Lentil and Sweet Potato Burritto Roll-ups

Dinner last night was lentil and sweet potatoes. In burrito/roll-up form.

I started a baked rice dish (which I will post about later), but by the time it was in the oven for its 1/5-2 hour baking time, it was less than 30 minutes from when I wanted the girls to eat dinner. So, I looked at what I had in the kitchen and decided to make something with the few orange sweet potatoes and one large yellow/white yam that I had remaining. I used French lentils in the baked rice, so they went into the dinner too.

Ingredients
Lentils
1/2 cup dried French lentils
1 cup water
sprinkle of ground cumin

Sweet potatoes
2 small orange sweet potatoes
1 large yellow/white yam (sweet)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Daiya cheese (mozzarella style)
salsa (optional)
4 long flax/whole wheat flat rectangular wraps

What to do
First, cook the lentils with the sprinkle of ground cumin. Adrianna helped by measuring and adding the lentils and water. This was the step that took the longest for us last night in dinner-making land.
At the same time, cook the sweet potatoes. (I used the microwave because I was using the oven to bake rice, but you could use the oven.) When they are cool to touch, peel and mash with the ground cumin and chili powder. (You could use more of both the cumin and chili powder if you want - I was keeping it on the less spiced side for the girls.)
To prepare the burrito-roll-ups:
Spread some of the sweet potato mixture onto a wrap. Add some warm lentils. Top with Daiya cheese (and salsa if you want -- I didn't include it for the girls). Roll up. For kid-sized burritos, cut the wrap in half before making the burrito. If the lentils aren't warm enough to melt the cheese, you can put everything in the oven for a few minutes to warm and melt. If the lentils are still warm (as ours were), they will melt the cheese.
Eat and enjoy!

Jacqui topped hers with the applesauce I made on Sunday, despite my warnings that it would make it hard to eat. It was. She ended up using a spoon to eat her roll-up, but the applesauce was a sweet addition to the sweet potatoes, spices, and lentils. Adrianna ate 1/3 of her roll-up with big bites, then needed the rest by spoon. The girls each ate 1/2 of a large burrito. I ate one large, and Dave had one large when he got home later. And we had one leftover (for someone's lunch or a snack). They were warm, easy to make, lightly spiced, and filling.

Sweet Potato Squash & Garbanzo Soup with Kasha

Yesterday's dinner was a hearty, thick stew. I made the soup separate from the kasha, and served them together, making a thick, stick-to-your-ribs stew that was quite filling. I had forgotten how much I liked kasha. You could always cook the kasha with the soup, but I liked the separateness of the two. I think it led to the vibrant colors: This soup was very brightly colored -- yellow and orange vegetables in deep yellow broth, bright greens, red kasha.

Ingredients
Soup:
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (from the farmers' market)
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped (from MOM's)
1/2 head of garlic, minced (from the farmers' market)
1 long delicata squash, cut in half, seeds scooped out, and chopped (ditto)
1 large gold potato, scrubbed and cubed (not Yukon, I can't remember the variety that we picked at the market on Saturday)
1 head of greens, thinly sliced (from Kira's farm stand. She said to use it like spinach, so I did)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups water
1 cup garbanzos + 1 cup garbanzo cooking liquid
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

Kasha:
1 cup dried kasha
2 cups water
1/4 tsp sea salt

What to do
For the soup:
As you cut the sweet potatoes and potatoes, put them in a large soup pot with the water and vegetable broth.
Add the garlic and onions as you cut them.
Add the garbanzos and cooking water, the olive oil, and the herbs. (Because I knew that I was going to use some salt in the kasha, I didn't put any in the soup. You might want to put some in the soup.)
Cook, covered, over medium heat until the vegetables are soft and the broth is a lovely deep yellow.
When the vegetables are soft enough for you, turn off the heat and add the greens. Cover the pot again and let the soup cook the greens for you.
Keep the pot covered until you are ready to serve.

For the kasha:
Rinse the kasha well and remove any blackened grains. Place in pot with 2 cups of water and seal salt. Stir, cook until all the water is absorbed. I did this right before serving, so that the kasha was warm.

To serve:
Place some kasha in a bowl, then ladle soup on top. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast. You can serve it like that or mix the kasha into the soup, making it a stew.
Enjoy!

