Beet/Carrot salad w/ squash n beans! *vegan

Ok so we just had a mish mash of food tonight and here is what we came up with!!!
First, a beet/carrot salad, we used:
2 beets, 2 carrots, handful of sunflower seeds, celery, ground flaxseed -- 
we put beets, carrots in celery in food chopper, then added the seeds!  Then top the mixture with a blend of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice.  I was short on lemon juice, so I threw in some carrot juice as well!


Then for the squash and sweet potatos.....
dice into 1 inch cubes.  
pour some oil onto pan....add squash/sweet potato mix and rub them around in the oil.
season however you please...we used crushed red pepper, sea salt and a touch of garlic powder! yummm!


For some extra protein, we added a bean mix to our plate that we season with cumin and crushed red pepper!


BEET/CARROT SALAD
-we poured mixture over a bed of fresh lettuce and DID NOT need any dressing...could add more balsamic vinegar if you please!

SQUASH SWEET POTATOES
-place in oven at 400 degrees and bake for approx 30 min....you want them tender, but not mushy....I like a slight caramelized effect, it adds flavor!

And finally, just throw it all on a plate and enjoy!!!!!!!

B-E-A-Utiful Beet Burgers

                          B-E-A-Utiful Beet Burgers

These "burgers" are semi sweet and delicious, these will not taste anything like a classic burger, but if you are looking for something yummy, healthy, and different this is the recipe for you! 

    2 cups cooked brown rice and lintels of choice (combined)
    2 cups chopped FRESH beets
    1 cup onion of choice
    2 tsp dry mustard
    2 cloves garlic- minced
    3 Tbsp organic almond butter
    4 slices of bread crushed into crumbs
    1 tsp thyme
    1 tsp cumin
    Sea salt and pepper to taste

      Okay so first off lets give credit where credit is due this recipe was made with great guidance from the M-azing people from a great web site called Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com/) If you are new to vegan cooking/ baking like I am this is a great place to get some yummy recipes.
     Okay so next lets talk about beets... I thought for a very long time that I didn't like beets, heads up everyone those nasty sugary-mushy things that you get on the salad bar, while they may have at some point in time been a beet, they no longer are. I bought some beets on a whim at my local farmers market because they looked SO freaking beautiful and let me tell you, I LOVE THEM!
     So now onto the burgers that I made with the help of my awesome (If sometimes a little extreme besties) These burgers take a little bit of pre-planning so be sure that you give yourself enough time before hand... we didn't!
     First make 2 cups brown rice and lintels of choice (combined), once these are cooked they need to go into the refrigerator until they are completely cool. While those are cooling toast 4 pieces of whatever bread you have and crumbles those up. Also use a paring knife to cut the top and bottom off of your beets then peel them (BE CAREFUL THEY WILL STAIN ANY AND ALL CLOTHING THAT THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH) stick them into the food processor and chop them up. We used 2 beets but they where really big beets your goal should be to have about 2 cups of beets. Peel and cut into chunk one onion of choice (about the size of one of your beets) and toss that into the food processor along with the beets. As with all good cooking you need a little bit of fresh garlic so peel and mince 3-4 cloves.
     Take the beet and onion combo out of the food processor and put it in a nice big bowl add the brown rice and lintels, almond butter, dry mustard, and other seasonings... here comes the fun part... get your hands a little dirty stick them in the bowl and mix all ingredients together until it has become a homogenous mixture. 

    Grab a handful of your mixture and shape them into a patty form...
<----See they look creepily like ground beef burgers.
     Place your burgers on a per-heated, non oiled skillet, over medium heat. cook for about 10 mins on both sides until the burgers get a little bit of a char on both sides

 

 Stick them on a bun and top with whatever you want... My suggestion, a little bit of hot salsa and home made guacamole!!! ENJOY

Bountiful Butternut Squash and Scrumptious Sweet Potato Soup (vegan)

For the soup...you can use as many squash and sweet taters as you want! We used 3 small squash and 3 sweet taters.  
First step- peel the squash, remove seeds and dice (pics below)
              - peel and dice sweet potatos
Place all pieces into a large pot.  Fill pot with a mix of water/veg broth (low sodium).  Just barely cover all the diced pieces with water.  Let that boil on medium/high heat until diced pieces are tender.
     -can add some spices now, such as: chili powder, crushed red pepper, garlic, curry, etc. We used        crushed red pepper.
     -After about 15 min of boiling, add diced onion and garlic if you wish.
Once tender (maybe 30 min or so), mash up with water.  When pieces are mashed, place in blender.  Blend until smooth-ish.


Poor back into pot and you have some wonderful soup!

As a topping you could make a red pepper puree with red bell pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and water.  Blend together and place a spoonful on soup.  We did not have any bell peppers in the house to do this. bummer!

Simply Sensual Spaghetti Squash

Ok...so our first post will be about the wonderful sgetti squash we made!!!!!!


First: for the quick and easy way, just slice you squash in half (scoop out the seeds) and place both halves in a ziplock bag.  Place the bag in the microwave for 9 minutes!


While those are microwaving....or baking (if you use the oven) you can start your sauces!


1. Olive oil with nutritional yeast and crushed red pepper over low to medium heat.  Do not bring to boil.
2. Diced (organic) tomatoes, with a couple tbs of balsamic vinegar thrown in.  I also added a touch of chili powder and basil. yum. Also do not bring to boil.


When your squash are ready...just pull out of bag (will be hot) and fork out the strands of squash.  Place in large bowl.  


Top with whichever dressing you prefer :)


And of course a delicious side salad with balsamic vinegar is a must!  Can top salad with anything: beets, carrots, celery, beans, flaxseed meal, etc.