Beans and Rice with Roasted Sweet Potato and Green Sauce

From The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen, Volume 1 (Rancho Gordo Press, 2019)

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds or wedges

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Rancho Gordo Stardust Dipping Powder or New Mexican Chile Powder

Salt and pepper

2 cups cooked Rancho Gordon Rio Zape or Midnight Black beans

2 cups cooked brown or white rice

For the green sauce:

1.5 cups plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 small bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed

2 green onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped (optional)

Juice of 1 to 2 limes

Salt

Makes 6 servings

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and coat with 1 tbs olive oil.

2) In a bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the remaining 3 tbs olive oil and a liberal amount of Stardust, salt, and pepper. Spread the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer; bake until soft, about 30 minutes. 

3) Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and bake until the edges of the sweet potatoes are caramelized, about 10 more minutes. Check the sweet potatoes often and move them around on the sheet to make sure they don't stick or burn.

4) In a small saucepan, warm the cooked beans over low heat. Add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Keep warm.

5) To make the green sauce, place the yogurt, cilantro, green onion, garlic, and chile (if using) in a blender; blend until smooth. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

6) Divide the rice and bean mixture among plates, top with sweet potatoes, and drizzle with the green sauce. Serve extra sauce at the table.

Instant Pot Brown Rice

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

1.25 cups water

Directions

1) Add rinsed rice and water to Instant Pot. Seal lid and cook for 22 minutes, natural release.

Instant Pot Quinoa

 Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups broth or water

Directions

1) Rinse quinoa and put quinoa and water or broth in Instant Pot. 

2) Seal lid and cook for 1 minute, natural release.

BROL

This recipe comes from Michael Greger MD of NutritionFacts.org.  I'm not sure if this base recipe is in one of his cookbooks or if it's only found with other things added to it.  I couldn't find it plain though and I just make this basic BROL (barley/rye/oats/lentil) as the base for my lunchtime Buddha bowls.  It makes enough for a week worth of Buddha bowl lunches.  It's just basic whole grains and lentils, so it could theoretically be the base for a lot of different things.  It is one of the few things I've ever eaten that made me feel energetic and just better in general than before I ate.  I also used up some random whole grains as substitutions (e.g., millet) before buying the actual ingredients listed below.  If you have whole grains or lentils to use up and don't know what to do with them, I highly recommend this.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup hulled barley

1/3 cup rye berries

1/3 cup oat groats

1/2 cup black beluga lentils

Directions:

1) Rinse barley, rye, and oats and combine with 2 cups of water in an Instant Pot.  Cook for 30 minutes with natural release.

2) Set aside cooked grains and put black lentils and 1 cup water into Instant Pot. Cook for 1 minute with natural release.

3) Stir grains and lentils to combine.  Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Eat plain or add whatever.  They have more flavor than most plain grains.  Not bad for a healthy breakfast, especially with some fruit.

Sourdough Bread Round

I had to look at a couple different sites to make this because I didn't have all the tools mentioned in the recipe and didn't want to buy them in case I decided none of this was worth the effort.  The bread turned out fantastically.  It took forever and was worth the effort.  I used a good portion of the bread last night to make the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever had.
 

Here is the recipe I used.  All my mixing bowls are metal, which it sounds like can be problematic for sourdough (?), so just to be safe, the dough did its 12 hour rise in the large glass bowl I normally keep fruit in on the counter.  I covered it with plastic wrap and left it in the oven off overnight because it seems a bit less cold than the countertop in winter.  I don't have a proofing basket (I had never even heard of it before -- no wonder my last attempt at sourdough went so poorly -- all of this sounded new), so I lined my metal colander with a tea towel and dusted it with flour and let the dough do its final 4 hour rise in that.  I don't have a dutch oven, so I followed this website's top suggestion and preheated my oven for an hour with the baking stone as the intended cooking surface.  I put the bread on a piece of parchment paper, set it on the hot baking stone, sprayed some water into the walls of the oven to create steam and put two ice cubes next to the dough to create more steam, and then covered the dough and ice cubes with my largest metal mixing bowl turned upside down over it for 30 minutes.  Then remove the bowl and bake for another 15 minutes, then remove bread (I used my pizza peel, as shown in the photo) and let bread cool for a hour.