Moroccan Garbanzo and Lentil Soup

I love garbanzo beans. ♥ Love love love. ♥ And lentils. ♥ Love love love. ♥

Jacqui loves sweet potatoes. She asks for them all the time, and tells me that she ♥ LOVES ♥ sweet potatoes.

So it was no surprise that this morning, when I asked her what she wanted in today's soup, that she asked for sweet potatoes. She choose sweet potatoes over white potatoes, yellow potatoes, green peppers, and green beans -- all vegetables she truly enjoys.

This soup is a sweet potato version of a soup I made back in April. The recipe is a mix up of several recipes -- one from my mom and sister and a few lentil and garbanzo bean soup recipes that I've found over the years. I used ground ginger this morning because I didn't have any fresh ginger in the apartment.

Ingredients
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 large sweet potato, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup dried lentils, picked over
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
2 1/2 - 3 cups cooked organic garbanzos
6 cups warm or hot water
2 low-salt vegan bouillon squares

What To Do
Heat the oil while chopping the onion. Saute the onion for 5-10 minutes, letting it brown a little. Chop the garlic, and add it for one - two minutes. Then, add a bit of water to de-glaze the pan (get all the good brown stuff off the pan). Let this simmer while you put all the other ingredients in the soup pot.
Jacqui unwrapped the bouillon and put the 2 cubes into the pot, then helped me put in the 6 cups of water. Jacqui and Adrianna then helped me add the cooked garbanzos (cooked last night with 2 bay leaves), chopped sweet potatoes, and green lentils.
Add the ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamon. Add the onion, garlic, and whatever water is still there with them. Stir everything well.
Place over medium-high heat and let everything come to a boil. Reduce the heat, and let the soup cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring every so often.

Two Bean Sweet Potato Chili

Last night I wanted to make a chili for me and Dave to eat. But for some reason, I didn't really want tomatoes. And I had some sweet potatoes that I scored from my mom's kitchen. I think this dish can be called chili with its spices -- if white chili exists, then tomatoes certainly can't be a requirement!

Ingredients
1 T extra virgin organic olive oil
1 medium organic sweet onion, chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1/4 cup water
1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can organic pinto beans, rinsed and drained
ground cumin
ground cinnamon
paprika
Mexican chili powder

What to do
While trying to get Jacqui to finish her dinner, chop the onion.
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes and the water. Add some cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and chili powder (to taste). Cover the pot and let the sweet potatoes steam.
When the sweet potatoes are steamed and bright orange, add the beans and some more spices. Stir to mix everything together well. Cover and let it all cook together for another 10 minutes or so. (Or, like me, until Jacqui finished her sesame green tea noodles.) Taste again, and see if you want to add any more of the spices. I added a little more chili powder and cumin because Dave and I were going to eat this dish, not Jacqui. :)
I let this sit (covered) until I had gotten the girls to sleep (45 minutes or so), but you could eat it right away too!
We ate it with chunks of a whole wheat baguette I picked up on the way home. I found it very comforting and filling -- just what I was looking for last night!

Orange Stew

Today's stew is orange. Very orange. But not orange from oranges. Orange from sweet potatoes and squash. Beautifully orange!

Ingredients
1 cup dried garbanzos, soaked overnight (makes ~ 3 1/2 cups cooked beans)
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed
1 long squash
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 very large onion
2 large cloves garlic
2 large parsnips
2 blue potatoes
2 T liquid vegetable bouillon
water
2 handfuls wild rice mix
3/4 cup red quinoa

What to do
Cook the beans, drain.
Chop the onion; dice the garlic.
Heat soup pot, when warm, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another 3 minutes.
Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch rounds, then into six pieces per round slice. Add to the pot with enough water to cover.
Add the vegetable bouillon. Stir to combine. Cover the pot.
Peel the squash, halve it, scoop out the insides, and cut out the stem. Then, slice it into 1/2 inch half rounds and cut those into 3-4 pieces each. Add to the pot. Add more water if needed. Stir. Cover the pot.
Peel the parsnips and chop. Add to the pot. Add more water if needed, to cover vegetables. Stir. Cover the pot.
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch rounds, then into six pieces per round slice. Add to the pot. Add more water if needed, to cover vegetables. Stir. Cover the pot.
Take two large handfuls of the wild rice mix and add to the pot. Stir. Add more water if needed. Cover the pot.
Let it all cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring to keep the stew from sticking.
Add the quinoa (rinse if you remember to - I didn't last night/this morning when I added the quinoa at 1-something). Stir well. Cover the pot and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes.
When the cooking is finished, cover the pot until you are ready to serve it, reheating on the stove if needed.

