Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers

These are my new favorite burgers.

They are absolutely amazing. Perfect texture? Check. Sweet and spicy? Check. Super healthy? Check. I know there are a scrillion-bajillion sweet potato burger recipes out there, however, with buddies like maple, chipotle, pecans, and oats these guys are truly unique. An epic fall flavor combination, if I do say so myself. 

Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.

You'll see a departure from my usual photography in future posts. During Alaskan winters it gets dark at about 4 pm. Thus, dusty artificial lights and lamps are summoned from the closet, hiding from the midnight sun of the summer.

It's kind of fun to play around with lighting. I'm not terribly experienced with lights, but luckily Todd is very fluent in these things. He helped me capture the spotlight effect for these photographs. I hope you enjoy the seasonal style! 

“It is better to walk alone, than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.”
— Diane Grant
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.

These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.

Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.

Taking advantage of the last bit of sun!

Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
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Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers
by October-15-2014
These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Ingredients
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1lb. 10 oz.), diced small
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 ½ cups quick cooking oats, dry
  • ¼ cup pecans, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. chipotle chili powder
  • ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, add the diced sweet potatoes and cover with water. Add a dash of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until very tender. Drain and set aside for later.In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the onions are brown and fragrant. In a large bowl, add the oats, through and including the pepper. Whisk well to combine. Add the boiled sweet potatoes and the onion mixture as well as the maple syrup. Using a wooden spoon, mash the sweet potatoes and mix everything together very well. Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat your hands with a nonstick cooking spray and form the burger mix into eight large patties. Arrange on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes, turning the patties over halfway through. Once done, remove from oven and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. This will set the patties. Serve hot, with BBQ sauce! Freeze the leftovers for a quick meal later.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8 burgers
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.
Produce On Parade - Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers - These perfectly textured vegan, sweet potato burgers have a hint of maple sweetness and a smoky chipotle kick.

Dutch Word of The Day

Maple --> esdoorn (es-doren)

Good Deed of The Day

Perdue has been forced to remove "humanely raised" labels from it's packaged chicken flesh. "..undercover investigations have shown that Perdue's chickens are raised in a space the size of a sheet of paper, crammed with others so tightly that they suffer broken bones that go untreated, and are placed in sheds that reek of ammonia." Who would support such atrocities? It's really mind-boggling. Read more about it here. 

Tofu Pot Pie Casserole

Did everyone have a nice Columbus Day? I work for a nonprofit native foundation and we get the day off from work, but we certainly don't call it Columbus Day. We call it "Family Wellness Day" and I think that is much more appropriate. Do you know anyone or any group that abstains from celebrating good ol' Columbus? I spent the day organizing the kitchen and guest room, and just generally toiling away at home. 

Well, it's that time again. Time to clean out the fridge before a vacation! Usually this means some sort of soup, but I wanted to make something different and I remembered that I had a package of phyllo dough in the fridge. Now, I'd like to be able to tell you that the dough wasn't a few months shy of it's one year birthday...but that would be a lie. Yes, in fact the last time I used the dough was for this recipe. I know, it's completely shameful, but "waste not, want not" is what my Grandma D always says. The phyllo was totally fine. It was in an unopened roll...that shiz lasts forever. Unless it's opened, then it lasts about two minutes. Phyllo can be a tricksy monster. 

Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!

It's now a horrible race to take my photographs without surrendering to the artificial lamp. The sun begins to wane at about 4 pm, as you can see from the photos in this post. I suspect this is the last post without the dreaded lamp.  

“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.”
— Alice Walker
Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!

A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!

Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!
Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!
Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!
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Tofu Pot Pie Casserole
by October-14-2014
A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!
Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 celery ribs and leaves, chopped
  • 3 medium potatoes (about 12 oz.), diced small
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 15 oz. can of sweet peas, drained
  • 1 heaping cup of frozen sweet corn
  • 2 cups non-dairy milk
  • scant 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 12oz. block of firm tofu, drained and cubed small
  • 1 Tbsp. dried Italian herbs
  • 1 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, divided
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
  • 12 sheets of phyllo dough (about ½ a roll)
Instructions
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low. Add the celery and potatoes, bringing the heat to medium and sauté for about 5-8 minutes. Then add the onion and garlic. Sauté another 5 minutes. Add the peas and corn and sauté for 3 minutes. Now, add the milk stirring well to combine. Slowly add in the flour, stirring to combine and ensuring there are no lumps. Stir in the tofu.Mix in the remaining ingredients, excluding the phyllo dough and reserving 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast. Preheat oven to 350 F and coat a large 9 x 13 casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray. Place 4 sheets of phyllo dough down then cover with half of the pot pie mixture. Add another 4 sheets of dough, then the other half of the mixture. Finish with 4 sheets of dough, coating them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkling with 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes and serve hot.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6
Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!
Produce On Parade - Tofu Pot Pie Casserole - A sturdy and healthy tofu pot pie casserole made with phyllo dough and common vegetables. Quick and easy for a weekday dinner!

Dutch Word of The Day

Casserole --> stoofschotel (stoofs-ho-tull)

Good Deed of The Day

Do you know someone who suffers from multiple sclerosis? Invite them read this new study on the benefits of a low-fat, vegan diet on the disease here. It's worth a shot! That's actually how Todd and I became vegan. Not because of MS, but through seeking relief from rheumatoid arthritis. 

Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto

Activism Alert!

Produce On Parade

Tomorrow, October 2nd, I hope you will join me in a fast against animal suffrage. Pigs and cows are often starved before they are sent to slaughter and hopefully this cause will bring some awareness to horrible cruelty inflicted upon the animals who share this planet with us. If you decide to join in, be sure to hashtag #FastAgainstSlaughter

Okay, now onto more merry festivities. Happy World Vegetarian Day! Perhaps you have an elaborate bash tonight to celebrate? This is a wonderful dish for such an occasion. When you're trying to impress your friends with your awesome vegan culinary skills, remember it's equally important to impress yourself as well.

Maybe like me, you plan to be decked out in head to toe L.L.Bean sleepwear for the celebratory-worthy occasion of watching New Girl and The Mindy Project on Hulu. Well, this meal is perfect for that too. I've got you covered, no worries.

On a side note...positively October-appropriate dish right? Black and orange for Halloween! I've never been a huge fan of Halloween, but as of five years ago, it's become a very special day indeed. It's the day Todd and I met!

Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.”
— Albert Schweitzer
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.

Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress. 

Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.

Aren't these purple carrots gorgeous? They came in my CSA box!

Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
print recipe
Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto
by October-1-2014
Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress. NOTES: Feel free to use green lentils in place of black or beluga. Spinach can be used in place of the carrot greens. Skinny carrots will cook faster and work better in this dish than standard, large yellow carrots.
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup + 3 Tbsp. olive oil (divided)
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves (divided), minced
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 cups beluga lentils, uncooked
  • 2 bushes (about 2 lbs.) of skinny carrots with green tops
  • -- Pesto --
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • heaping ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp. liquid amino acids or soy sauce
  • ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion and 2 garlic cloves and sauté for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Now, add the stock and lentils and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 35 minutes, or until tender. Be careful not to overcook. Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop off the carrot greens, leaving about 1 inch, and wash very well. Place the greens (discard most of the stems) in a food processer. Wash the carrots and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Lightly brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. Bake at 400 F for 30-45 minutes, until tender. Add the pesto ingredients into the food processor with the greens, 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and three garlic cloves. Process until smooth and creamy. The pesto should be a little more liquid than regular pesto, so add additional water as needed.Serve the cooked lentils with a few roasted carrots on top and dressed with the pesto.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6-8
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.
Produce On Parade - Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto - Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress.

Dutch Word of The Day

Happy --> Blij (blay)

Good Deed of The Day

Today, make an effort celebrate yourself. Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or just trying to reduce your animal consumption. And be sure to give an animal and planet loving friend a hug, too! Happy World Vegetarian Day!