Baked Zucchini Sticks and Sweet Onion Dip.

These were realllly good. Mine didn't turn out as pretty as the ones they did, I blame it on not using the cheese. Shayne and I think we would have liked them without all the crust and just some herb seasoning. The dip was good, but wasn't worth all the work just for us. Does that sound bad? I'll have to roast more zucchini this way to eat. SO good! 

recipe from King Arthur Flour

Cajun Oven Fries.

An awesome go-to for homemade steak oven fries. Nice and spicy! Although, don't eat with leftover BBQ Chipotle Burgers and Sweet & Spicy Cucumbers. Holy Moly, our family was one big sweaty mess by the end of dinner. Ok, not that bad. But way too much spicy for one meal!

4 medium thin-skinned white potatoes
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce
1 teaspoon ground thyme or poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut potatoes into wedges. In a large bowl, combine oil, hot sauce, thyme, paprika, and cumin. Toss potatoes in dressing and spread out in a single layer on a nonstick cookie sheet. Season wedges with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, turning once. [or, I like to cook the fries on a cooling rack ontop of a cooking sheet... that way the heat goes all the way around the frie and you don't have to flip them... a RR Tip]

a Rachael Ray recipe

Tender Barley Cornbread.

This cornbread is awesome. Super healthy and super fast. It's our new staple. I just ground barley up in my food processor instead of buying overpriced barley flour. Plus, I love the texture the little pieces that don't get quite so ground give.  When it's all done baking, while it's still warm, I spread a little agave nectar, maple syrup or honey on top to sweeten it a little more.

3/4 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup barley flour (grind some barley in the blender)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (regular or pastry flour)
2 tablespoons sugar (or a tad shy of 2 T. agave nectar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Whisk together the cornmeal, barley and whole wheat flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the milk and applesauce and stir just until mixed. Scrape into and 8" x 8" nonstick baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut the hot cornbread into squares. (or put in sprayed muffin tins)

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, pg 195

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil-Garlic Mayonnaise.

I loooooove sweet potato fries. And these are good. And the mayo to dip 'em in are even better! SO good. It's a Giada de Laurentiis that I veganized. It wasn't hard... swap out the mayo for vegenaise and you're good. Although I'd like to think there was some more skill to it. 

I haven't gotten my family to love sweet potatoes the way I do... I blame it on their father's revulsion to them. So, I enjoy these all on my own. And I'm totally, and completely... okay with that.

5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"

drizzle of olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I go way easy, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup vegenaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine. **

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic vegenaise alongside for dipping.

**I always go sooo light on the olive oil that the basil salt never really sticks to the fries. So, I just add it to the garlic vegenaise. 

Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette.

snagged from bon appetit.com

This recipe was in the Thanksgiving issue of my Bon Appetit magazine. I was in charge of a side for the big day and figured I'd give it a try, along with the maple-braised butternut squash with fresh thyme. I know they say not to try new recipes for such a big day... but after looking at the ingredients and making it in my mouth... I knew they'd both be awesome. And they were. They're both super easy and super healthy.

The very first time I make a recipe I follow it exactly, then as I make it more often I play with it a bit. What's here is the exact and in parenthesis is my additions. It's so easy and so, so yummy.

By-the-way, can I just say how much I love bon appetit? When I first got into cooking Shayne got me a subscription. I thought it was mighty sweet and very ambitious of him to do so. But he had more faith in me then I had in myself at that time... and I'm glad he did. I never thought that I would have actually cooked stuff out of it... I just thought it'd be some good eye candy for me. So, thanks Babe - for believing in me!

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used 1/4 cup... and next time I'll try my oil-free substitute)
1/3 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint {omit!! I save mint for my gum}
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar (agave nectar)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus additional for sprinkling
1/3 cup dried tart cherries (craisins are just as good in this)
1 1/2 pounds trimmed slender green beans
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Whisk first 6 ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Mix in dried cherries; set aside. (I like to blend in my blender so it's more of a dressing and I don't have chunks of cherries/craisins) DO AHEAD Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature; rewhisk before using.

Fill large bowl with water and ice; set aside. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. (I do it for 5-8 minutes since I don't really like my beans crispy) [For crisp-tender vegetables, boil them quickly, then dump them into a bowl of ice water. The rapid boil cooks the veggies just enough; the ice water stops the cooking and intensifies the color of the vegetables.] Drain. Transfer to bowl with ice water; cool. Drain. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in paper towels; enclose in resealable plastic bag and chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.

Toss green beans, walnuts, and vinaigrette in large bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Transfer to platter and serve.

Maple-Braised Butternut Squash with Fresh Thyme.



snagged from bonappetit.com

Here's my other new fave that I discovered for Thanksgiving dinner from bon appetit. The flavors are so yummy together. The 3 stores I went to were out of fresh thyme so I had to use dried and it was really good still! Yeah for dried herbs.

3 tablespoons earth balance "butter"
1 3 - 3 1/2 pound butternut squash, cut lengthwise in half, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon (or more) black pepper

Melt earth balance in heavy large deep skillet over high heat. Add squash; sauté 1 minute. Add broth, syrup, thyme, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until squash is almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer squash to large bowl. Boil liquid in skillet until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Return squash to skillet. Cook until tender, turning occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with more pepper, if desired.

THE TECHNIQUE: BRAISING: sautéing, then cooking low and slow in a bit of liquid) is most often associated with meat, but it's also a great way to cook veggies. Fibrous vegetables like butternut squash are the perfect candidate for braining. The braising liquid infuses the squash with flavor and makes it very tender.

Mexican Millet.

We love this, Shayne loves this, and use as a side for fajitas, sweet potato black bean burritos or any other latin flared dish. Easy and I love using different grains.

1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup millet
1 small yellow onion, diced finely
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup finely diced tomatoes, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
freshly squeezed lime juice, for garnish

Heat the a medium-size, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and steam-fry the garlic - about 1 minute. Add the onion and jalapeno, and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and slightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. dd the millet, stir to coat, and saute for 4 to 6 minutes, until the millet is lightly golden. Pour in the vegetable broth and add the tomato paste, salt, cumin, and diced fresh tomato.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stir once, and cover. Lower the heat to low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

Remove from the heat and allow to sit, covered, for 0 minutes, then sprinkle with copped cilantro and fluff the millet with fork. Garnish each serving with a little fresh lime juice and diced tomato, if desired.

{{The original recipe calls for using 2 tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil to fry the garlic, onion and jalapeno in.}}

Veganomicon
page 118
serves 4
time: 45 minutes

Tex-Mex Fried Rice.

I love this rachael ray side! It's so good with anything mexican food related. To use as a side or to put in burritos. Love the hominy! When I make it I usually cook the rice sometime during the day or use any leftovers.

extra virgin olive oil

1 14-ounce can hominy or 2 ears of corn, kernels removed

1 small red onion, chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 to 3 small tomatoes, seeded and diced

A few dashes hot sauce (more if you like it spicy!)

Salt and ground black pepper

Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of oil, about a tablespoon. Add the hominy, onion, jalapeño and garlic to the pan, and cook until the veggies are golden brown, 5-6 minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and continue cooking until the rice is light golden and crispy, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro, tomatoes and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.