Roasted *Organic* Golden Beets

Until yesterday, I had never eaten a beet before. For a while my mom was really into making juice in the morning and she would put beets in the juice, but as far as eating one, I never had. I've lived a sad nineteen years. Yesterday, my mom and I went to the West Palm Beach Green Market. I highly recommend this market. They have some great vendors, pastries galore, and a wonderful selection of produce. While my mom and I were browsing we saw organic golden beets, which we have never seen in our local grocery store, and therefore we have never eaten. We decided to buy them and roasted them for a snack/lunch. A little sweet and a whole lot delicious, I highly recommend this incredibly simple recipe.

Roasted Golden Beets:

• 3-4 golden beets
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350. Leave the skins on the beets and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until tender. Take the beets out of the oven. When the beets cool, peel and slice them. Garnish with some fresh herbs (that's thyme in the picture). Eat and enjoy!

Some tips:

• I haven't tried this with regular purple beets, but I'm sure it's equally delicious
• To determine if the beets are done, slide in a knife. If the beets are tender, you should meet no resistance.
• I am now in love with golden beets, so check back for other recipes with this great vegetable.
  

Kale with White Beans and Polenta

When I tell people I've just met that I'm a vegetarian they generally assume that I eat a lot of salad and love my vegetables. But I have a confession to make. I'm a pretty picky eater, especially when it comes to my vegetables. And I don't really like salad. But since becoming a vegetarian I've tried to try as many vegetables as possible. I've found out that I'm not as picky as I once was. It's funny how for your whole life you convince yourself you don't like something, then you try it and feel like an idiot because you realize you've been missing out for a very long time. Kale is one of those vegetables. Leafy greens used to totally freak me out, but I am now officially in love with kale. This dish is healthy, delicious, and totally satisfying.

Kale with White Beans:

• 1 large bunch of kale
• 1 19 ounce can of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup of vegetable broth
  
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, rinse the kale and slice into strips (hold onto the stem and pull down, whatever comes off it good to eat). When the water is boiling, drop in the kale, stir once, and put the lid back on. Cook the kale for about 15 minutes, until tender.

While the kale is cooking, coat a saute pan with olive oil. Begin sauteing the onion and garlic. Stir in the tomato paste and the red pepper flakes. Pour in the tomatoes, including the liquid. Let the mixture simmer then stir in the rinsed beans. Season with salt and pepper.

By now, the kale should be done. Drain the kale and put in with the beans and tomatoes. Pour in the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and let the liquid reduce, tossing the kale and beans. When the liquid has reduced and thickened, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.


Polenta:

• 1 log of precooked polenta (found in the produce aisle with the tofu)

Slice the polenta into 1/2 inch thick slices. Heat a small saute pan with some olive oil. Cook the polenta slices until slightly crispy or light brown on both sides. Put the polenta on a plate and top with the kale and beans. Start cooking the polenta while the liquid is reducing in the kale mixture.

Penne with Garlicky Butternut Squash

What do I love as much as pasta? Garlic. What do I love more than pasta with a whole lot of garlic? Nothing comes to mind. So this weekend, while I was reading through recipes trying to figure out what to do with my butternut squash besides soup I ran across this recipe for penne with garlicky butternut squash. I saw the recipe I knew immediately I had to try it. Not only was it super delicious but it was simple and I already had all of the ingredients in my pantry.

Penne with Garlicky Butternut Squash:

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 (1 1/2 pound) butternut squash, diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 - 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered sage
• Salt, to taste
  
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound of penne (I prefer whole wheat)
  
• Nutritional yeast
• *2-3 tablespoons of vegan margarine
• *2-3 teaspoons of garlic powder, divided
  

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Drop the penne and cook until your preferred tenderness. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain, reserve some of the pasta water, and return the pasta to the pot. *Toss the pasta with the margarine, half of the garlic powder, and nutritional yeast. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Toss in the squash and saute for five minutes, until it begins to get golden. Sprinkle in the garlic and saute 2 minutes. Pour in 1/2 of the veggie broth, and cover the pan. Periodically check the pan for the tenderness of the squash. If all the liquid is gone but the squash isn't tender, add more broth and some of the pasta water. Cook the squash until tender, mix in the garlic powder, sage, and nutmeg. Pour the squash mixture into the pasta pot and toss, adding the salt and pepper. Sprinkle on some more nutritional yeast. Serve with some crusty whole grain baguette.

Some tips about this recipe:

• I went a little easy on the garlic because my boyfriend doesn't love garlic as much as I do. But even he said it needed more! So the 4 cloves is just to start, I probably added about 6 and plan to add more next time. But I really, really love garlic.
• Don't worry about adding "too much" broth or pasta water because it will make a good sauce.
• This makes a whole lot of pasta, but make the whole recipe. It's great leftover.
  
• The * indicates where I updated the recipe.
  

