Twitch show, where I also made vegan empanadas.

the dough instructions starts at about 21 minutes!

In the video, I heated up the veggie broth on the stove so the dough would come together. I actually used a bit of my own homemade stock, which you can find the recipe for here. That said, I believe you should still be able to mix it well even if the stock is not hot.

Corn Husks?!

corn husks

Yup. Tamales are a true Meso-American dish. I had to look this up, but they originate from thousands of years ago, and were used as portable food for the Mayans, Aztecs, and other indigenous groups of Latin America. I love that so many facets of corn – from the husk to its fungus, huitlacoche, are used in indigenous Latin American food.

You can find packaged corn husks at any Mexican grocery, and they’ll come in bulk. You can also use banana leaves. The first time I made tamales, I confused myself I made half of them with banana leaves. The latter tends to be used for steaming Asian foods, but I didn’t see a different in taste myself.

Corn husks are brittle, so you’ll want to boil them first before using, and then let them dry. Once they are dry, set aside any husks that have rips or holes in them. Those can be repurposed into corn husk strips to tie the husks. The size of your tamales also depends on the size of your husks, so use the biggest ones if you’d like to make nice fat tamales.

What’s Special about Poblano and Cheese Tamales?

Pepper and Cheese is a classic tamale flavor, to the point where you can find frozen ready-to-eat Pepper & Cheese tamales from Trader Joe’s. (They are not great. I don’t recommend them unless you’re really hungry for a quick snack. They make me want to make tamales again, because mine are so much better.)

But I digress – you can find poblano peppers at many well-stocked grocery stores, at least in California which already caters to a larger Hispanic demographic. If not, they should be at a Hispanic market and they are quite affordable. Poblano peppers are the star of many other dishes, like pepper enchiladas, migas, and chile rellenos… ooh now I’m getting hungry.

The recipe recommends searing poblanos with foil and a skillet. This can be skipped if you’re really short on time but I absolutely love a charred poblano moment. Alternatively, they can be baked, but you won’t really be saving time.

poblano peppers
These are poblanos. They’re big so you can’t mistake them for any other pepper, really.

Tomatillos are also in the recipe, and they look like little green hard tomatoes with a husk you pull right off. This recipe that I adapted from this super-star poster, takes the lovingly painstaking process of also boiling 1lb of tomatillos to make a delicious salsa along with the poblano and cheese. I

tomatillos in a jar

t’s worth it and prevents your tamale from getting too dry. It’ll definitely be easier to have a food processor. After they cook, they get blitzed into a liquid lightning-fast. Ah, you’ll think. That’s why salsa verde is full of seeds!

What kind of vegan cheese?

There’s a lot of brands to choose when it comes to vegan cheese, and I’ve had good luck with Daiya, Follow Your Heart & Miyoko’s. Luckily now I can find vegan cheese not just at health food stores, but also at my local Safeway & Target.

For these tamales, you’ll want a replacement for Monterey Jack or Pepperjack cheese, and I used Hot Pepper cheese slices from Good Planet Foods. A block of cheese or slices work well here, you definitely don’t want shreds as they will be too loose. While vegan cheese is supposed to mimic the texture of regular cheese when it melts, I have to say that the Good Planet version definitely became too runny and leaked out of the tamales. They tasted good, but it became a bit of a leaky mess in the pot!

To combat this, make sure your Pepper & Vegan Cheese tamales are properly sealed, with the top up, and I would wrap them tightly with twine instead of husk strips. Additionally, make sure the tamales are tightly packed so none slide down and drip. Also, I’ll experiment with a different vegan cheese next time.

Vegan cheese is a great investment for making other vegan meals. Here are some other great recipes I have here that utilize vegan cheese!

Let’s Talk about Soyrizo!

reynaldo's soyrizo
There are many brands that make soyrizo, but I can vouch for this one!

So what is soyrizo? Soyrizo the vegan version of chorizo, a pork-based Mexican meat product, and also my partner’s favorite food of all time. Aside from tacos, you can find it in lots of Mexican breakfast foods and there’s even a restaurant in Oakland that puts it in their mac & cheese dish. My partner regularly buys soyrizo, as it contains the same spices and it tastes just as good mixed in with eggs and potatoes.

You can find soyrizo at health food stores, vegetarian stores, and upscale groceries. They also come in the same little sausage-tube that you’ll find with chorizo. I also found it at Cardenas, a Hispanic Foods store near me.

The soyrizo is so savory in these tamales, and Eddie was absolutely finishing off the batch of soyrizo & potato tamales we kept in the fridge.

What Pairs Well with Tamales?

soyrizo vegan tamale
The soyrizo ones were Eddie’s favorite!

Good question! A lot.

Enjoy them with agua fresca, (my faves are horchata and jamaica – recipes coming soon!) Jarritos soda, and who doesn’t love Modelo Especial with a salty snack?

Also, homemade salsa is a must for tamales. Your typical Mexican salsa verde is made with tomatillos, like the sauce in the pepper & cheese tamales that I’m sharing here. Although I haven’t tried any salsa verde recipes recently for these tamales, here’s one I found that looks like it’ll do the trick.

If nothing else, tamales with a good hot sauce will do the trick. Tapatio is the household favorite, though I like Cholula as well.

More Questions and Answers

What if I’m not making enough tamales and there’s a gap in the steamer pot?

This happened to me the first time I made tamales – my Imusa steamer pot is quite big and I didn’t have a large batch. Don’t do what I did the first time and just let them slide off. You can fix this problem by putting a heat-proof mug in the steamer pot to make sure the tamales stand up-right.

How can you tell the different flavor tamales apart?

This is a good question especially if you have friends with food sensitivities, or you’re making vegan & non-vegan options. I had Eddie consult his mom and she mentioned that one way is to try different knots (butterfly knots versus double-knotting,) or you could use strips of corn husks for one flavor, and twine for the other.

