Roasted Fall Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas with Sprouted Beans

This week, I cannot bear to go to the grocery store. I just can't. It's upsetting. I love going to the grocery store. It's seriously one of my favorite domestic, and mundane things to do. I love perusing the fresh produce, and checking out the "ethnic" aisle. I love looking for new, and excited food things I've never seen before. It's just the best. And the hippie (organic) aisle! Don't even get me started. Oh lord, and bulk bins! Oh my!

Anyways, when Todd and I moved to...Wasilla (hometown to Sarah Palin, and the pot-smoking capital of the world, my two least favorite of it's notorieties )...it never occurred to me that I would be frequenting a different Fred Meyer than my beloved Palmer Fred Meyer. The Palmer store is small, well stocked, never too busy, clean and just infused with that sense of wonderful, small-town loveliness. Palmerians - make fun of me all you want but I'm willing to bet I've traveled more than you, and I'm here to tell you that Palmer's a pretty sweet little town. If you have happened to have traveled more than I, then by all means go ahead and make fun of my love for my quaint hometown. It's time to get over yourself...we all came back after college anyway. You know it's true.

Anyway, back to the Wasilla Fred Meyer...oh lord. It's busy, everyone's grumpy and impertinent, the aisles are narrow, and let's not forget that it's never freaking stocked! The last time I was there, I overheard a frail, little old lady in one of those electric chair-cart things, ranting to the produce man about how absurdly the produce stands were set up. I felt bad for him because I am sure he had no influence over their new arrangement. He agreed, as do I, that they are set up ridiculously. It's painfully obvious that the person who designed their arrangement doesn't do the grocery shopping in his/her family.

I normally go to the grocery store about twice a week, sometimes more, to get all the things I need to make about five different meals for the week. But not this week. I've been avoiding the store. This translates to me trying to remember what we do happen to have on hand and scouring the web for recipes that I'll have at least half the ingredients for. Lucky for you, I've got one hearty Fall meal to share. And I didn't even  have to go to the store.

This Roasted Fall Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas with Sprouted Beans dish is spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and fresh ginger. Sweetened with maple syrup and reminiscent of pumpkin pie or dessert yams, the sprouted beans bring this dish back down to Fall dinner requirements. Robust, warm and satisfying.

Roasted Fall Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas with Sprouted Beans

Inspired by the amazing Sprouted Kitchen

Serves 6-8

• 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 3  medium sweet potatoes (about 2.5 lbs), diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. melted vegan butter
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 1/3 cup dry TruRoots Sprouted Bean Trio (or 2 cups of your favorite beans, cooked)
• 6 cups of water

Begin by preheating the oven to 425 F.

Add the garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes and onions to a large casserole dish and stir to combine.

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In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients, excluding the thyme and the beans. Whisk well to combine then pour over the garbanzo bean, sweet potato and onion mixture. Mix well to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the fresh thyme leaves over the top and bake at 425 F for 40 minutes. Stir halfway through the 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the dry bean trio and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Once boiling, cover and simmer for 8 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, still covered. After the 15 minutes are up, drain. If you're using already cooked beans or canned beans then just heat them and serve over the sweet potato mixture.

Serve the beans over the sweet potato mixture.

Roasted Fall Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas with Sprouted Beans

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 6-8

This Roasted Fall Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas with Sprouted Beans dish is spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and fresh ginger. Sweetened with maple syrup and reminiscent of pumpkin pie or dessert yams, the sprouted beans bring this dish back down to Fall dinner requirements. Robust, warm and satisfying.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2.5 lbs), diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. melted vegan butter
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 1/3 cup dry TruRoots Sprouted Bean Trio (or 2 cups of your favorite beans, cooked)
• 6 cups of water

Instructions

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 425 F.
2. Add the garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes and onions to a large casserole dish and stir to combine.
3. In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients, excluding the thyme and the beans. Whisk well to combine then pour over the garbanzo bean, sweet potato and onion mixture. Mix well to coat evenly.
4. Sprinkle the fresh thyme leaves over the top and bake at 425 F for 40 minutes. Stir halfway through the 40 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, bring the dry bean trio and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Once boiling, cover and simmer for 8 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, still covered. After the 15 minutes are up, drain. If you're using already cooked beans or canned beans then just heat them and serve over the sweet potato mixture.
6. Serve the beans over the sweet potato mixture.

