Twice Baked Cauliflower Mash and Sweet Potato

Vegan Month of Food 2017
“Lines and Light”

(a line of original poetry or a photo of light every day for the month of October)

Day 1: Re-inventing the veggie option – Think of a boring, below-standard veggie option like nut roast or risotto and give it a makeover.(click HERE to see what others are sharing today)

"Strange Clouds Over My Town"

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food, fondly known as VeganMoFo! I’m so excited to be participating once again. Basically, all who participate pledge to blog and talk about vegan food every day for a month and I’m thrilled that the month is October! I love Michigan in October. The colors and fragrances and tastes are simply perfection.

Every day for the month of October, I will post either a recipe or some thoughts about vegan food. I plan to follow the suggested recipe ideas, (today’s is to re-invent a totally boring veggie option), but I also wanted to get creative and follow my own theme of “Lines and Light.” Lines of poetry and photos of glorious Michigan October light.

Today I share a photo I took recently while driving (yes, driving…. I know, I know, I know……it was risky….but worth it, right?) Plus I’m sharing an excellent makeover of the boring twice baked potato.

Twice Baked Cauliflower Mash and Sweet Potato

Here's what you need:

3 sweet potatoes, baked until very soft

1/2 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into medium size pieces. Boil until very soft

3 T butter

1/3 C coconut cream

2 t freshly grated ginger

I'm an optimistic sort. 

Here's what you  do: 

Bake the sweet potatoes. Allow to cool. Slice in half and remove the soft flesh to a food processor. Add the butter, coconut cream, and ginger. Whirl. Add the cooked cauliflower and whirl again until a great consistency. Stuff  the reserved potato skins. Dot with butter and bake. DELICIOUS! These are going on my Thanksgiving table. 

Raise the Roof Lasagna (from My Beef with Meat)

“My Beef with Meat” by Rip Esselstyn is a quick and easy read, and the recipes included in the back of the book are solid….and masculine, in a way, if you know what I mean….like this lasagna….and  Zeb’s Waffles which you can see here. It’s the perfect book if you are curious about the rationale behind a vegan diet; the information is not overwhelming and it’s not chock full of nutritional facts and figures. If you’re looking for that kind of info, turn to “The China Study.”

(A side note: Esselstyn’s father is part of the “Forks Over Knives” movie - have you seen it?)

Esselstyn quotes a letter which he received that especially drives home the point of a plant strong diet. The letter writer says that none of his friends even batted an eye when he reached for his 5^th piece of meat pizza after eating a plate of wings and drinking 5 beers. They did start to chirp up when this guy started eating fresh fruit and vegetables, citing all sorts of evolutionary evidence which supposedly points to the necessity of including meat in our diet. All of a sudden, the friends had become biochemists who were worried about nutrition! The man continued to lose weight, reverse health issues and regain strength, all the while smiling and quietly witnessing to his friends.

This legendary recipe is a total complete 100-% VEG OUT fest. Don’t even consider making this unless you are in LOVE with the pure authentic taste of VEGGIES. Look at the crazy amount of VEG layered in there. Broccoli, corn, spinach, onions, tomatoes, peppers, carrots – it just never ENDS!  Talk about chopping! And believe it or not, I cut the recipe in HALF! I don’t think there is any room in the casserole for another crumble of goodness.  

Many reviewers suggested doubling the amount of sweet potatoes, which I did, and that made the second layer of this lasagna (see it in the photo?) extra nice. (Mr. Living Cookbook doesn’t love sweet potatoes and he did not go back for second helpings – rare)

If you want this recipe, you’ll have to get to the library and check out “My Beef with Meat” or search around the internet. Caution: It’s a VEG FEST!!!

Black Bean, Quinoa and Sweet Potato Croquettes with Pumpkin Seed Chipotle Cream

(from Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton, pg 146)

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

I keep dreaming of having a vegan dinner party. You may recall that I almost pulled it off for a party on St. Patrick’s Day, but I gave in to fear and served the classic Irish menu: Corned Beef. Don’t get me wrong, it was great and my guests were pleased, but I think I’m ready to ‘go public’ with my new vegan diet and host a vegan dinner party.

I admit, I am not 100%  vegan, but I am doing pretty well, all things considered. I understand a true vegan gives up much more than animal foods. They give up wearing and using leather. They give up cosmetics and other products that are tested on animals. They are probably active in the animal rights movement. They lead a very compassionate life, actually. 

Me, I just wanted to lower my cholesterol and made the decision to try vegan meals for one month last October. I guess it stuck, cuz here I am staring my one year anniversary in the face.

The recipe can be found here. I followed it to the letter. These little croquettes were absolutely fantastic! A tiny bit smoky from the chipotle. A tiny bit sweet from the potato. The hint of lime was perfect. And the pumpkin seed cream was heavenly!

How would you feel if you came to a dinner party and saw this on your plate?  

Sweet Potato Patties

(Here's one of the recipes I promised last week! I'm starting with a good one)

I served these with black bean burgers topped with my famous roasted tomatoes. 

Recently, I was fortunate to receive a big box of ‘left-over’ sweet potatoes from our church pantry…..they were pretty far gone and needed lots of ‘surgery’ if you know what I mean. You know they're ready for the compost pile when the church food pantry can't use them…. Bruises, rotten spots, mysterious squishy places….but no harm, I kept slicing and dicing, and voila!

A note: the first time I made these I grated the potatoes with great success (but some mess!) The second time I made these I shredded the potatoes in the food processor with less success…..the shreds were way too long….you want them much more ‘shreddy’ if you know what I mean.

Here’s what you need:

About 4 cups of shredded sweet potatoes

3 T minced onion

3 T lemon juice

4 beaten eggs

¼ C flour

Salt and pepper

(cumin would be great in these also if you are in a spicy mood)

Here’s what you do:

Mix everything, fry in small bundles in a bit of oil until nice and crisp. Flip carefully and fry till cooked through. Sprinkle a little sea salt over top while they are warm.  Nice.