Alternatively, if there’s enough space you can also separate them with a barrier like the heat-proof mug I mentioned.

How long will they keep?

Hopefully not too long if you’re having a party or enjoying this with family, but tamales are good in ziploc bags, foil, and well-sealed containers for probably up to a week. It’s not meat, so you have a bit of leeway, but keep on the conservative side if you have a weaker stomach.

But you’re in luck, because tamales freeze really well! Just chuck them in the freezer, husk and all and they’ll be good whenever you want to get a tasty snack. Avoid keeping them for longer than 3 months to avoid freezer burn, but it’ll really only affect the texture. After freezing, just microwave with the husk for 2 minutes and got a nice steamy tamale again.

delicious soyrizo vegan tamales

Vegan-Friendly & Vegetarian Soyrizo & Potato and Pepper and Cheese Tamales

This is a vegetarian & vegan-friendly tamale recipe that is a 2-for-1. Try these delicious vegan soyrizo and potato tamales to impress your friends and family. This Poblano and Cheese tamale can be made vegetarian or vegan, and is a great throwback to a savory Mexican lunch. Mm!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dinner, lunch
Cuisine Mexican, Mexican-American
Servings 50

Equipment

  • tamale steamer
  • Dutch Oven
  • large food processor
  • large mixing bowl
  • medium saucepans
  • whisk or hand mixer
  • aluminum foil
  • non-stick skillet
  • ziploc bag
  • twine optional, for tying tamales. recommended for vegan cheese tamales
  • gloves optional, to protect from heat

Ingredients
  

Vegan Masa Mix

  • 8½ cups masa harina
  • 2 tsp table salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1¾ cups canola oil
  • 6½ cups veggie broth

Soyrizo & Potato Filling

  • 2 tbsp canola oil for frying
  • 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced into ¼ inches
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 12 oz soyrizo
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin

Pasilla pepper & Cheese Filling

  • 10 oz Pasilla or Poblano peppers
  • 1¼ lbs tomatillos, husks removed
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 teaspoons vegan butter
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro
  • 2 packages Monterey Jack cheese or Vegan cheese substitute
  • salt and pepper

Tamales

  • large package of corn husks, boiled for 40-50 tamales

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • Heat a quart of water in a large Dutch Oven or steamer pot. Once boiling, take your corn husks and add the water, using a spatula to push them down. You can also use a heatproof ceramic plate to weigh down the husks. Cover the pot and heat for 30 minutes.
  • Drain the corn husks and pat dry as well as you can. It's okay if they're a little damp, but don't let them dry out as you want them to be pliable for the tamales.

Masa Mix

  • Heat vegetable broth in a saucepan until it is just slightly warm, 70-90°F.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together masa harina, salt, and baking powder.
  • Add canola oil to the mix, and then add warm broth. The mixture will be very wet at first and then turn into the right moist masa texture once it comes together. Mix for about 3-5 minutes until there are no dry lumps of masa.
  • Set aside while you prepare the fillings.

Soyrizo Filling

  • In a saucepan or skillet, cook potatoes on medium heat with oil for about 2-3 minutes, until you get some color on them, and then remove and set aside.
  • In the same pan with the leftover oil, add onion and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the entire package of soyrizo, and cook for 5 minutes, adding spices at the end.
  • Add back the potatoes and cook together for 3 minutes, then set aside.

Pasilla Pepper & Cheese Filling

  • Wrap your skillet in aluminum foil and blacken peppers over medium-high to high heat for 3-5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and place into a quart-sized ziploc bag to steam for 10-15 minutes. Once done, peel the blackened skin of the peppers, deseed the peppers, and cut into 2-4 inch strips.
  • Place the peeled tomatillos into a pot and boil in water for 5 minutes. They will slowly change color. Once done, drain and process until pureed in your food processor or blender until smooth.
  • Cook your onion over a different skillet or saucepan with butter for five minutes. Add salt and pepper. Then add in the pureed tomatillo and bring to a boil, then quickly reducing heat to a simmer.
  • Add in the poblanos and cilantro for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before arranging the tamales.

Arranging Tamales

  • Fill water to the bottom of your tamale steamer and set the rack for placing tamales.
  • Using Fill a spoon, take the masa and spread 2-3 tablespoons onto a flat corn husk. The amount depends on the size and shape of the corn husk. Leave the bottoms of the cornhusk free by at least 2 inches, and the top by ¼ inch.
  • For the soyrizo filling, simply take put spoonfuls of the mix over the masa. Carefully wrap the tamale into cylinder so that the slides overlap and then tie together with twine, or tear a thin strip of a corn husk to use as a tie. Create a bottom by folding it over and set each tamale upright onto the tamale steamer, with the top pointing up.
  • For the cheese filling, add two teaspoons or spoonfuls of the tomatillo mix over the masa, making sure that each tamale has at least one pepper piece. Then cut, or take a small 2-inch strip of cheese or vegan cheese and put it in the center of the mix. Carefully wrap it up with twine, making sure to wrap up the folded bottom with twine as well. For the vegan cheese especially, this is important because the melted cheese will be very runny and may leak.
  • Repeat the process for the other tamales. You can delineate different flavors with different types of ties (double-knot or bowtie) or whether you use twine or strips of corn husk. If you are making a smaller batch of tamales and have trouble keeping them upright, you can hold them up with heatproof ceramic cups and mugs inside the pot.
  • When all the tamales are filled and ready, put the cover over the tamales and bring to a boil over high heat. Once your tamales are boiling, start the timing for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
    You should not run out of water, but just in case, you can lower the heat from high to medium after 45 minutes to an hour. Salud!
Keyword soyrizo, Tamales, vegan, vegetarian

Ta-da! What do you think of these vegan tamales & my vegan tamale recipe?

