Quinoa with Black Bean and Sweet Potato Casserole

I pinned this recipe a while back, back when I didn't actually have Quinoa and wasn't sure how I was going to get my hands on the intriguing little grain taking my Pinterest wall by storm.  Soon enough, however, another English teacher left the land of Korea and in turn passed on some Quinoa to the Harrington household. Recognizing that I now had the opportunity to be preparing the handful of Quinoa recipes I'd pinned, I got excited and began the preparations for this Casserole which features not only Quinoa, but also black beans and sweet potatoes - one of my favorite combinations.

Ingredients/Directions:

Adapted from SparkPeople

Prepare a square baking dish or round cake pan/casserole dish with oil and preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). In a large bowl mix together 1 cup of prepared Quinoa, 3 cups Black Beans, 2 lg. Sweet Potatoes finely diced or shredded, 1/2 cup Cheddar, 1 Tbsp. Cumin, Salt and Pepper. In a smaller bowl, mix together 2 eggs and 1 cup Salsa. Mix the veggies and quinoa with the salsa and egg mixture before sprinkling with additional cheese and baking for 30 minutes.

Sweet Potato, Onion and Mushrooms in Balsamic Vinegar with Pasta

This is truly, simply one of those recipes that comes out of nothing except necessity to rid the refridgerator of foodstuffs before a weeklong vacation to a nearby foreign land.

Ingredients/Directions:

Peel and chop 3-5 sweet potatoes and begin frying in a heated skillet with a touch of olive oil. (I've recently discovered that covering the skillet a) speeds up the process, obviously and b) results in perfect cooked and crisped potatoes...maybe everyone else in the culinary world knows this, if not, try it out). Meanwhile bring to boil sufficient water for a cup or so of dry pasta. (Try out this Kitchen Trick so you don't have to focus to heavily on that boiling pot.) Next, chop up an onion and a cup or two of mushrooms. Add onion to the potatoes and saute until translucent then add a Tbsp. or two of butter and the mushrooms and saute. Once the pasta is nearly finished and each veggie is cooked as desired throw in a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and simmer for a couple minutes before throwing the pasta and the veggies together in a bowl with additional olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper - each to taste. Enjoy with friends and if feeling particularly hungry feel no shame in going to pick up a pizza or calling on in for delivery.

Sweet Potato, Apple and Tofu Muffins

I do some strange things sometimes. Strange, yet occassionally brilliant. I'll chalk this recipe up to strangely brilliant.

I had just made a pasta sauce using boiled and mashed sweet potatoes and apples which were then mixed with soft tofu. The dish was fabulous, but I had a bit of leftover sauce.

A few mornings later, craving some fresh baked bread product, I simply used the pasta sauce in place of bananas as if I were making banana bread and before you know it, I had my self these super Sweet Potato, Apple and Tofu Muffins!

Ingredients/Directions:

Cream together 1/2 cup margarine, softened and 1 cup white sugar. Add 2 eggs and1 1/2 cups apple/sweet potato/tofu puree. Stir in 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda. May add one or two  handfuls of craisins or nuts if so desired. Bake at 350 as cupcakes (10-15 minutes) or a loaf of bread (40-50 minutes) until golden brown and no longer gooey in the center.

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

Would I have been enjoying this soup at Sweet Melissa's in Laramie, life would have been quite grand, however, I had the great joy of recreatin Sweet Melissa's soup using this recipe and slurpping down the results with one heck-uva-good-lookin' man!

Ingredients/Directions:



In a saucepan heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.  Saute 1 large onion, chopped for about 10 minutes, add in 2 cloves garlic, minced , 2 teaspoons minced fresh root ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 pinch ground cloves. Stir in 3 medium tomatoes, chopped, 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped, and 1 carrot, peeled and chopped continue to cook and stir about 5 minutes.

Pour 1 litre water into the saucepan, season with salt and bring to boil and reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Remove soup from heat and begin the blending process (blender, food processor or immersion blender are all fine options) add to the soup mix 40g chopped, unsalted peanuts before blending. Season with 1 pinch cayenne pepper and return to saucepan and medium-low heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, heat through. Garnish with 1 bunch chopped fresh coriander. For a real treat, enjoy with corn bread!

Sweet Potato and Apple Pasta

Occassionally inspiration hits when there are just the right ingredients in the fridge, ingredients that need to be used within a day or two or tossed. I'm lucky to have the appropriate ingredients and inspiration for the creation of this dish, inspired by a Vegetarian Pumpkin Alfredo, this pasta dish is a little sweet and would definitely fit a fall evening with a cup of cider in the most beautiful of ways.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a saucepan boil 2 Apples, peeled and chunked with 4 small sweet potatoes, chopped with a small touch of water (maybe 1/4 cup). When the apples and potatoes are tender, drain about half of the liquid then use an immersion blender, food processor or blender to pure the potatoes and apples together. Add to the mix about 1/2 - 3/4 cups of soft Tofu. Meanwhile, prepare a couple cups of pasta, I used Penne. Season the sauce with cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of brown sugar. When pasta is finished, add sauce to the pasta  until you reach the desired consistency, serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and chopped almonds on top!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Burrito

As English speakers in Korea like to say: "Let me be frank" or "Frankly speaking..." This was not an all-star dinner. However, it has potential and will not be left to suffer the consequences of non-posting...so here you have it, a recipe which I am less than impressed with but choosing to post for reasons completely unexplainable.

Ingredients/Directions:

Saute in a bit of oil, 2 cloves of Garlic, minced, 1 red onion, diced, and 3-4 small sweet potatoes until the potatoes are tender and/or nearing on crispy.  Before adding eggs, chop up a handful of kimchi and add to the burrito mix. Whisk together 4-5 eggs with a touch of salt, pepper, cayenne and a splash of milk, add to skillet and scramble with the veggies. Scoop into large tortillas, top with cheese, sour cream if available (this could be an ingredient that would make these burritos supreme, I'm not sure), and enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner! (In our house, burritos are always placed into the oven or on a dry skillet for a few minutes so the tortilla is crispy and the cheese inside is melty!)

Roast Vegetables with Cheese Sauce

Again, I've found myself using Pinterest to mark a good idea and to find inspiration. A recent inspiration from the world of Pins and Likes and Re-Pins was a 'Choose Your Cheese - Cheese Sauce". I love cheese. And I love choices and a recipe designed for making substitutes.

I won't go into details on roasting veggies, as it's a fairly self-explanatory concept. This particular dish I threw into the oven a few sweet potatoes, carrots, an onion, bell pepper and some chunks of ham. The veggies had been coated in olive oil, salt and pepper. I left the veggies and ham in the oven until they were cooked through and tender (the sweet potatoes in particular). I also served this dish with rice - Rice, Veggies and Ham, Topped with Cheese Sauce.

As for the Cheese Sauce, it was quite simple and quick to put together. Specific measurements can be found here, however, I'm notorious for simply reading an ingredient list and throwing together the amount I deem acceptable for the time being (or available at the time). Therefore, my cheese sauce looked more like this: Milk, about 1/2 cup (not sure because we were about out, so just dumped the rest of the carton in), melt 2-3 Tbsp. Butter in the milk, whisk in about 2-3 Tbsp. Flour. Heat on stove top, add shreeded cheese (Cheddar for me) about a cup or two, dash of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Ensure the cheese has melted and the sauce is your desired consistency, viola - you are finished!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

In preparing to leave Laramie, WY for the otherside of the world, there was one restaurant I knew I'd miss terribly; Sweet Melissa's - a Vegetarian Cafe. If you've never been, you really ought to stop by. Any vegetarian cafe that can make a Wyoming-meat-eater say "Wow, that was good and filling" - is a vegetarian cafe worth frequenting! It is in fondly remembering this special place little cafe nestled in old downtown facing the train tracks that I was pushed forward in pursuing Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos here in the land of kimchi.

With plenty of inspiration and reccomendations, coupled with the limitations of an Asian market vs. a Latin market, I set out to re-create tastes of home.

Ingredients:

2 cups Black Beans

3 cups Sweet Potatoes, mashed

1 Onion, diced and sauted

3-5 Green Chiles, roasted and diced

2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced

Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Cumin - to taste

Prepared Salsa

Tortillas

Cheese

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic and green chilies, add to sweet potatoes. Combine beans and potatoes (can be mixed, pureed, slightly beaten - however you most desire.) Add seasonings, fresh cilantro and lime juice would be nice if it's available. Spreak potato and bean mix onto tortilla, top with cheese, fold and bake in the oven until warmed through. We have a convection oven so cooking time is about 15-20 minutes or less. Serve with salsa on the side or green chili on top. Best enjoyed with good friends, conversing about winter vacations and adventures!

Tips for creating this meal in Korea:

Black beans are a bit tricky to find - yet not impossible. My best bet has been to buy them in their dried state; you can find them at Costco and many times at HomePlus. If you're at Costco, might as well pick up some tortillas as well. Various international food stores provide fresh cilantro, for a bit more info regarding 'foreign' markets in Korea, check out this post.

For dried black beans this is the way to go!