Gnocchi with Roasted Sweet Potato and Garlic Cream Sauce

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Back in "the before", as in before Occupy Veggie Mama was discovered, I was eating all sorts of delicious things. Now I'm mainlining melon and hoping someone will deliver me dinner.

Exhibit A:

Now this, as I said on Instagram, to the untrained eye looks like a blurry pile of puke. I was lazy and didn't think I'd blog it, but it was so good I snapped a pic for my fellow IG-obsessors and was asked for the recipe. Being a giving sort of gal, I'm posting it. Puke-pile photo and all.

Serves 2, generously.

Ingredients
1 packet gnocchi, cooked according to packet specifications
1 sweet potato, diced and baked 30 minutes
2 tbs butter
half an onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
300ml cream
pinch salt
plenty of grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Before you cook your gnocchi, saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms in butter, until mushrooms are soft and beginning to pick up a little colour. Take care not to burn the garlic.

2. Add cream and bring to a boil.

3. Turn heat down and simmer, adding a big pinch of salt.

4. Cook your gnocchi.

5. Add a ton of grated parmesan to your sauce, and add the sweet potato, stirring gently.

6. Serve with gnocchi and extra parmesan on top. Yum!


Linky bitz...

♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday. It doesn't matter if you eat your meal on a day other than Monday - it's just an easy day to create the link!

♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button above and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.

♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!

Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.

Meatless Monday: Honey-Soy Sesame Saute

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I stole this idea from someone many years ago who was struggling on a very restrictive diet, and who wasn't overly excited by the amount of vegetables they had to eat. As someone who would happily down a bowl of steamed broccoli without a glance at the condiment cupboard, I was intrigued at how they tried to dress up their veg in order to make it palatable. Just about the only condiment they were allowed was balsamic vinegar... I could drink the stuff, but they weren't feeling it.

So part of their strategy was to saute their veg in various substances to give it a bit of extra flavour.

I have taken that idea and ran with it many times over the last few years, and I'm happy to say that although it takes a bit longer than throwing some veg in a steamer in the microwave (guilty), it is truly delicious.

You could use it as a side dish, or add some tofu or beans or faux-meat strips to make a stir-fry. I sometimes just eat it on it's own, but it does benefit from having some protein if you want to stay fuller for longer.

Ingredients:
various chopped green veg - I used bok choy, zucchini, broccoli (including the big green stem - it's amazing!), celery and spinach in this picture
something to break up the green - I used corn, but red capsicum is good, too
1 onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Saute onion and garlic gently with the sturdier of your veg - broccoli and zucchini, etc, until onion is soft.

2. Add softer veg and ensure heat is reasonably low. Add sauces and stir, then pop the lid on for 2 minutes or so to make sure the broccoli is cooked through

3. Serve, sprinkled with sesame seeds.


This is also really good with a little stock. And chilli. And sometimes rice vinegar. Options are endless!

Linky bitz...

♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday. It doesn't matter if you eat your meal on a day other than Monday - it's just an easy day to create the link!

♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button above and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.

♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!

Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.

Meatless Monday - Eggplant Parmesan Heroes

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<center><a title="Veggie Mama" href="http://www.theveggiemama.com/p/meatless-mondays.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/britney_jean_spears/Veggie-Mama-meatless-monday-button.jpg"/></a></center>

I love Meatless Mondays. I love the idea that it's doable, achievable change. I love that it's an excuse to give those you cook for who perhaps might balk at the idea of more veggie dinners in their lives.

I love that you can put breadcrumbs on something and it's instantly accepted and totally delicious.

All you need for this baby is breaded and baked or fried eggplant. Topped with pasta sauce and cheese. Slapped on a sourdough roll with sauteed onion, capsicum, mushroom, a little zucchini if you like, and spinach. Easy.

If you've got a meatless meal, link up below. I've said it before... brownies are totally meatless ;-)

Linky bitz...
♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday.
♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.
♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!

Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.

Meatless Monday - Spiced Lentil Soup

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You know how sometimes you just feel really blah? A big week or little sleep or both? Yesterday by abut 2pm I was a shadow of a human and wondered how I would make it through the rest of the day. It felt like a cross between a hangover, jet lag and that time I stayed up all night playing Monopoly when I was 12.

Soup is the first thing my body seems to want when I'm out of sorts, and it has to be brothy and somewhat salty. Tom Kha or coconut soup is excellent in such circumstances, but as I was chilling out with the baby on the bed, my thoughts turned to Indian food and I knew I had to make some kind of spiced, but not spicy lentil soup. This is what I came up with and it was perfect! I definitely should have made a bigger batch, because it's all gooooone and I'm still tired.

It was made by throwing random things into a pot, so adjust these to your liking. The combination seems to work well, but soup is so subjective :)

Ingredients
1 onion, diced finely
1 carrot, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chilli, diced finely
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seed
2 bruised cardamom pods
2 cups stock
2 cups water
1.5 cups red lentils

Directions

1. In a medium pot, saute the onion and carrot on medium heat in a little oil and butter a few minutes until soft.

2. Add garlic and chilli, and cook for 1 minute. Add spices and cook 1 more minute until fragrant.

3. Add liquid and lentils and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes until lentils are cooked and the soup is at a thickness you're happy with. Either add extra lentils and cook a bit longer, or add more water.

4. Taste for seasoning and return to a high heat quickly to bring the soup to the temperature you want.

So for Meatless Monday...

♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday.
♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.
♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!