Sweet Potato Waffles, Vegan Chile Verde, and Kung Pao Seitan; On My! (Original Post Date: Jan. 14, 2013)

Hello fellow veggies! (I rather like that pet name, don't you?) I'm back for another helping of vegan eating so good; you'll want to smack yo mama! My three new fave recipes from the last week feature elements from all over the globe. Get your taste buds ready for these three delectably diverse offerings.

The first meal features sweet potatoes as the star and are soooo good that even my ultra picky eater of a daughter ate every last crumb and practically licked the plate afterwards. (Note: getting my daughter to try new stuff let alone enjoy it is pretty miraculous in my household.)

Anyway, needless to say, these Sweet Potato Waffles were a very special household treat on a cold Colorado morning. Please note, the original recipe states that it creates 4 servings, but when using a Belgium waffle iron, the recipe must be doubled to make 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canned sweet potato (I used a medium sweet potato instead, see note on how to utilize 'fresh' sweet potatoes instead of canned.)
• 1/2 cup almond milk (I found that I needed about 3/4 cup almond milk to get the 'right' consistency to lay the batter out on my waffle iron.)
• 1 tablespoon canola or light olive oil
• 1 egg substitute (I used Ener-g egg replacer.)
• 1 tbsp honey (You can use honey flavored agave nectar to make it completely vegan.)
• 1 cup pancake or waffle mix (I used Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Pancake Mix.)
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Place sweet potato, milk, oil, egg, and honey in large bowl and whisk well. Add pancake or waffle mix and stir with a wooden spoon until most of the lumps have disappeared and there are no dry spots.
2. Heat a waffle iron and coat with cooking spray. Cook batter according to the manufacturer’s instructions and serve immediately, or cool on a wire rack and store in the fridge for up to three days, or transfer to a resealable bag and freeze for up to six months.

**Personal Note: To use non-canned sweet potatoes, take one medium sized sweet potato (or even a garnet yam), poke holes in it with a fork and bake it for about one hour on 400 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool then scoop the insides out and place in medium sized mixing bowl and use an immersion blender to mix the filling into a creamy texture. 1 medium sweet potato=roughly 1 cup.
Cals: 271 Carbs: 52 Fat: 5 Protein: 6

The next dish I made this past weekend in response to the NFL playoffs and the single digit weather. Initially I made it for dinner, but the next day it was even better for lunch.

Vegetarian (Vegan) Chili Verde
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Though there is some prep work that goes into this chili, it's still a convenience in so many ways. For example, it can be made 2 or 3 days ahead. Also, it uses canned fire-roasted green chiles as the basis for the sauce and skips the laborious task of roasting and peeling your own. I made some minor tweaks to this recipe that I will note below. I also served this with Vegan Pinto Beans, Cilantro-Lime Rice and warm tortillas. (See proceeding details for those additional recipes.) Serves 4-6.
 
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• One 8-ounce Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
• One 8-ounce yam (red-skinned sweet potato), peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
• 4 large cloves garlic, flattened, peeled and chopped
• 4 large tomatillos (8 to 9 ounces), husked, rinsed, cored and chopped
• 2 large poblano chiles (8 to 9 ounces), stemmed, seeded; 1 diced, 1 cut into 4 strips 
• **1-2 serrano peppers, roasted, seeded and finely chopped** (This is my own personal teak to add some kick to the chili, but if you prefer your chili mild, leave this ingredient out.)
• 2 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 28-ounce can hominy with juices (preferably golden)
• 2 cups vegetable broth (The original recipe called for 1 cup, but I found that wasn't enough.)
• One 7-ounce can diced mild green chiles
• Garnishes, (such as chopped green onions, sliced avocados or guacamole, lime wedges and vegan sour cream if desired.)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy, large pot over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions, potatoes, yams, garlic, tomatillos, poblanos and serranos. Cover and sweat until the onions are tender, stirring often to prevent browning, about 8 minutes. 
3. Mix in the oregano, flour, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 
4. Add the hominy with the juices and the broth and bring the chili to a simmer.
   Place the green chiles in a processor. Using tongs, transfer strips of the poblano chile from the pot to the processor; blend just until smooth. Scrape the chile sauce into the pot.
   Cover and simmer the chili 20 minutes. 
5. Uncover and simmer until the potatoes and yams are tender and the chili is reduced to desired consistency, stirring often, 20 to 25 minutes longer. 
6. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.
   Ladle the chili into bowls. Serve with garnishes.   

