Three Pepper Stuffed Potato Skins

There is a group out there in the vegan community called Dr. McDougall's WFPB. The acronym is "Whole Food Plant Based." You can check them out on Facebook or HERE on their website. Lots of great info and excellent plant based recipes. He's the real deal, so to speak. I encourage you to take a peek.

Anyway, Dr. McDougall is into eating lots and lots of potatoes. Not overloaded with butter and sour cream, mind you, just the humble potato. They are super low in calories, have no fat or cholesterol, plenty of vitamin C and B6, and surprisingly, they have more potassium than a banana.

(This is the amazing secret ingredient to so many Mexican flavored meals! I always have about 3 cans in my pantry ready to go. If I don't use the entire can, I freeze it in 2 T portions in small baggies to plop into chilis and stews and refried beans.)

These potato skins are loaded with everything yummy, including three kinds of peppers: poblano, chipotle, and jalapeno. And no, they're not excessively spicy! Serve them with some chips and salsa and you have a nice lunch.

Here's what you need for 6 potato skins (about 3-4 portions)
3 medium- large russet potatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 C chopped tomato
1/4 C minced onion
1/4 C minced poblano pepper
3 T lime juice
fresh cilantro to taste
1/2 t cumin
salt, pepper
2 T corn oil
3 T canned chipotle salsa
Nacho Sauce - one recipe (see below)
Avocado for serving

Here's what you do:
Prick the skins of the potatoes well and bake them until they are really soft. Allow to cool a bit. Slice them in half lengthwise and remove 90% of  flesh....leave a little bit behind. (Eat the flesh for breakfast tomorrow!)

Mix the beans, veggies, lime juice, cilantro, and seasonings. Set aside.

Whisk the oil and chipotle salsa and brush the insides of the skins liberally. Place skins back in hot oven (crank it up to 450 degrees) and crisp them up. The secret to a good potato skin is to have a crispy and seriously delicious potato skin!

When the skins are crisp and starting to get brown, fill them with the bean mixture and pour Nacho Sauce over them. Serve with a dollop of guacamole or avocado slices.

Nacho Sauce:
2 T oil
1/4 C minced onion
Saute the above till soft

Add:
1/2 t garlic powder, 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t smoked paprika, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t chili powder
Stir and mix all spices into the onion mixture

Add: 1/4 C flour and continue to cook for a minute

Add: 3/4-1C non dairy milk
Stir well until thickened

Add :
1 can Rotel brand tomatoes
1/4 C minced pickled jalapenos
1/4 C nutritional yeast
Mix well. Heat till bubbly. Devour. Fabulous with Scoops chips!

Avocado Potato Toast with Almond Hollandaise

Vegan Month of Food 2017

"Lines and Light" 

(a line or two of original poetry or a photo of Michigan light every day in October)

Day 28: Brunch

I served my Avocado Potato Toast on a lightly dressed chopped salad.

Did I invent Avocado Toast? No. Did I invent Avocado Potato Toast? I was hoping so, but a quick google search reveals other home cooks who have already put these two favorites together. (But truth be told, mine was pretty delish! We scarfed.) 

The hollandiase was simple and very lemony and light. It would be great on a tofu scramble or even in a falafel sandwich. 

The star of the meal is the huge roasted potato chip. Bake it till it's nice and crispy. 

(Below, is today's photo of beautifuul Michigan light. Taken at Art Prize in Grand Rapids in 2015)

"Me and Starry Light"

Here's what you need:

large russet potatoes, sliced lengthwise about 1/3 inch thick. Use only the nicest pieces for the best 'chips' . Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at 400 degrees until golden. Flip them over once in a while. 

ripe avocados

ripe tomatoes

For the hollandaise: (recipe from Hot for Food)

1/2 C raw slivered almonds

1/2 C soy milk, plus more to thin

1 T coconut oil

1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

2 T nutritional yeast

1/2 t dry mustard

1/4 t trumeric

pinch of salt

Put all the hollandaise ingredients in a high speed blender and continue to blend until it is completley smooth and emulsified. Heat super gently on very low heat, adding more milk if necessary. 

Overloaded Vegan Queso Potato Skins

Vegan Month of Food 2017

"Lines and Light"

(a line or two of original poetry or a photo of beautiful Michigan light every day in October)

Gentle eyes

Powerful nose

Biggest ears on earth

Sloppy eater

Great big paws

I alone saw your worth

Day 21: Making the humble potato the star of the show

This was a true culinary masterpiece! Flavors towering upon flavors upon flavors and more. You can't tell from the photo, but the skin of this beauty was twice baked and totally crispy and salty. Don't change a thing! Let's celebrate the humble potato!

