Speculaas Origin & History
Speculaas are a Dutch spiced cookie that dates back to the 17th century.
The tradition of making and eating speculaas cookies is most closely tied to the Sinterklaas festivities in the Netherlands, which take place on December 5th (Sinterklaasavond) and December 6th (St. Nicholas' Day). These days are part of a larger winter celebration that marks the arrival of Sinterklaas, the Dutch precursor to Santa Claus.

Sinterklaasavond (St. Nicholas' Eve): The night of December 5th is when the Sinterklaas festivities are in full swing. On this evening, children traditionally put out their shoes, and in return, they receive small gifts, candies, and often speculaas cookies.


The name "speculaas" is derived from the Latin word speculum, which means "mirror." This refers to the way the intricate designs on the cookies were once created by pressing dough into carved wooden molds. These molds often depicted images of saints, scenes, or festive symbols, such as those associated with the feast of Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas). 

The spiced flavor profile of speculaas, which includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and sometimes white pepper, is inspired by the region's history of spice trade. In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) played a major role in importing spices from Asia, and these spices became widely used in Dutch baking.

Recipe Notes/Why I Love These Cookies
These cookies are thin, crisp and aromatic. Perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee or tea. I love baking things that have history attached. There's something wonderful about preparing something that has been appreciated for centuries. What makes Speculaas special are the beautiful imprinted designs that adorn the cookies, made simply by using a stamp to press into the dough before baking. You can use whatever you'd like. A cookie stamp, an embossed rolling pin, or even the bottom/sides of a glass with designs on it. Don't just make these because they are pretty - they are also delicious, and a cookie I plan to make every Christmas...or any time of year!

Making Speculaas

Step 1. Cream together vegan butter, brown sugar & white sugar using a hand mixer. I don't whip it as long as I would in other baking recipes. I didn't test it, but I wanted my stamped cookie to have a visible design once baked. Typically you whip things to incorporate air when you are trying to achieve extra leavening, which is what I am trying to avoid. Simply mix until smooth and combined. 

Step 2. Add flax egg (ground flax mixed with water until gelled) and vanilla.  

Step 3. Add flour, baking powder, (I used a reduced amount in this recipe, because again I didn't want extra leavening) salt and spices. (The proper way is to whisk dry ingredients together first in a bowl then add to the wet mix, as you can see in the photo I didn't do that, I kinda just give them a little whisk on top of the wet to combine, then mix it all in. The one bowl/lazy way)

Step 4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before proceeding to roll and stamp cookies. 

Step 5. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll chilled dough to 1/4 inch thick. Dip cookie press in flour to prevent sticking, and press evenly into dough to imprint design. 

Step 6. Use a circular cutter slightly larger than stamped image (or cut around whatever shape..if a generic design was imprinted all over the dough, you might be able to just cut the entire thing into diamonds or squares and prevent the need to re roll scraps!)

Transfer cookies to lined baking sheet leaving a bit of space between each cookie. They shouldn't spread while baking. Bake for about 13- 15 minutes. Mine took the longer amount of time. I just lifted a cookie up with a spatula to check the bottoms - they are done when golden brown underneath and a bit around edges. You can sprinkle the cookies with coarse sugar before or after baking if desired. 

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Recipe Notes
Baked oatmeal is one of my favourite make ahead breakfasts in the colder months. It's something I can get into the oven within 10-15 minutes, and then I have delicious easy breakfasts for my entire work week. If you are feeding a family, you could undoubtedly double the recipe and use a larger pan, though I haven't tried that. 

I love that this recipe uses really simple ingredients, and is naturally sweetened with dates. I have been using blueberries lately as my add in, but I wouldn't hesitate to experiment with other fruit. 

The baked oatmeal itself isn't very sweet, and I do tend to eat it with a generous amount of maple syrup. I want the oatmeal piping hot, and the maple syrup has to be warm in my opinion. I also spoon some unsweetened plain vegan yogurt along side. I never want the yogurt fridge cold either. A scattering of toasted chopped up almonds is nice, too. 

