Tag: vegan
Vegan Pecan Sweet Potato Bake
Vegan Pecan Sweet Potato Bake
I was recently invited to my good friends Larissa and Irene’s Friendsgiving party and was in charge of making sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. The catch was that both the side dishes had to be vegan. No problem. I typically make this sweet potato bake with real butter, heavy cream, and add crumbled bacon with the pecan topping. So I substituted real butter with plant-based butter made out of cashew milk and used almond milk instead of heavy cream. I also X’ed the bacon. The sweet potato bake still turned out just as good and was a hit with everyone.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- potato masher
- aluminum pan or baking dish
- nonstick spray
Ingredients
- 5 lbs sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 8 oz plant-based butter
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar plus more for topping
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil. Add in the sweet potatoes and boil for 10 minutes until fork tender. Drain.
- Using a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes. Stir in the plant-based butter, almond milk, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using nonstick spray, grease an aluminum pan or baking dish. Pour in the sweet potato mixture.
- Top the mixture with pecan halves. Sprinkle over more brown sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
Bulgur Pilaf
Bulgur Pilaf
You may have heard of bulgur, but might not be sure what it is. Bulgur is wheat berry grain that is graded from super fine to coarse; very reminiscent of couscous. Bulgar is very high in fiber, more than brown rice, and low in fat and calories. This version is a basic Lebanese tomato based preparation; ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 roma tomato finely chopped
- 1/2 small green bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fine bulgur wheat
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 3 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and green pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Mix in the bulgur to the sauce.
- Pour in the chicken stock and chicken peas. Cover and pull from the heat. Let the bulgur absorb the liquid for 10 minutes.
Mushroom Soup
Mushroom Soup
It was -30 degrees out at the time I made this Hmong mushroom soup. It was definitely soup time and this just hit the spot. This simple soup consists of a variety of mushrooms simmered with lemongrass, chilies, cilantro, and culantro. Once you bring the pot of water to boil, the soup is ready in 10 minutes.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 2 lbs mixed mushrooms wood ear, enoki, shiitake, shemiji, seafood
- 2 stalks lemongrass finely chopped
- 3 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 6 springs cilantro chopped
- 6 sprigs culantro chopped
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the mushrooms. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lemongrass and salt. Continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Add in the chilies and simmer for a minute.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro and culantro.