I served my potatoes on a simple salad dressed with Italian and Ranch. 

Here's what you need for the potato layer:

2 large baked russet potatoes, sliced lengthwise, soft flesh removed, leaving about 1/4 inch 

1/2 C cannelini beans or other soft white bean

soy milk

1/4 C nutritional yeast

salt

2 cloves garlic, rubbed over a microplane 

Here's what you need for the queso: (this recipe came from a Facebook club called 'Vegan Recipe Hoarders)

2 cans Rotel tomatoes

1/2 C cashews

1/2 C white beans

1/4 C white onion

1/2 C oats

1/4 C Nutritional yeast

2 T arrowroot

1/2 C salsa

2 t lemon juice

1 1/2 C water

Here's what you do: 

Put the cooked potatoes in a food processor along with the beans, garlic, salt, nutritional yeast, and enough milk to create a mash....BUT be careful not to over blend it. Food processors can be too powerful sometimes. 

Brush both sides of the skins with corn oil and sprinkle liberally with salt (both sides). Return to the oven (400 degrees) and toast till perfect, maybe about 20 minutes, flipping them half way. 

Load the filling in the  skins and put back in oven to reheat. 

To make the queso, drain the Rotel tomatoes, putting the juice in a high speed blender. Add the cashews, beans,onion, oats, nootch, arrowroot, salsa, lemon juice and water. Blend till smooth. Pour in large pot and heat till thick - stirring. Add reserved Rotel tomatoes. 

Build your potato by ladling a generous amount of queso over each, then salsa, avocado, cilantro. I served mine on a simple salad. 

Curried Potatos and Peas in Butter Lettuce (with Tomato Chutney)

Look at that plate of beautiful food! It's enough just to feast on the colors and textures, but it's the flavors that make this meal really special.

These excellent recipes come from Vegetarian Today magazine (April 2017). They suggest serving the potato mixture samosa style - stuffed in pie crust and baked-- like a hand held pie. I decided to serve it on butter lettuce and it was amazing!

I don't think I should post the recipes here because of copyright issues. I'm positive you can find recipes for potato and pea curry and also a spicy tomato chutney all over the internet. And if you are a subscriber to Vegetarian Today (formerly Vegetarian Times) check out the recipes there. AMAZING. This one is going in the 'save' pile

Roasted Beet and Potato Soup

Look what's tucked away safe and sound in my freezer. Such a unique combo of foods and flavors! My little garden produced about a dozen beets and I was tempted to either roast them for salads or throw them in my juicer, but instead decided to 'preserve' them for fall in the form of soup. And what a beautiful soup this is! Check out that color. Pure PINK! And please notice that this soup is to be served with tiny roasted potato 'croutons.' Such a fun idea.

Here's the recipe from Deliciously Ella blog. Potatoes, beets, cumin, lemon, coconut milk, and one of my favorite secret ingredients: coriander.

Here's another look at this delicious soup.

Potato, Broccoli, and Peanut Casserole

Potato, Broccoli, and Peanut Casserole

If you can imagine the classic coconut peanut sauce (which you have  probably poured over noodles) then you can imagine this casserole. You can see from the photo that it makes a great presentation. Underneath that layer of potatoes is a whole bunch of broccoli, which make this a double whammy in the veg department.

This recipe comes from the tiny book "Vegan...Made Simple" published by Love Food. I have mentioned it here on my blog more than a few times because every single thing I've made from it has been great. The book was a gift from my mom (thanks Mom!) and at first glance it appears to be the type of book from the 'dollar' shelf at the back of the book store. But seriously, the pages are FULL of treasures. I love this book! 

Here's what you need: 

1 pound new potatoes, sliced

1 T olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

1 3/4 C coconut milk

1/2 C chunky peanut butter

1 T soy sauce

2 t sugar

1/2 t crushed red pepper

3 C broccoli florets

1/2 C unsalted peanuts

2 t non-dairy butter, melted

salt and pepper

Here's what you do:

Drop the potato slices in boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Saute the onions in a bit of oil until they are soft, stir in the milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Steam the broccoli until tender (don't over cook it) 

Stir the broccoli and peanuts into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a greased baking dish. Arrange the potatoes over the sauce and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 20 minutes or so in 375 oven. 

Spinach Potato Tacos (Forks Over Knives)

Vegan Month of Food Day 28: Tacos or Burritos. Where do you stand on this important issue?

