Monthly Archives: November 2013

The Glory of Orange Food

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These days when I have a meal, I don’t always start with the main course because sometimes the most interesting food on the table is the side dishes. Plant based eating changes your focus and I’m sometimes amazed at the imagination and ingredients that go into all of the foods that accompany the main dish.  No, I’m not talking about garlic mashed potatoes, which I absolutely love, but dishes that stand and shine on their own, and this glorious side does just that. Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Carrots and Ginger is a great idea for Thanksgiving, and a year round favorite at my house.  It’s also an excellent way to coax a picky eater or vegiephobe into eating something that’s good for them.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Carrots and Ginger

Favorite Sweet potato and carrot mash 002

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange or red sweet potato
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large shallot or small onion, chopped
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Onions and garlic

In a small saucepan, soften the shallot and garlic in a tablespoon of vegetable broth.

Add the sweet potato cubes and carrot with just enough vegetable broth to cover.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until fork tender. Drain.

Sweet potato and carrot mash 011

In a food processor or blender (you could just use a hand masher) combine the sweet potato, carrot, garlic mixture with grated ginger and coconut oil.  You could use butter, but I find that the coconut oil adds a subtle flavor that I really love.  Add a little almond milk or half and half for consistency.  Blend until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with cilantro or parsley leaves, or orange zest.

Mash with Black Bean Burger

You could pair it with black bean burgers topped with salsa and some steamed broccoli.  This dish is just the right combination of sweet and savory.  Save the leftovers (if there are any) to make sweet potato quinoa patties, but that’s another story.

ξlaine

 

 

Vegetable Pesto and Pasta

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Sometimes you just get tired of red sauce and alfredo is more cream and cheese than my arteries can handle.  So, what to do with the fettucine?  The answer is pesto.  Of course sometimes you start out in one direction and end up somewhere else.  At least that happens to me frequently.  Not all pesto has to be made with basil or parsley, which is good because I didn’t have either one.  So what follows is somewhere between pesto and sofrito and it’s amazing on pasta. You can use it as a sauce, a seasoning mix, spread it on bread or put it in the soup.  I love versatile foods, especially the ones that include lots of vegetables, plus it’s a fast weeknight supper.  I also get to use my food processor which is always fun.

Vegetable Pesto

  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  • 1-2 cups of greens (I used a combination of chard, beet greens and collard greens)

Chop and place all of the vegetables in the food processor and pulse several times until almost smooth.  Vegetable Pesto II

 

 

 

Pasta wit Veg PestoPour into a skillet with enough olive oil to coat the pan and sweat the mixture on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the fettucine until al dente, drain (reserving some of the cooking liquid) and place in a large bowl or serving dish.  Spoon the pesto over the noodles, adding some of the cooking liquid if needed, and toss until the noodles are coated.  Pasta and Pesto 006Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!