vegan dinner ideas – No Beef Here

Tempeh Bacon Lettuce & Tomato Sammies (1).png

That bitter chill of winter is creeping its way into our lives, our homes and resting in our bones. And I am nowhere near ready for the winter. We have barely had the fall. How about taking a chill pill winter?!

The weather is at that in-between point where the building we are living in has not gotten the memo that it is cold af outside, so there’s no heat yet (we got heat on a 55 degree day, which makes no sense). So what do we do to keep it warm up in here?! ROAST EVERYTHING.

And I mean EVERYTHING.

Things just seem to taste better once basking in the glory that is the oven, including desserts, macaroni smothered in cheese, sweet potatoes, stuffed peppers (you know you love ma recipe, go here). I can go on and on.

But nothing compares to the food orgasm that follows roasting some seasonal veggies.

I’m here to tell you, show you, teach you that this is SUCH A SIMPLE PROCESS and all it truly needs is your time and your love. And a delicious sauce to pour over it (I’m loving tahini, don’t worry the recipe will be yours).

These suckers are so lip smacking good, you will be licking your fingers (I use my hands to eat these, I mean, come on, why wouldn’t you?!). You can easily roast all your veggies and turn this into a meal in itself (not need to be extra if you’re tired, we’re not judging you).

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Cold weather equals comfort food. I’m all about the comfort when it’s easy to make and tastes delicious. Though it’s great to put in a great deal of effort, I’d rather save the effort for the eating and serving up yummy dishes. This meal is great as a side or even as a main event, trust me you will want seconds. I even was able to get my carnivorous boyfriend and brother on board. I was inspired by a recipe on TheKitchn.com but you know me, I love to make it vegan! Well, here you go my foodies!

What You Need:

1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes
1 bag of Tuscan kale (Trader Joe’s has a great bag of Tuscan kale, super cheap, super tasty-great in smoothies too!)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cup of coconut or soy milk creamer (unsweetened)
1/4 cup of cashew cheese
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
2 tbs of vegan butter (soy free)
2 tbs of gluten free flour (or wheat flour, your choice)
Breadcrumbs (optional)

How You Make It:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slice potatoes into disks , 1/4-inch thick (skin on) and toss into salted boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add flour, stirring constantly. After a minute or so, add in the coconut/soy milk creamer. Continue to stir until it thickens. Once thick, add in nutritional yeast and cashew cheese (think cheese sauce for mac ‘n cheese, yum). Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes and kale in the olive oil mixture. Add to a casserole baking dish, layering the kale and potatoes and adding the “cheese” sauce to each layer and sprinkling with bread crumbs, if you like.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the top is crispy. Feel free to add more breadcrumbs to the top layer for added crunch (suggestion: mix breadcrumbs with vegan butter to make the top extra golden).

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a mixed greens salad or with your favorite sautéed veggies. I love making roasted brussels sprouts with Grade B Maple Syrup, dried cranberries and slivered almonds. Perfection. Sweet and savory all in one dish, talk about a food-gasm (yes, that is a word).

I hope you get inspired to make something delicious for dinner tonight or any of these cold nights during the Polar Vortex.

Peace, love and NO beef!

Guramrit