OK. Today's topic is unusually cruel and incredibly difficult. Who in their right mind can choose between a taco and a burrito? But I guess if push comes to shove, I have to say 'TACO.' I do love eating food with my hands and a taco is so conveniently arranged to fit in the hand.  

My funny taco story is from decades ago when I was traveling on "La Flecha Roja" bus from Mexico City to Taxco with my girlfriend. We were saving money and traveling the cheap way, which meant there were nursing babies, drunk men and bleating goats on the bus with us. The bus stopped a million times along the way - people coming and going. I think the bus actually broke down (unless that's another life event from my travels through Mexico. I can't rightly remember.)

One stop in particular on this memorable bus trip  has stuck with me and has become a fond family joke. It was hot that day. Really hot. The bus was crowded. Really crowded. There was no breeze, no air conditioning, no relief.  We had pulled along side the road for some mysterious reason and out of nowhere came a little boy, maybe 10 years old. He was holding a plastic bag which was filled with tacos. Greasy, wet, spicy tacos. He called out in his tiny voice, "Tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos!" As the passengers paid, he reached in and handed them a tiny bean taco wrapped in more plastic. I'll never forget the look and smell of those tacos. We did not indulge in a taco that day, but since then, I have had some of the most amazing food while traveling in Mexico - tacos and otherwise.  

Here's a gourmet taco from Forks Over Knives (I reduced cumin and swapped jalapenos for poblanos)

Here's what you need:

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in small bite size pieces

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and totally squeezed of all water. Wring it out in a kitchen.

1 large onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t ground cumin

1 C unsweetened plant milk

3 T nutritional yeast

Here's what you do:

Cook potatoes in boiling water until fork tender. Drain and set aside.  Sautee the onions and pepper in a tiny bit of oil, or use the water method. (Add the veg to a dry pan and slowly cook, adding 1 T of water at a time until soft and brown.) Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the spinach, potatoes, milk and nutritional yeast. Simmer and stir until well incorporated and thickened.

Serve on toasted flour tortillas or toasted corn tortillas. Cilantro would be a great topping. I served mine with a corn and mango salsa.

Potato Torte

"Love your family. Spend time, be kind and serve one another. Make no room for regrets.
 tomorrow is not promised and today is short."

My dad just celebrated his 80th birthday! What a great life he has had and what a great father he is! To make this special day even better, my sister and brother and I all drove up north to surprise him. No spouses, no kids, just us. It's been a long time since the 5 of have been alone together. Life gets so busy, it's rare that we even see one another much at all!

How my mom kept this all a surprise from my dad, I'll never know. She's the type to make all the meals ahead of time, change all the bedding, plan outings and picnics. But she pulled it off.

Meals were great, of course. I brought some Field Roast brand hamburgers and everyone loved them. I also brought portabella mushrooms. Everything else was lovingly prepared for a vegetarian to eat. Thanks Mom!

This potato torte is loosely  based on one my mom made that weekend. She based hers on two different recipes, and I jotted down the method and veganized it and I must say.... it was pretty dang good!

I served this heavenly potato creation with a Rioja Sauce - also inspired by my mom :)

(I just saw that "Pure Vegan" by Joseph Shuldiner has a gorgeous potato torte which I will most definitely try! )

Here's what you need:

Yukon potatoes

Onions

about 1/4 C Sour cream

2-3 Ener-G eggs

1/4 C melted butter

herbs to taste (I used thyme and oregano)

grated cheese ( I used a hard mozzarella type vegan cheese)

Here's what you do:

Boil the potatoes until fork tender - don't overdo it, like I did...

Sautee some onions

shred the cheese

make the Ener-G eggs and set aside to thicken

Mix the sour cream, the melted butter and the 'eggs' and set aside

Slice the potatoes and layer in a greased springform pan. Sprinkle some onions and cheese over the potatoes and continue layering in this fashion. Pour sour cream sauce over all and allow to drizzle down between the potatoes. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes. Uncover and brown the top. Allow to cool before unfastening the springform pan. 

Smoky Little Devils

I'm still working my way through the many files on my camera. See what I found today. These Smoky Little Devils can be found on the FOK - Recipes app, which I HIGHLY recommend! FOK stands for "Forks Over Knives," which I pray and hope you have all heard of. Excellent movie and excellent resources. Be forewarned -- viewing this movie might just change your life .... for the BETTER, I must say.

I served these at a church potluck last December and they weren't well received....not because they're not delicious, but because the crowd was very 'meat-centric' and couldn't get enough chicken and ham and cheese and whatever else was filling them up. So, I just ate them all myself, with no prob! Literally, walk past and pop one in my mouth...put three more on my plate....walk past again and pop another in my mouth.... and on and on and on....

