Maple-Herb Glazed Roasted Autumn Vegetables

I love some delicious oven roasted veggies during the cooler part of the year. They are great in a salad, casserole, soup or just on their own. Today I served them on a bed of savory brown rice with irish cheddar & spinach.

For today's recipe I whipped up a sauce that the chopped veggies marinated in before roasting. The marinade compliments the flavors of the veggies without dominating. It is composed of sweet maple syrup, a touch of mustard and garden fresh herbs. To enhance the pretty colors I used golden beets and a brilliant purple yam. You can really substitute any root veggies and winter squash you want in this adaptable recipe. Enjoy!

Marinade:
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 cup fresh italian parsley, minced
1 garlic clove, minced

Veggies:
1 purple yam, peeled
1 golden beet, peeled
1 acorn squash, peeled & seeds removed
6 carrots
2 yukon gold potatoes
1 yellow onion, skin removed

1. Whisk all marinade ingredients together and set aside.
2. Chop all veggies in large uniform pieces
3. Put veggies in a large casserole dish and cover with marinade. Mix well to coat. Let sit for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake uncovered for 60-90 minutes. Check at 60 minutes. Cooking time will depend on size of veggie pieces.
5. Serve hot over savory brown with irish cheddar & spinach

Asparagus Carrot Stir Fry with Cashews

Dear Readers,

Have I mentioned asparagus season? Ha! It's just beginning. Today I made a simple stir-fry of asparagus and carrots that totally hits the spot. For the best flavor possible use young spring carrots for this recipe. I'm not talking about your bland storage carrots typically seen in the grocery store. If you don't grow your own, then choose the thinnest, tops-still-on, bright crisp carrots you can find. The same goes for the asparagus. Choose pencil thin stalks. Do not buy fat asparagus. It's not worth it.

Once you've cut the veggies this recipe takes about 5 minutes to cook. So, we're talking a satisfying healthy meal in about 15 minutes. You can't beat that. That's all I have, because I really want to go eat this now. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann











Asparagus-Carrot Stir Fry with Cashews

1 bunch thin asparagus, tough ends removed and stalks slice in half
1 bunch young carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 tbsp canola oil
about 1 tbsp wheat-free reduced-sodium tamari
fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup toasted lightly salted cashews

1. Clean & chop the asparagus, carrots and garlic and you are halfway there.
2. Warm the canola oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.
3. Add the asparagus, carrots, splash of tamari, pinch of black pepper to the pan. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. You want the veggies to be somewhat soft, but still bright colors and slightly crunchy.
4. Add the garlic and the cashews. Cook for about 2 minutes more. Do not overcook!
5. Serve hot over brown rice, soba noodles, with tofu or just by it's beautiful delectable self.

Spring Pasta Primavera with Garbanzo Beans & Walnuts

Dear Readers,

I don't often post recipes featuring pasta. Honestly, I think it's overdone. But, gluten-free brown rice pasta makes a nice platform for the first of Spring's beautiful vegetables. That's all Pasta Primavera is--fresh Spring vegetables. If you planted a year-round edible garden your overwintering varieties of cauliflower, cabbage & carrots should be ready to harvest. This Winter was pretty mild and the Spring unseasonably warm which means your hardy greens like kale, chard and mustards should all be doing great and producing a nice harvest. Fall planted garlic should be producing nice green shoots or "scapes" to add to your stir-fry dishes. There's not a lot in the edible garden this time of year. But, with some planning it can produce in early Spring.

Pasta Primavera has endless variations. Mine lacks the standard issue bland cream sauce. The vegetables and their fresh tastes headline this dish. The recipe co-stars garbanzo beans, walnuts, garlic and some fresh lemon zest. It's gluten & dairy free. Loaded with vitamins, fiber, and protein. Whole foods goodness. Plus once the chopping prep is done this dish is completely cooked in under 30 minutes. And it's easy on the budget as well with simple ingredients. Filling, delicious and pretty. What more could you ask for. It's virtually a perfect dish. Please send me your comments. I appreciate the feedback.