Peanut, Sweet Potato, Barley, and Bean Stew

I used up the last of my Rancho Gordo Lila beans in this stew. So good! :)

The impetus for this stew was my sweet potatoes. After being away for five days, one of my (newly bought) sweet potatoes decided to rot. :( Dave just put my bag of sweet potatoes in another plastic bag, and I wasn't able to do anything about it until late Friday night when I got home from work. So, late Friday night, I cleaned and cut off bad spots from my remaining sweet potatoes, and ended up peeling two. (Do I know how to start a weekend or what?) I wanted to use the peeled potatoes up before anything else weird happened with these sweet potatoes, so I used them to make this stew.

The stew uses barley, because J asked for barley while we were looking at the different grains on the table. She chose barley over this cool-looking burnt-umber colored rice I got at Fairways, standard white and brown rices, and kasha. I'm sure any other whole grain would work in this stew too. And next time I'll probably make it with a different grain, because Dave thinks that J has a hard time eating barley (she chews is slowly).

My inspiration for including the peanut butter was J and our breakfast this morning. I made us some Bob's Red Mill 10-grain cereal and she wanted me to add peanut butter to our hot cereal, in addition to our standard soy milk, pumpkin seeds, pecans, and dried cranberries. It creamed up really well and the little chunks of peanut tasted great in the cereal. So, I thought, why not try it in the soup. Not to mention that every recipe I've ever seen for African stew includes peanut butter and sweet potatoes or yams!

The main part of the stew is the beans. The delicious, and now finished, Lila beans.

Ingredients
1 cup dried Lila beans, soaked overnight or two nights
2-3 in piece of Kombu
water
2 T freshly ground organic peanut butter
handful of whole organic peanuts
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 cup pearl barley
1 square no-chicken vegetable bouillon (optional)
1 bunch Vitamin greens

What to do
Soak the beans. (Start on Friday night, get too busy on Saturday to make anything, and finally get to cook them on Sunday.) Cook the beans in a large pot with the Kombu. If the beans need more water as they cook, add boiling water to the pot to keep the beans from getting hard.

After the beans are finished cooking, add the sweet potato cubes, barley, and peanut butter. Add enough more water - everything should be covered. Don't dump the bean cooking water -- it's the broth for this stew. The barley will soak up a lot of water as it cooks, so make sure to add enough. Also, you can add the bouillon if you are using it now. You can add the peanuts now or right before serving, up to you. ( I added them earlier so that they could cook with everything else. I was also not sure if I would get to add them otherwise, as my little A was requiring lots of attention and nursing.) As the stew cooks, stir it regularly to break up the peanut butter and the bouillon and distribute evenly throughout the stew.

While the stew is cooking, chop the greens (including stems). Put them in a pan with some water, cover, and sweat for 5-7 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the greens from scorching.

To serve, put the stew into a bowl and top with the greens. See J's bowl below. That's her cheesing it up for my cell phone camera (we can't find our camera since our trip to Maryland! Have you seen it?).

Thoughts
If reheating, you'll probably want to add more water, as the barley continues to soak up the broth. We have one serving left of this, which J will get for a meal this week.

I have the coolest kids. J asked for the greens for her snack this afternoon (D asked, J, do you want a cookie. J replies, no, I want greens!). And A had some of the greens for dinner tonight. Heehee.

Halloween Happiness

It's Saturday, October 31 --- Halloween! Happy Halloween!!

I made Halloween Chili (aka Sweet Black Bean Chili) and Sweet Potato Spelt Biscuits for dinner. A black bean chili that looks blood red with orange sweet potatoes and squash peeking through, paired with quick and easy biscuits. I've been dreaming about making this chili all week.

I'm also entering (is this the right word) it in my first Blog Event, My Legume Love Affair, an event created by Susan at The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Cook sister!.