Cooling/Reheating

• If you want your baked oatmeal to hold it's shape in square or rectangle slices, you need to cool it completely and refrigerate before slicing and reheating. If that isn't important to you feel free to eat it right from the oven. 
• To reheat, I simply slice a portion and pop it in the microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds. I've been eating it lately with warm maple syrup, plain unsweetened probiotic vegan yogurt, toasted almonds, and sometimes peaches that I canned myself when they were in season. 
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Storing Baked Oatmeal

• I simply store my cooled baked oatmeal in the pan that I baked it in with some saran wrap over top. It's a small 8 X 8 inch pan so that works for me. I would eat this within 5 days tops, and I wouldn't freeze it. It's so easy to whip up and get into the oven there's really no need to freeze it in my mind anyway. ​
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Other Serving Options

• If you have any homemade blueberry preserves, a dollop of that on the plate with the yogurt would be delicious.
• Use any nuts you like best, if I wasn't using almonds, pecans would be my second choice. 
• Instead of lemon zest in the batter, try orange zest...but the lemon IS lovely. 
• I wouldn't hesitate to enjoy this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and maple syrup. Or how about coco whip. If not for breakfast, an afternoon treat with tea. 

This chocolate zucchini cake is something I make every late summer/early fall, garden zucchini is plentiful. If you are a gardener, you know what I mean when I say all the sudden there's more zucchini than one knows what to do with. It's moist and chocolatey, exactly as it should be. I use a bit of tahini in my batter...I always like replacing some of the butter with healthier fats in baking recipes. I haven't tried it, but I would assume you could just use 100% butter instead of tahini if you had allergy concerns. 

I like to bake it in an 8 x 13 inch metal cake pan, but you could of course just as easily use two smaller circular pans for a layer cake, or bake them into cupcakes. For frosting, I am a peanut butter fanatic, so that is often my go to....but my second choice would be chocolate frosting...I'd even be inclined to put a bit of mint extract in the chocolate version...I also love chocolate mint!

For the chocolate factor in my cake batter, I simply use cocoa powder. I do like trying to buy something good quality and organic if it is available. ​

There are many brands of vegan butter, and I think any of them would work perfectly fine in this recipe. I often buy Earth Balance brand, because that is what is available, but I have started noticing grocery store brands selling plant based butter, and they are often the significantly more affordable option, so I'm inclined to start experimenting with those instead. You might notice that plant based products are scattered all over a grocery store. The "Earth Balance" brand I find in the organic health food section at the places where I shop, where as the grocery store brand example "presidents choice" plant based butter, is located with the regular dairy butter. 

The only question is, how are you going to frost your cake?! I love peanut butter frosting. I love peanut butter anything, so this isn't surprising. Chocolate, or chocolate mint frosting are also worthy contenders high up on my list!

Basil Pesto! This is an easy recipe and a great way to use up the abundance of basil kicking around my garden late summer. I blend basil, walnuts, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a bit of water until the mixture is as smooth as possible. This will keep in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze it for later use. I like to use silicone muffin cups when freezing. Once frozen the pesto pops out easily and you can transfer to a resealable bag or container for later use. 

Nut alternatives:
I think you could almost use any nut or seed you want. I used walnuts, but of course pine nuts would work. I wouldn't hesitate to use sunflower seeds (an affordable option), and I think pumpkin seeds would be fun too! 

I do like to toast my nuts or seeds first before blending for best flavour. 

How to use Basil Pesto

• Smeared onto flatbreads and baked with tomato and vegan mozzarella. 
• tossed with pasta
• whisked into soups or used as a garnish
• tucked into a grilled cheese
• roasted vegetable club sandwiches instead of mayo
• stuffed into mushrooms with cheese and breadcrumbs
• stirred into a Mediterranean tofu scramble
• stuffed into or spooned over roasted baby potatoes

As stated above, this recipe is great for using up all that basil in one's garden! I tend to preserve each herb in my garden differently. Mint, I dehydrate mostly. Basil however, is an herb I rarely use dried. So basil pesto frozen into little silicone muffin cups is one of the ways I love to store it for longer uses, preserving that fresh basil taste. 

If you are on the hunt for a delicious sweet pickle with a bit of added zip, these British Bread and Butter Pickles might be exactly what you are looking for. Perfect with your favourite sandwich, or on a picky plate with vegan cheese and charcuterie type things. The recipe is from the Bernardin home preserving cookbook, but I converted it for the amount of pickling cucumbers I had - a 5 lb bag.

