The following post is a guest post by PETA Living author and PETA staff member Mylie.

I had never tried Israeli couscous until I attended Amy's wedding. I had prepared the more common variety of couscous dozens of times but had somehow managed to overlook this larger, orzo-like variety.

When I got back from the wedding, it went straight on my grocery list, and last night I came up with this recipe that incorporates two of my favorite ingredients to cook with in the fall: apples and sage. Enjoy!

Israeli Couscous With Tart Apple and Sage

3/4 cup Israeli couscous
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 small tart apple, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1/4 tsp. ground sage
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for sauteing
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• Place the couscous in a medium saucepan along with the broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. When tender, remove from the heat and drain any excess broth. Set aside.

• Drizzle about 1 tsp. olive oil into a large skillet. Over medium heat, saute the onion until beginning to brown.

• Add the apple and red pepper and cook until the pepper begins to soften. Add the sage and walnuts and cook for about 1 minute, or until the walnuts become aromatic. Turn off the heat.

• Add the cooked couscous and stir to incorporate. Pour the olive oil, lemon juice, and kosher salt over the mixture and gently stir to combine. Use more salt, to taste.

P.S. Amy will be back with more of her awesome recipes next week!

After a long honeymoon filled with eating food that was far from healthy, I find myself still on a junk-food kick. I decided that I needed to start eating some vegetables again—but that they should be prepared in a way that is still almost sinful. That's how I stumbled upon this recipe for spinach and artichoke dip.

Sure, the name sounds healthy, but when you add a cup of vegan mayo and cheese to any veggies, you certainly cancel out almost all health benefits from the main ingredients. But, that shouldn't scare you away from making this delicious dip every once in a while. It's wonderful—and easy—as an occasional appetizer that can be eaten in small portions.

I visited Savannah on my honeymoon and saw the line formed outside Paula Deen's restaurant—no matter what time it was, night or day—and I'm certain this recipe would make the queen of Southern cuisine proud! Enjoy.

There is a bit of debate over how to properly prepare eggplant. Some say that you must always start by salting and rinsing sliced eggplant to remove bitterness, and others say that this step is usually unnecessary. I've tried both and say—it depends.

When cooking eggplant with a great deal of oil (I do this when roasting or grilling), I don't find it necessary to salt/rinse. The oil and creamy texture that result from this method of preparation help cut through any bitterness, and honestly, a little bitterness doesn't bother me.

But when using eggplant in recipes that call for little or no oil, I do prefer to salt and rinse. This helps achieve a nice texture in recipes such as breaded and baked Italian eggplant.

The simple eggplant recipe below can be looked at as the start of a delicious Italian dish. It can be topped with marinara and served with warm pasta or can be used as the main ingredient in a warm sub sandwich. Either way, the smooth texture of the eggplant center paired with the crunchy breadcrumb coating will be delicious.

There's one aspect of marriage that can be quite frightening to many—in-laws. Part of the fear regarding new fam comes from being forced to eat whatever meals they prepare for you, while pretending to enjoy it. And when you're vegan or vegetarian, this can be an even scarier prospect.

Luckily for me, though, my new husband's family loves to whip up vegan meals for us when we stop by to visit, and they're always tasty. On a recent trip to visit my new sister-in-law, we were greeted with heaping plates of warm pasta with vegetables roasted in Italian seasonings, after our long seven-hour drive there.

Roasting vegetables in oil really helps retain their moisture and brings out more complex flavors, and the earthiness pairs well with whole wheat pasta. Of course, I had to recreate this dish at home after eating it with my in-laws, and here's the easy recipe for all of you. Enjoy!

In many Asian markets, you can find a wide variety of faux meats, ranging from mock lamb to vegan duck. Many of the types I've tried recently are made from seitan instead of soy, which tends to have a lighter, more airy texture. And one of my favorites so far is mock pork, which I used recently to make "pork" skewers over noodles.

The marinade for the "pork" is a cinch to make, and it's easily absorbed by the seitan-based faux meat. It has just a touch of heat from the chilies and a good dose of lemongrass, which gives the dish a fresher flavor.

I personally like to pull my "pork" off the skewers and eat it with noodles, but you could eat this over rice, with veggies, or even on its own with a dipping sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Clearly, I'm on a bit of a faux-meat kick. My last post featured faux pork, and today I had the pleasure of experimenting with faux shrimp. Usually when I find faux shrimp, they're used in Asian recipes, but I decided to use them in a simple Southern dish—"shrimp" and grits.

The ingredients in this dish are minimal, but the flavors definitely are not. The creamy grits make for a perfect treat on a cold day, and the faux shrimp add an unusual touch.

Enjoy!

Growing up in the South meant that stuffing was always made with cornbread—the salty, never sweet variety. Cornbread has a denser texture than other breads traditionally used in stuffing, which means it holds up well to all the margarine, veggies, and broth you can mix in!

One popular, and delicious, variation of traditional cornbread stuffing is the Cajun Cornbread Stuffing I tried this year. Of course, you start the dish with the holy trinity—bell pepper, onion, and celery—but you also add in pieces of oyster mushrooms to give the stuffing a little meatiness.

When many people hear the word "Cajun," they think spicy or blackened, but it isn't so with this recipe. The Cajun flavors are subtle, but still delicious.

Here's a link to more great vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes.

Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy!