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Posts Tagged ‘sweet potato’

Fourth of July Recipe Round Up and Southwestern Potato Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , on July 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

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Leave it to me to wait until the last minute to give you a 4th of July recipes. So, to make it up to you, I’m giving you a recipe round up of the last years recipes that would be appropriate for todays festivities. If you want even more recipes, click on the July 4th Popsicle recipe below for last years round up.

Appetizer:

Buffalo Hummus Courtesy of my friend, Amelia. It’s hands down my all-time favorite hummus

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blueberry salsa The best salsa. Ever.

Main Dish:

Blueberry BBQ sauce I made this with baked tofu but it would be great with grilled tofu and veggies also.

Sloppy Chicks: This was consumed at a Game of Thrones Season 1 viewing party. My friend’s boyfriend, Ben, went back for seconds and thirds and he is usually a carnivore!

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Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers You can make extra of these and freeze them for later. These are also carnivore-approved. My parents and Grandma gave them thumbs up all around

Side dishes: Because warm mayo potato salad is so overrated!

Peanutty Noodles and Veggies Part 1 These were non-vegan crowd tested at a pot luck and there was absolutely no left overs for me to enjoy! Big hit and no one took notice that they were vegan

Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad A light alternative to potato or pasta salad that is fresh and in season

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Dessert:

Strawberry Macaroons You could also try these with freeze dried blueberries.

Grapefruit Sorbet Skip the pies and cake drenched in vanilla ice cream and make this insanely refreshing sorbet. Top with fresh fruit, granola and or honey. This will be great on a hot day.

S’more Truffles Bite-sized s’mores delicious-ness without the mess…or bon fire…or the hunt for vegan marshmellows

July 4th Popsicles  The dessert that is currently blowing up on pinterest! There is also my 2012 recipe round-up in this link so take a look at those recipes, too!

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Beverages:

Lemon Lime Margarita There is nothing patriotic about this. It’s just delicious.

Pomagranite Margarita It’s Red. It’s Tequila. What more could you want? Maybe throw some blueberries in it?

and here’s a new recipe for you,  a vegan-friendly potato salad, sans the mayo. I brought this to a cook out a few weeks ago and then like a ditz, I forgot to put it out when we were eating. This means I’ve been eating this whole potato salad, by myself, for about a week. Trust me. I will not be eating potato salad today at any fourth of July parties. oi

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Southwestern Potato Salad
from: Edibleperspective.com

For the salad:

  • 2 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 3/4 cups cooked black beans, rinsed + drained
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped red onion
  • 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (about 2 or 3 ears of corn on the cobb)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tablespoon safflower oil
  • salt + pepper
  • lime wedges + fresh parsley/oregano/cilantro, to top, optional (I didn’t have any so I skipped this step)

For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3-4 teaspoons chipotle adobo sauce (found in the mexican food section in a little can. I only had whole chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, so I just pureed them in my nut chopper and they worked great)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, or honey
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • scant 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt + pepper
  1. Add dressing ingredients to a jar and shake vigorously until fully combined.  Set aside.
  2. Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
  3. Add chopped potatoes to the pot of boiling water and boil for about 8-12 minutes until just tender.  Do not overcook.  Taste-test a few cubes for doneness.  
  4. Pour potatoes into a large colander and rinse with cold water for ~1 minute to stop the cooking.
  5. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a medium pan over medium heat with 1/2 tablespoon oil.
  6. Once hot, add the onion and a large pinch of salt to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
  7. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds then add the corn and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the corn starts to slightly brown and the onion is soft.
  8. Remove from heat and pour onto a plate to cook for a few minutes.
  9. Empty the sweet potatoes, black beans, bell peppers, and corn mixture into a large bowl.
  10. Pour about 3/4 of the dressing overtop and gently toss to coat.
  11. Place in the fridge [uncovered] until fully chilled and then cover until ready to serve.
  12. Gently stir the mixture, then taste and add more dressing, salt, and pepper if needed and stir again to distribute.
  13. Place in individual bowls or in a large serving dish and top with fresh parsley, oregano, and/or cilantro.  Serve with lime wedges on the side.
  14. This lasts upwards of 1 week.

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Even though I’ve been eating this for over a week, I have to say, it’s still pretty delicious! I love, love, LOVE the lime chipotle dressing and actually only used about half for this recipe and used the other half on a different salad I will be sharing with you later. It’s super light and flavorful, perfect for summer. I think this recipe will be a great change for your picnics or cook outs and will keep things vegan without people even noticing!

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Ironically, I have been going non-stop all week and have plans all weekend but today is looking pretty quiet! I’m hoping to lounge around all day and do a whole lot of nothin’! Maybe I’ll go purchase some sparklers to keep in the spirit but other then that, relaxation is the word of the day. Hope everyone has a great 4th and stay safe!!

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Lentil, Mushroom & Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on March 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes, it’s Saturday and I’m able to take my time taking awesome pictures for the blog, complete with props and natural sunlight and cute dishes.

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Other times, I have been trying to make a dish for two weeks but haven’t found time;  had to toss ingredients out at least once because they went bad before I could use them; had to hussle out of the kitchen cause my roommate needed it to make dinner with his friends; had to take pictures in front of old plastic-ed windows in the early morning gray-ness because it’s snowing; and the recipe I’m photographing is really nothing but a pile of orange and  brown (albeit delicious) mush.

(Did I use those semi-colons correctly?!?! I think I followed the rules the Oatmeal gave me! oh yeah!)

Can you guess which situation this delightful shephard’s pie recipe falls under?

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Despite the fact that it may win the award for the most unpleasant pictures on the site, the recipe is actually really delicious, which is a lot coming from me. Shephard’s pie used to be my one freebie at dinner. You know, you had to eat what Mom makes except for your one freebie meal because she knew you genuinely hated it. Shephard’s pie was my freebie (until I went vegetarian, then I got a special meal each night. Go me!). But since this recipe has exactly none of the ingredients that my mom’s shephard’s pie had, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I like it better.

Like my potato masher? After I made the Sweet Potato burgers for my parents and it took me a million hours to mash the potatoes with a fork, Mom bought me my very own potato masher. yeah!! lol

Like my potato masher? After I made the Sweet Potato burgers for my parents and it took me a million hours to mash the potatoes with a fork, Mom bought me my very own potato masher. yeah!! lol

This recipe takes the tradition meat, potatoes and veggies (Mom’s always had ground beef, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy) and subs in lentils, mushrooms and sweet potatoes, all things I love! Weirdly enough, when it was cooking though, it definitely smelt like I remember Mom’s did! Maybe I was just psyching myself out…

Lentil, Mushroom & Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

From thekitchn.com
Makes 6 servings

6 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed*
1 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
3/4 cup dry steel cut oats
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound  mushrooms, divided ( used baby bellas, the original recipe used creminis)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick each sweet potato several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft to the touch. Set aside to cool.

In a medium pot, combine the lentils, oats, bay leaf and salt with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are soft but not mushy, stirring occasionally to keep the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Discard bay leaf and drain mixture into a colander or sieve.

While the lentils and oats are cooking, finely chop half of the mushrooms and set aside. Cut the remaining mushrooms into quarters. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the quartered mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook until browned and soft. Add the chopped mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent. Lower heat to medium and add the lentil and oat mixture, followed by the vegetable stock, wine, tomato paste, soy sauce, paprika, and parsley. Taste and add salt if needed. Simmer mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add a few grinds of black pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel sweet potatoes with your hands and place in a medium bowl. Use a fork to mash them into a smooth paste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Evenly spread the lentil mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish. (For thicker layers, use a 9×9-inch pan.) Spoon the sweet potato mixture on top and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling at the edges.

 *Note: The original recipe called for 5 medium sweet potatoes but that didn’t even cover 3/4 of my shephard’s pie in a 9×13 pan. I would suggest buying and roasting 6. Start by mashing 5 and if you need more, mash the 6th. If you end up not using that 6th roasted sweet potato, you can always cube it and add it to a salad or have it it for lunch.
 
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Bonus points for me: Shephard’s Pie is considered an Irish cuisine on wikipedia. Which means that I am over a week early with presenting you with a St. Patty’s Day dinner idea. Just add a Guiness (Extra Stout is vegan according to Barnivore.com) and your done. More St. Patty’s day recipes to come!

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Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2013| 4 Comments »

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fresh out of the oven!

 

This morning I woke up to find a leak in my bathroom ceiling. Living in a bajillion year old, falling apart apartment is SO fun.

Then I tried to pump gas in a wind storm in a skirt. Why do I never check the weather?!

This day is quickly going down hill but I HAD to make time to post this blog. Mostly, because I promised my Mom Sunday that I would get this to her and low-and-behold, it’s Thursday and it’s still not posted. Crap. I have magic powers when it comes to this blog. If I promise something, I never post it. It’s like a mental block. Kind of like how I told everyone I gave nut butter to for Christmas that I would totally post the recipes on WV for them to check out? Clearly, that hasn’t happened! (I promise next week, Amelia!!)

 

So, last weekend, I invited my mom, dad and grandma to my apartment to cook for them. I’ve been putting a lot of energy into making the apartment more home-y. It’s an uphill battle (see previously referenced  ‘bajillion year old, falling apart apartment’.). Also, all my roommates and I are in our 20s, so we are broke. Simple fact.

When I moved into the apartment, the motto was “Why pay for it when you can get it for free on the street??”. In fact, the first day I moved to Boston, one of my roommates talked my Dad into driving us (in the minivan) to pick up a couch on the side of the road. To this day, I hate that couch more then anything.

But, I’ve been working to organize things, add some color, add some wall art, etc. When I realized things were looking a little more up, I invited the family down to check it out with the promise of lunch. Of course, it turned into more of a team-effort lunch as opposed to me cooking for them (I’m used to cooking with my fellow foodie friends where it’s all a hands-on approach…plus, I had been out ’til 3am the night before soooo there was that too…). Either way, we ended up with these burgers, beer fries and roasted asparagus. And it was delicious!

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Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

from Edible Perspective

  • 15oz black beans, drained + rinsed
  • 3c cubed sweet tater, cooked + skin on [~1.5lbs]
  • 1/2c frozen or fresh corn
  • 2/3c finely chopped onion [1/2 medium onion]
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/2c cooked quinoa
  • 6T rolled oats, partially ground
  • 2T sunflower seeds
  • 1/2t salt
  • black pepper
  • 1t cumin
  • 1t oregano
  • 1/4t coriander
  • 1t chili powder
  • 1/4t cayenne [optional]
  • 1T olive oil
  1. Preheat your oven to 375* once you finish cooking the quinoa + potato.
  2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
  3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
  4. In a large bowl, mash the sweet tater.  Each cube should be mashed, but you don’t want it creamy.
  5. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, coriander, chili powder, cayenne [if using] and olive oil, until combined.
  6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and ground oats, until just combined.
  7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
  8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties.  This should make 8 medium/large patties.
  9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through.
  10. Remove from oven + serve!

*If you want to refrigerate or freeze them, let fully cool on a cooling rack.  Place in a sealed container for the fridge, or wrap in saran, then foil, then in a bag for the freezer.  If reheating a frozen burger, let it thaw completely.  Re-heat in a greased pan, over medium heat for ~3-5min per side, until hot throughout.

*To make the ground oats – Pulse your blender on + off, until you have the consistency about half way to flour.

*Instead of ground oats, feel free to sub – millet flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, whole wheat flour, etc.

*To pan cook – Heat a pan to medium and lightly grease.  Cook on each side for 5-8min, flip + cook another 5-8min until golden brown.

*For the grill – Bake burgers for 15min on one side, flip burgers once and bake another 10min.  While baking, preheat your grill slightly above medium [~350-375*]  Grease the grates and cook burgers for ~3min per side

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I served this with 365 brand roasted chipotle salsa (All of us were big fans!) and Avocado Cream, recipe below.

Avocado Cream
inspired by How Sweet Eats

2/3 cup silken tofu

1 avocado, chopped

3- 4 tsp of cilantro (I used 3 but it wasn’t too strong)

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of pepper

Add cilantro and avocado to a food processor, blending to combine. Once somewhat smooth, add insilken tofu and blend again until combined. Add in salt and pepper, taste, and add more seasoning or cilantro if necessary

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No one in my family is a vegetarian or vegan but all were fans of the burgers. I’ve also been taking them to lunch and serving on one slice of toasted bread, topped with salsa and avocado cream or crumbling it up over a salad and using the salsa and avocado cream as a dressing.

I noticed I’ve been getting a ton of hits on my Me Mine fruit smoothy. More Valentines recipes coming soon! (I’m not just saying that. I promise! I hope…)

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Cripsy Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Apple and Pomegranate

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on December 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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Oh, December. The month where it’s sort of ok to start your morning off with peppermint hot chocolate, have three desserts during the day, go to a Christmas party for dinner and then come home and have a candy cane as your watching TV at night.

It’s a little insane. I mean, I love it, but it’s a little insane.

So, to help balance out the complete excess of sugar, I tried to prep something health for dinner this week. I mean, I still wanted it to be sorta festive because, hello, it’s December. I would be the uncool blog on the block if I didn’t provide you with something festive each and every post, but seriously. There is more to life then cookies.

