Orange Goodness

Posting a few awesome recipes I used last week. 'Orange Goodness' since they all include orangey ingredients, and I was sick of S-alliterated titles:

Sweet Potato Salad with Apple and Avocado
(From the February 09 issue of Vegetarian Times)

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup unsalted hulled pumpkin seeds or pepitas
1 medium red apple, diced (1 cup)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 avocado, finely diced

1. Place sweet potatoes in large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook 3 minutes. Add corn, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender. Drain in colander and rinse under cold water to cool. Drain well.

2. Toast pumpkin seeds in dry skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes, or until seeds begin to pop. Transfer to plate, and cool.

3. Combine apple, onion, cilantro and lime juice in large bowl. Stir in sweet potatoes, corn, and oil, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Stir in avocado and toasted pumpkin seeds just before serving.

Notes: I didn't have the hulled pumpkin seeds or pepitas, so I skipped step 2. It was still delicious without them. I used a full avocado, because honestly half an avocado is never enough. Also, I used canned corn instead of frozen. Served this on a few handfuls of baby spinach.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burrito

Notes: Click on recipe link to see it on RecipeZaar.com. Instead of baking everything in the tortillas, I put the black bean mixture and sweet potatoes in a food processor and then put it in the microwave for a few minutes to reheat. (Though that might not be necessary, I just timed the sweet potatoes wrong.) I cooked brown rice, and laid the rice out with the sweet potato/black bean mixture on top of warmed tortillas, and then added typical burrito fixins'. Fresh guac, sour cream, cheese and Sriracha (I prefer to call it "cock sauce".) The Sriracha gave the burritos the perfect kick, since I didn't have jalapeños.


Butternut Squash Soup
1 medium butternut squash
3 cups veggie stock
1 onion (chopped)
1T grated fresh ginger (or more if you like)
3 T butter

1. Cut squash in half lengthwise, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast face down in a pan until soft.

2. When almost done, melt butter in a large pot. Add onions and ginger and cook until translucent.

3. Add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes.

4. Blend veggie stock mixture with pulp from the squash until smooth.

5. Salt & pepper if needed.

Notes: I added a teaspoon or so of Pumpkin Pie spice and a little extra cinnamon to give it the sweeter taste I was looking for. I recommend using a small onion. Preferably, blend ingredients with a hand blender. Since I didn't have one, I used my blender. I was really happy with how creamy this came out, almost fluffy!