annelise’s sweet potatoes
Annelise, my partner, has been making this sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving for years. It is adapted from a recipe that her mom used to make. Over the years we have worked on tweaking it to make the flavors a little bolder. The key step is roasting (not boiling) the potatoes. The process of roasting deepens the flavor of the potato and results in a richer, more flavorful dish! The pineapple adds sweetness and acidity and the pecans give the casserole a nice crunch. Everyone always loves this casserole!
Annelise’s Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs yellow sweet potatoes
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2 tablespoons margarine (Earth Balance)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 14 oz crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces (to taste)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Rinse potatoes and grease them lightly with shortening.
- Bake potatoes whole and unpeeled for 40 minutes in a 13 x 9 pan at 450 degrees. They are done when soft all the way through. Then lower oven heat to 350 degrees.
- Let potatoes cool until warm but easy to handle. Pull skins off and plop the soft insides in a mixing bowl. Their skins should easily come off with your fingers.
- Add margarine to the warm potatoes and stir to melt.
- Add brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and stir until thoroughly combined. You may use a hand mixer to fluff them up.
- Add crushed pineapple and pecan pieces and stir to combine.
- Put potato mixture in an 8 x 8 baking pan. If making streusul topping, prepare (see below) and top with streusel. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until slightly browned.
- Enjoy!
- 1 tablespoon margarine
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup toasted pecan halves or pieces
- Stir together all ingredients (margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon and toasted pecans), then squeeze them together with your hands until nuts are coated.
- Sprinkle on top of potato casserole. Bakes as instructed above.
Filed under: Holidays, Sides, Uncategorized, Vegan | 1 Comment
Tags: casserole, pecan, pineapple, streusel, sweet potato, Thanksgiving
ricotta & cherry tomato toasts
This is a super simple recipe I developed awhile ago, and revived to share at a weeknight dinner in honor of a friend’s birthday. It is a recipe that can be mostly prepped ahead and quickly put on the table. The crunch of the bread, the creaminess of the ricotta and the tang and sweetness of the tomato spread balance this dish.
Ricotta & Cherry Tomato Toasts
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon pesto
- 1 baguette, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 cup of ricotta cheese
Instructions:
- First, prepare the tomato spreadheat olive oil over medium heat in a small-sized sauce pan.
- When oil is hot, add tomatoes and stir.
- Add salt and sugar.
- Stir until tomatoes have come to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Stir occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.
- When the mixture has reduced by half, remove from heat and cool.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice bread and place on cookie sheet.
- Bake bread until toasted, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven.
- Served cooled tomato spread in one bowl and ricotta in another.
- Let guests create their own by spreading a little of each on a toast.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Starters, Vegan Optional | Leave a Comment
pumpkin-bourbon-pecan schmear
Here’s another holiday-inspired recipe! I was invited to brunch at a lactose-intolerant friend’s house this morning. They were having bagels, and wondered if I could bring a vegan schmear. Given that the weather has recently turned very autumnal in SF, I felt inspired to experiment with pumpkin flavors. The bourbon adds depth, the pecans add a toastynesss, and the pumpkin butter is concentrated enough to impart a nice flavor. It also makes a delicious frosting for carrot cake or pumpkin muffins!
Pumpkin-Bourbon-Pecan Schmear
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped in a food processor
- 8 ounces tofutti vegan cream cheese
- 1/8 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup pumpkin butter
Instructions:
- Toast pecans (I use a toaster oven) until brown and fragrant. Chop into small pieces using a food processor. Remove and set aside.
- Put vegan cream cheese, bourbon and pumpkin butter in food processor, and mix until incorporated.
- Add cream cheese mixture to bowl with pecans and stir until incorporated.
- Serve on bagels or use as frosting for carrot cake.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Breakfast, Dessert, Holidays, Vegan | Leave a Comment
Tags: bourbon, pecans, pumpkin
I invented these treats in honor of Halloween, and also because we had the ingredients lying around the house. These cookie sandwiches are kid-friendly, vegan-friendly and quick and delicious! Seems like the perfect combination for a busy holiday season!
Vegan Almond Butter-Dark Chocolate Graham Cracker Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 24 graham cracker squares
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 2, 3-ounce dark chocolate bars
Instructions:
- Snap all graham crackers so they are single squares.
- Lay out 12 squares on a large piece of wax paper on a baking sheet.
- Put almond butter in a small ziploc bag and press to one corner (or use a pastry bag with large tip).
- Break chocolate into squares and place in a dry, microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave chocolate for 2 minutes. Stir and continue to heat in 30-second intervals until melted.
- Snip tip of ziploc bag so that a 1/4 inch diameter is created.
- Squeeze out about one tablespoon of almond butter into the center of the graham cracker squares that are on the wax paper.