The filling is a green onion hummus and it has just a bit too much turmeric for my taste. I'll cut back next time.

Two Soups for Teacher

Soba Noodle Soup

Two amazing soups from “The Vegan Table” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Both eaten at my desk at school. Same week. Same pile of papers.  Notice the panda bear coffee cup.

Potato Leek Soup

If you don’t have this cookbook, then I recommend you rush to the library or book store and pick up a copy. Every recipe I have tried has been perfect. I especially love the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake which I’ve made at least 3 times in the past year. Included in the cookbook is Colleen’s famous Garlic and Greens Soup, which I hear is heavenly!

Just photos today – you’ll have to purchase the book to get the details!

Cheezy Potatoes - VeganMoFo

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Every single diet I ever fell off of was because of potatoes and gravy of some sort. Dolly Parton

Not gonna lie….I didn’t love this. But I am a sucker for all things potato, so I couldn’t resist. What it needs is a stick of Earth Balance to make it creamy. Not gonna lie.

God bless Dolly Parton for saying so eloquently what I wanted to express. Of course, I ate every single shred all by myself, no problem. Proof of my love affair with the potato.

Here’s what you need:

1 28 oz bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

1 onion finely chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

3 C water

½ C Nutritional yeast

¼ C olive oil

1 T chicken-style seasoning (or other similar seasonings)

Salt

Garlic powder

Hot sauce

Paprika

Here’s what you do:

Place the thawed hash browns and onions in a greased casserole. Set aside.

Combine the chopped potatoes, carrots and water and simmer, covered, until very soft. Save the cooking liquid. Place the soft carrots and potatoes in a high speed blender. Add 2 C of the cooking water. Also add the Nutritional yeast, olive oil, seasonings. (Keep the paprika for a garnish only) . Blend until very creamy and thick and pour over the hash browns. Stir a bit to distribute the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the paprika over the casserole. Bake until bubble, maybe 30 – 45 minutes. Freezes great. 

Roasted Salt and Vinegar Potatoes

This is an excellent recipe – straight from America’s Test Kitchen.  Not too salty. Not too vinegary. Perfect with a salad and grilled veg. There is a shocking amount of salt used in this recipe, but you need that much. Somehow all that salt helps create a totally creamy potato.  I modified the amount of oil recommended in the original recipe. 

Here’s what you need:

2 lbs small red potatoes

1 ¼ C table salt

8 C water

4 T Malt Vinegar  (I used cider vinegar)

Cracked black pepper to taste

2 T olive oil 

Here’s what you do:

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and it aside. Brush a different baking sheet with oil.

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add all the salt and when dissolved, add the potatoes. Cook until fork tender – about 20-30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool on the wire rack for 10 minutes. Some salt will form on the potato skin.

Transfer the potatoes to the oiled baking sheet and smash them with a measuring cup until they are about ½ inch thick. Brush them with oil and half of the vinegar.

Roast the potatoes for about 20-25 minutes or until they are well browned and crispy. Brush with remaining vinegar. Season with pepper. Serve immediately. 

Stuffed Baked Potato with Cashew Queso

Bake a potato. Add some of Isa Chandra’s Cashew Queso. Sprinkle generously with black beans, avocado and cilantro. Serve with pride.

Here’s what you need for Isa’s Cashew Queso:

1 C raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight

2 C vegetable broth

2 T white miso

2 T cornstarch

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic

2 t cumin

1 t ground ancho pepper (I used smoked paprika instead)

2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

½ t salt

1 T lemon juice

Here’s what you do:

Drain the cashews and place the nuts in a high speed blender or food processor. Add the vegetable broth, miso, and cornstarch. Sauté the onion and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes. Add the cooked veg to the blender. Add the seasonings and nutritional yeast to the blender. (save the lemon juice till the very end.) Blend on high until smooth and glossy. Pour into a sauce pan and heat and stir until thickened and bubbly – being careful not to scorch the bottom. At the last minute, stir in the lemon juice.

This was super on the baked potato and also great on sandwiches and burritos all week. Perfect, perfect, perfect for dipping. Think ‘crock- pot- and-Super -Bowl- party- good’. 

Potato and Leek Soup

“I just like eggheads, damnit!”  Julia Child (My Life in France, pg 197)

Potage Parmentier adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child

Here’s what you need:

2 T neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

5 medium russet potatoes

3 leeks

4 C vegetable stock

2 C water

Salt and pepper to taste

2 T sour cream

Here’s what you do:

Cut the leeks in half and discard the dark green half. Slice the white/light green part in half lengthwise and then thinly slice them, creating little half-moons. The leeks need to be washed and rinsed in clean water until they are very clean.

