Maple Mustard Taters (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free)

Who doesn’t love potatoes?  Poor little guys sure get a bad rap.  If any of you have read Dr. John McDougall’s The Starch Solution, you know they don’t deserve such abuse.  Potatoes are a satiating, healthy food, chock full of fiber and nutrients.  As Dr. McDougall says, it’s the company they often keep that turns them into a bad food (butter, cheese, oil, etc).  Potatoes, without all the bad stuff, should be part of the regular diet, and they definitely are in our house.  Yukon, red, gold, butter, russet, fingerling, sweet….if it’s a potato we eat it.  My sister Julie loves potatoes so much her nickname(s) lovingly given to her by my husband is “tot” or “tater”.  Since she is the one who came up with this recipe, I’m referring to them as taters, in her honor.

These are delicious and super easy to make.  This makes a sizable batch since we had them as our entree, along with steamed broccoli – perfect meal!  The amounts listed are estimates so be sure to taste test and adjust before cooking, if necessary.  It’s hard to mess this one up so not to worry!

Cabbage & Smoked Apple “Sausage” Stew

I’ve served this dish to cabbage haters who loved it, and to meat eaters who went back for seconds.  It’s a dish yet to disappoint, and another crock pot recipe – I love those!  While it’s technically fall, it’s still really hot here but that didn’t hold me back from making this last night.  I’m craving the feelings and flavors associated with autumn.  If you think about it, a crock pot is a great way to cook without heating up the kitchen! Works for me.

Potatoes in a Taco = Super Delicious!

When I was on Maui last week, we ate at a cool restaurant called Monkey Pod.  They had an interesting menu filled with varieties of different foods, all using sustainable, local ingredients.  I was super excited when I saw Potato Tacos on the menu.  I wasn’t super excited to see, when the server brought them to the table, that they were made with french fries.  Yikes!  As you can imagine, they were very greasy (don’t worry, I didn’t finish them, and I picked out many of the potato pieces).  The wheels immediately began turning in my head as I thought about how best to recreate a healthy version of the dish.  Here’s the recipe!  It was delicious, even made without french fries.  See what you think!