Creamy Sweet Potato Bake & Rosemary Walnut Green Beans

We're baaaack. Alright I know we haven't been posting but we're busy ok?! M & S have both gotten new jobs! M is now working at a restaurant VERY close to home and I am working at a daycare!

Tonight we watched Knocked up and made dinner together from our Vegan yum yum book.

3 cups spiral pasta
1 head of kale chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet potato





Sauce:
1 1/4 C non dairy milk

1/3 C raw cashews ( we soaked mine for about 10 minutes so they would blend better)

soaking cashews

1/3 C nutritional yeast
3 T tamari (we used amino acid)
2 T earth balance margarine
1 T tahini
1T lemon juice
1/2 t dijon mustard
1/4 t powdered ginger (we used fresh)
1 pinch nutmeg
3/4 t dried thyme
1/2 t paprika
black pepper to taste bread crumbs for topping (optional)


 1) preheat oven to 450

2) cook pasta but right before it's done cooking add the chopped kale and let it wilt (happens pretty quickly) -drain when done

3) Boil  chopped sweet potatoes til they are tender but not falling apart -  drain when done

chopped sweet potatoes

boiling sweet potatoes

4) blend everything for the sauce in a blender or even better in a Magic Bullet

sauce

5) mix together the sweet potatoes, pasta with kale, and sauce. Add to a baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Cook for 25 minutes.

all mixed together

Green Beans:

Toss green beans with extra virgin olive oil, chopped rosemary, and some chopped walnuts. Cook at 475 for 12 minutes or so.

before going in the oven

Enjoy!

rosemary walnut green beans with creamy sweet potato bake

Hopefully some pumpkin post will be coming soon.
-S&M

Farm Fresh To You CSA

We got our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery! We went with Farm Fresh To You because they deliver and they girl at the Ferry Building was nice so we signed up.

We got a ton of nightshades...hopefully the next delivery has less eggplant and more squash. What the heck do I do with an eggplant anyhow?

cantaloupe, eggplant, figs, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, grapes, bell peppers

I'm excited for figs!

-S&M

S&M&M&M Guest blog!

We had some friends come to stay with us for a few days and we all love food and eating so we decided to make dinner and "blog it out" (walk it out-UNK reference.
While the ladies were here we took Mayela and Micheline (My-el-ah and Michael-een) to Gracias Madre- a must have for vegans and non vegans alike and Katana-Ya for some spicy tofu ramen. We were too hungry to remember to photograph the food.

S (with spatula), Matt, Mayela (on my head), and Micheline

Anywho we went for soup since it's freezing in SF all the time and soup is delicious! Soup is easy so I hope you try it!

carrots, corn, bell peppers, leeks (hidden under peppers), potatoes

Chop everything 1st because it's easier that way.

leeks and garlic in oil

Start by sauteing the leeks with some garlic until they become soft and fragrant then add the pepers

add bell peppers

Then once they soften a bit add 32oz of vegetable broth. we also used a cube of mushroom bullion. Add potatoes and cook until soft. If you need to add more water...add more water. When the potatoes are soft add it all to a blender and then once blended put it back into the pot.

Then add the carrots, corn, a couple squirts of liquid amino acids (or soy sauce) and cook until the carrots soften a tad.

Serve with a colorful salad and bread or you know...whatever you want.

soup topped with paprika and cilantro

dinner!