- Put another graham cracker square on top of almond butter and press so that almond butter comes out the edges of the sandwich but not beyond.
- Spoon one tablespoon of melted chocolate on top of the sandwiches and spread so that some chocolate spills over each side.
- Let chocolate cool and harden — about an hour.
- Sandwiches can be stored in a ziploc bag for up to a week.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Cookies, Holidays, Vegan | 1 Comment
Tags: almond butter, dark chocolate, graham crackers, halloween, quick
This recipe has two sources of inspiration: the first was a recent article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about Korean bulgogi sliders. The second is a fast-food restaurant I experienced when I was traveling in Japan: Mos Burger. Mos Burger has many interesting things on the menu, including burgers with fried rice patties instead of buns.
I tweaked the bulgogi marinade recipe from the Times article, including substituting seitan for beef. I also tweaked the garnishes a bit, and then created a recipe for the rice patty “bun.”
This recipe is a little spicy, a little salty and a little sweet with a crunchy rice base.
Open-Faced Seitan Bulgogi Burger wtih a Rice Patty Bun
Seitan Bulgogi
Ingredients:
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 cup sake
- 1/8 cup mirin
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 asian pear, peeled and quartered
- 1 cup apple juice
- 8 ounces seitan
- 1/4 vegetable oil
Instructions:
- Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sake and mirin in a medium-sized bowl.
- Mince garlic cloves. Add to bowl.
- Slice onion. Add to bowl.
- Julienne carrots. Add to bowl.
- Add asian pear and apple juice to blender. Purée until smooth. Add to bowl.
- Add seitan. Cover and refridgerate over night.
- After the seitan has chilled overnight, strain seitan, onions and carrots. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the seitan mixture.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
- Add seitan mixture and stir-fry until onions have softened, carrots have browned and seitan has developed a brown crust.
- Remove from heat.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (Japanese, for non-vegans; Vegenaise, otherwise)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
Instructions:
- Put ingredients in a bowl.
- Mix thoroughly.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 green onions
Instructions:
- Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, mirin and sriracha sauce. Stir.
- Add sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.
- Remove the top 3 inches of green and the bottoms of the green onions. Remove the outer layer and discard.
- Slice green onions (both green and white parts) in 1/4 inches on a bias.
- Add to bowl and let sit.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sushi rice
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil.
Instructions:
- Cook rice as directed.
- Let cool.
- Take 1/2 cup of cooked rice and form into patties.
- Add vegetable oil to a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat.
- Add patties, two at a time.
- Cook for 5 minutes on one side, or until brown. Flip.
- Remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel.
Instructions:
- Place cooked rice patty on a plate.
- Put a half cup of bulogi on top of the rice patty.
- Garnish with a teaspoon of spicy mayonnaise and a teaspoon of green onions.
- Enojy!
Filed under: Mains, Vegan, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment
Tags: bulogi, green onions, Korean, rice, seitan, sriracha
This recipe was a happy outcome of an experiment gone wrong. I was attempting to make goat cheese filled roasted peppers, but the peppers kept falling apart. So instead I decided to blend the cheese and pepper and spread the mixture on toasts. The result is a delicious, summery appetizer.
Sweet Pepper-Goat Cheese Toasts with Arugula
Toasts
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 baguette, sliced thin
Instructions:
- Slice baguette.
- Bring a cast iron skillet to medium heat.
- Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil.
- Place the oiled side of the bread down in the skillet.
- Press down on the bread so that the surface is pressed against the pan.
- Remove the bread once toasted.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 pounds red and yellow bell peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
- 11 ounces plain goat cheese
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Wash peppers.
- Put the oil in a large metal pan.
- Put peppers in pan. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning the peppers ever 10 minutes or so.
- Remove peppers from oven. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Peel and seed peppers. If you don’t want to roast the peppers, you can also used the jarred peppers. Just drain the water from the peppers.
- Put in blender with goat cheese.
- Blend until smooth.
- Spread on toasts.
- Top with arugula.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Starters, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment
Tags: arugula, goat cheese, roasted peppers, toast
bruschetta
Though we haven’t had much of a summer in San Francisco this year, thankfully there has been a summer in the rest of Northern California, yielding wonderful dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes. Bruschetta is a classic appetizer that features fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. To incorporate the garlic, I use a mortar and pestle and grind the cloves together with salt. The dish incorporates the crunch of the toasts, the sweetness of the tomatoes and basil, and the spiciness of the garlic.
Bruschetta
Toasts
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 baguette, sliced thin
Instructions:
- Slice baguette.
- Bring a cast iron skillet to medium heat.
- Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil.
- Place the oiled side of the bread down in the skillet.
- Press down on the bread so that the surface is pressed against the pan.
- Remove the bread once toasted.
