Vegan by Valerie

Purple Potatoes, Yucca, Parsnips, and Carrots Roasted with Honey and Dill

One of my favorite, favorite foods is quite simple, really.  It’s Yaya’s roasted sweet potatoes.  I’m quite certain I could out-eat anyone when it comes to roasted sweet potatoes, as long as they are made her way… with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary (similar to the Greek potatoes you  might find at a traditional Greek restaurant just with sweet potatoes instead of white).

I’m also a big fan of my mom’s recipe for baked carrots with butter, honey, and dill (though I’m pleased to say that she now makes them with Earth Balance).

Why not combine the two?

Purple Potatoes, Yucca, Parsnips, and Carrots Roasted with Honey and Dill

Ingredients:

4 purple potatoes

2 parsnips

3 carrots

1/2 yucca root

3 T. coconut oil, melted

1/4 c. fresh dill, minced

1 T. honey

salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Chop all vegetables (peeling the parsnips, carrots, and yucca first) into bite-sized pieces.

2. Place into a 13×9” pan.

3.  Drizzle with the melted coconut oil and honey.  Sprinkle with the dill.

4.  Lightly toss the vegetables so that they are all covered with the coconut oil, honey, and dill.

5.  Bake at 475 degrees, stopping midway to toss, for 35-40 minutes, or until tender.  Be careful not to overbake – these go very quickly from being perfectly done to being burnt!

***

When I mentioned the ingredients that went into the aforementioned recipe, Mike became a bit wary.  He doesn’t enjoy sweet/savory foods as much as I do, and was a bit apprehensive about the idea of honey and coconut oil (gasp!) in his veggies.

So, to appease us both I also made a second batch of vegetables:

Truffle Roasted Vegetables for the Sweet-Hater

Ingredients:

4 purple potatoes

3 parsnips

3 carrots

1/2 yucca root

1/2 onion

3-4 T. truffle-infused olive oil (I used 4 and it was phenomenal, but you can go with 3 if you are trying to go light on the oil)

2 T. lemon juice

1/2 T. herbes de provence

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Chop all vegetables (peeling the parsnips, carrots, yucca, and onion first) into bite-sized pieces.

2. Place into a 13×9” pan.

3.  Drizzle with the truffle-infused oil and lemon juice.  Sprinkle with the herbes de provence, salt, and pepper.

4.  Lightly toss the vegetables so that they are all covered with the oil, lemon juice, and spices.

5.  Bake at 475 degrees, stopping midway to toss, for 50 minutes, or until tender.  (Interestingly, even with a bit more oil than the previous recipe this took a bit longer to bake).

An LA Wedding

After a fun-filled first day in LA, I awoke the next morning, hit the gym, and got ready for a lunch date with myself.

I kind of enjoy going to the movies and shopping by myself on occasion, but I’ve never gone to a restaurant alone.   To up the personal vulnerability factor I went off to explore LA with zero makeup and in day-old yoga clothes.  Not exactly the best way to fit in with the beautiful people of LA, but it worked for me.

LA is synonymous with liberals and hippies and vegans…. aka, my kind of people!  Amazingly, not only is LA full of veg-friendly restaurants but there were about 5 vegan restaurants within a couple miles of my hotel!

I took a beautiful stroll through the hilly roads in perfect 70 degree temps.

After a 20 minute walk, I stumbled upon Sun Cafe, an organic vegan cafe with an extensive menu.  I wanted to try everything, from the sandwiches to the pizzas to the desserts!

I had been craving a good veggie burger for a few days, so I went with the homemade Sunshine Burger. 

The burgers came with a choice of various types of buns, and I went with the raw bun as recommended by the waitress.  I didn’t care for the bun, but the burger itself was amazing (as things tend to be when topped with avocado and vegannaise).  It also came with a choice of salad, and I chose the kale salad which was topped with a delicious cashew-based (I think?) sauce and diced tomatoes.

While I would never eat alone in Chicago, since Mike was away at a groomsman brunch I ended up really enjoying eating my wonderful lunch by myself, sitting in the sun.

Lynn mentioned that I should check out Kind Kreme, which was literally right around the corner and about 30 feet away from Sun Cafe.  Kind Kreme is famous for their raw vegan ice cream, and I found out why!

I would hate to have to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of my life… but if stranded on a dessert island, I would probably go with a warm brownie topped with ice cream.  Wouldn’t you?

Although everything on the menu called out to me, it was an easy choice.  I went with the brownie sundae which was comprised of a spectacularly ooey gooey, fudgy brownie topped with two scoops of ice cream (I chose one scoop of Salted Chocolate and one of Superfood, which is a chocolate laced with superfoods such as maca and goji berries), salted caramel sauce, and Oreos.

Again, eaten in the beautiful LA sunshine.  This was one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten!!  I may or may not have called my mom after eating this to tell her that I could die happy…

If you are in LA in the Universal City area, do yourself a favor and check out Kind Kreme!!   I can only imagine how great it must be to live in a city with so many amazing vegan dining options at a stones-throw away.

After a couple hours at the hotel pool, it was time to head to the wedding.  The bride did a really great job planning an antiquated, romantic theme.

Just like a good Boy Scout vegan, I always come prepared…. with nutritional yeast in my purse! I was a bit apprehensive whipping out my bag of yellow powder at the dinner table but fortunately I was surrounded by two other vegetarians and a nutritionist, and the other people at my table ended up wanting me to share which I was happy to do.

