Unicorn Food

From medicinal mushrooms and Chinese herbs to gluten-free flours and healthy sweeteners and fats, here you’ll find all the essential info on the basics used to build a unicorn pantry. While some ingredients may sound unusual, they’re all actually very simple to source.

This chapter is dedicated to simple, delicious nut milks and other beverages that use these alternative milks and other healthful liquids as their base. From hot to cold, sweet to savory, these good-for-you refreshments are a great start to any morning or can be consumed as an afternoon snack. Think of this chapter as a jumping-off point—many of the foods that come later in this book incorporate these delicately flavored, wholesome milks.

Why not eat brunch foods all day, every day? Especially when these dishes are inspired by Australian café culture, where healthy sweet and savory dishes—from Hazelnut-Mocha Overnight Oats (page 57) to Sweet + Sour Rainbow Radish Tacos (page 88)—are enjoyed from a.m. to p.m.

Bonus Mini-Chapter!

Let's Get Wasted It can be challenging to avoid food waste—an issue faced by many home cooks. In my own kitchen, I try to cook with all parts of any given ingredient, like repurposing the almond pulp left over from making almond milk, and finding a way to make palatable those tough stems you remove when cooking with kale. This chapter showcases a few ideas for deliciously reusing these traditionally discarded ingredients.

For those times when you feel a little peckish or crave a treat, the recipes in this chapter include sweet things and “snacky” things that you can eat without feeling guilty. For desserts that means adding sweeteners like fruit, honey, maple syrup, and coconut palm sugar, and for snacks that means using healthy, naturally satisfying ingredients like veggies, whole grains, and seeds as a base.

The beauty of condiments is that they can easily elevate simple dishes. Make a few in advance, like the Black Honey Tahini (page 160), which is amazing on chia pudding (see page 56) or as a dip for dried fruit, or the Pastrami Spice (page 173), which gives a savory meatiness to roasted veggies and avocado toast. Keep them on hand for a quick flavor boost!