Category: Sidedishes

"Cheesy" Breadsticks and Mushroom Sauce

I had pizza night last night because I have plans for tonight (Bad Geology Movie Night for the geology club, geeky I know) but I still wanted my pizza night. When I was about what kind of pizza to make, I thought of Pizza Hut, which made me think of its breadsticks. So I decided to make some. But, a big pile of cheesy bread is not a healthy dinner, so I decided to add some more veggies to sauce to add some more nutrients. There was sale on mushrooms at the store (99 cents a pound!) so I went with a mushroom sauce with some fresh basil from patio garden.

Mushroom Sauce
1 cup button or white mushrooms, de-stemed and diced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir)
1 can tomato sauce
Handful fresh basil, chopped
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Wash, de-stem, and dice the mushrooms. Chop the onion and garlic too.

Heat some olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

Add the mushrooms and cook until they release most of their water.

Add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions begin soften and the mushroom water evaporates.

Add the wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up the stuff up from the bottom.

Add the tomato sauce and stir well.

Add the red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

Cook for a minutes so all the flavors come together.

Take it off the heat and add the chopped basil.

This would be lovely over pasta, but it’s an even better dipping sauce for breadsticks…

“Cheesy” Breadsticks
1 pre-made pizza dough (try mine)
Italian Seasoning
Garlic salt
Vegan mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya)

Pre-heat the oven to as high as it will go and spray a pizza pan with cooking spray.

Roll your pizza dough into a rectangle. This dough I made last week and froze.


Cut into about 1 inch strips.

Arrange the strips on the pizza pan.

Sprinkle with desired amounts of Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Top with desired amount of mozzarella.

If you want some extra flavor and crunch, you could brush on some olive oil before you put the toppings on.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the dough is slightly golden. I like mine on the softer side but you can bake them longer if you want more crunch.


I had my breadsticks and mushroom sauce with a side of olives for bit more salt. And of course the rest of my Pinot Noir.

Warning, this dinner may attract your new 9-month old kitty.
Meet Penny, got her from an animal sanctuary on Tuesday. 

Purple Sweet Potato Hash

I talked about purple sweet potatoes, or ‘uala in Hawaiian, in my Purple Sweet Potato Salad post. But I have fallen more in love with them since. They are cheap at the Hilo Farmers Market so I buy them often. My new favorite breakfast is a purple sweet potato hash. A little sweet, a little salty, and very easy to make. A hash is usually just chopped or julienned ingredients pan-fried until golden brown. Most common kind is hash browns, which usually consist of white potatoes. While I have nothing against traditional hash browns, purple sweet potatoes have more nutrients too. You might as well get more vitamins and minerals in your food if you are going to cook them in fat. 


This is the most basic way to make this hash. You can add in veggies, beans, tofu, or even top them with some vegan cheese. I had shortening left over my from birthday cupcakes so I fried them in shortening but olive oil is great too. 



Purple Sweet Potato Hash
1 cup purple sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tbs vegetable shortening
1/4  cup of water
salt and pepper to taste











Wash, peel, and dice the sweet potatoes. Mince the garlic. 





Heat the shortening in a large skillet over medium heat. 



Once the shortening is melted, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for a minute or so, just until you can smell the garlic. Don’t let it brown or burn.





Next add the sweet potatoes. Stir to coat every piece. 





Next pour in the water and cover with the lid so the potatoes can steam. Keep it covered for 3-5 minutes until the water is mostly evaporated. 



Remove the lid and turn up the heat a little so the potatoes can brown. Cook to desired color and crunchiness. It hard to tell because of their dark color, but I like mine lightly golden. 


Remove from the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.



This hash makes a wonderful main dish or a nice side dish. Try it with a tofu scramble and some soy bacon strips. I ate mine as is with a dash of hot sauce. I love a good Sunday morning breakfast.  










Go Ducks: Yell-O and Green Nachos

For the past 6 years of my life, every Saturday from September to December is taken over by Oregon Duck football. I am proud graduate University of Oregon and needless to say, I bleed green and yellow. I loved going to the games with my sorority sisters and yelling “O” until we went hoarse. I have sadly had to spend the past seasons and this one cheering from Hawaii. But just because I am in the middle of  the Pacific doesn’t mean I don’t get all ducked-out. I either go to a local sports bar or watch from home, but regardless I have my jersey on and shout like a maniac.

Today the Ducks face off against LSU, a game that will sure deserve a special blog post. So I decided to make something green and yellow (U of O colors), and finally settled on nachos. I made queso sauce from nutritional yeast and used salsa verde for the colors. Plus some jalapeños for some spice and because they are little O’s. I wanted to top it all off with some vegan sour cream, but my store was sold out.

I just realized this is also fitting because our coach is named Chip.

Yell-O and Green Nacho
Queso sauce:
4 tbs vegan butter
1 and 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, divided

3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup unsweetened, plain soy milk

1/2 tbs garlic powder
1tps cumin
1 tps parkia
1 tps chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
The rest of the stuff:
1/4 medium onion, chopped
1 cup soy” beef” crumbles (I used Smart Ground)
Tortilla chips
Salsa verde
Jalapeños
Vegan sour cream

To make the queso sauce, add the vegan butter and 1 cup of the nutritional yeast to saucepan over medium/low heat. Incorporate the two together to make a sort of roux. It should clump together and get a little golden.