3.2.1255

Please forgive my grocery store rant but...hey...sometimes you just need to let it all out. Damn you, Wasilla Fred Meyer!

Blueberry Breakfast Polenta with Toasted Coconut

Blueberries, sweet corn and toasted coconut. Some may think it's an odd combination, but I am here to assure you that it is an absolute divine marriage of flavors and texture. I'd never had polenta for breakfast and I thought it was about time. It's kind of like oatmeal for breakfast but the polenta is a finer texture of course and maybe a bit sweeter. It's fun to try new things! So, if you're bored of oatmeal try this breakfast instead and think outside the oatmeal box. When I first ditched cow's milk a couple years ago, I tried Silk's coconut milk. It was watery and bland to say the least and it made me very sad. I forgot about coconut milk and moved onto almond milk. Later down the road, of course, I began to make my own almond milk! If you want to learn how and all the lessons I found out the hard way, check out my post here.

Well, I recently decided to give Silk's coconut milk a go again. It had "Great New Taste!" slapped across the front of the carton so obvs I had to see what was up. I can't be passing that up! Boy am I glad I didn't...it was delicious! Their new coconut milk is creamy and thick, silky and very coconutty.

I don't want to know what kind of coconut-flavor additives they put in there to get it that way, because I am sure that their original coconut milk was probably more akin to the coconut milk that'd one would actually get from a real, legit, hairy coconut. Out of curiosity I looked at the ingredients and they are, " Coconutmilk (Filtered Water, Coconut Cream), Cane Sugar, Natural Flavor, Carrageenan, Yam Flour." Apparently coconut milk is one word? I don't know...is that right?? Anyways, nothing seemed to crazy. Carrageenan isn't that great, but it's pretty unavoidable if you're buying carton non-dairy milk of any type.

Regardless of how they do it...what I know is that I love the new wonderfully coconutty flavor! So, of course, it was the perfect milk to go along with this breakfast polenta. The toasted coconut chips give a wonderful and toasty crunch. The sweet corn kernels are delightful bursts of texture and the show-stealer of this dish is of course the wild blueberries!

Wild blueberries and store-bought blueberries are two entirely different creatures. If you can get your hands on some wild ones, I think you'll find that they're delightfully tart and bursting with flavor, as opposed to their lackluster cousins at the store. They're smaller as well much less watery. Here, I used my wild, frozen berries and just popped them into the bowl! No need to thaw them out or anything like that. They're perfect as is. Oh wonders of the universe, take my back to Saturday please!

Blueberry Breakfast Polenta with Toasted Coconut

Inspired by the wonderful The Whinery

Serves 4

• 1 cup coconut chips, toasted
• 4 cups of coconut milk (and a little extra for serving), I use Silk's Original Coconut Milk
• 1 cup dry polenta
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 cup blueberries, I used wild frozen

To toast the coconut chips, if already not toasted, bake at 300 F on a clean cookie baking sheet for about 15 minutes. The coconut should be in "chip" style as opposed to "flakes". Below are coconut "chips".

In a medium saucepan bring 3 1/2 cups of coconut milk to a  boil. Add the dry polenta and whisk continually for about 5 minutes, until it's very thick.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut milk as well as the sweet corn kernels. Whisk well to combine and then remove from heat.

Add the remaining ingredients excluding the coconut chips and the blueberries and stir well to combine.

Garnish each bowl with a quarter of the coconut chips and the blueberries.

Pour however much milk you'd like over the polenta and serve warm.

Bobby enjoyed his warm breakfast of peanut butter and puppy chow!

A wonderful and warm breakfast for a rainy, late summer Saturday.

Blueberry Breakfast Polenta with Toasted Coconut

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 4

Toasted coconut chips give a wonderful and toasty crunch, the sweet corn kernels are delightful bursts of texture and the show-stealer of this dish is of course the wild blueberries!

