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. 

Tamarind Lentils with Poppy Seed-Cornmeal Roti.

We're big fans of lentils around here... and these were a hit. The roti were really good too... a lot of work... and I'm still debating if they were worth all the work. I've realized that sometimes it's just fun to learn a new technique in cooking... doesn't mean I've got to make it again. Sometimes once is enough. The jury's still out.

Veganomicon

pg 123

pg 221

Cheezy Popcorn.

I loooooove this popcorn. In fact, after typing this up - I've decided I need to go make it now... Super simple, and healthy (minus the vegan butter).

air pop popcorn

melt some earth balance... drizzle over the top

sprinkle the nutritional yeast over top

and a little salt

shake it up

and dig in!

Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo Sauce Burritos.

These black beans were scrumpy with the chipotle adobo sauce. Total win, and totally easy. I served them in a tortilla with mexican millet and guacamole on top. I just mixed the beans and sauce all together... but the next time I'll do the drizzle thing so the kids won't get as much heat.

Beans:

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed (3 cups)

1 bay leaf

3 cups cold water

1 large onion, peeled and halved

salt and freshly ground pepper

Chipotle adobo sauce:

1 large onion, cut into small dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil (i used like 1)

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced

2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the chipotles

Combine the beans, onion, bay leaf, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then let boil for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes, until the beans are very tender and about half of the water has evaporated. Remove the bay leaf and onion before serving.

While the beans are cooking, prepare the chipotle adobo sauce: In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the chipotles and adobo sauce, cook for 30 seconds, and remove from the heat.

Allow to cool a few minutes, empty the sauce into food processor bowl, and briefly pulse until a chunky sauce forms. You may also use an immersion blender to do this. Serve the sauce drizzled over the individual serving of beans.

{I used 2 tablespoons of my chipotle adobo puree from the freezer. A great tip from Rachael Ray... When you buy one of those 6 oz. cans (you're never going to use all of it in one meal... unless you've got taste buds of steal) take all of the ribs and seeds out of the peppers and then puree the peppers along with the remaining sauce. Scoop it into a zip lock, label it, and stick it in the freezer. It keeps for forever, is a great way to use all the can and when you need some just take a knife and cut off the amount you need. So sweet! I love the tip and have been doing it for years.}

Veganomicon, page 122

Serves 4

Time: about 50 minutes

Blender Mac & Cheese.

Yet again, another ole college try to find a healthy version of Ava's favorite junked out mac & cheese. She wasn't a fan... (and now I officially give up trying to find one - I think that's just gonna be her 'thing')... but everyone else liked it. I love that you dirty only 2 things and it comes together super fast. Thanks again "GlowGirl".

1 pound vegan pasta (or regular if you prefer!)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain non-dairy milk
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic puree
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (curry powder)
1 tablespoons tahini
black pepper to taste

Cook your preferred pasta according to the directions on the bag or box.

While that is cooking, throw ALL ingredients (including 1 + 1/4 cup water) into the food processor or blender and blend for 30-60 seconds.

Once pasta is cooked and drained, add sauce into sauce pan with pasta and simmer over low-medium heat stirring frequently. The thickening process takes 5-10 minutes. Don’t despair if you think the pasta is too watery- it REALLY thickens up nicely thanks to the cornstarch!

You can get creative with this and mix in some vegetables or spinach too.

OhSheGlows

Grazing Tray.

 Carrots & hummus, cherry tomatoes, craisins & raisins, almonds and "cheerios".

I've seen this idea a couple of places, love it, and finally did it. It's a perfect way to have a snack and having a wide variety of things to fill them up with.

 trail mix, craisins, apples, carrots, vegan ranch & broccoli

Juice.

If you looked in my fridge today, you may get the wrong impression. You'd think my kids were total juice feen. But they're not. In fact I rarely, never ever basically let them drink juice.

I've found that I've been using it a lot for cooking. It's awesome. I buy the big bottles, bag it up and freeze it up so I'll have it for any of the recipes I use it for.

apple juice

grape juice

white grape juice

pomegranate juice

Now I just need to find more juice recipes because I got a whole-lotta-juice!

A Hummus Recipe.

I posted this forever ago when I posted my Rainbow Wraps... but never posted it's on it's own... with a picture. Love how it looks in the blender. All fluffy, yummy and creamy.

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed {i've used navy & pinto beans in here too}

1/3 cup fat-free oil substitute (or olive oil)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons sesame tahini
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup water, more or less for desired thickness
pinch of ground cumin or ground coriander (optional - did both)
salt and pepper
paprika (preferably Hungarian smoked - or just smoked)

Place half the chickpeas and oil substitute in a blender {makes it more creamier then a big ole food processor}. Pulse several times, stopping to stir with a rubber spatula. When the mixture is almost pureed and creamy, add the remaining chickpeas and oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and a little salt. Pulse, stopping to stir several times, until the mixture is very creamy. Season with salt and pepper; add more lemon juice to taste if necessary.

Transfer to an airtight container and chill for 30 minutes before serving. To serve: spread into a shallow bowl, dust with paprika, and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on top. (i just added the paprika when i mixed and forgot about the pretty drizzle of olive oil - no need for cute presentation for lunch)

I've added 2 roasted red peppers to this, and it turned out yummy. Another recipe variation is to add 2-3 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill and parsley to it.

Veganomicon, pg 67

serves 4

time: 10 minutes, plus chill time

Fruity Kale Salad with Coconut Lime Dressing.

When I saw this on Crysta's blog, I immediatly wanted to try it. It sounded so, so good. And it was. I was totally worried about the kale tasting bitter... but knew being soaked in the lime juice for a while would break it down. I didn't know how my kids would like it... but knew there was enough of what they like in there they'd be happy. And then for Shayne... he's a man... and salads typically aren't a main meal for him - but he really liked this.

6 large leaves of fresh kale, rinsed and dried

1 banana, chopped
3 strawberries, sliced
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 half of an avocado, cubed
1 clementine, or half of an orange peeled and divided
1 apple, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped fresh is best, but can use dried)
toasted & sliced almonds {my addition}


dressing
1/4 cup dried coconut
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon flaxseed

Chop up kale into bite sized pieces and toss with a pinch or 2 of salt. Mix up the ingredients for the dressing in a separate small bowl until well blended.

Massage the dressing (using your very clean hands) into the leaves until the kale becomes wilty and well coated with the dressing.

Now, in a separate bowl, take all of the chopped fruit (except for the avocado) and toss with cilantro. Mix fruit with the wilted kale.

Top with the chopped avocado and a little more of the dried coconut & toasted almonds.

from my friend Crysta who got it from ManifestVegan