You can make these really good string beans for a vegan side dish any day or on a holiday. I don’t really think of them as a “vegan side dish,” but this is the time of year when everyone’s editorial calendar starts to categorize and strategize by keywords. Basically, if you want a big flavor dish where the flavor is easy to produce with minimal ingredients and mostly a matter of technique—here you go, I’ll explain it to you below.

Up here, I’m taking last fall’s “A Plant-Based Holiday” featuring cookbook authors Joe Yonan (Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking) and Philip Khoury (A New Way to Bake; Beyond Baking: Plant-Based Baking for a New Era) out from behind the paywall: These are evergreen ideas for how to approach vegetables and vegan baking for your holiday season, and I hope they inspire you. 

Below, more about green beans; the snack I keep on hand that satisfies my deep endless desire for Swedish candy; a new way I’m making eggplant parm that’s also a great vegetarian holiday dish; a new superb canned beverage made in Puerto Rico; and more.