This post isn't going to walk you through the ins and outs of proper canning processes - there are better resources for that, but I will share the recipe and basic steps.

British bread and butter pickles vs Regular Bread and Butter Pickles
The British variety of this recipe swaps out white sugar and vinegar for brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. To me, this just makes sense. Brown sugar and ACV are going to lend more complex flavour to the final product. The spices used are mostly the same. You will find Celery Seed, Mustard Seed and Turmeric in both, but the British version also adds powdered ginger. A generous amount of thinly sliced white onion is also tossed into the mix. I don't really have much to add here. Find the best quality in season pickling cucumbers you can, and try the recipe for yourself. I'm so glad I did, because now I will be making these every summer to enjoy all winter long. 

Raspberry Oat Cookie Recipe Notes
I have to say, I think these gluten free vegan raspberry jam & oat cookies are my favourite cookie ever. Buttery oat and almond flour crumb, bursting with sweet raspberry jam. If you want delicious things in your life my friends...I highly suggest you keep reading.    

How these cookies came to be:
At the restaurant where I work, there is a cafe directly across the path from our front door. The staff at our restaurant regularly pop over for caffeinated drinks and sweet treats. I honestly have never stepped foot in the building, I'm quite frugal and prefer to make my own coffee and treats. I had however kept seeing these gluten free raspberry thumbprint cookies making an appearance in the staff area where people stash their snacks. Eventually after months of noticing them, someone bought a bunch for the team. I tried one. I was immediately inspired to re create a version of them at home. Theirs were quite "oat cake" like, and to be honest a bit dry, but enjoyable none the less. 
I pondered for a bit how I was going to approach them, and I nailed the recipe pretty much on the first try. The real test, taking some to work to see what the work fam thought. 

The verdict:
Jesse said "these are next level", Pidge told me "to be honest these are better than the cafes", Chef said "buttery, salty, perfect...raspberry jam is the only choice", Kia said "the crust feels like a warm hug, I need the recipe". 

Well, you get the idea. I am not here to gloat, but this is what I am good at. I love trying something and re creating it at home to be even better than the version that inspired me. I love sharing with friends and getting feed back, I love sharing the recipe on my blog in hopes that someone will try it and enjoy it as much as I do. Sometimes I wish I had my own little shop where I could dish out my creations, but at this juncture the best I can do is share them here. 

What these cookies are, and what they are not:
These cookies are soft and quite delicate. The jam soaks into the base to a degree, making them a treat I absolutely insist on grabbing a serving plate for. They aren't a cookie I would put into a zip lock bag and toss in my purse for later. I think of these as a "slow" cookie. A cookie that you enjoy cozied up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a book or your favourite record. A cookie that you pick apart slowly piece by piece, savoring the buttery oatmeal crumb with bursts of bright jammy raspberry, whiling away as you please. 

Ingredients & some notes:
Oats, Almond Flour, Vegan Butter, Brown Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Plant Milk, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Raspberry Jam

Oats - I buy whole rolled oats, and for this recipe I blitz them in a food processor. The  oats should still have some pieces remaining in tact, almost like a coarse flour. I have not yet tried the recipe using fully ground oat flour, whole oats, or a combination of both. I can't speak to the results if you want to try, but if I were to attempt it, I'd most likely use a combination of oat flour and whole oats. 

Almond Flour - When I set out to make this recipe, I knew I really wanted them to contain some almond flour. My only hesitation is that almond flour can be very expensive. I ended up buying a fairly large bag at Walmart for about $15, which is the cheapest I have seen it in stores around me. My other thought would be to check online. 

Raspberry Jam - There are many brands out there, I always gravitate to the artisan looking ones that are more expensive, but I went a head and purchased a grocery store brand this time. The flavour was still great in these cookies. Use whatever you like best, but I would suggest a jam that is more stiff as opposed to runny. I have had success using both, but the runnier ones are more likely to bubble over the cookie. 

Plant Milk - I always use either unsweetened soy or oat milk. I'm sure any plant milk would work just fine, but these are my staples. I'm not a fan of almond milk actually, I've always found the flavour sub par and it lacks body compared to the other milks, but for this recipe I don't think that would matter. I'm sure someone reading this will think this is nuts (pun intended), maybe home made almond milk is great, maybe there is a brand I haven't tried. That's fine, there aren't many absolutes in life. Use what you like best. 