Hennessy holding the plate of soyrizo tamales

If you took the time to make this recipe, feel free to let me know what you think! Don’t forget to rate and leave a comment if you took the dive. I can’t wait to share more plant-based recipes with you all!

Feel free to also share this vegan tamale recipe on Pinterest, and you can also follow me there.

soyrizo potato cheese and pepper tamale pinterest

How to make the Hennessy Blood Orange Cocktail!

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This delightful drink is citrusy, decadent, and sinfully sweet. The blood orange does such a good job of hiding the liquor that I wouldn’t recommend drinking this cocktail too fast. Enjoy this Hennessy Blood Orange cocktail!

  • Close up of Hennessy Blood Orange Drink
    The Blood Orange Cocktail!

I first made the Hennessy Blood Orange cocktail on my Halloween baking show with the amazing Lucille Liqueur! It was so delicious, that I decided to make it again for my YouTube channel food series.

Originally found on the Hennessy brand website, their recipe featured 4 parts of Hennessy VSOP, along with blood orange juice. My friend Lucille then mentioned that she had some blood orange vodka on hand, so I decided to experiment. Why not make a drink with two different liquors?

The end result was a winning combination that I had to share with you all.

Video Tutorial

Check out the video tutorial here!

Ingredients & Best Practices

You’ll only need a few special ingredients, and a cocktail kit helps but isn’t necessary for the end product.

Hennessy Blood orange drink with the ingredients

It might be a little hard to find, but the blood orange vodka is an absolute must to make this drink. I found mine at a local Safeway. Skyy blood orange vodka may be the most accessible brand to find, but any brand works, really,

Blood oranges are in season between October and May with the prime season being February to early March. But if you’d like to enjoy this deliciously refreshing drink in the summer, you can easily sub with a navel orange twist instead, or just leave it out.

You can find Hennessy VSOP and Angostura bitters at any alcohol section at a supermarket near you.

Finally, make sure to squeeze lemon juice from fresh lemons for the drink. It’s a little extra effort, but you’ll definitely taste the freshness and the difference.

Close up of Hennessy Blood Orange Drink

Hennessy Blood Orange cocktail

Here's a delicious summer and fall drink featuring my namesake – Hennessy VSOP (or XO if you're fancy,) with vodka blood orange.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Course brunch
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker
  • Peeler

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz Hennessy VSOP
  • 2 oz blood orange vodka
  • 1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1 oz agave nectar
  • a dash of Angostorua bitters
  • 1 blood orange peel
  • handful of ice

Instructions
 

  • First, pour two parts Hennessy into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, followed by two parts blood orange vodka, and 1.5 parts fresh lemon juice. Add 1 part agave nectar, and a dash of bitters.
  • Cover and shake the cocktail shaker until frosted, and then strain into a highball or Old-Fashioned glass. Arrange the blood orange twist in the middle of the drink. Enjoy!

Notes

You can find blood orange vodka online, or at local retailers. The easiest one for me to find was Skyy Blood Orange Vodka, which I bought at Safeway.
Keyword alcohol, blood orange, cocktail, Hennessy
Hennessy holding the Hennessy blood orange drink and smiling

Enjoy! I hope this delicious Hennessy Blood Orange cocktail brings you joy. Feel free to share on Pinterest if you’d like.

Hennessy Blood Orange Cocktail Pinterest

For other delicious fruity cocktails that I recommend, you can also check out my recipes for the fun Woo Woo and strong Whiskey Sangaree.

  • woo woo vodka cocktail
    Woo Woo!
  • Whiskey Sangaree in an old-fashioned cup
    Whiskey Sangaree

Until next time, drink responsibly and stay hydrated!

How to make Sustainable Vegetable Stock from Scraps

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This do-it-yourself vegetable stock is simple to make and completely sustainable, made from the vegetable scraps in your kitchen!

Making vegetable stock from scratch is a great pride of mine because it combines a few of my favorite things: sustainability, cooking, resourcefulness, and frugality!

I first learned how to make vegetable stock through various cookbooks that would instruct me on what kind of vegetables to use. Each of these books show something different, and there’s a variety of different vegetable stocks as well, like mushroom-based stocks, gourd-based stocks, and so on. Then, I dove into the book Joy of Cooking, which discussed free-form vegetable stock making. Doing it the first time was nerve-racking, but exciting. I was amazed by the result. The stock wasn’t too salty and it reminded me of my favorite vegetables that I use. Making your own vegetable stock is like putting your own stamp on your dishes.

By the way, as a cozy person, I love soup! I grew up drinking delicious soups like pho, congee, and Chinese vegetable soups with noodles. I make soup a lot, but the price on my favorite brand of vegetable stock isn’t cheap! So learning to make vegetable stock was a game changer for me. Even better, I don’t feel bad when I have to throw away perfectly good scraps, like the stems off collard greens or the heads of bell peppers.

Let’s learn how you go about making your own vegetable stock from scraps!

Pinterest image showing sustainable vegetable stock and vegetables.

Supplies

Making sustainable vegetable stock is super easy to do, and all you need are a few things:

  • a large pot or steamer
  • a quart-sized freezer bag
  • leftover vegetables and scraps
  • storage containers like clear Mason jars or large Tupperware
  • an hour of time while you read blogs, play video games, etc

Now where are we going to get leftover vegetables and scraps?

While you can technically make Vegetable Stock with brand new whole vegetables, it’s all the more satisfying when you make them with scraps that you’ve saved for a season. Not all vegetables are made equal for stock though.

Best Practices for Yummy Vegetable Stock

First of all, some words of advice.

