Grilled Sweet Potatoes with cilantro

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes


Ingredients

2 pounds Sweet Potatoes
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

Dressing

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Cilantro (including tender stems)
1 teaspoon of lime zest or lemon zest
2 tablespoons of fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch of salt

Method

1 Prepare your grill for hot, direct heat. While the grill is heating up, peel the sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise, or on a diagonal, into 1/4 inch-thick pieces. Coat the sweet potato slices with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with Kosher salt.

2 Combine all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl.

3 Once the grill is hot, lay the sweet potato pieces down onto the grill grates. Cover the grill and cook until each side gets some grill marks, between 3-6 minutes for each side, depending on how hot your grill is.

4 Toss the sweet potatoes in a bowl with the dressing and serve hot.

Vegan Tofu Fry with Roasted Root Vegetables

I needed to use up my 2 blocks of tofu today or tomorrow, got home to realize I didn’t have the typical stir-fry vegetables. It actually turned out quite good! Serves 8 2 cups brown rice 2 beets chopped into cubes 2 medium sized yams chopped into cubes 2 carrots chopped 3 mushrooms 1 zucchini chopped into cubes 1 onion chopped 2 cloves of garlic 2 TBSP chopped fresh ginger 1 block of tofu ¼ cup sesame oil ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce 2 TBSP cider vinegar 1 TBSP coconut oil Zest from 1 lemon Juice from the same Lemon Chopped Fresh cilantro Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook rice accordingly. Toss beets, carrots, yams with sesame oil and a pinch of salt, roast 40 minutes, add zucchini to the last 10 minutes.

Meanwhile combine soy sauce, remaining sesame oil, vinegar and zest in a bowl and toss tofu around about. Heat coconut oil in pan on high heat, cook tofu turning until brown, about 10-15 minutes (longer if you turn off the wrong burner).

In a separate pan sauté garlic, onion, ginger and mushrooms. Part way through I’m realizing I will not have a pan big enough to fry it all together.

Combine roasted vegetables, tofu, and onion mixture all together in one pan and sauté for a few minutes. Add lemon and cilantro to rice. Serve tofu mixture on top of rice. Bon Appetite!

Sliced Baguette with Radishes and Caper Butter

Makes 16 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 to 3 tsp capers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse kosher salt
16 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices baguette
10 radishes (such as French Breakfast), trimmed, thinly sliced on diagonal
Additional chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Mix butter, 2 chopped capers, and 2 tablespoons cilantro in small bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread caper butter over 1 side of each baguette slice. Top each baguette slice with radish slices, overlapping slightly to cover bread. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro and serve.

Cilantro & Garlic Baked Tomatoes

Serves 2 as a side

1 tomato
1/4 cup packed fresh basil cilantro, washed well and spun dry
1 garlic clove
½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
fine sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Coarsely grated cheese for topping (optional)
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Halve tomato lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a small spoon. Arrange tomatoes in one layer, cut sides up, on a non-stick or lightly oiled jelly-roll pan.
In a small food processor blend cilantro, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper until mixture forms a paste and spread about 1/2 teaspoon in each tomato half. Top with cheese if desired.
Bake tomatoes 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender and juicy but intact, and cool slightly before serving.

Cilantro & Chard Soup

Makes 4 main-course servings
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
6 cups water
1/4 lb dried linguine, broken into 2-inch pieces (1 cup)
12 fresh chard leaves, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped (8 cups)
1 (15- to 19-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1tsp dill
1tsp parsley
Accompaniments: sour cream; lemon wedges

Heat oil in a 4-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add onions and salt, then reduce heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup onion.
Add turmeric to onions in pot and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Add linguine and boil, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in chard and beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve soup topped with reserved onion.