Vegan Butter - I have tried this recipe with different brands of vegan butter and they all turned out great. I am not loyal to one particular type. I look at what is available where I am shopping, and I also will buy one over the other if there is a sale. You can check in the organic section of most grocery stores, and even sometimes you will find different brands near dairy butter. In my experience vegan products are scattered in different sections around stores so I often take a walk around looking before I settle on something. (I'm always price conscious) I have noticed that when I use a vegan butter with higher salt, I liked it better. The becel vegan butter I tried had a higher salt content than Earth Balance brand I tried. You can always sprinkle a little salt on top if you are into that sweet and salty experience as much as I am. 

Troubleshooting

This headline is a bit misleading, because I have tested this recipe about 6 times now. I have enjoyed each batch, but it's pretty interesting how they never have turned out exactly the same. This is due to using different vegan butter products, different jam products and baking the cookies more or less time. 

How the cookie is shaped will also affect the final result. You definitely need to make an indent for the jam to sit in. You can see in the photo this isn't just a "thumbprint" sized space. I make a "well" that takes up most of the real-estate of the cookie. When the base is on the thinner side, the cookies are very soft because there's not much distance between the pan and the jam layer. It all kinda soaks in. They are delicious this way, and perhaps preferable to the time I didn't indent my cookie quite enough, and the jam bubbled over. Which brings me to thoughts about jam. I think a jam that is more "stiff" might be the best choice, compared to a really runny jam. It is less likely to bubble over the top. 

I also noticed a difference using different brands of vegan butter. Earth Balance and Melt yielded a slightly more firm cookie (still soft), andBecel vegan butter yielded and even softer cookie. Both perfectly great. Though I think the becel strangely gave the cookies the best flavour because of it's higher salt content. 

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RECIPE NOTES
Kinpira yasai is a traditional Japanese dish that features stir-fried vegetables, typically root vegetables such as burdock root (gobo) and carrots. The dish is flavored with soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), sugar, and sometimes sake or dashi (Japanese soup stock). Sometimes, other vegetables like lotus root, mushrooms, or bamboo shoots are also included.

The vegetables I'm using
The first time I saw this recipe was in a cookbook I have called "Japan Easy", I actually have a Spanish copy, so it isn't the easiest for me to follow along but I know the book is sold in English as well. Anyhow, the vegetables that are called for in the book are "long broccoli" which I assume is rapini, carrots, snow peas, and red pepper. When I go to the grocery store, rapini is quite expensive so I more often opt for regular broccoli. The recipe uses four carrots, I prefer less carrot, and I like to add celery to mine as well. Moral of the story, you can use whatever vegetables you like. I also don't measure my sauce ingredients anymore, I am decent at free pouring and I just keep the ratio in mind. 

Cooking Tips
This is definitely something I break out my wok for. I get it nice and hot with a drizzle of oil, and then add the vegetables. Typically when I make stir fry I like the veggies to be on the firmer side, but with this dish I take them a bit further than I normally would. They still have texture, but are just softened a bit more than normal. 

I have the Spanish copy of Japan Easy cookbook, I really love it. I haven't tried many of the recipes, but I am looking forward to. I have another vegan Japanese cookbook that is a bit more involved and I would say "complicated" for a beginner (I'm a beginner when it comes to Japanese ingredients and terms), but this "Japan Easy" cookbook comparatively, definitely seems to be true to it's name. A good starting point for anyone interested in some simple Japanese Vegan food. 

Side Dishes I like to make with my Kinpira Yasai
Sushi Rice
I love making a pot of sushi rice along side. If you have never made it before, it isn't hard. You make a simple seasoned rice vinegar by heating it with a bit of sugar and salt, then fold it into the cooked sushi rice. The rice is sticky, a bit sweet and bright. 

Vegan Beef
I often will just grab a pack of ground round (veggie ground beef), and the supermarket, I pop it in a pan to heat it up and I will either just start adding soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger etc on the fly to taste, or if I have a batch of my Korean BBQ sauce on hand, I will heat it up with some of that, letting it reduce. Instead of ground round, you could use tofu, or a combination of tofu and plant based meat. I tend to switch it up based on what I have, or what is on sale at the supermarket. 