Do use scraps as soon as you get them. The ends of green onions, the tops of red bell peppers, and carrot tops are perfect. Throw them in your freezer bag as soon as you finish prepping whatever other meal you’re making.

Don’t use vegetables that are already going bad! If you know something won’t be used, you can save it in the freezer bag. However, once it starts to go bad, it’ll just ruin the freshness of your broth. Toss anything moldy or soft.

a picture of assorted vegetables, including celery, cauliflower, onions, and mushrooms
A good question to ask is, does it make for a good soup? If it does, it’ll probably make for a good stock too!

Some universally recommended vegetables to use for stocks are:

  • onions
  • celery
  • carrots
  • scallions or green onions
  • garlic cloves
  • ginger
  • mushrooms
  • leeks

These impart great flavor, and adding a diversity of scraps will give a balanced flavor. My typical additions make up of the above, along with cilantro, bell pepper, tomato, peppers, and cauliflower.

Joy of Cooking gives the following advice on what to potentially avoid as well. Cabbage, and cabbage-like vegetables like broccoli, mustard, kale can add a “sulfurous note.” She also mentions that turnips, beets, parsnips, and asparagus can “dominate” their characteristics in a stock, and should be used in moderation.

But with that advice imparted, I say rules are meant to be broken in cooking! I’ve used Taiwanese cabbage in my stock, and I don’t regret it! Use her words as a guideline, but do what you want.

If you’d like to get more creative with your stock though, here are some ideas for spices/ingredients you can throw in to make the stock a little more savory. These ideas are taken from chefs who have shared their advice in other various cookbooks that I read.

  • dashi
  • tomato paste
  • ginger
  • thyme sprigs
  • bay leaves
  • peppercorns

Once your bag is full, you can dump its contents into your stock pot and fill it with two quarts of water, or 8 cups. Potentially, you can add even more water. This will dilute your stock, but if you like a milder stock or more cups, then go for it.

Preparing the Stock

  • vegetable scraps inside a stock pot to make broth

The hardest part is collecting the vegetables and adding the water. Here comes the easy part! Cover your stockpot with a lid, and bring it to a boil. This can take a long time especially if you have a lot of water. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to low and let it simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. After that, let the stock cool and carefully drain it with a colander. The broth should now range in color from light orange to pale yellow. Neat!

Pour your new vegetable broth into air-tight containers. The mushy, water-logged vegetables can now be composted.

Keeping the Vegetable Stock

containers of sustainable vegetable broth, with a bunch of cilantro
rows and rows of Hennessy’s vegetable stock with one of my favorite vegetables, cilantro!

The stock will keep for 4-6 days in the refrigerator, or freeze it to make it last longer. While I hate food waste, (but am often guilty of it as someone with ADHD,) I try to stay on the safe side. The stock is no longer good once it is cloudy. This will be easy to see and visible if you store it in clear mason jars like I do.

Make sure to consume food made with the stock within the same timeline as well.

What to make with Vegetable Stock

My own vegetable stock is deliciously earthy, robust, and perfect for congees and soups. I’ll soon be releasing my own recipe for plain congee made with this stock in a little bit.

In the meantime, check out these delicious recipes that you can make with vegetable stock!

  • simply delicious West African Vegan and Peanut stew with tofu and chickpeas
  • Super yummy scallion pancake!

Want to learn more about sustainability? Check out this article I wrote about sustainability within the fashion industry as well.

Five Sustainable, Eco-Friendly, & Fair Trade Clothing Brands I Love

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I dove into the world of sustainable, eco-friendly & fair trade fashion and came up with a few favorites. Here are my clothing recommendations to you all!

Hennessy posing in an outfit from Metiseko, a fair trade and eco-friendly brand from Vietnam

Earlier this year, I fell in love with the craft of sewing and crafting garments. As a self-taught drag seamstress, I have newfound respect for all of the labor that goes into clothing. I know how much rolls of fabric can cost, so the rise of fast fashion with shirts costing less than a yard of cotton has been disturbing to me.

Since I had a bit of pocket money and was low on gym clothes to work off the pandemic weight, I decided to only invest in sustainable and fair trade clothing from here on out. The eco-friendly & sustainable part, admittedly, was not immediately high on my radar until I started researching and learning more about it.

Unfortunately, not all clothing brands that advertise themselves as fair trade, eco-friendly, or sustainable actually walk the talk. Everlane has recently gone under fire for union-busting which makes me pretty bummed that I bought pants from them. I did some more research and came across this great site which helps you look up clothing brands that are sustainable, fair-trade, and cruelty-free. From there, I started learning more about fair trade clothing and carefully added new items to my closet.

Here are some sustainable fair trade clothing brands that put a smile on my face, and they’re better for people & the planet as well.

Here’s a receipt showing some items I bought from Boody & Girlfriend Collective.

In full transparency I’d like to note that this article is 100% non-sponsored. These brands do tell you to share the love for a friend-to-friend discount code which is similar to other “Tell a Friend” marketing campaigns. While I am sharing some promo codes I have for these companies, keep in mind that each purchase I made was from my own wallet over the course of my eco-friendly researching & fashion journey. I haven’t been compensated in any free products whatsoever, nor am I an ambassador for any of these brands.

Girlfriend Collective

  • Hennessy smiling while wearing recycled workout clothing - sustainable and fair trade from Girlfriend Collective
    A few of my favorite items from Girlfriend Collective: High-waisted compression pocket legging, Track Summit jacket, and Cleo bra.
  • Specialty: Plus size-friendly & colorful workout bras & leggings for women
  • Price: $$
  • Referral Code: Yes, here, or use code REFHFTPMZEI for $10 off a purchase of $95 or more.
  • Do They Have Sales: Yes & a 35% bundle and save.
  • Rewards Program: Yes, an awesome one
  • Plus Size Friendly?: Yes!
  • Good On You rating: Great
  • Items I own: Luxe leggings, Compression Leggings, Bike Shorts, FLOAT Cleo Bra, Juliette Bra, Ventana Bralette, FLOAT leggings, Summit track jacket, etc.
  • Favorite Items: It would be easier to tell you which items I didn’t love, which include probably their compression socks and one ill-fitting sports bra I did return. Everything else has knocked it out of the park.

