Chunky Breakfast Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-5 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning (oregano/basil) – use more to coat the fries as desired
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt (optional)

Wash 4-5 medium potatoes and cut into chunks, enough to cover a 11×17″ baking tray. Put pieces into a bowl and mix with the spices above so everything is coated. The spices will stick to the potatoes since they are a bit wet inside and starchy. Bake at 450 degrees F on a non-stick baking tray no oil or spray for half an hour or more until browning and crispy. I do up to 40 minutes many times to get them really crispy. You can put down a layer of parchment paper as well. I usually eat this with my tofu scramble recipe.

Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

-2 or more potatoes (I use yellow-fleshed/Yukon Gold).

Instructions:
Pre-heat waffle iron or grill (I use Cuisinart 5-in-1 griddle). Use the grill (with bumps not the fat griddle) so it leaves grill marks 🙂

Cook potatoes until soft using your favourite method (eg. steaming, microwave) then put on the grill and squash down with the top plate. Cook until the skin has nice grill marks and the skin is crispy, 5 minutes or more. I also press down the handles every now and again to increase the pressure. Eat plain, with my brown gravy recipe, top with your favourite spices (paprika, pepper, etc), top with salsa or my vegan tzatziki sauce and chives.

Baked Falafels

I eat these with my vegan tzatziki sauce in a whole wheat tortilla. I put pickles, hot banana peppers, tomatoes and lettuce in the wrap as well. Inspired by The Vegan Corner but made for lazy people like me lol.

This recipe only uses dry ingredients because I rarely buy fresh herbs other than cilantro these days, I find many fresh herbs too strong and this way there’s less to chop!

Ingredients (Makes 12 falafel balls). I rarely measure things but here goes:

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ cup breadcrumbs (enough to coat the falafels). The breadcrumbs don’t stick that well to the falafels (they don’t have my flour/water mixture coating) but do what you can. I bake 5 whole wheat bread slices at 350F until crispy and blend in Vitamix often with a little onion and garlic powder. Save the extra for things like cauliflower wings 🙂

Instructions:

Blend the chickpeas in a food processor. I used a blender which isn’t great but it works (blenders are best for mostly wet things). Put in a bowl and then add the other ingredients. Mix well. Let sit for 10 or so minutes in the fridge. Scoop into balls and roll in breadcrumbs then place on Silpat non-stick baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. They tend to break apart in the wrap but they still taste yummy!

Green Salad and No Oil Dressing

There’s no specific recipe here but I like to buy some organic spinach, and chop up some Romaine lettuce to fill a big bowl (see picture). Sometimes I add some kale as well. Then I chop up red/green peppers, tomatoes, English cucumber and add to the salad. For dressing I use a delicate balsamic vinegar (I use President’s Choice) but you could also try some flavoured balsamic vinegars.

Try to eat a salad every day but if not throw some greens in your pasta sauces, soups and smoothies.

Curry Fries No Oil

I’ve been loving my baked herb crispy fries for a couple years now but after having gone to Costa Rica I got the idea for trying curry fries!

Ingredients (for one person):

4-5 medium potatoes
1 tbsp curry powder (adjust to volume of potatoes)
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt (optional)

Wash 4-5 medium potatoes and cut into strips, enough to cover a long baking tray. Put fries into a bowl and mix with the spices above so everything is coated. The spices will stick to the potatoes since they are a bit wet inside and starchy. Bake at 450 degrees F on a non-stick baking tray no oil or spray for half an hour or more until browning and crispy (lately I’ve been up to 40 minutes but keep an eye on them). You can put down a layer of parchment paper as well. Cut the potatoes thinner for more crisp fries. It’s possible to get crispier fries by boiling the potatoes a bit first, but who has the time? 🙂

Gallo Pinto

We got back from Costa Rica recently and are hooked on Gallo Pinto, a popular dish in Costa Rica. This one will require you to find Lizano sauce – a brown, vegetable based sauce, perhaps in your International/Ethnic section or here on Amazon. Trust me it’s worth it!

This is Bonnie’s recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

I also put some Lizano on the side of the plate for some extra flavour/kick.

Easy Lentil Dahl

I am in no way an expert in Indian cooking but I just made this yesterday and it was really tasty. This is very similar to my chickpea curry recipe. I don’t use all the spices typically listed in recipes and I use dry spices and powders.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup of water (depending on thickness desired)
1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 can of tomato paste 5.5 fl oz (the small can)
1 19 fl oz (540 ml) can of red lentils (drained and rinsed), or about 2-2.5 cups of cooked lentils.

Directions:

Put the diced onion in a pre-heated skillet (on high heat). I use to fry onions in water but I’ve been dry frying to release the sugars and bring out the sweet flavour. Fry until they brown but not burn. Then add the garlic for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of water and let the garlic cook for a few minutes until it’s softened. Add more water if it gets absorbed. If you don’t have vegetable stock powder you could substitute it with vegetable stock (replace the 1 cup of water with vegetable stock).

Add the tomato paste, curry powder and vegetable stock powder and remaining water to your desired thickness of dahl (I like mine fairly thick). Mix well in the skillet and turn down the heat to medium low. Add in the lentils. Stir until the mixture is hot enough to eat and pour on a plate of basmati rice.

Creamy Low Fat Potato Soup

My recipes are starting points for your own creations. There is often one or two main ingredients that are required or have that special uniqueness that people like about my recipes. In this case, the key discovery is that blending a potato with water or milk makes a really creamy soup (or base for my cheeze sauce recipe or thickening a curry sauce). Using various plant foods for texture is one of the amazing things about a plant-based diet!

Ingredients:

-2 large potatoes (I use yellow-fleshed, Yukon gold type potatoes)
-1 cup of non-dairy milk such as unsweetened almond milk
-1/2 cup of water
-2 vegan chicken-style bouillon cubes Try to find lower sodium, no oil versions or use this spice combo from Fat Free vegan.
-1 cup of cooked corn (from frozen, I use “peaches and cream” corn by Green Giant)
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-2 tbsp dried chives
–ground black pepper (optional)

Instructions:

Cook potatoes until soft using your favourite method. Then remove the skins. Add potatoes and milk to blender and blend until smooth. In a pot bring the water to boil and add the bouillon cubes so that the cubes dissolve, the reduce heat. Meanwhile cook the corn. Once the bouillon is dissolved add the potato mixture and corn. Bring soup to a boil then put on low heat for a few minutes. Add the garlic, onion powder and chives. If the soup is too thick for you stir in some more water (depends on size of potatoes you use). Serve in a bowl with some added black pepper if desired.

You could use vegetable broth instead of the bouillon cubes (about a cup of broth) or 2 cups if you eliminate the milk. The exact liquid amounts depends on the size of potatoes you use so I usually just wing it each time!

Interview with Dr Greger of NutritionFacts.org – Plant-Based Q&A

Eagle and Squirrel Release

It’s fun to help out the local Atlantic Wildlife Institute during wild animal releases!