Instant Pot Idli

I've amended my recipe now that I've made this successfully a few times.  The water and dry ingredient amounts and cook times seem reliable now.  I use more water than the recipes I've seen that involve a wet grinder, but it works.  I don't have a wet grinder, and when I tried to make a thick paste in my Vitamix, the blender always overheated and the fermentation never really came out right.  The amounts noted below are the amounts I always use now.

Ingredients
1/2 cup urad dal (the whitish colored skinned and split urad dal, not the whole black kind)
1 cup idli rice (parboiled short grain rice that says "idli" or "idly" on the bag)
1/2 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
1/2 tsp non-iodized salt (I use fine sea salt)
cold water

Directions

1) Put urad dal and methi seeds in one bowl and cover with water.  Put idli rice in another bowl and cover with water.  Let soak at least 6 hours.

2) Rinse urad dal and methi seeds thoroughly.  Add 1/2 cup cold water to a high speed blender and top with urad dal and methi seeds.  Blend into a fine paste. Put dal paste into a bowl.

3) Rinse idli rice thoroughly.  Add 1.5 cups cold water to same high speed blender and top with the idli rice.  Blend.  It will be a lot thinner than the dal paste.  Don't worry about that.  Add to the same bowl as the dal and combine thoroughly.  It should now be about the thickness of a smoothie.

4) Preheat oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (this is important because it's usually too cold in my house to ferment things at room temperature).  When oven is preheated, turn it off.  Cover bowl of batter with an oven-safe plate and put it in the warm, off oven with only the oven light on and leave it to ferment over night.

5) Check on the batter the next day.  It won't be ready yet, but that's okay.  Heat the oven back up to 180, turn it off, cover the bowl and put it back in the off oven, and turn the oven light back on.  I end up leaving mine in the oven for about 18 hours total.  Basically I leave it until I'm ready to make dinner.  By then it's foamed up into nearly twice its previous size and smells like idli.  Now add 1/2 tsp of salt and stir it in.     

6) Put 1.5 cups water into Instant Pot and set to "saute" until you can see steam coming off the water.  While waiting for the water to heat (it happens quickly), lightly oil idli molds (I spray them lightly with Pam) and add batter.  I fill the molds so they are each about two-thirds to three-quarters full.

7) Place stack of idli molds into Instant Pot.  I only use four out of the five of my idli mold trays because when I stacked all five, the idli on the top layer clogged up the vent on my Instant Pot.  I just don't take that chance now.  Close lid leaving "venting" on.  Set to "steam" and let cook for 12 minutes (you'll have to set a separate timer for this because the Instant Pot one does not start counting until it reaches high pressure).  Turn off Instant Pot and leave sealed for 10 more minutes (my idli had been a little too wet and not quite done when I opened it as soon as the pressure went down).

8) Open Instant Pot and remove stack of idli molds.  Remove idli with a rubber spatula.  Serve warm with sambar and coconut chutney.  Simran and I also like yogurt with this.  If you use the unsweetened plain cashew yogurt by Forager, the entire meal remains vegan.

Smoky Potato Salad over Greens

I did not expect a vegan no-oil potato salad to taste this good.  I loved it.  It comes from the No Meat Athlete cookbook.

Ingredients

2 pounds (900 g) waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
1/4 cup (60 mL) apple cider vinegar
2 scallions (white and light green parts), sliced
1/2 avocado, mashed
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 drops liquid smoke
12 oz (340 g) baby greens (I used baby arugula)
1/4 cup (30 g) unsalted, roasted almonds, chopped (I omitted this because I forgot to buy it.)

Directions

1.  Chop potatoes into bite size pieces and boil in a large pot over medium-high heat until fork-tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and let cool in a single layer.

2.  Meanwhile, mix together the vinegar, avocado, maple syrup, tomato paste, mustard, salt, paprika, pepper, and liquid smoke in a food processor.

3.  Combine potatoes, scallions, and dressing in a large bowl.  The salad can be refrigerated for about 24 hours.  Serve over greens and topped with almonds.