Girlfriend Collective is a favorite amongst the eco-friendly & sustainable community, and it’s easy to see why. They have bright & un-photoshopped pictures of models of all sizes in their gorgeous fitness clothing in vibrant colors & Earth tones. Admittedly, the first few times I heard about them, there was an air of “too good to be true,” or maybe since I found out about Everlane’s greenwashing, I’ve just been really wary of eco-friendly brands with vibrant and addicting marketing campaigns. I also wasn’t sure how I felt about polyester clothing, even if it was recycled. I cautiously tried their bundle & save package. Admittedly, their clothing was nice, and I went back for more. And the rest is history!

5 women in bright leggings and sports bras from eco-friendly and sustainable fair trade brand Girlfriend Collective
Models wearing Girlfriend Collective, showing all their unique colors.

On their Instagram highlights, you can see videos explaining in depth, the process of turning rPET plastic bottles into clothing. They also have videos of how they dye clothing and stamp their seal with robots, as well as their factory workers in Vietnam cutting and sewing fabrics.

I love that they are owned by a Vietnamese-American couple in Seattle – it might even be their parents making a cute little guest appearance here.

Aside from their awesome loyalty program that gifts you $10-$15 off for points amassed, another reason why I really like Girlfriend Collective’s business model is that they will buy back your clothing to be recycled. You will receive store credit for sending your used GC clothes back. To me, this really shows the ethos of circularity within fashion, and I love that I’ll never have to toss any of their clothes in the trash. That said it would not happen for a long time – their leggings have already outlasted my first pair of non-fair trade Eddie Bauer leggings, which have begun to pill.

a screenshot of how their rewards program works
How their rewards program works. Get points for writing reviews!

The last things I’ll say about Girlfriend Collective, is to also keep an eye on their expanding inclusive “for-all” line for men and people of all genders. Even though their namesake is gendered, it’s hard to find gender-neutral eco-friendly clothes, so I appreciate the expansion.

Tentree

  • Hennessy wearing a green cardigan, pants, and a shirt from Tentree - sustainable eco-friendly fair trade clothing
    Wearing all my clothes from Tentree!

First of all, I’d like to say I’m glad Tentree has an awesome line of sustainable & fair trade clothing for men, which has been annoyingly hard to find in the fair-trade and eco-friendly world. What gives?

In short, Tentree plants trees for every item you buy. Based in Vancouver, they are a certified B-Corp company, showing that they’re committed in reducing carbon emissions. Another aspect that you can check out is their Carbon Emissions offsetting program where you can “buy” packages to offset your carbon emissions from driving, showering, etc. I don’t know how they’re able to track this and it sounds a little too much like buying indulgences from the Catholic Church, so I haven’t opted into that.

  • A screenshot of some of their warmer winter clothing, from their website.

True to their name, some of their clothing is very tree-huggy, and they even have a Lorax-themed line for men and women. It’s great if you want clothes announcing your love for trees and recycling, but if you’re more interested in neutral workout clothing, plain organic tees, and chic cardigans, they have that as well! Unlike some other favorite brands that are more specialized, Tentree has a fair bit of variety without sacrificing quality and ethics.

The Pacific Joggers I bought are great for casual wear and traveling, my highline cotton cardigan is perfect to throw on for a Zoom call, and I wear my Kayaker shirt every week for working out. I love that they use 100% organic cotton, bamboo, and Tencel, which is one of my favorite fabrics to wear. While they’re a little pricey, Tentree’s high-quality & fashion-friendly clothes are the reason why I always look forward to getting their emails in my inbox. Like Girlfriend Collective, and unlike other fair trade brands, I don’t feel like they are expensive for no reason. You are definitely getting quality in every item that you buy.

Metiseko

  • Hennessy, a drag queen in a short black wig, wears Metiseko organic cotton sustainable and fair trade clothing - a light green shirt and dark green pants
  • Hennessy, a drag queen in a short black wig, wears Metiseko organic cotton sustainable and fair trade clothing - a green dress
Two outfits from my Metiseko haul!

You could say Metiseko was my first love with fair trade and eco-friendly clothing. I first found out about it in my Sustainability group. This brand is the love child of a French Vietnamese man and a French designer. They are based in Vietnam and currently only have stores there, though they ship worldwide.

Their clothing is deeply Vietnamese inspired. As an East Asian person, it’s hard to describe the thrill of seeing their prints and silhouettes on my body. Their line focuses primarily on silk and 100% organic cotton. Upon receiving their clothing, you also get a free fashionable face mask.

While the brand does focus on a high fashion aspect, it’s clear that there is so much love for their culture, the craft of dressmaking & fashion, and their workers.

a man in Vietnam at his workstation, making bronze jewelry
This image is a feature done on one of their bronze jewelry makers, Chin Sang.

Each garment comes with a tag talking about the environmental values of the brand, for example explaining that their 100% cotton clothes are much more durable than blended clothes, and better for the environment. In addition, each garment has a tag where you can see the name of the seamstress written on the tag handwritten in pencil!

They also send lovely informative emails I like to read that highlights on stories of the ideation behind their clothing, the painstaking and deep tradition of Vietnamese silk-making, the day-to-day of their factory workers, as well as their Q&As with their models.

