Turn the Beet Around

Last weekend we were invited to 'Friendsgiving' an event hosted by Elsie's original owners. This was a very special occasion as Elsie has not seen them or her brother from another mother-Humphrey-in about 8 months. Besides contemplating what scarf Elsie was going to wear to the reunion, I had to figure out what to bring. I wanted to try out a new recipe that I could possibly use for Thanksgiving at my parents' house next week and found the perfect one to experiment with from Robin Robertson's-Vegan Planet. I love the bright colors of roasted beets and it's a tasty side dish to almost any fall meal.

 Orange Roasted Beets & Shallots with Toasted Almonds & Fresh Mint:

Ingredients:

5 Large beets-scrubbed and quartered (I peeled some of the stringy/rough parts)

4 shallots quartered

2 TBSPN organge juice concentrate

2 TBSPN olive oil

1 TBSPN chopped fresh mint

2 TBSPN toasted chopped almonds

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

*preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Mix the oil and OJ concentrate together.

2. Mix the OJ/oil dressing with the beets & shallots and place in a large baking dish (I initially thought there were way too many shallots but they shrink). Sprinkle with salt & pepper and cover with foil. I prepared this ahead of time allowing the beets & shallots to marinate for about an hour.

3. Bake for 50 minutes, turning the beets & shallots halfway through.

4. Serve warm garnished with fresh mint and toasted almonds

Vegan Breakfast Tacos

I just returned from a quick trip to visit my brother and his fiance in Austin, Texas. Austin cuisine is home to such culinary delicacies like migas, queso, and breakfast tacos. Northern California has yet to truly catch on to the breakfast taco  phenomenon so I attempted to get my fill while in Austin. After just a few days back in Berkeley I was craving those savory, tasty little tacos so I whipped these up with what I had on hand this past Saturday morning.

Ingredients:
Small yellow potato-diced
Yellow onion-quarter, sliced thinly
Olive oil-1 TBSPN.
Tofu-1 package (firm)
Salt/pepper to taste
Tumeric-TSPN.
Red/orange bell pepper-diced (3 miniature)
Cherry tomatoes-10 (sliced in half)
Corn tortillas
Toppings-avocado, vegan sour cream & salsa

1. On a low/medium heat, cook the potato and onion in the oil.
2. When the onion begins to wilt, crumble the tofu into the mixture. I recommend crumbling in large chunks (1 1/2-2 inches) because as the tofu cooks it will break into smaller pieces.
3. Once the tofu is coated in oil, immediately sprinkle the tumeric over the mixture. Add salt/pepper.
4. After about 5 minutes, add the peppers and continue to stir regularly to avoid burning the vegetables.
5. Once the tofu starts to brown (about 10 minutes total cooking time), taste and adjust salt/pepper.
6. Add the cherry tomato halves and allow to cook for 2 more minutes (just to heat the tomatoes to bring out their flavor). Remove the pan from heat.
7. While the tofu mixture is cooking, heat the tortillas, either directly on the flame of your gas stove or wrap in foil and place in the oven on 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes.
8. Fill each tortilla with a generous scoop of the mixture. Top with sliced avocado, vegan sour cream (I like the Tofutti brand), and salsa (my favorite lately has been La Cascada's roasted salsa that you can find at the local Farmer's Markets in Oakland.Berkeley and luckily at Whole Foods).

Vegan B.L.A.T. with pesto

Pesto-it's not just for pasta. GK recently developed an appreciation and interest in tempeh so I decided to introduce him to the vegan B.L.A.T. (bacon, lettuce, avocado, & tomato) sandwich after being inspired by the B.L.T. at Herbivore. Since I just made a batch of fresh organic pesto-I decided to add this to the mix and the result was pure heaven.

 Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
3 strips of marinated tempeh
Ripe tomato-sliced
Avocado-mashed
Romaine lettuce
Vegan mayonnaise
Pesto


1. Lightly toast your favorite bread (I prefer sour dough).
2. Fry the tempeh (I like Tofurkey brand tempeh-smokey maple bacon flavored) until lightly browned.
3. Assembly-I prefer the mashed avocado over slices because it helps keep the sandwich "glued" together. Then layer: tomato slices, fried tempeh, lettuce leaf, topped with bread slathered with vegan mayo (Earth Balance or Follow Your Heart are good brands-steer clear of the TJ's brand) mixed with a generous dollop of fresh pesto.

Vegan Pesto

 I recently visited a friend who has an amazing garden that I am insanely jealous of. She offered me a big bag of fresh basil that I happily accepted-partly because the basil I tried to grow this year sucks but also because I love basil. Best thing to do with an abundance of basil? Fresh vegan pesto of course!

From The Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson:
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup of pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups (or more) fresh basil
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Optional: oil packed sun dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, light miso

1. Using a food processor, first grind the garlic, pine nuts, & salt together.
2. Add the basil and process until minced.
3. With the food processor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube.
4. Store in an airtight container with a light layer of olive oil over the top.