S and M (left) Mayela (front right) and  Micheline

Music Inspiration: A wall of Micheal Jackson kicked off the evening and got the energy flowing and the corks removed from our wine bottles.  It was followed by some Stevie Nicks (We play a lot of Fleetwood Mac in this house) and hours of good times. 
-S&M&M&M

Black Bean Burgers

So it's been a while since the our last post but we had company and I've been sick so back off! S&M are back now so everybody just calm down. We loved the beet burgers so much we decided to make black bean burgers!

quinoa, jalapeno, onion, carrots

Start cooking the quinoa- I use a rice cooker because it's awesome easy
Then saute the onions with a few cloves of garlic in some oil, when they start smelling delicious add the carrots and jalapenos until the soften

Add everything to a blender with a can of black beans, we used refried black beans from Trader Joes, some cumin, sea salt, and a dash or two of liquid amino acids (or soy sauce of you don't have aminos)
Then once it's all blended stir in the quinoa. It's better not to bled it it because the quinoa helps it hold it's shape, we also added some Panko bread crumbs. Then form patties with your hand and cook them in some oil. They hold shape better after being in the fridge a while. They came out quite yummy!

black bean burger 

Eat up!
-S&M

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Sapling Bay-kery is in the making! Got a business licnese and and working on finding a kitcen to bake in!

Latest creation:
I wanted to make thumbprint cookies but failed to look at a recipe or measure anything so they did not come out as thumbprints but they did some out delicious!

chocolate coconut cookies

~S

Beet Burgers!

If you're like me, you think, "Meh, I could live without beets." I'm not a huge fan of these Chenopodiaceae family plants. But let me tell you, they are delicious in burger form. 

I have a little problem of not measuring anything. This is fine for day to day cooking but probably not for a food blog. I'll do my best to estimate my measurements for you. 

First wash the beets and place a couple punctures with a knife in them (or don't...my mom just always did this when baking potatoes so I figured why not with beets too) I place them on foil on the baking sheet so the juices don't burn the sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for at least an hour for large beets. just check them after an hour and see if they are soft. I thought mine were soft and when I cut them open they weren't soft enough so I ended up baking them for like an hour and 40 minutes. Just keep checking them! 

cooked beets

Once the beets are cooked, chop them up and add them to a blender (I use a knock off Magic Bullet) 
Add in the blender:
1/2 an onion diced and cooked in olive oil
2 cloves of garlic cooked in the the onions
1t of cumin (maybe a little less)
1T amino acids or low sodium soy sauce
1.5 T organic natural ketchup
1 cup cooked quinoa 

ingredients blended before extra quinoa is stirred in

Blend until the beet chunks are all smooth
then I added more quinoa to the blended mixture I just stirred it in and then formed patties with my hands. 
Heat in extra virgin olive oil in a pan NON STICK if you have it...I don't. they are pretty delicate so just be careful.

burger with whole wheat bun, onions, tomatoes, butter lettuce, Vegenaise, and mustard

I love the beet burgers at The Plant Cafe so I decided to make my won...I like mine better...I think it's the cumin and grilled onions.

~S

Veggie tacos and Apartment 326 guacamole

Tacos sounded good.  Actually, tacos always sound good.  These are certainly not the tacos that grandma has been making since my childhood (not that her tacos are not delicious, just not compliant to our diet).  These tacos own the same amount of heart and soul as grandma's, and a little less carne.  Naturally, I decided to prepare guacamole with this Mexican inspired dish.  I hope my recipe for it will earn a bit of respect and exposure outside of our little studio apartment.
Music for the evening: I believe it was Damien Rice owning the majority of music time this particular night. 

Veggie Tacos:
1 Tbs Olive Oil 
1/4 Yellow Onion Chopped
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 Summer Squash
2 Carrots Shaved
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 C Sunflower Seeds
1 Lime juiced
A Few Cilantro Sprigs
1 Can Beans of choice (We used 1/2 can of refried black beans and 1/2 can of kidney beans)
2 Servings of Brown Rice
Stoneground Tortillas

Prepare rice in rice cooker while preparing veggies.  Heat oil in sauce pan and add sunflower seeds and garlic.

sunflower seeds toasting in oil

 After a 2 minutes or so add onion.  After an additional 2 to 3 minutes add squash, carrots, and bell pepper and saute in pan for 5 to 7 minutes or until fully cooked.  Add lime juice to veggies while cooking.

