Roasted Yams, Leeks and Lotus Root

Roasted vegetables are nothing new. Just about anything can be tossed in oil and roasted. It brings out the natural sweetness in vegetables. Potatoes, onion, carrots, and peppers are the first thing I think of when it comes to roasting vegetables. I often forget about how good roasting is.. I kind of associate it with animal-based meals. Roasted chick, pork, beef.. as a kid these were the things I had roasted vegetables with. So what do pair with roasted vegetables as a vegan? Anything. Tofu, seitan and tempeh are often my choices for having a vegan meat and potato type meal, but also great with soups, stews, mixed with grains like rice or quinoa.

I Wanted to make some roasted vegetables, but I didn't have the traditional veggies on hand. I also was making this for a midnight snack, so I didn't want a full meal. What I found in my kitchen was yams, lotus root and leek. Kind of a weird combination on first glance, but these vegetables are all mild and sweet and take on many different types of flavours. Seemed perfect for a late-night snack.

When I told people about this one, the first question I usually get is, 'what is lotus root'... The day I discovered lotus root, was a good day in the world of food. It is such a versatile vegetable and really good for you. It is pretty big, about 10-20 cm in length and 6-8 cm in diameter. It looks kind of like daikon (Asian radish. If you haven't heard of it... I will do a post on it some day soon), but has holes running through which makes it a really pretty veggie when sliced.

Lotus root is also really healthy. For a root vegetable, it is very low-calorie. Also very high in fibre with about 5 g in a serving. It is high in vitamin C (more than 75% of your daily requirement). Lotus root is high in B-6 which I found out today is a vitamin that helps control mood. Getting enough B-6  helps control nervous irritability, headaches, and tension. I had no idea. Lastly, it is a great source for minerals like copper, zinc and iron. basically, like most (all?) vegetables, lotus root is really good for you. It is super versatile in cooking too. You can add it to soups, stir fries or on its own as a side dish. It can be baked, roasted, boiled, steamed, fried or shredded. It can be tricky to find. It is in season in the fall and usually only available at Asian markets.


My favourie way to prepare lotus root is to roasted it with other vegetables and dress it up a bit with lime and maple syrup. It is a fantastic sweet and savoury snack.


Roasted Yam, Leek and Lotus Root
*Serves two, takes about 25 minutes

• 1 large yam, sliced thin 
• 1 piece of lotus root (about 4-5"), sliced
• 1 leek, sliced in half lengthwise and the sliced into thinly.
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp Mint leaves

Not a great photo.. I was rushing, but super
easy to get this ready. Just slice things evenly

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the vegetables and put them into a large bowl. Toss with the oil, salt and pepper and lay everything flat on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven and roast for about 10 min. At this point, take the veggies out of the oven and sprinkle the maple syrup and the lime juice over top and toss again to coat. Put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the are golden brown and cooked through. 

Before roasting

And.. after. 

You can slice lime slices and serve with them as a garnish or sprinkle some chopped cilantro or mint leaves (and remember, always spank your mint!) on them if you want to make them look a little prettier for serving. Really these are perfectly fine on their own though. Pretty simple dish.. tastes amazing and is good enough to just have on its own. It will keep a few days in the fridge, but won't be as crisp if you reheat in the microwave. best way to reheat these is in a frying pan or in the oven.

Winter Blues - Salty Snacks to the Rescue!

Well is has certainly been a busy past few weeks. Christmas is sneaking up on us all again; I can't believe there is less than two weeks to go! This year, I decided to do as much as my shopping as possible online. Maybe I was taking the lazy way out this time, but I saw it more as efficient shopping with a glass of wine in hand. Can't get much better than that!

My sister now knows about my blog so I can't divulge any secrets just yet. I have to say though, I think she had the better idea of shopping local. I am guessing she found much funkier gifts. Ah well, on the right side, I will be the recipient of one of them! Woo hoo!

So this year is the first time doing the holidays while eating a vegan diet. I made it through BBQ season and have just one Christmas party to attend. Man, what am I going to do! I don't think the non-vegans of the world realize how much time you can spend trying to figure out how to get through holiday season with good food and without bothering anyone. It's madness! 

I think I will have a similar plan of attack as I did for BBQ season. Vegan emergency pack! Basically I pack a cooler (a small one, like the ones that can hold 12 beers). Inside the cooler I pack something sweet and something salty, vegan condiments etc etc. During BBQ season I packed it with home made black bean burgers, toppings, salad and.or vegan salad dressing, and ice cream.

Now for Christmas... I will have to think about this, but I am thinking I will need an appetizer, something to substitute the turkey, a dessert or at least coconut ice cream, and.. soy nog... Man do I have my work cut out for me!

I shall do my best to have a full reporting of the Christmas festivities including what the hell I am going to pack with me. To be continued!

Alright.. On to the good stuff.. lately I have had a major case of the winter blues. It's cold out and all I want to do is sit at home and eat junk. So rather going out and buying junk food, I did with what I had at home.. and it was a million times better than potato chips and candy!

Roasted Lotus Root, Leeks and Sweet Potato

•  Lotus root, about 4" peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled (or not) and thinly sliced
• 1 leek, thinly sliced (White part only)
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup

This recipe is adapted from Alicia Silverstone's cookbook, The Kind Diet a fabulous book with lots of tasty recipes.

I modified the recipe a bit as I did not have all the veggies listed in the books. I did, however, happen to have lotus root on hand from a shopping trip to T&T. Every time I go there, I wonder why I bother with shopping at Safeway. Everything is cheaper, fresh and they have lots of ingredients that aren't easily found in western grocery stores.

Now, back to the recipe.. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and get a baking sheet out. I did not grease the sheet and things stuck a bit. Maybe use some cooking spray. Peel and slice all the veggies and put them in a bowl. pour the olive oil on top and mix it up with your hands so everything is covered. Sprinkle the salt and pop it in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes. Take them out and stir then drizzle the maple syrup over top and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes.

How easy is that! Salty, sweet and yummy. I served mine with some left over lentil loaf and sauteed spinach

  

Vegan Onion Rings

A couple days after this tasty treat, I was again feeling the craving for something salty. I had not been grocery shopping in some time, so my kitchen was not exactly well stocked. After some searching on the internet, I found a recipe for vegan onion rings!

The recipe is available at http://www.theppk.com/2010/10/omg-oven-baked-onion-rings/

I did not change much as this was a first time making something like this. I did change the seasonings and added some paprika and Chile powder. I have to say that this recipe is easy to do and pretty good. It was not as good as the deep fried version, but pretty close and probably a lot lower in fat, so I will definitely make these again before I go find the fast food alternative. Here are some snap shots of my attempt:

Found all the ingredients. I actually made half of the recipe on the PPK because I only had a little bread crumbs left.

After taking this pic, I realized that this was not the right order! Onion, wet, dry, pan! :)

 Ready for the oven... and now the final results!

trust me, make these! They are salty and sweet and fab!