Add the vegetable broth and soy milk. Whisk together so there are no lumps.

Add the garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder and pepper. You can add salt if you like, but mine didn’t need it. Mix together well.

Reduce the heat to low. Let it reduce and thicken, stirring frequently. Taste it after awhile, if it need more “cheese” flavor, add some more nutritional yeast.

In skillet, lightly brown the chopped onion. Then add the soy crumbles. Cooked until heated through.

Once the queso sauce is smooth and thicken slightly, it’s time to assemble.

On a large plate or platter, scatter desired amount of chips. There is enough sauce for at least 5 serving so be generous.

Next sprinkle on the soy crumble mixture.

Now pour on the queso sauce.

Now add the desired about of salsa verde.

If your store didn’t run out of sour cream like mine did, add a few dollops.

Top with desired about of jalapeños so your nachos are yelling “O”.

Turn on the Ducks game, open a Widmer (or any other fine Oregon brew) and get ready to cheer! Win the days boys!

Barszcz: Polish Beet Soup

I’ve always wanted to try borscht, called barszcz in Polish. I love the taste of beets and figured all those jokes about the soup being awful soup were from McDonalds-addicted, over-processed food lovers. Now that I’ve tasted it, I know that is exactly the case. It has a mild and slightly rich flavor, totally in love.  My mom say it’s ok, but my grandma said she loves it too. Although she loves, my mom said she didn’t make it very much while my mom was growing up because my grandpa hates beets. Apparently he didn’t even want them in the house! I must confess that grating beets is a pain, so I shared my grandpa’s hatred while I was prepping everything at least. This recipe is based on one from cooks.com called Polish Beet Soup.




Barszcz
4 cups water
1/2 stick of vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
4 good-sized beets
1 medium-sized onion
Salt

This part really sucks to do. I suggest wearing gloves so your hands do not turn bright red.  Peel and grate the beets and onion.

Add the 4 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the vegan butter.

Once the butter has melted, add the grated vegetables and salt to taste.

Cook for about 1/2 an hour, until the beets and onions are cooked.

If you want hot soup, serve it immediately. But I wanted mine cold so I made mine earlier in the day and then let it chill till dinner.

Top with some vegan sour cream (try Tofutti) and some dill or chives. My dad and I loved it, my mom wasn’t a big fan. I guess she takes after her dad.

One last Polish recipe posting up soon.

Hawaiian Mac Salad

When you order a Hawaiian plate lunch, you can be certain of two things: large portions and macaroni salad. They usually aren’t vegan so I have to order all rice instead.  But to keep up with my Hawaiian post trend, I thought I should make my own version. There isn’t anything that makes this dish unique to Hawaii besides the fact it’s very popular here. It’s pretty much the same recipe you mom makes for picnics. I kept everything traditional, the only difference is I used Veganaise instead of mayonnaise.



Mac Salad
2 cups large elbow macaroni, dry
1/4 cup carrots, grated
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup Veganaise
1 tbs sweet relish
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the package.  Drain and set aside.

 

Broke college kid doesn’t have a grater, so I chopped my carrots

Grate the carrots and chop the celery.

 

 

The glass bowl makes it look like it’s sitting on the counter.

In a large bowl, add the macaroni, carrots and celery. Add the Veganaise and relish then mix together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Veganaise is the best thing ever. Way better than dairy mayo.

Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This gives the macaroni time to absorb all the flavors.

I ate mine on it’s own, but it’s a fabulous side dish for any entree…man, now I wish I made some BBQ tofu to go with this.

Purple Sweet Potato Salad

I realized I live in Hawaii but haven’t made any Hawaiian food yet! So the next few posts will be devoted to Hawaiian dishes.

I knew sweet potatoes came in other colors, but I have only seen orange on the mainland. The first time I went to the Hilo Farmers Market, a lady was selling a bag marked “potatoes” for $2. I thought awesome! Cheap fresh little finger potatoes. When I cut into at home, I was surprised that they were purple inside.  I asked my roommate at the time, who was from Maui, and she looked at me like I was crazy. “They are sweet potatoes…You know like Thanksgiving casserole?”

Purple sweet potatoes, or ‘uala,  are a member of the morning glory family and are native to Japan.  Japanese immigrants brought them to Polynesia more than a century ago. However, it is believed that the Polynesians brought some form of sweet potatoes with them on their travels throughout the Pacific prior to the Japanese introduction. All sweet potatoes are loaded with antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. They also have tons of fiber and vitamin A.

Although common to Hawaiians, they were totally strange to me. I love them now though. Not only are they my favorite color, but they are also delicious. They aren’t quite as sweet a the orange or yellow ones, and bit more starchy. They are great for fries or chips, but I love them in curries.