Unfortunately as a friend of mine noted, this brand isn’t plus-size friendly. Being based in Asia, the sizes are small to begin with. With a 37′ bust and a 28′ waist, my dress size comes to a large for shirts and dresses, and they only go up to an XXL.

This brand is also on the pricier side, although their sales and clearance section has helped me nab a lot of clothing for much more reasonable prices. I’ve seen European and Western brands charge for much more for high fashion, though I will mention that the brand itself is likely targeted to non-Vietnamese with their clothing prices being somewhat of a small fortune if you buy it in Vietnamese dong.

Boody

my items from Boody, a sustainable fair trade brand

Boody is an Australian brand that focuses on bamboo viscose fabric. Like Girlfriend Collective, Boody also makes underwear, bras, and high-quality clothing, but with their sustainability focus being bamboo rather than recycled polyester. Their clothing is oeko-tex certified, which concerns harmful materials caused by dyes and they have a statement on their code of conduct involving the labor of their clothes you can check out here.

I do have one caveat about Boody that I haven’t found the answer to yet. Based on what I’ve seen, while their main fabric is bamboo viscose, they do list that their tanks and other clothes are made from spandex and nylon as well. It’s not clear whether this is recycled materials or non-recycled. Their Good on You rating is from 2019, and I would imagine the use of non-recycled spandex and nylon would cause a ding on their record.

I only technically have two products from them, but believe it or not, the market for sustainable underwear is pretty vast. Aside from Girlfriend Collective, which I’ve mentioned, and Parade, there’s also WAMA, and the list goes on.

underwear and bras of neutral colors from Boody, an eco-friendly and fair trade bamboo company
A bunch of nude underwear from Boody.

The cost efficiency of their clothes, along with the quality is what made me impressed. Their active muscle tanks are simply superb, and the feathery soft claim is true. They often have BOGO 50% deals, and at $39.95 for one, I was able to get two! You can also save money by buying a pack of underwear rather than 1 at a time, and they actually have colors more exciting than black and white.

Their underwear is really soft, though they tend to smell rather strongly after a full day’s sweat in drag. I honestly haven’t determined if this is a boody thing or if it’s me, but considering their brief averages 5 stars at 1378 reviews, you can go ahead and determine it’s probably me!

Parade

underwear made from recycled nylon and spandex in bright colors from Parade - a sustainable company
Here’s several of my favorite underwear – Re:Play and Sport+ in these addicting colors!

Parade underwear is based in New York and makes underwear fun and sustainable. They boast of top-notch and accessible customer service. Each panty even has a number you can text for questions and comments. If a bra or panty isn’t a match for you, due to the nature of their undergarments, they’ll simply refund you the price.

Their underwear is relatively inexpensive compared to other sustainable brands (and Victoria’s Secret, for that matter,) and they have an awesome mix and match program. Due to those reasons, 75% of my underwear drawer is now Parade! I love folding them into colorful squares and they Play Sport+ underwear is awesome for my gym days.

A great new update for Parade in 2021 was that they finally came out with non-synthetic underwear in eco-friendly fabrics like Tencel, and organic cotton! They call this fabric, “supersoft,” and true to its name, it is indeed super soft and feels great on the skin. They also have new loungewear drops. Their waffle crewneck is fantastic and I’ve been wearing it almost daily during the winter.

The other thing I have to say is that while they have Extended Sizes for larger breast sizes, and they technically have my size, many of their fun colors are sold out for those sizes. This means that out of colors like neon yellow, orange popsicle, cerulean, and lavender, the only colors I get the choose from might be black, white, and navy. While I bought bras that fit my chest, I ended up not wearing them except for work due to the discomfort and ended up selling or giving them away. This isn’t something I’ve experienced with Parade only, but every single company I’ve bought bras from. I’ve yet to find a perfect match, so if you’re large-chested like me, you may have to keep looking.

Other Sustainable & Fair Trade Clothing Brands

Hennessy wearing clothing from sustainable, eco-friendly, and fair trade brands Lanius, Ekyog, and Organic Basics
Enjoy this ridiculous image of me wearing one article of clothing from each brand mentioned here at once!

Here are some other fair trade, sustainable, and eco-friendly clothing brands that I’ve tried out, but don’t have enough info to write a full review on. However, they are awesome and deserve a small shout-out at the end!

Lanius – This is a German apparel brand specializes in chic European fashion. Like most of the brands here, I found out about it through Good On You, and went nuts for this gorgeous soft denim Kimono jacket. I paid extra when they had a sale to have the package shipped to me from Austria. All I can say is that it was worth every dime.

Organic Basics – Based in Denmark, this brand focuses on yes, organic basics, underwear, athleisure and apparel for men and women. This is definitely a brand that I would buy more of if I could, but they’re pretty pricey. I bought their SilverTech active shirt on sale and I wear it every week. It doesn’t retain bad smell, so it’s perfect for heavy gym workout days or multi-day hikes.

Ekyog – Ekyog is another European apparel line for women, found all over France. I purchased a few items from them during my trip to France. They have a strong commitment to sustainability and use the same earthy dye colors you see with Girlfriend Collective. While their clothing is an A+ on sustainable materials and comfort, I can’t say the same for durability – one of the buttons on my paper bag shorts ripped shortly after I returned to the states. But that’s the good thing about being a nerdy seamstress in training, a thread and needle is never too far away.

a field of cotton

I hope this was informational for you! Do feel free to share your thoughts on clothing, my review, and any other brands. I only mentioned brands that truly demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and fair trade practices. In fact, brands I do own that recently got dinged on their recent practices (cough, let’s say that they’re two shoe brands based in San Francisco) were taken off from this article.