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut chips, toasted
• 4 cups of coconut milk (and a little extra for serving), I use Silk's Original Coconut Milk
• 1 cup dry polenta
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 cup blueberries, I used wild frozen

Instructions

1. To toast the coconut chips, if already not toasted, bake at 300 F on a clean cookie baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan bring 3 1/2 cups of coconut milk to a boil. Add the dry polenta and whisk continually for about 5 minutes, until it's very thick.
3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut milk as well as the sweet corn kernels. Whisk well to combine and then remove from heat.
4. Add the remaining ingredients excluding the coconut chips and the blueberries and stir well to combine.
5. Garnish each bowl with a quarter of the coconut chips and the blueberries.
6. Pour however much milk you'd like over the polenta and serve warm.

3.2.1255

Creamy Pumpkin Sage Quinoa with Roasted Broccoli

Last Fall, I was all about pumpkin recipes. Everything pumpkin. And I've decided to continue that kick this Fall. I know, I know...everyone is all up on the pumpkin. Don't worry, I'll try to keep the pumpkin recipes to a sane and acceptable level. But I ask, why not be crazy about pumpkin?! It is most amazing. I love it's ability to be sweet or savory. Bonus! Pumpkin evokes imagery of family togetherness, pajamas, rainy days, good books and cuddling. At least...that's what pumpkin means to me. It's neck and neck with hot cocoa for that special type of goodness. That special type of goodness has a name. In Danish culture, it's called "hygge". Which, I am to learn kind of means "coziness" but more specifically in regards to relaxing with loved ones, often while enjoying good food in a wonderfully comforting atmosphere. Todd, Bob and I eating this pumpkin dinner, then getting all snuggled up in bed reading our books and drinking coconut chai tea while the rain poured outside was definitely hygge. It could've only been made better with more candles...and sweets! Candles and sweets make everything better...even the best!

Creamy Pumpkin Sage Quinoa with Roasted Broccoli

Inspired by Veg News

Serves 4

• 3 heads of broccoli, florets only
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage grain meat sausage links, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 15 oz. can of canned pumpkin
• 2 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced (or 1/2 tsp. dried sage)
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F and wash and chop the broccoli. I only use the florets because I save the chopped stems as treats for Bobby! Toss the florets in olive oil and bake at 425 F for about 20 minutes.

Bring the water and the rinsed quinoa to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. When done, remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a medium frying pan then add the onion and sausage. Saute until the onion softens and the sausage browns, about 10 minutes over medium heat.

I get my vegan Field Roast sausage from Costco. It's so good and Todd absolutely loves it! I buy it in bulk and then just freeze it until I need!

Once everything is done cooking, combine the cooked quinoa together with the onion, sausage and remaining ingredients excluding the broccoli. Mix well to combine.

Serve the pumpkin quinoa warm with the roasted broccoli as a side. Then lights some candles, make some tea, get a good book and find your hygge.

Bob update! He isn't too pleased to have to wear his special collar. If you check out Produce On Parade's facebook page, you'll know what I'm talking about. 2 weeks people! Dear lord, it's going to be a long and sad two weeks! He was happy enough to have it off, even if it was only for a short while...poor Little Bear!

Creamy Pumpkin Sage Quinoa with Roasted Broccoli

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 4

Creamy pumpkin quinoa with fresh sage and browned Smoked Apple Sausage side with roasted broccoli to make for one cozy and delicious Fall meal.

Ingredients

• 3 heads of broccoli, florets only
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage grain meat sausage links, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 15 oz. can of canned pumpkin
• 2 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced (or 1/2 tsp. dried sage)
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F and wash and chop the broccoli. I only use the florets because I save the chopped stems as treats for Bobby! Toss the florets in olive oil and bake at 425 F for about 20 minutes.
2. Bring the water and the rinsed quinoa to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. When done, remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
3. Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a medium frying pan then add the onion and sausage. Saute until the onion softens and the sausage browns, about 10 minutes over medium heat.
4. Once everything is done cooking, combine the cooked quinoa together with the onion, sausage and remaining ingredients excluding the broccoli. Mix well to combine.
5. Serve the pumpkin quinoa warm with the roasted broccoli as a side.

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