Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe! My New Favorite Meal!

Recipe ideas come to me at odd moments, usually when I’m not even thinking about food (which, if I’m being honest, isn’t all that often).  The idea for this one came to me on an airplane in the middle of reading a novel.  Pretty random considering the story took place in 1940 Nazi Germany. Anyway, it occurred to me I’d never seen or heard of a recipe for twice baked SWEET potatoes, only russet.  I’ve since done some searching and found many recipes (can’t believe I’d never seen any before) but most of them have more fat than a cheeseburger, with ingredients that just didn’t sound appealing to me (I will never understand adding brown sugar to sweet potatoes, especially when consuming them as an entree not a dessert.  Hello!?! They’re already sweet!).

This recipe has the right combination of sweet, savory, tangy, spicy and salty.  Honestly, it turned out better than I could have hoped.  I was so excited for leftovers today.  It’s a more time consuming meal since baking of the potatoes is required before anything else, but it’s not difficult by any means; just takes some planning ahead.  Note:  I prefer the lighter colored sweet potatoes as opposed to orange yams.  I will be making this again VERY soon!

Gingerbread Muffins! Vegan, Oil-Free, Low-Fat and Tasty!

I created these muffins using the nervous energy I had yesterday, election day.  I find elections, and politics in general, very stressful!   Creating recipes and cooking is therapeutic for me.  Combine that with the fact that I LOVE gingerbread, and you have these moist, delicious muffins.

UPDATE 11/11/12: I made these again but added a little holiday twist this time around.  I sprinkled crushed peppermint candy on top before placing muffins in the oven.  The combination of peppermint and gingerbread was a real treat!

BBQ Lentil Tacos

If you’re thinking “BBQ, and lentils – in a taco!?  Weird!”, think again.  It’s delicious.  Of course, if you aren’t a fan of BBQ, you won’t like it because it has a strong BBQ flavor.  Personally, I’d like the lentil mixture without the sauce just as much, but the BBQ is yummy.  These are easy to make and so flavorful.  We enjoy them topped with my homemade non-dairy sour cream (see in Recipes on this site for Sour Un-Cream), raw cabbage and lime.

Note: this recipe is gluten-free only if you use a BBQ sauce that is gluten-free.

Sour Un-Cream

I used to LOVE sour cream.  It was my favorite part about mexican dishes (other than the cheese, of course).  I’ve learned to live without since the store-bought vegan brands are highly processed and fattening, with added oil and junk.  And quite frankly, I don’t think they taste a thing like sour cream!  This recipe is much closer to the real thing, in my opinion.  Is it exactly like it?  No, but it’s a nice, healthy substitute.  And considering it’s got about 16 calories and 1 gram of fat per tablespoon, you can’t go wrong! We enjoyed it on our BBQ Lentil Tacos or with Chili (see Recipes).

Amazing Basil Pesto! Oil and Cheese Free, Still Rich and Creamy!

Even though I have a gazillion vegan/vegetarian cookbooks, I don’t refer to them too often.  I have this thing about feeling like I have to create the recipes myself.  Whatever.  Anyway, last night I made my minestrone (I guess I should post that recipe too), but I wanted a pesto to top it off.  Prepared pestos and recipes for them contain lots of olive oil, cheese and nuts.  Well, this recipe, created by Del Sroufe – author of the Forks Over Knives Cookbook – ROCKS!  No oil, no cheese, and fewer pine nuts than traditional recipes.  It came out so creamy, so rich, you would NEVER know it didn’t have the traditional ingredients.  I haven’t tried it but you can leave the nuts out, and use lite silken tofu, to make it even lower in fat.  I seriously licked the blade of the food processor like I’d just made cookies.  Ridiculous. If you like pesto, try this recipe!! You won’t be sorry!

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Muffin Recipe. Vegan, Oil-Free, Low-Fat, Wheat-Free! Good for Breakfast, Snack or Dessert.

I was inspired to create these tasty muffins as I was preparing for a 5 hour flight for which I would be leaving my house at 5 a.m.  I knew it would be too early for my usual breakfast smoothie, and I was already planning on packing a PB&J sandwich for later in the day….what would I eat for breakfast?? God knows there wouldn’t be options on the plane.  Sure, I could have brought Starbuck’s oatmeal or McDougall’s instant oatmeal (great for travel) on with me but I wanted something different; something substantial, not too sweet, and didn’t need to be warmed.  Thus, these Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Muffins were born!

Red Lentil and Rice Soup

RedLentilRiceSoupWhy are they called red lentils when they are pink, and become yellow once cooked? Weird.  All I know is they make an amazing soup!  Unlike other types of lentils, these cook and break down quickly, and end up soft, almost as if they have been pureed.  The first few times I made this soup it was on the stove, but recently I used the crock pot and it was even better.  There really is something to slow cooking, allowing the flavors to build and grow.  Either way, it’s an easy, delicious meal, any time of year. One of our favorites!!