Vegetable Biryani

I made this dish for the first time last week, and it's really good.  I would make a couple changes from the original recipe, so I incorporated them below.  Fresh or frozen vegetables work equally well.  Go for ease of preparation.  I want to figure out precisely how much liquid is necessary to make this with brown basmati rice too.  Most basmati rice recipes that don't involve adding raisins and other stuff call for 1.5x as much water as rice.  Most brown basmati rice recipes call for 2x as much water as rice.  I think I would try initially using the same water to rice ratio as this recipe calls for, with the understanding that I might have to add a quarter cup of water and steam longer if the rice turns out crunchy the first time around.  Brown rice also takes about 50 minutes to cook, in comparison to 20 minutes for white rice.  I'll amend the amounts and directions when I've had a chance to try it with brown.  I also think the ghee could be reduced by at least a tablespoon without adversely affecting flavor.

Ingredients

For the rice:
3/4 cups basmati rice
1 tablespoon ghee
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
3 whole cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the vegetables: 2 tablespoons ghee
1/4 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
3 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup sweet corn
3 small new potatoes (about 6 ounces), peeled and quartered
1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons blanched, sliced almonds

Directions:

1.  Make the rice: Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.

2.  Toast the sliced almonds and shredded coconut in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Move them to a plate and set aside. 

 

3.  In a medium-sized pot with tight-fitting lid, melt ghee over medium heat. Add the golden raisins, turmeric, cumin seed, coriander seed, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 1 minute more. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, and steam until the rice is tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

4.  While the rice is cooking, make the vegetables. Melt the butter in the skillet used before with a tight-fitting lid, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the golden raisins, coriander seed, cumin seed, and cardamom and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining vegetables. Raise the heat to high, pour in the water, and cook, covered, for 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender and most of the water has evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes more.

5.  Add the rice to the vegetable mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Season with salt to taste. Divide the vegetable-rice mixture among plates and top with some of the toasted coconut and almonds. Serve immediately.

Rigatoni alla Anthony

This is my adaptation of the dish I like best from La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant in my town.  It's very quick and easy, and I use whole grain pasta for mine, as well as a higher concentration of vegetables than the restaurant uses.  I personally think mine tastes better than the restaurant's, but only because the higher concentration of vegetables makes it have more flavor.  To make it vegan, just leave out the cheese.  I've also made it oil-free, though it doesn't taste as good as it does with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Ingredients
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed (you want them bite-sized, so you can either get small artichoke hearts or larger ones that have been quartered -- I just get whichever is cheaper)
1 14 oz. can Italian-style diced tomatoes, including juices
1/2 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 16 oz. box of whole wheat pasta (I have never been able to find whole grain rigatoni, so I usually buy penne because it's close to the same shape.  I usually use about 12 oz. or 3/4 of the box when cooking for our 2-adult household, and there's always some of the dish leftover.)
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 tbs freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Cook onions until translucent.  Add garlic and cook another minute more, making sure not to let it burn.

3. Add artichoke hearts, diced tomatoes, and chopped spinach to the onions.  Cook until the spinach is wilted and the other vegetables are heated through.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Drain cooked pasta and stir into the vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and serve hot.

Mexican Potato Salad

This recipe comes from Dr. John McDougall's 10-day free meal plan.  I'm always looking for healthy Tex-Mex themed veggie sides, so I definitely plan to try this.

Ingredients
2 lbs red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 large tomato, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
2 tbs fresh lime juice
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until just tender. 

2. Remove from heat, drain, and place potatoes in a large bowl.  Add the corn, tomatoes, and scallions.

3. Combine the salsa and lime juice.  Pour over salad and mix well.  Add cilantro and a few twists of pepper.  Serve immediately or chill.

100% Whole Grain Wraps

I found this wrap recipe within another recipe for grilled veggie wraps.  It is easy, healthy, and tastes better than any store-bought wraps I've ever found.  I've made a couple small amendments to the original recipe, including doubling it.  I generally make a batch of these at least once a week.

Ingredients
2 cup whole wheat flour + extra for rolling out the dough
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground flax seeds

Directions

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  You want it to be hot before you put anything in it, so let it heat up while you make the dough.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground flax seeds, and salt.  Add the water and knead by hand until it forms a sticky ball of dough.  If this seems impossible, add tiny amounts of water until it works.  (Too crumbly means you need more water; too sticky means you need more flour.  Add whatever you need in miniscule amounts and you can fix pretty much any problems your dough might give you.)