Sweet Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried organic black turtle beans, picked through and soaked for one day
5 1/4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin + shakes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + shakes
1/4 tsp Mexican chili powder
28 oz crushed organic tomatoes
2 sweet potatoes or yams
1 small orange squash
2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion

What To Do
Pick through and soak the black beans at least the night before (if not more). Change the water once or twice. Drain, then place in large LeCrueset with 5 1/4 cups of water and two bay leaves. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. To see if your beans are finished, you can take one out and blow on it. If the skin comes off, the beans are done. You can also taste them! My beans, fresh from the Cayuga Pure Organics farm stand at my farmers' market, took a little more than an hour to cook. When they are cooked, remove one cup of beans and set aside for another recipe. Keep the remaining water.
While the beans are cooking, peel sweet potatoes, then chop them into 1 inch or 1/2 inch pieces. Peel the squash, cut it in half, scoop out the insides, and then chop into 1 inch or 1/2 inch pieces.
The beans are done and you've removed the cup of cooked beans. Add the sweet potato and squash, the spices, and the crushed tomato. Stir well to combine, then cover with tipped lid and cook on medium-low heat.
Chop the onion. Heat up a saute pan over medium-low heat, then add the olive oil. When warm, add the onion and sprinkle on the ground cinnamon and ground cumin (as much or as little as you like). Saute for approximately five to seven minutes, until the onion is soft and fragrant. Add the onion to the large pot. Stir to combine and continue cooking with the cover tipped. Total cook time should be approximately one hour to allow all the flavors to combine.






Sweet Potato Spelt Biscuits
Ingredients
1 cup freshly milled spelt flour (bought this morning at the farmers' market!)
1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour (King Arthur's)
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 T organic vegetable shortening
1 medium sweet potato
1/4 cup vanilla (unsweetened) almond milk

What To Do
Scrub the sweet potato and cut off any bad parts. Cook it. I cooked mine in the microwave by piercing it many times and cooking it for five minutes at 5 power, then flipping it over to cook for another six minutes at 5 power. Mash it when it is finished cooking and eat the skins.
Mix the flours, baking powder, and sea salt.
Cut in the vegetable shortening until the flour mixture looks like coarse meal.
Mix in the mashed sweet potato and the almond milk with your hands.
Make 12-14 rounds for the biscuits and place on a cookie sheet.
Preheat over to 410, and then bake biscuits for 20 minutes.



Enjoy!

We (D, J, and I) had this for dinner. It was enough for us all and for D (several bowls) to not claim severe hunger later. Slightly sweet, but not overly so, and delicately spiced. Definitely something to make again.

Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, and Spiral Casserole

I needed something yummy to make with my butternut squash. And I needed to use up some of my roasted veggies from last week.

Ingredients
olive oil
1 medium-large organic sweet yellow onion, small dice
1 organic butternut squash (~3 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup pieces roasted sweet potatoes and orange squash
1 14-oz can organic coconut milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup Red Star vegetarian support nutritional yeast
1 tsp dried sage
12-16 oz organic tri-color spiral pasta
1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
spelt bread crumbs

What to do
Tear up four slices of going-stale spelt bread that we got a while back at the bakery up at the farmers' market. Make small pieces (very small) and spread out on cookie sheet. Heat oven for 2 minutes at 250, then turn it off and place the cookie sheet with bread crumbs inside.
Heat large LeCreuset. When warm, add olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the diced onion and cook, stirring often, until soft (5-7 minutes). Add the butternut squash, coconut milk, salt, and pepper and stir. Cook for ~20 minutes, until the squash is soft. Add in the nutritional yeast and sage (crumble the sage between your fingers before adding it). Add the roasted sweet potatoes and squash and combine well.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions and drain it.
If you are like me and making this all late Sunday night for lunch on Monday, here's what to do next:
Transfer the coconut squash mixture to the casserole dish that you will use to bake. Once the pasta is cool, put it into containers that can go into the fridge. Put everything into the fridge for Monday morning.
Chop the pecans. Get some sleep.
Wake up Monday morning.
Transfer the spelt bread crumbs into a bowl with J's help and let her put the pecans on the cookie sheet. Heat the oven to 365 and put the cookie sheet with pecans in for 5 minutes.
Microwave the coconut squash for 3-5 minutes on power 5 (so that you can mix it together with the nuts and pasta.
Transfer everything to the big LeCrueset again, and mix the pecans, coconut squash, and pasta together. Then put it back in the casserole dish. Wipe the edge. Let J cover the top with the spelt breadcrumbs.
Leave for D to bake (365 for 30 minutes) for lunch. J ate is for lunch and liked it, according to D.

I ate it for dinner -- YUM! This dish was very yummy (yummier than my photo shows). The different squash and sweet potatoes were delish. The pasta soaked up most of the sauce. The sage added an unexpected flavor kick.