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup basil
- 1/8 cup olive oil
Instructions:
- Cut tomatoes in half. Remove most of seeds. Dice. Place in bowl.
- Put cloves of garlic and salt in mortar. Use pestle to grind garlic into a paste.
- Mix garlic, basil and olive oil.
- Serve with toasts.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Starters, Vegan | Leave a Comment
Tags: basil, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, vegan
balsamic seitan steak salad
On a recent trip to Chicago, I ate one of the very best vegetarian meals of my life at the Chicago Diner. One of the dishes I enjoyed there was a seitan steak salad (Chicagoans love their seitan!). This is my attempt to recreate the entrée dish. This salad features the sweet-savory charred flavor of seitan, the tang of balsamic vinegar and the sweetness of cherry tomatoes.
Balsamic Seitan Steak Salad
Marinade & Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 cup water
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Mince shallot and put into a medium-sized bowl.
- Add brown sugar, olive oil, water, balsamic, dijon and salt & pepper.
- Whisk to incorporate.
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of unflavored seitan, cut into strips
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 head red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, washed and cut into strips
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
- 1 half a medium red onion, thinly sliced
Instructions:
- Put seitan into marinade and let sit while you are preparing the other ingredients.
- Wash and tear lettuce. Put in a bowl.
- Wash and tear basil. Put on top of lettuce.
- Wash and halve cherry tomatoes. Set aside.
- Thinly slice onion. Set aside.
- Mince garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Remove seitan from marinade, squeeze to drain excess liquid and place in frying pan. Set remaining marinade aside.
- Add garlic. Stir to prevent burning. Seitan should develop a somewhat charred crust. When all the pieces have browned, remove from heat.
- Toss remaining marinade/dressing with lettuce and basil to coat the greens.
- Add tomatoes and red onion on top of the salads.
- Place equal parts seitan on each salad.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Mains, Salads, Vegan | 1 Comment
Tags: balsamic vinegar, basil, cherry tomatoes, red onion, salad, seitan
stuffed peppers
This recipe was requested by my vegan friend who was missing her mom’s beef-and-rice stuffed peppers. For this recipe I use nutty brown rice instead of white and tempeh and fresh shiitake mushrooms to bring a meaty flavor and texture. I also use veggie broth, tomato paste and a tiny bit of soy sauce to build the savory flavor.
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
- 8 green peppers, tops removed and seeded
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for oiling casserole dish
- 2 tablesppons vegetable oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 8 ounces tempeh, cubed
- 2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, quartered
- 2 cups brown rice, rinsed
- 1 bay leaf
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil on bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish with a lid.
- Cut tops off green peppers and seed. Save tops. Place in casserole dish.
- Mince garlic and chop onion and the edible remainder of the green peppers.
- Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add onions and stir. Cook until translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir. Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add chopped peppers and tempeh. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add shiitake mushrooms and stir. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add uncooked brown rice and stir. Cook until fragrant (nutty smell), about 10 minutes.
- Add bay leaf, black pepper, soy sauce, and tomato paste. Stir.
- Add 1 cup of broth, stir and cover. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer.
- Stir every five minutes to prevent sticking. Add 1/2 cup broth when the mixture seems dry. After two cups of broth, switch to water. Continue adding liquid every five minutes until rice is soft and cooked through.
- Once rice is cooked, fill peppers with mixture.
- Bake in covered casserole for 30 minutes, or until peppers are soft and fragrant.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Mains, Vegan | Leave a Comment
Tags: brown rice, mushrooms, peppers, shiitake
We were deep into a lazy summer Sunday when we started to make dinner plans. Given the heat, our need for a nap, and all the opportunity still left in the day (going to the pool!), we decided to order takeout pizza. I offered to make a salad, and felt inspired by the day to make a summery salad. The white peaches looked good when I stopped by the store, so I developed the idea for this salad.
White Peach Basil Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients:
Salad
- 1 head green leaf lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn into bite size pieces
- 4 white peaches, sliced
- Leaves from 4 sprigs of basil, chopped
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1 inch x 1/4 inch slices
Instructions:
1. Clean, dry and tear the lettuce in a large bowl.
2. Wash the peaches and slice thinly. Add to the lettuce.
3. Clean the basil, pick the leaves and chop. Add to salad bowl.
4. Thinly slice red onion and add it to the salad.
5. Slice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch pieces. Slice into strips and then tear into small pieces. Add to salad.
Dressing
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Mince shallot and put in a small jar with a lid.
2. Add honey, olive oil, water, balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper.
3. Shake dressing until incorporated.
4. Pour dressing over salad and toss.
5. Enjoy!
Filed under: Salads, Vegan Optional | 2 Comments
Tags: balsamic, basil, mozzarella, salad, summer, white peach
veg here 