Cals: 276 Carbs: 42 Fat: 12 Protein: 4

Vegan Pinto Beans:

 
These are a simple yet delicious side-dish that can easily be eaten by themselves with some warm tortillas on the side and some salsa and vegan sour cream! Serves 4-6

***Important note: Generally speaking, you should soak the beans overnight.

 
Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry pinto beans
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp celery salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed cayenne pepper
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cube of "not chicken" bouillion
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• Enough water to cover beans

Directions:

1. Rinse and soak the pinto beans in a large stock pot overnight.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
3. Add onions and saute until slightly browned.
4. Add garlic and brown for another 30 seconds.
5. Add onions and garlic to beans.
6. Combine all additional ingredients to pot and bring misture to boil.
7. Allow to boil uncovered for about 10-15 minutes.
8. Cover, lower temprature to low and allow to simmer for approx 1.5-2 hours or until the beans are soft.

Cals: 260 Carbs: 48 Fat: 5 Protein: 16

Cilantro-Lime Rice:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Bring oil, vegetable broth and water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan.
2. Add rice, cover, turn heat down to medium-low, and simmer until rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes. 
3. Stir with a fork to fluff and add lime juice and cilantro.

Cals: 190 Carbs: 38 Fat: 4 Protein: 4

And last, but not least, a recipe that I promised to many of my friends on FB. For dinner, let's try some Kung Pao Seitan. This recipe originally called for tufo, but I wanted to try it with seitan instead. Ya know. For fun. Serves 4.

 Ingredients:

• 1 package of seitan like WestSoy seitan
• 1 tbsp peanut or olive oil
• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili and garlic sauce)
• 1 tbsp Spicy Bean Paste (Korean hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup carrot, small diced
• 1/2 cup onion, small diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, small diced
• 1/2 cup zucchini, small diced
• 1 tbsp peanut or olive oil
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts or peanuts

Directions:

1. Drain the seitan and press out any additional liquid with paper towels. Set aside.
2. Next, make the Kung Pao sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well, then set aside. Adjust the sauce to your taste by adding more hot sauce if you want the sauce to be hotter, and less sugar to take away some sweetness. If you’re going to marinade the seitan, do it now. (See note below.)
3. Cut all the vegetables into same size pieces so that they will cook evenly. You can use all your favorite vegetables, these are just a suggestion.
4. In a saute pan (or a wok) heat the peanut oil and saute the vegetables. Just be sure to add the thicker ones, like carrots, first and let cook for two minutes. Then the onion and bell peppers for another two minutes. Add delicate vegetables like zucchini last and only cook briefly or they will get mushy and lose vitamins.
5. Add the seitan and mix gently. Now add the sauce, a little at a time, until you get the desired coating. (If you chose to marinade the seitan, you will add the sauce at the same time that you add the seitan. See note below.)
6. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes to reduce the sauce and thicken it. For the final touch, sprinkle with macadamia nuts for a truly local flair, or peanuts. Serve over jasmine rice or over rice noodles and enjoy!

**Personal Notes:

• I personally only used ¼ cup coconut sugar because ½ cup seemed like it would be too sweet for my taste and my intuition was right.
• Also, if you marinade the seitan for a few hours in the Kung Pao sauce, it gives the seitan a really nice flavor.

Cals: 422 Carbs: 57 Fat: 13 Protein: 22

I hope that you've enjoyed this week's selections. I would love to hear what your feedback! 

To your health and wellness,
Charlotte

Fun Vegan Fact:
Eating one cup of kale provides approx 206% DV of Vitamin A, 134% DV of Vitamin C and 684% DV of Vitamin K which is equivalent to eating 103 bananas (Vit. A) and 384 carrots (Vit. K)