In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Pasta Primavera with Garbanzo Beans & Walnuts
Serves 4

1/2 of a 16oz package brown rice spaghetti or linguine
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, minced
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 thin young carrots, thinly sliced
sea salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 cup chopped walnuts
14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups thinly sliced mixed greens-kale, chard mustard
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1. Bring a stockpot of water to boil and prepare pasta according to package directions. Do not overcook. It should take about 8-10 minutes. Brown rice pasta quickly becomes mushy if overcooked by a minute. Drain pasta and return to the pot off the heat. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and a splash of olive oil on the pasta. Add the nutritional yeast. Stir well. Cover pot and set aside while you prepare the veggies.
2. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add a pinch of sea salt & black pepper, and the walnuts. Saute for another 5 minutes. You want the spices to become fragrant and the walnuts to become slightly toasted. Add the garbanzo beans and the garlic. Stir well to combine. Add the greens and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You want the greens to just begin to wilt but remain bright green. They will be slightly crunchy. Overcooked veggies=no bueno. Remove pan from heat.
3. Add the vegetables to the pasta. Add the lemon zest. Check the flavor and add more sea salt if desired. Eat. You be sure to thank me later.

Warm Cabbage Kale & Quinoa Salad

Hello friends!

Tonight's recipe experiment was inspired by my friend Peggy. A few months ago she was raving about the Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad she made from the 101 cookbooks recipe blog. I was inspired to do so and bought the ingredients including golden raisins. To be honest, I never got around to making the recipe. The bag of golden raisins remains unopened in my refrigerator. Let's back track to Peggy for a moment. Peggy is a fellow foodie, gardener, and plant geek. A social justice advocate who's committed her life to helping others, she is also a talented photographer and eloquent writer. Peggy would never toot her own horn and I'm sure will be mortified I'm writing this but I am inspired by what she has done for our community. Please check out her recent article featured in "Cooking Up A Story."

Tonight I am inspired to cook something with red cabbage, because it's what I have on hand. And my budget is so tight I'm doing a lot of cooking of what I have on hand at the moment. Suffice to say I created this entire recipe out of what I had in my cabinets and refrigerator. It's modified from the Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad in that I omitted the 2 cheeses to make it vegan and I added quinoa to boost the protein and make it a more substantial main course salad. Some people love to follow recipes, me I relish in changing, adapting, and re-creating them!

I absolutely love the combination of sweet, savory, bitter, and salty in this dish. It's textures, colors and flavors are beautifully complex. It is completely loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. Every single ingredient (with the exception of salt, pepper, vinegar & oil) is listed on the world's healthiest foods website. I love that website by the way--so check it out! I think this one takes the prize for healthy & delicious improvisational recipes. Enjoy! And, Peggy, thanks for putting the bug in my ear about warm cabbage salads!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Warm Cabbage Kale & Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
1 yellow onion, peeled & diced
olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw unsalted almonds, slivered or sliced
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 head red cabbage, washed, cored & shredded
1 bunch thin young carrots, washed & shredded
1 bunch "lacinato" kale, washed, stemmed & shredded

1. Place 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water in a covered saucepan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down to a medium simmer. Cook covered for 15 minutes until the liquid is gone and the quinoa grains are light & fluffy.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, warm 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown.
3. When quinoa is cooked place it in a large mixing bowl and add the cooked onions. Stir and set aside.
4. In the warm skillet pan add another splash of olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds and almonds. Cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes until they are toasted. Add the balsamic vinegar and the raisins. Let cook approximately 2 more minutes until the raisins are warm and the vinegar has reduced. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and add the nut-raisin mixture to the quinoa-onion mixture in the large mixing bowl. Set aside.
5. In the warm skillet pan add another splash of olive oil and continue to warm over medium heat. Add the cabbage and stir. Cover and cook approximately 5 minutes. You only want the cabbage to be slightly soft and wilted. Do not overcook. Add cooked cabbage to the mixing bowl.
6. In the warm skillet pan and another splash of olive oil and continue to warm over medium heat. Add the carrots and stir. Cover and cook approximately 5 minutes. You only want the carrots to slightly soften. Do no overcook. Add the cooked carrots to the mixing bowl.
7. In the warm skillet pan and another splash of olive oil and continue to warm over medium heat. Add the kale. Cover and cook approximately 3 minutes. You only want the kale to slightly wilt. It should still be bright green and slightly crunchy. Do not overcook. Add the cooked kale to the mixing bowl.
8. Now all the ingredients are complete in the mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Taste for flavor and add salt & pepper, olive oil or balsamic as needed. Serve warm.