I mean, not much else because cookies rock but a bit more.

So here is a kale salad. It has green stuff and it has red stuff so you know, when you combine it, it’s festive. This totally counts as a holiday post now, right? I have holiday colors… How about you  turn on some holiday tunes while your reading the rest to make up for the fact that there is no sugar in this.

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Crispy Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Pomagranite
slightly modified from How Sweet Eats
serves 2

ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale, torn from stems and torn into pieces
2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted, or olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh apple cider
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Field Roast vegan sausage, Smoked Apple Sage
1 shallot, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small sweet potato, diced small
1 honeycrisp apple, diced small
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup pomegranate arils

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place kale in a large bowl and massage oil, apple cider, nutmeg, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt  for 1-2 minutes. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 10 minutes. Toss well and roast for 5-10 minutes more, until slightly crispy but not golden.

While kale is roasting, heat a skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Cook until heated through and turning golden. Set aside. Add the shallot, garlic, sweet potatoes and apples to the skillet, tossing with remaining salt and cinnamon. You want the sweet potato and apple finely diced, only slightly larger than the pom arils. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.

In a small saucepan, add pecans and toast over low heat for 5-6 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Set aside.

Combine kale with apples and sweet potatoes, pecans, sausage and pom arils. Jessica at How Sweet Eats was correct when she said you don’t need dressing for this salad. The sauteed sweet potato and apple, combined with the oil/vinegar mix on the kale makes it plenty flavorful.

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Now that I have given you a healthy recipe, I feel less guilty about planning on giving you a cookie recipe for tomorrow. It will be chocolate-y and peppermint-y and booze-y and you will love it. I promise. I will then most likely follow that up with about 800 other chocolate peppermint recipes because, seriously, I’m obsessed with that flavor combo this season. More on that tomorrow, though.

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Sweet Potato Brownies

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , on April 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In college, I liked to have writing paper cram sessions. Ok, I didn’t like having cram sessions but it was an unfortunate side effect of having Procrastination Disorder. I would start my paper at around 7 o’clock the night before it was due, work 12 hours straight, sleep for an hour or two, review my paper and go to class around 10.

It’s crazy, I know. But what can I say? This happened with almost every paper I worked on, especially my sophmore year.

So, needless to say I’m 1. an expert on procrastination and 2. an expert on cram sessions.

I had to tap into that well of knowledge this weekend because my friend Rachel from Rachel Robin’s Nest and I decided it would be a super awesome idea to sign up for a craft fair our work is having. We, of course, were super motivated for the first week, compiling a laundry list of awesome crafts we wanted to do. Well…that was a month ago. On Friday, we had very little to show for a craft fair that is next week.

You know what that means…a cram session was in order! Oh yeah!

So, we got together this weekend and cranked out some serious crafts. And no cram session is complete without sugary fuel. In college, my go to fuel was a ginormous french vanilla cappuccino, like the instant ones that you can get at gas stations. I was addicted.

That doesn’t really suit my taste now so I had to look elsewhere. Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to the seriously chocolaty, fudgy Sweet Potato Brownie.

Fudgy Sweet Potatoadapted from

  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt
  • 1/2c agave
  • 1  tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup pureed sweet potato (directions below)
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp milk of choice (I used unsweetened original almond milk)
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients, and mix. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry. Pour into a greased pan (it will fill up half an 8×8*). Cook for about 25-30 minutes at 330 F.

*These brownies come out very thin. You could easily double the recipe for a thicker, more traditional brownie. You will have to cook the brownies longer, though. If you follow the link above to CCK’s website, she also gives alternatives for a cakier brownie. Unfortunately, it calls for a lot of artificial sweeteners that I’m skeptical about and that I just don’t have in my house. That’s why I opted for the fudge brownies but feel free to pick the variation you feel most comfortable with.

Sweet Potato Puree

1 large sweet potato

about 1/3 cup water

Cook the sweet potato at 400 F for about 40-45 minutes until it’s soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. Let cook completely. Scoop out the insides into a food process and process until smooth, adding the water when need a little at a time. You shouldn’t need too much water but the liquid helps with the pureeing process.

Add a little dairy free ice cream to make a sundae! I used So Delicious coconut vanilla bean. I have to say I much prefer the So Delicious Ice cream line that is made with soy and not coconut milk. But this sundae still hit the spot after a day of crafting! We are so going to kick that craft fair’s butt!

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