If you decide to overhaul your wardrobe or replace your old threads, I do strongly recommend donating your clothes to a local Out of the Closet or Goodwill, so they can have a second life. If they are too worn to be resold, oftentimes, these thrift stores will also give the fabric away to some fabric recycling company. Unfortunately, info I found about donating to fabric recycling yourself in the bay area has been inconclusive.

pinterest image for Sustainable Ecofriendly Fair Trade brands

In the future, I hope to add brands owned by BIPOC and have individual articles featuring these sustainable and fair trade clothing brands. You can also look forward to possibly sewing tutorials coming to this blog soon, accompanied by YouTube videos.

Happy researching and shopping!

How to make this delicious & healthy Vegan West African Peanut Stew with Tofu!

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This West African Peanut stew is completely vegan, and high in protein with tofu and chickpeas. It’s also surprisingly inexpensive to make, with peanut butter, vegetable stock, tomato paste, collard greens, chickpeas, 1 sweet potato, and tofu being the main ingredients. Many of the components of this delicious and hearty meal could be acquired for under $1 dollar!

So earlier this week, I posted a picture of my dinner on r/budgetfood, a subreddit for delicious and inexpensive meals. I’ve made this West African Peanut Stew recipe by Cookie + Kate a few times, and recently added some creative additions to it. After I posted on r/budgetfood, it surprisingly blew up. A lot of users wanted to know my own additions so I typed it up here.

simply delicious West African Vegan and Peanut stew with tofu and chickpeas
Yep, that’s the same Dutch Oven that I use to make my famous mac & cheeses as well.

I definitely changed quite a bit, particularly with my affinity for Serrano peppers and I added tofu since much-needed protein crunch. The result is a delicious meal that’ll feed up to four people and last many servings. Perfect for leftovers and inexpensive and mouth-watering meal prep! Make sure to check out Kate’s original from her book Love Real Food though. It’s a classic and a much-loved cookbook that I’ve gone back to many, many, times.

A caveat about the dish is that I’m not West African myself nor have I been there and tried an authentic version of the dish. This is modified from a food writer who is also not of that origin. I imagine like many popular dishes like Kung Pao chicken or Chicken Tikka Malasa, it’s been taken out of its original form, and regionalized for Western or non-native eaters. From what I’ve looked up, this dish is also called maafe/mafé in some regions, and most recipes from African writers seem to show meat included in the recipe. I would love to try a vegetarian version of the real thing one day! In the meantime, however, I won’t call this an authentic West African dish myself, nor do I suggest trying this and saying you made one.

Here’s my version of the West African Peanut Stew – 100% vegan and with tofu. Enjoy!

simply delicious West African Vegan and Peanut stew with tofu and chickpeas

Vegan Tofu & Chickpea West African Peanut Soup

Modified from Cookie + Kate's version from Love Real Food, this affordable and hearty dish is healthy, and packed with protein. It also has a strong kick of spice, so make sure to omit the Serrano pepper and cayenne powder if it's not your thing.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine West African
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven
  • Peeler

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & diced
  • 2 Serrano peppers
  • salt
  • ½ tablespoon ginger paste or two tablespoons grated & minced ginger
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • ¾ cups peanut butter
  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 1 medium bunch collard greens, ribs removed & chopped
  • 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained
  • 1 package of extra-firm or firm tofu, cut into slabs
  • 1 tsp Sriracha garlic chili sauce or hot sauce of choice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder

Garnishes

  • ¼ chopped peanuts
  • ¼ chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
 

  • In a Dutch oven, warm the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, sweet potato, chili pepper, and a dash of salt. Cook and stir until onions are translucent and sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Then add the ginger, garlic, and salt.
  • Pour in vegetable broth and water, and increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, once the broth is hot, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste together. Transfer 1-2 cups of the hot broth to really mix the two together, until it is mostly smooth. Then pour the mixture back into the soup and mix well.
  • Add the collard and chickpeas together into the soup, then add the tofu. Add the spices – the tumeric, cayenne powder, and chili powder. Cook until soup is nice and thick, for 15-25 minutes, stirring every so often so nothing sticks to the bottom. Then season the soup with hot sauce if you like. Then remove the pot from heat.
  • Serve with brown rice and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Keyword Healthy, vegan, West African Peanut Soup
healthy and delicious west african peanut stew

Hot Sauce & The Heat

What can I say, I love a bit of heat in my soup! And I’m a huge fan of Serrano peppers.

I added the turmeric for earthiness, and the chili powder and cayenne powder for heat. I’m also a huge fan of Sriracha’s chili garlic sauce, rather than their more milder signature sauce, which for many Asian folks like myself, is more like ketchup. I didn’t find this soup overpowering at all, but you can always add even more peppers and more hot sauce.

To ease up the spice, you’re always welcome to omit the spices I mentioned and swap for simply pepper or some paprika instead.

Budget Friendly

It’s hard to measure exactly how much materials cost once it comes to things like oil and veggie stock, since you’re only using a small portion of each. But let’s say we go ahead and do that math, and cut out the spices and garnishes for now. These prices are cross-referenced with Target, Walmart, and USDA statistic prices per proud, and the math done quickly in my head or on the calculator, so my apologies if they’re a little off.

Plus, you can always save on veggie stock by making your own, with scraps. Sustainability is also a huge passion of mine, and even better when you can make awesome veggie stock for essentially free!

Here’s how much this West African Peanut Stew with tofu and chickpeas will cost:

  • 1 Red Onion (.70)
  • 1 piece of ginger (.30)
  • 4 garlic cloves (.20)
  • 1 sweet potato (.15)
  • 1 bunch of collard Greens (.65)
  • 1 Package of Tofu (1.70)
  • about 1/4 a container of Peanut Butter (.75)
  • 1 can of chickpeas (0.69)
  • 1 container of Vegetable Broth (2.99)

That’s looking at a total of $8.13 for a total of about 6 meals! And coming at only $5.14 if you make your own vegetable broth. Now that’s what I call a good deal!