How to Eat
This meal can be served hot or at room temperature. Either way, I serve it with a pile of nori on the side cut into palm sized squares. I spoon in a bit of rice, vegetables and beef, and then pop it in my mouth in one bite. It's like a little Japanese inspired taco and the combination of all the components has become a meal I crave now and again. It's really simple and satisfying. 

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Recipe Notes:
Every now and again I develop a recipe that I am extra excited to share. This is one of them. Using tofu to make meatballs is incredibly simple, and the results are great. Adding shiitake mushroom, shallot, garlic and ginger to the tofu mixture adds a lot of flavour. Then the balls get browed in a pan at which point they definitely become "meaty". 

The meatballs along with the Hoisin & 5 Spice Sauce, really remind me of the meatballs my mum made when I was growing up. I wasn't even thinking about them before hand! I remember hers being a sweet sauce that began with ketchup. It had brown sugar, soy sauce, and I can't remember what else, but we always gobbled them up over rice probably with a simple cooked vegetable like broccoli. The flavours here are a bit different of course, but nostalgic vibes none the less.

Serving Suggestions
I like to eat the meatballs over rice with steamed broccoli. Since these are tofu meatballs, they are a lot lower in fat than a meat based meatball would be. I find the final dish needs an addition of fat just to round everything out. I like to drizzle some sesame oil over top of everything, and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds. A sprinkle of fresh cilantro is nice too. 

I also have served them as finger food (ok toothpick food), simply tossed in the sauce, lined up on a plate and drizzled with sesame mayo, sesame seeds and cilantro. For the mayo I just mixed some sesame oil into vegan mayo until it tasted good, with a bit of water to thin it out a bit. Into a squeeze bottle, a tasty garnish. 

1. Rehydrated dried shiitake mushroom, shallot, garlic and ginger get softened in a pan with a bit of olive oil. This gets mixed together with tofu, cornstarch and "flax egg" (ground flax seed mixed with water).

2. Form the tofu mixture into balls, and then brown in a pan with olive or veg oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat. (I turn on a pot of my 10 minute basmati rice and that's approximately as long as the meatballs take to brown)

3. Add the meatballs to the Hoisin & 5 Spice Sauce to coat. Serve over rice with steamed broccoli, a generous drizzle of sesame oil, lots of sesame seeds and fresh cilantro. 

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Notes
These noodles aren't going to win an award for their visual appeal, but in this instance, I don't care about that.  It's a delicious meal, and has become something I make for myself almost weekly. Once you have a batch of the Szechuan chili oil made, you can make this meal in less than 30 minutes. The chili oil is best after it sits a week or so, but a batch lasts a really long time, and is delicious drizzled over all sorts of dishes for added flavour and heat. When I'm getting low, I make another batch immediately. 


This recipe isn't my creation. It is from "To Asia with Love" Cookbook by Hetty McKinnon. I suppose I have adapted the method a bit, and I gravitate towards using peanut butter instead of tahini, and kale instead of broccoli or brussels sprouts. I've tried all the suggestions in the book. I also like to add in cubed tofu sometimes. I've tossed in eggplant before as well. It doesn't really matter. As long as you end up with ramen noodles that are coated with delicious spiced oil. nut butter, add the right amount of noodle cooking water so the noodles aren't dry, you will have something tasty to look forward to. I don't really measure all of my ingredients, so the recipe is a bit loose in that sense, made to taste, but it's really easy to do. 

Another option (pictured below), is to make a batch of my shiitake tofu meatballs, brown them in a pan and serve them on top of the noodles. They are crispy on the outside and I just love them here. I make double batches of these meatballs and keep them in my freezer. You can cook them from frozen. The recipe is simple and will be better than anything you can find in the freezer section at the store. They are suited to recipes with an Asian flare, I tried them with marinara and spaghetti just for fun, but the flavours aren't right. As you can see with my szechuan noodles, I often switch up the veg and type of noodles I use. Anything goes. It's meant to be a quick meal when I'm short on time, using what I have on hand. (I always make sure I have stuff to make some variation of this dish...I eat it once a week!)