Peel and chop the potatoes in 1 inch cubes.

Saute the leeks in a bit of light oil until they are tender but not brown. Add the potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes are beginning to soften, but not brown. Add the stock and water and cook for about 30 minutes. One of my favorite secrets to making excellent soup is to let it rest for a while before rushing to the finish – so I advise to let the soup sit, heat off, for another 30 minutes.

Use an immersion blender or a regular blender and process until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the sour cream and re-heat gently. 

Potato Crust Pizza

V is for Variety and Y is for Yes, those are potatoes in that thar pizza!

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Really exciting news for me last week! My Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookie post made the VeganMoFo Round-up! BAM!  I couldn’t believe my eyes! Check it out right ….HERE…. I am pretty geeked about this! So fun! And such a great recipe from Post Punk Kitchen, so you know it’s a winner!

These guys are really good.....but only consider making them if you like a hit of spice!

I also messed around with a potato crust pizza twice last week – topped it once with roasted tomatoes and onions and the next night with fresh tomatoes and summer squash from my garden.

Check out the size of those beets!

Shred some Yukon potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. 

Wring out every bit of water from the potatoes, add some grated garlic, salt,  pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and some vegan parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes in a cast iron skillet and carefully flip over! It took lots of patience and some fiddling with a metal spatula. Oh, so worth it. 

 Slide the crust back into the hot skillet and voila! Put on your toppings and bake for another 10 minutes or so. I do not recommend any kind of sauce because you want to keep that nice crispy crust. 

The inspiration for this excellent pizza came from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen. Thanks Beate!

Potato Asparagus Stack

Russet potatoes. Fresh asparagus. Olive oil. Tarragon. Dijon. What’s not to love? Plus it’s pretty on a plate. Honestly, good enough for company!  If you don’t happen to have marjoram, try some dried coriander. Either one will give the dressing the desired lemony punch you are looking for.  Inspired by www.vegan4one.com

Here’s what you need:

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

3-4 T lemon juice

½  C olive oil

1 t tarragon

1 t Dijon mustard

1 t marjoram

Here’s what you do:

Peel and slice the potatoes. Drop them in boiling water and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Remove them from the water and toss them in some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast them in a 425 degree oven to your liking. I turned my over a few times, and gave them a quick blast under the broiler at the end. Plan on about 15 minutes.

Cut the asparagus in half, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the same oven, but for much less time.

Make the dressing by whisking together the lemon juice, olive oil, tarragon and marjoram.

Stack it all together and drizzle with the dressing. 

(printablerecipe)

And if you're not sick of asparagus yet this year (and who ever gets sick of asparagus?) you might also like these recipes: 

Linguine with  Chicken, Asparagus and Raspberry Vinaigrette 

Veggie Salad Nicoise 

Spiced Potatoes with Lentils and Barley

I love this type of salad. Chewy and toothsome. Flavorful and healthy. Plus, there’s a lot of lemon in the recipe, and that’s always a plus. This could be served as a side dish or as an entrée with a salad or vegetable on the side. This recipe comes from Veggie.Num.Num and can also be found on the Meatless Monday website.  My changes are reflected below. 

Here’s what you need:

1 C regular barley, soaked for at least 2 hours in water

1 C dried brown lentils, rinsed

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed

1 ¼ lb new potatoes or other small waxy potatoes

2 t paprika

2 C vegetable broth

½ C water

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

1 C frozen peas

½ C chopped Italian parsley, chopped

Here’s what you do:

Soak the barley for at least 2 hours in plenty of water. Drain the water and place barley in a large pot or Dutch oven.

Bring 1 ½ C water to a boil. Add the lentils and boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat, simmer for 15-25 minutes, or until tender. When the lentils are done, drain off any remaining water, season with salt and add to the barley.  

Heat oil in pan. Sautee the garlic and jalapeno pepper. Remove and add to the lentils and barley.

Add a bit more oil and the whole potatoes to the pan and fry the potatoes until brown, about 5-8 minutes. Sprinkle them generously with paprika. Remove them to the lentil-barley mixture.

Add the veggie stock, water, lemon juice and bring the entire mixture to a boil. Turn down, simmer for about 20 -25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. You may cover this and let it sit for a while to absorb all the goodness.

Add the lemon zest, peas and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

(printable recipe)