veggies

 Heat beans in a small pot until ready to serve.  (If you happen to be impartial to canned beans, by all means use your own recipe for the bean portion.)  Heat tortillas using either hot plate, toaster oven, or whichever method is easiest.  We used our toaster oven.  Assemble tacos in the order of: tortilla, rice, beans, veggies, and cilantro sprig.  Cheers y'all!

tacos- add tofutti sour cream if you like (S likes)

Apartment 326 Guacamole:
1 Avocado
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/4 Bell Pepper
1 Clove Garlic
1 Lime Juiced
1 Serrano Chile Pepper
1/4 Onion
1/2 Bunch Cilantro
1 Tbs Sea Salt

Okay, so this is going to be simple.  Chop ingredients moderately and place in blender or food processor.  Only suggestion is to add avocado first and olive oil last, although it may not make a difference.  Blend ingredients till it is the consistency desired.  

before

after

-M

Inner Sunset Farmer's Market

Well it's Sunday and that means Inner Sunset Farmer's Market!
http://www.facebook.com/InnerSunsetMarket

My cash flow is running on E these days so purchases were kept to a minimum. Picked up some organic beets which means I better make beet burgers in the next few days. Also bought an overly expensive($2.80) peach because peaches are delicious! Also check out my sexy new basket.

sexy basket, giant peach, and organic beets

 Well keep checking back for a beet burger post!
Have a happy Sunday!

~S&M

Lemon Rosemary Picatta Spaghetti

Those of you vegetarians/vegans that live in the Bay Area may know of a little restaurant named Herbivore.  Herbivore is an all vegan joint that serves styles of food from all across the ethnic board (Mexican, traditional American, Thai, Chinese) though it seems that no matter what we order, there is one item that greatly stands out above the rest.  Penne with lemon-herb cream sauce is pasta dish that leaves me satisfied when eating it and regretful when I order something else.  So I decided to attempt to create a dish myself inspired by Herivore's own.

Music inspiration of the night:  (Excuse the language) Fucked Up- David Comes To Life.  The former hardcore-punk band releases a new album in the form of a "rock opera".  The 80 minute album provides a story of love loss, revenge, and secrets in a furious and blindingly melodic package.  The electricity of the album fills me with the energy to create a very successful meal.

Lemon Rosemary Picatta Spaghetti

Lemon Rosemary Picatta Sauce:
3 Tbs Earth Balance Vegan Butter
3 Cloves Garlic minced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Tbs All Purpose Flour
14 ounces Vegetable Broth
1 Lemon Juiced
A Dash Dry White Wine
1 Tbs Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whole Wheat Pasta (we used spaghetti)

Melt Butter in sauce pan with garlic until liquified.  Add olive oil and flour so the sauce thickens and stir.  Add vegetable broth a little at a time while stirring then add lemon juice with salt and pepper.  Stir over medium heat until thickened then add rosemary. Sauce should be ready to serve with pasta.  We served our dish with sauteed vegetables in the pasta.  We used button mushrooms, red bell peppers, and spinach.

-S&M

Crocodie Crunch

I tried out the Crocodile Crunch recipe from the Kind Diet. It's was DELICIOUS! I switched it up a bit so I could make it more of a smoothie bowl but it's basically the same.

It makes 2 servings
2-3 cups of bite sized pieces of fresh fruit ( kiwi, strawberries, bananas, apples, pears, mango, avocados...)
2 t spirulina
1.5 T non dairy milk
2 t almond butter
1.5 T maple syrup
2 T fresh orange juice
2 T shaved fresh or dry coconut
0.5 c kamut cereal

* t = teaspoon, T = tablespoon, c =cup

Divide the fruit into 2 serving bowls. Use a fork to stir together the spirulina and soy milk in a small glass. Add the almond butter and mix again. Stir in the syrup and orange juice, stir. The sauce should be smooth and neither too thick nor too runny pour over the fruit and sprinkle with coconut and cereal.