3.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Divide into six pieces, and roll each into a ball in your hands.  Flatten the balls and roll each out into as thin a sheet as possible.  If they tear, just seal the tear by hand and roll over it.  Add a drop of water to seal it shut if necessary.

4. You can lightly oil your skillet, but I don't find it necessary.  Put a wrap in the hot skillet and allow to cook about 30 seconds.  It should brown slightly in places, but if you let it cook too long, it will end up tostada-hard rather than tortilla-soft when it cools (not inedible, just not foldable).  Turn it over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.  (If you are in doubt about whether a wrap has cooked through, do what I did and tear off a piece and eat it to check.  You will quickly learn how to gauge doneness without eating them.)  Remove wrap to a plate and cook remaining sheets of dough in the same fashion.

Use immediately or seal in a container such as a large ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to a week.

Aloo Masala (Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes, or "that spicy potato stuff that's always in dosa")

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, in which he claims the potatoes remain slightly crunchy, which indicates it isn't exactly the stuff I'm used to having in dosa.  I plan to cook mine all the way through and try to make it less spicy than the stuff served in dosa shops, for Simran's sake.

Ingredients
3 tbs neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
1 tbs cumin seeds (optional)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs all-purpose potatoes, like Yukon Gold, peeled and shredded or minced
1 tbs garam masala or curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne (nope, I'm leaving this out)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds if you're using them, fry for 30 seconds, then add half the onion and the potatoes. Add the spice blend along with the salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring or tossing ,until the onion has caramelized and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; the potatoes need not be fully tender.

2. Add the cilantro to the pan, toss one, an transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the raw onion and serve immediately.

Dosa (From Scratch!)

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  He does not call it "dosa from scratch," but since everyone I know makes dosa from a box mix, I think this name sums it up better.  Now that I'm less incompetent at making pancakes, I'm hoping I can handle this.  If I can, we'll finally be able to have the long sought-after cheddar cheese and onion dosa that no respectable dosa shop will ever make on request.

Ingredients
1/2 cup white urad dal (dhuli urad)
2 cups basmati rice (you can also substitute brown basmati rice to make it whole grain and an earthier flavor and somewhat chewier texture)
2 to 3 tbs vegetable oil, as needed
Salt

Directions

1. Soak the dal and rice in separate bowls in water to cover for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight if you prefer.

2. Turn your oven to its lowest temperature.  Drain the dal and put it in a blender with a tbs or two of water.  Purée it to a smooth consistency, adding as little additional water as necessary, but enough to allow the machine to do its work. Transfer the purée to a large mixing bowl.

3. Drain the rice and add half of it to the blender (there's no need to clean between batches) with about 1/4 cup water. Again, purée (it won't become as smooth as the dal), adding as little additional water as possible. Repeat with the remaining rice. Add the puréed rice to the dal and stir the two together; the resulting mixture should have the texture of a thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, turn the oven off, and let the batter ferment overnight in the warmed oven.

4. Heat a large rectangular nonstick or cast-iron griddle over medium heat for a full minute before greasing it with a film of oil. Season the dosa batter with a large pinch of salt and stir to incorporate. Use a measuring cup or a ladle to pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, then use the bottom of the measuring cup to spread the dough across the pan into a large oval shape not much more than 1/8 inch tick; don't worry if the thickness is inconsistent. (It's the same motion a pizza maker would make -- concentric circles with the bottom of the ladle -- to spread tomato sauce thinly and evenly across pizza dough.)

5. Tiny bubbles will form across the surface of the dough, and the bottom will crisp and turn a deep golden brown in 3 to 5 minute. Use a spatula to loosen the edges of the dosa, then roll it onto itself to make a cylinder and remove it from the griddle. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the griddle as necessary. Serve hot.