I decided to make a healthier version of a very common side dish in Hawaii: potato salad. Potato salad and macaroni salad are  are always part of the classic Hawaiian plate lunches. But, they are loaded with fat and calories, and I have yet to find a plate lunch place that has a vegan version. For this recipe, so no one can argue I took the Hawaiian-ness out of the salad, I used as many local products as I could. Local organic purple sweet potatoes, and carrots, plus Sweet Maui onions, and Maui Sweet Onion dressing from Rainbow of Tastes.

This recipe calls for some very specific ingredients and if you can get them, great! If not, you can always adapt the recipe to what you can get. However, I would not recommended using regular orange sweet potatoes in this recipe. Like I said, purples are starchier and sturdier, more like a real potatoes than creamy orange sweets. If you cannot get purples, just use regular potatoes.

Purple Sweet Potato Salad
8-10 small purple sweet potatoes, peeled and chop into chunks
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/4 Sweet Maui Onion, diced finely
2 tbs sweet pickle relish
1/2  to 1 cup  Maui Sweet Onion by Rainbow of Tastes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Fill a pot 2/3 of the way with cold water.

They aren’t solid purple, more like marbled.

Rinse, peel, and chop the sweet potatoes into chunks. Put in the pot and bring to boil over medium-high heat.

 You can shred the carrots if you like too.

While the potatoes cook, dice the carrots, celery, and onions.

 

Still purple when cooked.

Once the potatoes are soft enough for a fork to be inserted with little resistance, remove from the heat and drain. You do not want them totally smushy like for mashed potatoes, but soft enough to eat and still remain in chunks. Do not rinse, it will make them smushy. Let them cool for a few minutes. The potatoes will absorb more flavor while warm, so don’t let them cool entirely before dressing.

I should have got a bigger bowl…

In a large bowl, add the potatoes, diced veggies, relish, and dressing. I recommend putting the dressing in a little at a time so you don’t over do it. It takes a minute for it to absorb. Mix it all together, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Try not to mash up the potatoes too much.

Cover and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

I love the colors, and the sweet onion dressing is the perfect compliment to the sweet potatoes.

Italian Herb Oat Bread

Italian Herb Oat Bread

My mom was a baker for several years, so I grew up eating delicious homemade breads. I loved coming home from school to the smell of fresh baked sourdough or banana bread. Since I  inherited most of my cooking skills from her, I am giving baking a shot too. I found a recipe from Alicia Silverstone’s website  The Kind Life for Rustic Bread and Eggplant Lasagna (which I will be making tonight and will post later) and thought it would be a good opportunity to make the bread for it. Her recipe calls for sourdough, which is beyond my skill level at the moment so I decided to make something using the ingredients I have on hand.  I made up this recipe based on my current knowledge and some web research.  Since it is for a lasagna, I thought an Italian bread would be lovely. I also love the texture of oat bread so I decided to attempt a Italian-ish, oat-ish bread.  I drew inspiration from two recipies, both from Veg Web. The first is for Outrageously Easy BIG Bread, which I have made before, and is exactly what the title promises.  The second is for Garlic & Basil Bread, which I thought would fulfill the Italian part of desired outcome. I consulted my mom on the oats. I have instant oatmeal and old fashion oats in the cupboard, she told me that instant oats were a bad choice so I went with the old fashioned. I live in sunny and humid Hawaii, so my dough rises pretty quick and usually has the perfect texture without adding extra water or flour. You will need to adjust according to your climate. My mom told me that baking is done best by feel, so do what you feel is right.

Italian Herb Oat Bread
1 packet active yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tps brown sugar
3 cups white flour
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tps garlic salt
1/2 cup old fashion oats

Proof the yeast by add the packet of yeast to the warm water. I usually do this all in a measuring cup. The water should be warm to touch but not hot (about 105 degrees F if you want to measure it). My mom told me the water should be a bit cooler than you think it should be. Once it is fairly dissolved, add the sugar. It’s ready when it gets all bubbly and frothy. If nothing happens, your water was either too hot (my problem when I first started making dough) or too cold. Or, your yeast could be bad too. You will have to throw it out and try again.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, basil, and garlic salt then add the oil on the top. Once your yeast is ready, add it to the dry mixture and carefully mix. Work until it all comes together into a doughy ball. The dough should be moist and pliable. If it’s too gooey, add a bit more flour until it reaches the right consistency.

Cover the bowl with a moist towel and set aside to rise for about 45 minutes.

Risen twice and kneaded

Once the dough has puffed up, put it on to a well-floured countertop and knead gently.  Try not to overwork the dough, otherwise it gets tough and chewy. Just work it until it’s smooth and soft, but not overly wet. Add additional flour as needed.

Shape into a loaf or whatever shape you desire, cover with a cloth and let it rise again for another 30 to 45 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

I checked mine after 45 minutes since my oven isn’t the greatest.
After it’s done rising the second time, place on a baking sheet or baking pan. Cut a few shallow slits in the top. Brush on a little olive oil or an egg substitute so it gets golden and crunchy. Sprinkle some oats on top for decoration if you desire.

Bake for about 45 minutes, adjusting the time for your oven (I have a crappy dorm room oven so mine takes 5-10 minutes longer some times). It should have a nice golden crust on the top.

Let it cool for an hour before slicing.

 

It smells soooo good. It’s hard to resist, but let it cool a bit, it’s easier to cut.