I don't have spirulina so I omitted that and I don't have kamut cereal so I just used something that looks like grape nuts. I blended frozen blueberries with fresh strawberries, some banana, and blood orange slices. I poured that into a bowl with some chunks of nectarine and added the sauce on top with the coconut and grape nuts. I highly suggest this recipe!

Variation of Crocodile Crunch

~S&M

Saturday Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building!T

The Saturday Farmer's Market has been voted best farmer's market in the city for a reason! It's huge and they have absolutely everything. M said it's like healthy Costco because if you skip breakfast you can just fill up on samples.  We walked out of there with some pretty sexy lookin' fruits (if it has a seed it's  fruit right?) and some other gems. I heard the earlier you go the better because it's less crowded. I only go late because I love sleeping...a lot. It's pretty hard to maneuver around the sea of people so do yourself a favor and wake up before 11am!

Here's the loot: 2 sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, 2 avocados, 2 blood oranges (not pictured -we got hungry), lavender salt from Eatwell Farms http://eatwell.com/what-we-grow/flavored-salts-and-sugars/ (dude you HAVE to try this stuff...just email me any thank you letters), caper hummus http://www.maringourmet.net/marin_gourmet_product/hummus.html, strawberries, flowers, a nectarine, and some tartlet dishes from Sur La Table.

flowers, hummus, bell peppers, avocados, lavender salt, nectarine, peppers, strawberries, tartlet dishes

Happy Saturday. Try a new veggie every week!
~S&M

Braised Daikon in Mirin and Shoyu

So I'm home alone tonight; M is working and pets are in So Cal.  I decided to try out a recipe from The Kind Diet. I had no clue what daikon was until last Sunday when I bought the book. It looks like this:

raw daikon

The recipe is as follows:
1 large daikon
2 T shoyu
1/4 C mirin
2"-3" strip  kombu

Slice the daikon into 3/4" rounds and place them in a skillet in a single layer. Add water almost to cover the daikon. Add shoyu, mirin, and kombu. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low, cover pan, and simmer the daikon for 30 min or until all the liquid has absorbed.

• I had to google all of the ingredients (the picture in the book and it looked good so I gave it a shot)
• Turns out shoyu is pretty much soy sauce. But I bought it anyway but I'm sure you can just use soy sauce -low sodium I would suggest! Or better yet liquid amino acids. You can probably find marin in the "ethnic food" isle of most markets it comes in a bottle and is clearish/yellow.
• I didn't get kombu. It's in the kelp family. I had some rice seasoning with seaweed pieces in it so i just sprinkled a bit on 
• After 30 minutes my water was not evaporated so I took my lid off and waited for it to dry up.

It's delicious!

braised daikon

Also threw some peeled fingerling potatoes into my rice cooker with some quinoa, cumin, turmeric, sea salt, a big garlic clove and a shallot. cooked it, smashed it all up and it's soooo good. 

I'm scared to say what I watched while cooking in fear that M will read this and never let me use net flicks again.

OK OK!! I WATCHED STEP IT UP 3 I'm so sorry...watching the movie was punishment enough so don't judge me.

Happy eating!

~S

Coffee cookies!

I attempted to make chocolate coffee cookies. Cookies right before bed is always a good idea!

Music while baking- Fiona Apple (mostly Extraordinary Machine)

They came out lovely! But definitely needed more coffee.

 

Time for bed!

~S

Radicchio pizza with cilantro pesto sauce/ Roasted tomatotillo salsa

S and M both have a Sunday off work together!!!  This is a very rare occasion for us.  It was decided the night before that we would make a pizza for dinner.  Luckily for us, the city of San Francisco provides plenty of gems, in the form of family and employee owned businesses.  Arizmendi is a bakery coop offering a wide variety of popular and original baked goods (not all vegan) and a daily pizza recipe.  Earlier in the day I bought 19 oz of Arizmendi's (vegan) pizza dough.  This is what I used for my dough, although you can use any type of homemade dough or store-bought ready to bake dough.   