Oatie Pancakes

I mentioned in another post wanting to find a 100% whole grain pancake recipe.  I pulled this one from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and substituted oat flour for the barley flour, solely because I had oat flour already in the pantry.  I'm sure you could also substitute 2 cups rolled oats that had been run through a food processor for a few minutes for both the grains -- my food processor only works so well, so I'd end up with half oats, half flour anyway.  Simran and I ate these pancakes with unsweetened applesauce and they were okay, but I think I could make an interesting sort of whole grain crepe from these and fill them with a no-sugar-added winter fruit compote.  I think I'd only have to make them a bit bigger (and I think they might even be crepe thin and still hold up if the rolled oats are omitted).

Ingredients
1 cup barley flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tbs baking powder
2 cups non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond, though I have reason to believe sweetened would taste a bit better.)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix the vanilla into the milk.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until there are no more chunks of dry flour.  (You can do this step the night before you make the pancakes and just keep the batter in the fridge.  It'll be a nicer, thicker consistency that way.)

2. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add a small amount of non-stick cooking spray (you'll only need to do this once, not for each pancake).  Ladle a portion of the batter into the skillet and let cook over medium-low heat until even the top layer of the pancake looks mostly dry, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side.  Please note these pancakes do not burn as easily or cook as quickly as standard buttermilk pancakes.  Serve with maple syrup or warm fruit compote. 

Sourdough Rye

In honor of the new year, I've been looking for some new healthy recipes to try.  One problem I regularly run into is finding a 100% whole grain bread that doesn't ruin every sandwich or meal it comes into contact with, or require some kind of butter to make it palatable and un-dry.  I found this recipe from Mark Bittman, whom I trust, on how to make a really time-consuming, no-knead, whole-grain sourdough.  I just finished assembling the sourdough starter and look forward to making it into bread sometime next week.  (It seems the trick to omitting sugar and honey from your bread is giving your yeast the better part of a week to feed off the flour and do its rising.)  I love both rye and sourdough, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Ingredients

For the sourdough starter:

• 2 2/3 cups rye flour, Pinch instant yeast

For the dough:

• Sourdough starter
• 2 cups rye flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat or white flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups cracked rye or rye flour

Directions

1. To make the starter: In a tall, narrow, nonmetal container (a tall, narrow bowl is fine), mix 2/3 cup rye flour with 1/2 cup water, along with the tiniest pinch of instant yeast — less than 1/16 teaspoon. Cover and let sit for about 24 hours, then add the same amount of both flour and water (no more yeast). Repeat twice more, at 24-hour intervals; 24 hours after the fourth addition, you have your starter. (From now on, keep it in the refrigerator; you don’t need to proceed with the recipe for a day or two if you don’t want to. Before making the dough, take a ladleful — 1/2 to 3/4 cup — of the starter and put it in a container; stir in 1/2 cup rye flour and a scant 1/2 cup water, mix well, cover and refrigerate for future use. This starter will keep for a couple of weeks. If you don’t use it during that time and you wish to keep it alive, add 1/2 cup each flour and water every week or so and stir; you can discard a portion of it if it becomes too voluminous.)  

2.  To make the dough: Combine the remaining starter in a big bowl with the rye flour, the whole-wheat or white flour and 2 1/4 cups water.  

3.  Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight, up to 12 hours.  

4.  The next morning, the dough should be bubbly and lovely. Add the salt, the cracked rye and 1 cup water — it will be more of a thick batter than a dough and should be pretty much pourable.  

5.  Pour and scrape it into two 8-by-4-inch nonstick loaf pans. The batter should come to within an inch of the top, no higher.  

6.  Cover (an improvised dome is better than plastic wrap; the dough will stick to whatever it touches) and let rest until it reaches the rim of the pans, about 2 to 3 hours, usually. Preheat the oven to 325 and bake until a skewer comes out almost clean; the internal temperature will measure between 190 and 200. This will take about 1 1/2 hours or a little longer.  

7.  Remove loaves from the pans and cool on a rack. Wrap in plastic and let sit for a day before slicing, if you can manage that; the texture is definitely better the next day.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I found this recipe for baked sweet potato fries on Instructables.com and everyone in the house loves it.

Ingredients

• one large sweet potato
• sea salt (coarse)
• freshly ground black pepper, chunky
• good quality olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Peel sweet potato (or not), cut off any skinny ends as necessary, cut it in half, and cut it into fries about 1/2 inch thick.  If you've just washed the sweet potato, make sure it is thoroughly dry or it won't brown properly.

