Sweet Potato Sundae

It was strawberry season when I made this, so I used sliced strawberries. You can really use any sliced fruit that strikes your fancy: bananas, strawberries, other whole berries, even sliced pears, peaches, and apples. I like it as a fall dish, just because I think of sweet potatoes as a fall item. I suggest trying it when the fruit is in season since you can get sweet potatoes any time of the year. This recipe has been modified from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor.

Ingredients:
1 baked sweet potato 
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
1¼ tbsp pure maple syrup 
3 oz vegan yogurt (plain or vanilla) 
½ cup sliced fruit

Directions:

1. Smash potato in a bowl or cut in half. 
2. Sprinkle with generously with cinnamon and drizzle with maple. 
3. Top with yogurt and fruit.

Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal

Yes, there is oatmeal under those strawberries and chocolate chips. This was so easy and yummy that when I had to travel unexpectedly, I made sure I had some chocolate, strawberries, and oatmeal and just made that for breakfasts. The original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor called for banana, which I cannot have. Probably, any fruit that you enjoy will go well in this breakfast. 

Ingredients:
½ cup dry rolled oats 
1½ tbsp dark chocolate chips 
fruit of your choice, sliced (strawberries, banana suggested)

Directions:

1. Cook oats in ¾ cup water (or more). 
2. Top with chocolate chips and fruit.

Berry Breakfast Pizza

This was a great, if messy, breakfast. During the berry season, you can have lovely fresh fruits for it. I got the original recipe (altered here) from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
2 oz vanilla or berry vegan yogurt 
2 tsp orange marmalade 
dash ground cardamom 
1 pita  
¼ cup sliced berries of your choice
¼ cup sliced 2nd type of berries of your choice
orange zest 

Directions: 

1. In a bowl, mix yogurt, marmalade, and cardamom until well combined. 
2. Slather on to pita. 
3. Top with mixed berries and orange zest.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 284 calories, 2.6g fat, 56.7g carbs, 7.4g fiber, 17.5g sugars, 10.1g protein
• The original recipe called for strawberries and blueberries. I subbed red grapes for blueberries since I don't care for blueberries. You could really use grapes or berries or citrus (orange) slices for either portion of the quarter cup of berries.
• You could probably sub jam/jelly/preserves flavor of your choice in for marmalade.
• I rolled it up into a wrap.

Seasoned Thyme Pork Roast

I've made this a couple times now. The second time, I made a smaller roast than was called for, so it was a little dry. Lesson: don't cook a 2 pound roast the same length of time as a 3 pound roast. The prunes and apples are delicious, by the way, and make a great side for this.

Ingredients:

1 pork loin roast (3 lb.)

2 onions, sliced

3 tablespoons oil

½  cup brown sugar barbecue sauce

¼  cup apple juice

2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves

6 apples, sliced

½ cup pitted prunes

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º.  Brown pork and onions in hot oil in large ovenproof pot on medium-high heat 3 min., turning occasionally.
2. Combine barbecue sauce, apple juice and thyme.  Pour over ingredients in pot; cover with ovenproof lid.  Simmer an additional 10 min., then place in oven.
3. Bake 2 hr.  Add apples and prunes; bake an additional 30 min. or until pork is cooked through and apples are tender.

Notes:

• Serves 10.   
• Prep: 15 min  |  Total: 2 hr. 45 min.

Salad: Field Club's Strawberry Salad

My good friend Suzanne introduced me to this salad. It is a sweet, yummy, summer salad.

Ingredients:
1 pkg romaine
1 pkg spinach
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 large container sliced strawberries
½ cup pine nuts or toasted slivered almonds, whichever you prefer
1-4 oz pkg crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
½ cup honey
¼ tsp Worcester
¾ cup salad oil
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
¼ tsp paprika
1 tbsp diced green onions

Directions:
For dressing, place ingredients in a screw top jar and shake. Add to salad when you are ready to serve.

Other Notes:
I don't know how many this feeds, but it's a great salad to bring to a potluck.

Breakfast: Aebelskivar (Filled Pancakes)

One holiday season, we found an Aebelskivars pan on sale at Williams Sonoma. We have enjoyed these treats ever since. And we've provided them at holiday parties to some delight. We've tried many recipes for Aebelskivars. Many. There have been good ones, but the best so far is this one. This basic recipe came out of Ebelskivars: Danish-style filled pancakes and other sweet and savory treats by Keven Crafts. The aebelskivars in the photo are chocolate filled, white chocolate filled, blueberry filled, and some lemon poppy seed. The lemon poppy seed and blueberry filled had a cornmeal based batter. The basic batter and instructions are given here.

Surprisingly, this many served my family of 4 with only a few leftover.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Fillings, such as jam, peanut butter, chocolate ganache, chocolate chips or fruit
Syrup, whipped cream, or powdered sugar for serving

Directions:
Making Batter

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the eggs yolks, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.
2. In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a silicone spatula, fold one about-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain. Use the batter right away.

Filling and cooking ebelskivers

1. Butter the pan: Using a pastry brush, coast the wells of the ebelskiver pan evenly with melted butter and place over medium or medium-low heat, depending on the recipe. Let the butter heat for a few moments.
2. Add the batter: When the butter begins to bubble in the pan, use a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or two soup spoons (one spoon to scoop and one spoon to scrape) to add 1 to 3 tablespoons batter to each well, depending on the recipe.
3. Add the filling: If you are making filled pancakes, working quickly, carefully spoon abut 1 teaspoon of the desired filling into the center of each pancake.
4. Enclose the filling: For filled pancakes, add about 1 tablespoon batter on top of the filling to enclose it. Cook the first side until bubbles rise from the centers of the pancakes and they are lightly browned and crisp on the bottom, 3-5 minutes.
5. Flip the pancakes: Position 2 short wooden skewers on opposite sides of a pancake, slide the tips between the edge of the well and the cooked edge, and lift and rotate gently. Repeat to turn the remaining pancakes.
6. Cook the second side: Cooke the pancakes until lightly browned on the second side, abut 3 minutes longer. Use the skewers to transfer the pancakes to a plate or a platter.

Other Details:

• Makes batter for 21 pancakes (nutrition per unfilled aebelskivar) 
• This is a workhorse batter, perfect for sweet and savory ebelskivers alike. The small amount of sugar mixed with the dry ingredients helps the pancakes brown and both enhances sweet flavoring and offsets savory ingredients.
• Note that a specialty pan is required to make these. 
• We top with powdered sugar and maple syrup. 
• Pin It