Music Inspiration:  It was a very 70's type of day for us.  A lot of Fleetwood Mac (Songbird, Never going back again) and Richard and Linda Thompson (Just the Motion), then jumped to a steady stream of Mumford and Sons.

Ingredients:
Pizza:
19 oz. of pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
Small head of radicchio chopped
4 shitake mushrooms sliced
1/4 sliced onion
Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic
1/2 lemon juiced

Cilantro Pesto Sauce:
Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1 1/2 C Basil
1/3 C Walnuts
1/2 Lime juiced
1/2 C Cilantro

To make sauce simply add ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse.  Sauce should be smooth and bright green in appearance.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Knead and stretch dough using a rolling pin  (or wine bottle like we use!).  Once dough is thin and consistent throughout, spread on ungreased cooking tray and form crust using fingers.  Spread cilantro pesto on pizza dough and add onion and mushroom toppings.  Bake pizza for 7 to 9 minutes.

Once pizza is in the oven prepare radicchio.  In a blender or food processor add about a 1/4 C of olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.  Blend and add the mixture to a small bowl with radicchio and toss.  After 7 to 9 minutes remove pizza from oven and add radicchio as a topping to pizza and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove pizza and let cool for a few minutes. 

Roasted "Tomatotillo" Salsa:
2 Roma Tomatoes
3 Tomatillos
2 Jalapenos
1 Clove of Garlic
1/3 C Cilantro
1/4 C Onion
1/2 Lime Juiced
Pinch of Sugar and Dash of Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut Tomatoes in Half and place on foil covered cooking tray.  Peel and halve tomatillos and place with tomatoes on cooking tray.  Cut stems from jalapenos and halve.  Place alongside tomatoes and tomatillos.  Place in oven and roast for about 10 minutes or until skin is moderately burnt.  Remove from oven and remove skin.  Place in blender along with other ingredients and pulse about 4 times or until desired consistency.  Enjoy with chips or as a compliment to any meal!!!

The results!

radicchio pizza with cilantro pesto sauce

 

 

 

 

 Roasted tomatotillo salsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

* How it came out- The salsa was pretty much the best salsa I have ever had and if M doesn't put it away soon I might just eat all of it. The pizza was delicious but I think the lemon and raddicho was not my favorite thing; M seemed to like it just fine so maybe it was just me.

We got the idea from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone but we added and replaced a few ingredients.Try it and let us know what you think! 

-S&M

Thank you for viewing our blog!!!

Allow me introduce ourselves: My name is Matt and my wonderful girlfriend is Stephanie.  Together we are S&M (get it?).  We moved in together in the beautiful city of San Francisco a little more than 7 months ago.  S has been a vegan for the past 2 years and myself for about a year.  Keeping good health and maintaining happy relationships with our bodies and other walks of life are main priorities to us.  The city we live in allows fresh local produce to become readily accessible and also provides constant inspiration.
We will be providing healthy and simple vegan recipes for readers to follow.  Food is only one of the many components when preparing a meal.  Along with ingredients and cooking directions we will be listing what has inspired us to create each specific meal, be it song, mood, wine or beer pairing, or person, for these things are the gusto to our simple lives!
-M

Hello, S here! Being vegan was a struggle at first but after discovering new foods and new flavors it's become something M and I take a lot of pride in and it has brought us closer together. We love love love food and making dinner together (when work schedules allow) is a really fun time for us. I also am into baking and hope to open a baking company within the next few years so along with our meal posts I'll add some baking posts and I'm sure our SF adventures and pets will end up on here too! 

 

 

 

Lady (L) Harry (R)

agave peach cupcakes (pre oven)

~S

We hope this blog will serve as an answer to the question all vegans get, "So what do you eat?!"