Let me know what you think about this hearty and protein-rich West African Peanut Stew recipe!

Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon for the book I mentioned. I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer.

How to Make These Three Delicious No Banana Vanilla Protein Smoothies and Shakes

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Need a plant-based smoothie with no banana? Have no fear. These three delicious plant-based vanilla protein smoothies will help you get the gains you need, even with a pesky banana allergy (or hatred.) Here’s what I’ve been trying at home!

Recently I’ve been hitting the gym to lose the pandemic weight. As a pescatarian that mostly cooks plant-based food, it’s been hard to get enough protein. So I’ve been drinking some plant-based vanilla protein shakes. But it’s really hard to make a good-tasting protein shake when you can’t use bananas! I don’t hate bananas, actually… I’m just allergic to them. Which is super sad coming from a former Jamba Juice employee!

I’ve looked up other fun banana-less smoothies, but while delicious, many of these recipes are still high in carbs, hard-to-find-ingredients, and aren’t optimized for protein or protein powders. So I started experimenting with my own, and I’ve found three smoothies that work!

The Strawberry Vanilla version pictured here

Here’s how I make my delicious fruit-based smoothies in 5 ingredients or less. Just add some of your favorite plant-based milk, peanut butter, some fruit, and voila! You’ve got three options for no banana vanilla protein smoothies!

What’s the Protein Powder?

a bottle of Garden of Life organic vanilla protein powder

By the way, the protein powder I’ve been using is the Garden of Life Organic Protein in Vanilla. This one in particular makes a delicious shake, and it comes with 20 grams of protein with 110 calories. There are other variations from Garden of Life, but I haven’t tested them. Of course mileage will vary depending on the protein powder you pick. However, you stick with the one I’ve suggested here, I can provide the calorie content as well so you can input it right into your app or Excel if you’re tracking your macros.

Three Variations on a No Banana Vanilla Protein Smoothie

protein shake next to protein powder

Classic Vanilla & Peanut Butter Creamy Smoothie

The delicious original!

The Classic, and the first smoothie I experimented with that made me think, hey this isn’t half bad! A tablespoon of peanut butter and half teaspoon of cacao nibs can go along way. Cacao nibs add a delicious crunch and mouth-feel to an ordinarily normal smoothie. Make sure not to add too much as they do go up in calories. You can find them at any health food store, or upscale supermarket.

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

The Strawberry Vanilla protein powder smoothie, atop of a dishtowel

Strawberries are a delicious substitution for bananas when necessary. They’re always around and are probably some of the best tasting fruits when it comes to keeping their quality while frozen. This smoothie gets fruit in your diet and it also tastes great!

Peaches and Honey Smoothie

  • making the peach vanilla protein powder smoothie with frozen peaches and a blender
    the making of
  • delicious peach vanilla protein powder smoothie
    … and the creation!

Super simple and delicious – the peaches will fill in for your banana here and they’re deliciously creamy. To complement your peaches, you can add a touch of honey or maple syrup.

The Strawberry Vanilla protein powder smoothie, atop of a dishtowel

Three Delicious No-Banana Vanilla Protein Smoothies

You have three flavors to choose from for your tasty vanilla protein powder smoothie, plant-based, healthy, and delicious!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Blend Time 1 minute
Course Drinks
Cuisine Healthy
Servings 1 person
Calories 288.5 kcal

Equipment

  • High Speed Blender

Ingredients
  

Peanut Butter Original Creamy Smoothie

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk or plant-based milk of choice
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ teaspoon cacao nibs

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

  • 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk or plant-based milk of choice
  • 2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Peaches and Honey Smoothie

  • 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1.5 cups tightly-packed frozen peaches
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
  • optional: cacao nibs or peanut butter

Instructions
 

  • Blend all the ingredients together. If your blender isn't able to process all of the frozen fruit, try defrosting it in room temperature water for a minute, or adding a little more milk, and try again.

Notes

You can easily make a larger portion by doubling the measurements for all of the ingredients. That way, you can drink one smoothie and save the other one for your next morning work out. 
Keyword No Banana, Protein Shake, Protein Smoothie

What do you think? For a lower calorie smoothie without sacrificing taste, you can always omit the cacao nibs or peanut butter. You can also replace cacao nibs for your favorite nut, like pumpkin seeds, peanuts, cashew, or even oats to give it texture.

3 No-banana protein powder shakes for Pinterest

In the meantime, here’s the calorie content for the smoothies, if you follow them line-by-line. These are again, measured with the Garden of Life vanilla protein powder, Califa unsweetened almond milk, and generic peanut butter and cacao nibs. If you want to really omit the carbs and fat, you can always enjoy just a protein powder shake with almond milk. But where’s the fun in that?

Classic Vanilla & Peanut Butter Creamy Smoothie

306 Calories, 26.5g protein, 18.5g fat, 8.8 carbs, 5.3 fiber

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

349 calories, 26.93g protein, 16.22g fat, 28.62 carbs, 9.3 fiber

Peaches and Honey Smoothie

273.5 calories, 23.6 protein, 4.1g fat, 32 carbs, 5.9 fiber

If you like these smoothies, check out my other non-protein banana-free smoothie recipes as well, like my Peach Mango Yogurt smoothie, Strawberry Rose Lassi, or Watermelon Tequila cooler.

Let me know what you think!

Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. Now in general, I’d rather people buy things from their local-mom-and-pop store, but the link is a good reference for all the specs you might want to look up, or researching exactly what it’s called to find it, blah blah blah. If you’re going to shop through Amazon anyway, I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer. Otherwise, I can confirm that my local bay area Target carries this brand in the protein powder aisle and you can probably find it in your local health food shop as well.