3. Drizzle olive oil over fries and mix with your hands so that they are thoroughly but very lightly coated.  Place fries on a baking sheet, spaced so that they aren't on top of each other.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Cook for 15 minutes.  Turn over all the fries (this is easiest to do by hand), and cook for another 10 minutes.  They should be lightly blackened when they're done.  Serve with spicy ketchup, homemade ranch dip (Simran's favorite), or dipping sauce of your choice.

Apple Pecan Cornbread Dressing

I've been making this recipe for years, and I like it a lot.  I'm making a few changes for Thanksgiving this year.  First, I'm replacing the eggs with a mixture of flax meal and water.  I have no idea to what extent this will work, but since the finished product isn't a quiche texture or anything, I think it will be okay.  Second, since there is always too much of this dressing leftover to finish -- and I always avoid using much of the dry bread from the stuffing mix anyway -- I'm cutting out the pre-packaged stuffing mix altogether and replacing it with just the dried herbs the internet has led me to believe are normally contained in such things.  The original recipe comes from AllRecipes.com.  This year, again to avoid having to buy eggs, I'm using a vegan cornbread recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.  In the past I've typically used Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread recipe from AllRecipes.com, often replacing the buttermilk with watered down plain yogurt. 

Ingredients
1 (9x13 inch) pan cornbread, cooled and chopped (or better yet, left on the kitchen counter overnight to get a bit stale)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (replace with Earth Balance or similar vegan buttery spread to make vegan)
2 cups apple juice
3 tbs flax meal + 1/2 cup water (or low-sodium vegetable broth)

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 3 quart casserole dish.  

2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, and saute the celery and onion for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender. 

3. In a large bowl, combine the cornbread, stuffing mix, parsley, ginger, and salt. Mix in the celery and onion mixture, chopped apple, chopped pecans, apple juice, and beaten flax meal mixture. Spoon dressing into prepared casserole dish. 

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until heated through, and lightly browned on top.  (Check after 25 minutes since the original bake time is based on a larger dish.)

Easy No-Oil Spanish Rice

I found this recipe on AllRecipes and made the healthier version below.  The oil does add something to the taste of cooked onion, so if I were making this for someone outside my family, I would use the oil as the original recipe says.  However, Sameer and Simran liked my version, which is substantially healthier and lower in fat.

Ingredients
2 tbs chopped onion
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 cup chunky salsa

Directions

1. Cook onion in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix rice into skillet, stirring often until toasted lightly. Stir in broth and salsa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

Festive Fruited Yams

This recipe comes from Neal Barnard's The Cancer Survivor's Guide.  

Ingredients
4 yams or sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large green apple, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh cranberries, or 1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbs sugar or other sweetener
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the yams in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with the apple, cranberries, and raisins. Sprinkle with the sugar, and pour the orange juice over all.  Cover and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the yams are tender when pierced with a fork.

3. Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, leftover Festive Fruited Yams will keep for up to 3 days.

Pasta Salad

My mother used to make this dish with tricolor rotini, Presto salad dressing, and leftover cold turkey.  I've adjusted the ingredients over the years to make it vegetarian and a bit healthier (mostly by changing the pasta to whole wheat).  It can be made vegan by using a vegan salad dressing and omitting the meat.  This dish can easily be altered to your own taste.  Add other vegetables, such as chopped red bell peppers or grape tomatoes, and use whatever box of pasta and bottle of salad dressing you have on hand.

Ingredients
16 oz. whole wheat rotini (or tricolor rotini)
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 cups broccoli florets
4 oz. sliced black olives
4 oz. sliced green olives (sold by the jar as "salad olives")
1 cup chicken, turkey, or vegetarian chik'n strips, cooked/cooled/chopped (optional)
8 oz. Italian (vinegar-based, not creamy) salad dressing of your choice (I like Ken's Northern Italian Lite, which does contain cheese)

Directions

1. Boil the pasta, drain, and put into a sealable container.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Seal container and shake to combine.  Serve warm or chilled.  Keeps in refrigerator for about 3 days.