1. Make Szechuan Chili Oil a head of time. 
The star of this recipe is this Szechuan chili oil. It's so delicious, and takes the guess work out of making a tasty bowl of noodles when the craving, or need for a quick meal, strikes. It does have heat, so if you aren't a fan of spice this might not be for you. Even though I find it has a decent kick, and I consider myself to have a low to medium tolerance for spice, there's something different about this compared to just adding a butch of hot sauce to something. It's flavoured with Szechuan, gochujang powder, chili flakes, chopped garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon, and is incredibly delicious. This is the only make ahead part.

While you can start using the oil probably after a couple days, and I do, but the flavour and spice improves and deepens over time. For this reason, I don't strain the oil right away, and instead if I want to use some, I just spoon a little bit through a strainer because I want to avoid pieces of the peppercorn in my food. I tried that and the chunks of Szechuan peppercorns were just kind of harsh and not delicious. After a month or so I did strain the oil into a clean glass jar so it was easier to utilize. 

You can find Szechuan peppercorns and gochugaru (also known as korean chili powder) in Asian markets (I just ask for help locating ingredients when I go), or possibly in the international section of some grocery stores. I'm sure you could find them both on Amazon, if needed, too. 

2. Cook the Kale
First, cook kale in a bit of water. I add in a few cloves of chopped garlic, too. The original recipe calls for charred broccoli. There is already a lot of oil in the recipe, so I prefer to keep my greens oil free by steaming them in a pan. Just add a splash of water at a time until the kale is cooked and wilted. Cutting the kale in small pieces makes it easier to eat and chew. 

3. Cook the Ramen Noodles
Grab a couple "pieces" of thick cut ramen noodles (I don't know what to call them, squares? they come pre-formed in a big bag. Pretty sure it is a standard thing) The ones I buy are 63 grams each. Cook them in boiling water with a bit of salt. Don't dump them out into a strainer. 

4. Dress Noodles & kale with peanut butter and flavoured oils.
Use tongs to transfer them to the pan with your kale. Add a couple small ladle fulls of noodle cooking water.

Add peanut butter (Make sure the peanut butter is natural, and drizzly. Too stiff you will never get it mixed in. 

Then add a small drizzle of sesame oil, and several swirls of the Szechuan Oil. Mix to combine. The noodle water you add helps create a sauce. They would be too dry otherwise. Taste a noodle. They should coat your lips with delicious oils/nut butter. If you can't taste the Szechuan oil, add a bit more. 

5. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, chopped green onion & fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

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Recipe Difficulty: Easy

I am cooking my way through some of the recipes in the cookbook "Falastin" by Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley. Some dishes are naturally vegan, others I will try to veganize. The more I flip through the pages and read the stories, the more I am enchanted with the rich history and culture. As I write this we have been watching the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza for over 80 days. It's important to not only share the horror, blood & dust, but to share the essence of what we must never give up  fighting for. Palestinian culture. Palestinian joy. Palestinian freedom and self actualization. We give up a piece of our humanity everyday peoples basic human rights are being denied. Freedom for Palestine is also our freedom.

This Bulgur Pilaf is a really simple and humble dish. It almost gives me "healthier risotto" vibes. This is the type of food I gravitate towards. Middle Eastern food is naturally or relatively dairy free from what I can gather. The cuisine centers lots of whole grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables. Meat and fish are a central part of the diet also, but many recipes are naturally vegan. 

In this recipe cubes of eggplant are roasted in the oven, and stirred into a pilaf of bulgur, tomato, onion, garlic & spices. The recipe suggested cubes of avocado or feta to garnish, I went with some avocado. The avocado tasted great and I liked the little pop of colour, too.  

Recipe Notes
The original recipe calls for 2 green chiles. I used one large jalapeno, deseeded. The recipe also suggests if you don't want to use eggplant, substitute with zucchini instead. The cooking time would change but roasted zucchini folded in at the end would be delicious. 

The other thing that didn't work for me in the original recipe was the amount of boiling water called for. (1 2/3 cups to cook the bulgur. ) I added the amount of water the recipe suggested, but then had to add a bit more. It's no big deal to do that by adding a splash at a time, leaving the bulgur on low until it softens to the right texture. I'm guessing it just depends on the brand of bulgur you are using, so I am suggesting just looking at the package. 

The original recipe called for 2 medium eggplants. or 5 cups. I didn't really know what a medium eggplant was, so I grabbed 2 from the store. I guess mine were large because one eggplant was enough!