Cheesy Orzo

My mom started making cheesy orzo as a side dish a few years ago. It's simple and easy and soooooo delicious. And I decided if you throw in a vegetable, it can upgrade from side dish to main course.

Cheesy Orzo:

• 1 cup orzo
• 1 14 oz can vegetable broth
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Dash of garlic powder

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a small pot. Add the orzo and the peas. Turn the temperature to a low setting. Let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with garlic powder and stir in cheese until melted. Put into a bowl and eat up!


A few tips about this recipe:

• I cook this orzo (which is pasta) like you would cook rice, with a 2 to 1 ratio, 2 parts liquid to 1 part orzo.
• Though I think the cheese is the best part, vegans could easily leave out the cheese. And I am sure vegan cheese would be great, as long as it's a cheese that melts well.
• Feel free to substitute parmesan or whatever your favorite cheese is for the mozzarella.
  

Tennessee Hummus

This past summer my family and I vacationed in this small town outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As a vegetarian, I figured my vacation in Tennessee would be spent eating a lot of salad. But I was given a very pleasant surprise. In the town down the road from the cabin we stayed at there was a small restaurant with several vegetarian options. My family and I ordered some hummus and sat outside by the river. It was the best hummus I've ever had, slightly spicy with whole black beans. So I developed this recipe in order to recreate the best hummus ever.

Tennessee Hummus:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1/2 an onion
  
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Dash of hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika (optional)
  

In a food processor combine all ingredients except the black beans until smooth. Taste to adjust the seasoning. Put into serving dish and fold in the black beans. Dust with paprika for color. Serve with pita, chips, or fresh vegetables.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated. The holidays were a super busy time for me. Lots of cooking and eating, but not so much photographing and writing down recipes. But I'm back with lots of great recipes in store for the new year.

While it is starting to warm back up slightly, for the past few weeks it's been really really really cold. Well, it has been by Florida standards any way. So here is my hearty, go to meal when it's cold outside. It's quite easy, what I call a "chop and drop" recipe. Chop up whatever vegetables you have, and drop them into a pot.

Hearty Vegetable Soup:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 2-3 handfuls of escarole
• 1 can of white beans
• Veggie sausage of your choice
• 2 cartons of vegetable stock
• Fresh or dried herbs of your choice
  

Start out by chopping up the vegetables. It really doesn't matter if it's a dice or a rough chop, as long as all of the pieces are roughly the same size. Then chop up the sausage. Heat a saute pan. Pour in the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic. When the onion is soft, add the sausage and brown. Add the rest of your veggies into the saute pan, except for the escarole. While the veggies are sauteing, in a decent sized pot (one big enough to fit all of your veggies in addition to the liquid) fill with your vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. When the broth is simmering add the escarole and herbs. Add beans. Add all of your sauteed veggies and sausage. Let simmer for a few minutes. Either serve right away, or lower the heat and serve when ready.

Some tips about this recipe:

• The vegetables I listed were just a base. You can use whatever vegetables you want. Those are just my favorites and the ones I had on hand that day. Feel free to add or omit whatever vegetables you like.
• Even if you're cooking for one, don't be afraid to make a big pot of soup. It freezes well and is a great supper to reheat on nights you really just don't feel like cooking.
• Pasta, barley, rice, or any type of starch is also great in this soup. Just be sure not to add it too early or it'll be overcooked and mushy. For example, if your pasta takes 8 minutes to cook, throw it into the soup about 8 minutes before serving.
  

Vegan Sugar Cookies

One of my earliest memories is decorating sugar cookies during Christmas time with my sister and two cousins. My mom would buy store bought refrigerated dough. She would roll it out, let us kids cut the shapes, and then decorate them. So for me, sugar cookies are a holiday tradition. Since this is my first holiday season in my new apartment, I really wanted to keep the tradition and make some sugar cookies. And now that I'm older than three, I figured it was time to make the cookies from scratch. One of my roommates is vegan, so I wanted to make cookies that I could share with her. So here they are:

Vegan Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 egg replacer

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in measuring cup. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Dust a cutting board with flour and coat a rolling pin with flour. Place the dough onto the cutting board. Dust the dough with flour. Roll out the dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough sticks add a little more flour to the rolling pin. Use your cookie cutters to cut out the cookies, place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 7 minutes, until the edges are just barely a light golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack. Frost, if desired.

Simple frosting:

• Powdered sugar
• Soymilk
• Vanilla
• Food coloring
  

In a bowl combine a cup of powdered sugar, one to two teaspoons of soymilk, and a half a teaspoon of vanilla. Stir. If the frosting is too thick, add a little more soymilk. If the frosting is too thin, add a little more sugar. To make colors other than white, pour the frosting into other bowls. Add the food coloring that is desired, stir until no longer streaky. Frost! If so desired, add sprinkles. Making this kind of simple frosting isn't an exact science, just eyeball it.