Root Vegetable Gratin

Root Vegetable Gratin
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann

This was the main dish at the February 2nd Friday Suppers at Jolie's recipe tasting. It was rich, creamy, satisfying...healthy comfort food. Many of my friends had not ever tried several of these veggies like parsnips and turnips. The key to even cooking in this dish is slicing the veggies all the same size. And, if you use organic produce you can leave the peels on most of these veggies, because there's great nutrition and texture in the skins. This gratin is another pan licked clean by my happy guests. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Root Vegetable Gratin

Serves about 8

2 yukon gold potatoes, washed & thinly sliced

2 turnips, peeled & thinly sliced

sea salt & black pepper
4 tbsp whole wheat flour

3 medium carrots, washed & thinly sliced

2 medium parsnips, washed & thinly sliced

2 red skin potatoes, washed & thinly sliced

1 fuji apple, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk

2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare a 13x9 baking dish by spaying or thinly coating with olive oil.

3. Layer the yukon gold potatoes and turnips in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

4. Next layer the parsnips and carrots. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

5. Next layer the red potatoes and apple. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

6. Next layer the onion slices. Sprinkle with the last tbsp of flour.

7. Pour over everything the soymilk. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake covered for 1 hour.

8. At 1 hour, remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil. Add cheese on the top. Return pan to oven and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Cheese should be bubbly and browned.

9. Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Inside-Out Carrot Cakes

Inside-Out Carrot Cakes
Recipe from Sunset Magazine April 2008

As soon as I saw this recipe I was so excited for the chance to try it. The photo of little sandwich cookies made of carrot cakes and cream cheese frosting filling stayed on my mind for weeks. Finally last week my 3-year-old friend Jasper and I whipped up a batch of these little treats and they turned out great. The taste was sweet and spicy with many layers of flavor that lingered on after each bite. They were quite yummy and pretty simple to make-totally worth the effort. Enjoy!

Prep & Cook Time: About 1 hour
Makes: 10-12 cakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup because the batter seemed runny)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch ground cloves
1/8 tsp each freshly, finely grated nutmeg and freshly, finely ground black pepper
6 tbsp vegetable oil (i used canola)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg (i used organic free-range brown eggs)
1/4 cup sour cream (organic sour cream-NOT low fat-is great!)
1/4 tsp vanilla (no alcohol pure vanilla)
1 1/2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded on the fine side of a box grater (to yield 1 cup) (use organic carrots of course)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
Cream-cheese frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Put a dab of butter in each corner of 2 large baking sheets and lne with parchment.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla; stir in dry ingredients until well combined. Add carrots and coconut, stirring until just combined.
3. Drop t-tbsp circles of batter about 1 in apart on baking sheets. Bake until cooked through and browned slightly, 14 to 18 minutes. Cook on baking sheets.
4. Flip half of the cakes over; spread each with about 1 1/2 tbsp frosting. Top with remaining cakes to sandwich the frosting.

Cream-cheese frosting: Using a stand mixer (I used my hand mixer), beat 5 oz softened cream cheese until very soft. Add 3 tbsp softened unsalted butter and beat until smooth and well blended. Add 2/3 cup powdered sugar a third at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Beat in 1 tsp heavy cream or milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Yum. :)