Snobby Joes

Isa Chandra author of Veganomicon has the most amazing recipes.  I highly recommend her cookbook.  Recently I tried a recipe from her book called…

Snobby Joes

This is those sloppy joes we loved as a child, but made with lentils.  She says Snobby Joe thinks he’s better than all the other Joes because he doesn’t have any meat.

What you need:

1 cup uncooked lentils

4 cups water

1 T olive oil

1 medium-size yellow onion, cut into small dice

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp chile powder

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard

4-6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns, sliced in half…or if your dog jumped up and grabbed the buns off the table and ate them today while you were at work, then you can just use wheat bread like I did!

What to do:

Pour the lentils and water into a small saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done, preheat a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.  Sauté the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened.  Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more.

Stir in the cooked lentils, chile powder, oregano, and salt.  Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes so the flavors can meld, or eat immediately if you can’t wait.  These are great served open-faced.

I thought these sounded good with…

I love me some sweet potato fries!  These are easy to make, but it really is easier just to rip open a bag and some days easier is better.

Dinner is served!

Football, Guacamole and Sweet Potato Fries

Welcome to my blog! Today is an example of how I incorporate my vegan lifestyle with my non vegan family. When I started my day today I wasn’t really planning to make any Superbowl snacks, but my 12 year old daugther started craving certain foods to eat while watching the game. She thought it would be great to grill hamburgers and have chips and queso during the game. Because I am the only vegan in the house, I immediately start thinking about what I can make that will work with the theme and meet my dietary needs.

So, we made guacamole!

It was delicious and easy to make.
Ingredients
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

While I made cheeseburgers and queso for my family, I had this guacamole with tortilla chips as a starter. For dinner I had a vegan Boca burger (delicious) with sweet potato fires that I made.

Ingredients:
•3 large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 tsp cumin
•dash cayenne pepper
•1/4 tsp paprika
•1/2 tsp salt or seasoned salt
Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients until potatoes are evenly coated with oil and spices.

Place potatoes on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until done.

I really like to eat these plain, but you could serve with ketchup, a ranch dressing dip or barbecue sauce. Enjoy your baked sweet potato fries!

I highly recommend both of these recipes, filling and delicious!