Fall Is For Soup

I love new recipes. And I love soups on fall days. I found this new soup recipe in my ReadyMade magazine, when it was still being printed (let's not talk about that).

It tasted amazing and had wonderful colors (don't you love colorful foods?).

My version

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Stew:

INGREDIENTS:
1 T canola oil
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, peeled and roughly diced
1 red pepper, seeds removed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 jalapeño, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t cayenne pepper
3 c vegetable broth
14.5-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
14.5-oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 c frozen corn
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice

PREPARATION:
Heat canola oil in a large, heavy-bottom stock pot over medium high heat. Add sweet potatoes, onion, red pepper, jalapeño, and garlic, stirring to coat. Sauté until onion and peppers are soft, about 4 minutes.

Add chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Reduce heat to medium, cover pot, and allow sweet potatoes to soften, about 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After sweet potatoes are fork tender, add vegetable broth, black beans, and tomatoes. Bring stew to a boil, stirring well and scraping the bottom of pot to incorporate all of the spices. Add frozen corn, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Before serving, stir in cilantro and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve stew with additional cilantro, if desired.

***The recipe allows for shredded cheddar cheese. But I went the vegan route.
***You can find the recipe here.

Found: New delicious vegan recipe...

I made goodies for my friends Kristin and Chad Clark's big adoption yard sale, which included a bake sale. I didn't have anything to donate to the yard sale but was more than happy to provide some happy vegan baked goods to the bake sale.

Along with my usual vegan red velvet cupcakes, carrot cupcakes (both with vegan "cream cheese" frosting) and peanut butter cookies, I tried a new recipe for Sweet Potato Muffins, also vegan. And boy, are these delicious. Lucky for me, the larger muffins were a bit brown (what happened in that oven?) while the mini versions I made were perfect so they were packaged for the bake sale.

I'm trying to remember where I found this recipe. It's only printed out from an email and I know Gmail didn't come up with it....

Sweet Potato Muffins:

INGREDIENTS:
1 C. + 2 T. sweet potato puree
3/4 C. coconut milk
2/3 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. water
¼ C. oil
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. lemon juice
2 C. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1 C. fresh or dried cranberries, optional

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly oil a muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix together sweet potato puree, coconut milk, brown sugar, water, oil, maple syrup, and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Combine wet and dry mixtures until just mixed.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins rest a moment in the pan, then cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

Tempeh Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

I found this recipe on my Whole Foods Market iPad app. I used quinoa instead of the brown rice in the recipe. This dish was better the second day. I give it a big thumbs up!

My version

 





Ingredients:

1 C. long-grain brown rice
2 C. water
1 (8-oz) package tempeh
1 1/2 C. low-sodium vegetable broth
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T. freshly grated ginger
1 T. ground curry powder
2 t. ground cumin
1 (13.5-oz) can light coconut milk
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 C. chopped cilantro, divided
1/4 t. sea salt

Directions:

Bring rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed and rice is just tender, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange steamer basket in a pot. Add enough water just to reach bottom of basket. Bring to a boil. Cut tempeh in half and place in the steamer basket. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and steam about 15 minutes or until tender. Remove tempeh and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut tempeh into 1/2-inch cubes.

Bring 1/2 cup broth to a simmer in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook 5 minutes or until onion is translucent and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in curry and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, potatoes, tempeh and remaining 1 cup broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer, uncovered. Cook about 5 minutes longer or until potatoes and green beans are tender. Stir in 3 tablespoons cilantro and salt. To serve, spoon curry over rice and garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro.

Sweet Potato Burritos

My new favorite recipe are these sweet potato burritos:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.

3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

From AllRecipes.com