Nut Butter Sauce with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Squash

Last night I ate the remaining Mushroom Risotto, topped with nutritional yeast, and roasted some root veggies and mixed up a quick nut butter sauce for J to eat today.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Squash
1 medium organic jeweled yam
1 large organic sweet potato
1 small organic sweet pumpkin squash
Wash and peel sweet potatoes and squash. Cut into small pieces. Place in brownie pan (my "roasting" pan) with a little bit of water; cover with aluminum foil. Put oven on at 365F and place pan on top rack. (Don't wait for the oven to heat.) Roast for 25 minutes, then remove from oven. When cooled, remove from pan and place in a container for the fridge, where they will sit until lunchtime when D breaks them out for J. And I break them out for A at dinnertime.

Nut Butter Sauce
Based on a peanut sauce from fatfreevegan
1/3 cup freshly ground almond butter
1/2 cup water
2 T Braggs liquid aminos
1 flower cube of frozen lime juice (that I prepared last week)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Mix everything together in a container with a small whisk. Place in fridge for D to use on pasta and/or roasted veggies (above) for J's lunch.

Breakfast
This morning, J and I had hot cereal (Bob's Red Mill 8 grain) with pecans, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, soymilk, and organic banana. A had rice cereal with breastmilk and a little bit of organic banana mushed in.

Roasted Root Veggies and Squash - and Squash Seeds

Last night, before putting J to bed, I cut up two Japanese radishes (one yellow/white/green and one purple - daikon?), one sweet potato, and one Japanese orange/green pumpkin squash (all organic, all from my favorite Farmer at the market). I've been reading about roasting vegetables and really wanted to try it myself. Also, my veggie bin in the fridge was filled up with almost too-old veggies (the radishes) and my potato/onion/squash bin was also overflowing. And did I mention that my in-laws arrive today, and my m-i-l always brings more veggies with her? :)

So, while J ate some soy yogurt (one day I will try my hand at making that!), I scrubbed and cut up the radishes and sweet potato. I put them in my brownie tray, with J's help. (This was one of the things holding me up from roasting veggies before. Everything I read calls for a roasting pan. I don't have a roasting pan! But, I decided that my brownie pan should work just as well. And, I remembered that I used my brownie pan for cooking acorn squash and spaghetti squash in the oven. It worked.)
Then, I peeled the pumpkin squash (thanks Mom for the great peeler!) without cutting myself. My hands were orange by the time I finished cutting up the pumpkin squash, but that's ok. I scooped out the seeds and put them in a bowl for later. J help me arrange the pumpkin squash in the pan. Finally, I added some water.

I had preheated the oven to 425. I put the pan in for maybe 15 minutes, then covered it with aluminum foil and set the timer for 20 minutes. D took the veggies out while I was getting J to sleep. I tasted them after they were cooled (while I was making the next thing) -- the pumpkin squash was melt-in-your-mouth soft and sweet, the sweet potatoes amazingly soft and sweet, and the radishes tangy but not too sour and still crisp. Yum!

Much later (after dinner with D, making soup, and watching Eureka), I took the squash seeds and (after getting the remaining squash flesh off them) spread them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. They were *really* bright orange. I put them in the oven at 400 and let them roast for a while. I haven't gotten to try them yet, but I'm sure they are yummy too.

Wednesday's Soup

Update: Photo added and cooking time
No creative or descriptive title for today's concoction. Maybe I will come up with something after trying this at dinnertime. (Here's hoping I'm home for dinner!)

I found canary beans at the Key Food last night and *had* to buy them. They were this great yellow color and looked a little like butter beans. Then I googled recipes, but wasn't interested in making Peruvian stew today. Might try it another day, once I've mastered the whole seitan-making-process, as the recipes all called for various types of meat. (Last night was supposed to be my initiation into the seitan-process, but J wasn't sleeping well, waking up every few minutes, and then woke A up, so by the time they were completely asleep, it was well after 10:30 and I wasn't up for trying to make seitan any more.) Besides, I really wanted to make a potato soup.

So, in between the cleaning and the moving of our futon and the boxing up of things and the moving of other things (we are in the process of emptying our apt to prep and sell it), I got all my ingredients together in my head. I also really wanted to use my sweet potatoes because they were starting to sprout and my m-i-l always puts them in the fridge at that point, taking up valuable fridge space unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, by the time we were finished with the cleaning and moving and boxing, it was after 2am. I did remember around midnight to put one cup of the canary beans to soak.