My entree was a simple bowl of steamed veggies, but that was nothing that some EVOO, salt and nutritional yeast couldn’t doctor up!

It was tough to leave the gorgeous LA weather (and vegan restaurants!) but good to go home at the end of the weekend.  And once you’re reading this on Monday I should be just about to arrive in Chicago from Oklahoma City, in which case I’ll be done vacationing for awhile!

What was the last great vacation you took?  Or what fun vacations do you have lined up that you are looking forward to?

Los Angelos with a side of Lynn

As you read this, I’m in Oklahoma City on my third vacation in less than a month.  Vacation #2 was a short weekend jaunt to LA for Mike’s friend’s wedding.

After a 9+ hour flight to and from Europe recently, I wasn’t looking forward to another plane ride… but it was my first time flying Virgin America, and it turned out that that made all the difference.  Aside from having comfortable seats (I swear!) and employees that actually show their personalities, each seat has its own TV where you can watch a handful of live TV channels for free, or you can pay to watch other shows, movies, or to play video games.

(That’s Mike’s ginormous ET finger, not mine…)

Right after we arrived at our hotel, we met up with Lynn who was kind enough to pick us up from our hotel to drive us to lunch!

I’ve been reading Lynn’s blog for over two years now, and I’m so glad that I finally got to meet her in person!  Lynn is every bit as sweet, personable, and gorgeous as she seems on her blog.

We went to Aroma Cafe, which was pretty close to our hotel and – and as Lynn, a talented actress herself, pointed out, is also known for being a favorite of celebrities.  (Mike spotted one of the actors from Swingers, but I didn’t see him.) 

At Lynn’s recommendation, I ordered the Wild Rice and Tofu Salad.

Talk about a huge portion! I loved the perfectly seasoned grilled tofu…. I need to add warm tofu to salads more often.

Thanks for the great lunch date, Lynn!

Next up we headed to the wedding rehearsal (Mike was a groomsman) which was held on a beautiful golf course overlooking the mountains.  If only I had my clubs!

The rehearsal dinner was held at a beautiful house way up high in the Hollywood hills where I ate more guacamole than most people eat in their lifetime.  Which will remain unpictured lest you realize what a huge glutton I really am.

Hope you are having a great Saturday!

Cucumber Nectarine Gazpacho

Before I left for Spain, I was a bit apprehensive about what type of vegan-friendly food I would find.  I knew my options might be limited, but at the very least… I knew I would find plenty of gazpacho!

Gazpacho, by its very nature, is vegan.  Typically, gazpacho is made from little more than fresh tomatoes, cucumber, vinegar, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper… no more, no less.  Its simplicity is part of its appeal, as its short ingredient list allows the bright flavors of the tomatoes and cucumbers to shine through.

As much as I love a traditional tomato gazpacho, this a fun variation!  I originally served this in a bowl, and then realized that it would be even better (and frankly much more adorable) served in shot glasses as an amuse bouche course.

Cucumber Nectarine Gazpacho

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers – peeled, cored, and loosely chopped

3 nectarines – peeled, cored, and loosely chopped

3 T. EVOO

2 T. red or white wine vinegar (I used chardonnay vinegar and I imagine if you used a red it might change the color slightly)

1/2 c. loosely packed basil leaves

1 tsp. salt

pepper to taste

optional:  extra cucumbers and nectarines to finely dice for a garnish

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor until smooth.

2.   Serve chilled, and garnish with diced cucumber and nectarines.

Madrid to Sevilla (oh, and the best night of my life)

The best night being in Chicago, not Madrid or Sevilla.  It involved being packed like sardines with 41,000 hot, sweaty fans on a hot and humid night to see the man that I have loved for over 17 years of my life.

I’m not eloquent enough to put into words what a breathtaking experience it was to see him in person – just a few hundred feet away, no less!! – so let’s just say it was everything I hoped it would be and more.  Abby, if you want to quit our jobs and become Paul McCartney groupies following him around the world just say the word (no pun intended)…

Hard to tell who that tiny dot in red is.. it’s this guy!

On a much less exciting note, let’s get back to those Spain recaps, shall we?

The Tuesday morning of my trip I woke up early to hit up the hotel gym at the Westin Palace Madrid.  I tried to discretely take a couple pictures of the gym because I know I have a few readers who are heading to Madrid soon.

I was very pleased with the gym, which also had a very nice adjacent locker room and sauna.

Soon after my workout we got a rental car (no easy feat in Europe! ) and headed for Sevilla. Along the way I was thrilled to find a chocolate soymilk at a gas station so of course I had to buy it, being the chocolate-milk obsessed person that I am.

Once in Sevilla, we stayed at the Silken Al Andalus Palace.  It had a great pool (complete with poolside bar, a vacation necessity in my opinion) and free wi-fi in the lobby which I was all over.

Oh, and a poolside hammock.  The only thing better than a drink in the pool is a drink by the pool which reading your Nook in a hammock! 

Cena y cervezas:

After getting the usual (bread, olives, etc) at the first tapas bar we went to, we walked down the beautiful, winding streets of Sevilla until we found this place.

The owner was ridiculously charming and brought out an endless amount of sangria and various tapas.  When he heard that my mom is a vegetarian and I’m vegan, he immediately brought me out a plate of curried chickpeas with spinach.

Not sure how authentic this is to Spain (although it must be because his sister made it) but it was delicious!

My mom and I turned in early but Mike and my dad took these amazing pictures of the cathedral at night.

Next up:  more from Sevilla!