So, this morning, I cooked the beans for approximately an hour and a half, with the kombu. After putting A down for her morning nap, I chopped the veggies and put the rest of the soup together before I left for work.

(photo taken with my blackberry, so it's a little grainy)

Ingredients
1 cup dried canary beans, picked through, soaked overnight
1 small piece kombu
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
olive oil
1 large yukon gold potato, roughly chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams, roughly chopped
1 1/2 or 2 cups vitamin greens, chopped in food processor and frozen months ago
1 can coconut milk + 1/2 can water
2 handfuls of unroasted, unsalted, organic peanuts

What I did
I soaked the canary beans overnight. I was a bit disappointed this morning to see that the soaking took away their yellow color and made them really just look like butter beans.
I cooked the beans with the kombu while I made french toast for me and J.
I chopped the onion and sauteed it in olive oil in my big Le Creuset while I cut up the potato and sweet potatoes . I added the chopped potatoes to the Le Creuset.
Then I added the beans and cooking water, the can of coconut milk, and 1/2 can of water (to get all the coconut goodness into the pot).
I then added the vitamin greens (from my favoriate organic farm at the Farmer's Market; she says they are a Japanese green and the name translated into english is literally vitamin greens), which I had chopped in the food processor when I got them in June and froze for use in soups. :)
Finally, I added two handfuls of peanuts from my peanut stash.
I couldn't decide on a spice to add to the soup, so I left it alone. Told D to check the soup and add water if needed to keep the veggies cooking. I also told him to check at lunchtime to make sure the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans were all cooked before serving it, and left the soup covered on 4 on my simmer burner.

At work, I decided that saffron would work well with everything, so I called and asked D to add a few threads. We'll see if he did later, and we'll see how this soup tastes, later.
My serving suggestion: two scoops of brown rice (which we have from Monday) and soup.

Update 9/24/09: I had the soup - well, really a stew, for lunch today with brown rice. (The photo is from my lunch.) It was VERY filling and tasted pretty good. The only thing about the taste: someone left the stew on until 8-something last night, and it burnt a little, so the stew had a slight burnt taste. Lesson learned -- next time, give D or his parents a specific time to turn the soup/stew off to avoid burning. I think that a little lime might go really well with this dish. Next time...

Sweet Potato Biscuits and Broccoli Soup

I was inspired to make dinner for me and D tonight, thinking he would be home not late. Ha. It's 10:30 and he's still not here...

Anyway, here's what I made tonight:

Sweet Potato Biscuits based on a recipe from The Vegetarian Mother

Vegan Dad's Hearty Broccoli Soup

I didn't follow the directions well on the soup, but it still turned out great. I used four heads of broccoli instead of two, and I think I used too much water. Next time I will use a little less to make the soup a little thicker. Soup: approx 4 servings, 225 cal/serving, 12.7 g protein, and 237% dv of Vitamin C!



The sweet potato biscuits are scrumptious with the soup. I used a large sweet potato instead of the medium one called for in the recipe because I *love* sweet potato! About 160 calories each, with a little more than 3 g protein each, and 92% of your daily value of vitamin A!

Sweet Potato Tofu Scramble

Date: Some time last week, and the week before that too

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu, drained
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium red potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 tsp tumeric
2 medium tomatoes, cut into six or eight pieces or chopped

Directions

1. Heat cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
2. Add the potatoes, cover and let cook for approximately ten minutes.
3. Crumble the tofu into the pot.
   
4. Add the mushrooms and spinach, cover and let cook for approximately ten minutes.
   
5. Stir in the tumeric and mix well. Cook, uncovered for another minute or two.
   
6. Serve with pieces of tomato; alternately, chop the tomato and add to the pot after the tumeric.

Recipe Analysis
This recipe makes six servings. I haven't figured out the calories, etc. yet. It makes a good breakfast or snack.

Notes

1. Used up all my tumeric making this last week. Must buy more.
2. This works great as a stand alone meal, or in a wrap for on-the-go meals.
   
3. J loves my tofu scrambles. I use whatever veggies we have - I try to keep sweet potatoes and potatoes around, so I've been using those lately. And mushrooms, which she always picks at the store, but then we don't use for anything. (She likes to break them up if I give them to her raw, which, while fun for her, doesn't involve her eating them!)