Waffle Browns

Waffle-iron hash browns have been making the rounds on Pinterest, and for good reason: they deliver crispy potato to your mouth with no fuss and very little oil.

To make these, grate a baking potato, then squeeze it out in a tea towel to extract as much water as possible.  Spread the potato on a hot, oiled waffle iron, sprinkle with salt and pepper (and nutritional yeast if you please), press down the top of the waffle iron, and cook until browned.  In my waffle iron, these took about 13 minutes each, and one large potato made two waffles.  Serve with your favorite toppings.  (I had ketchup and sriracha on some and pesto on some.  The pesto version made me swoon.)

Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

I've been eating some variation on this meal a couple nights a week. If I'm feeling really lazy, I'll just dump beans and salsa straight onto the baked potato.  If I'm feeling virtuous, I'll add sliced kale when I saute the onions.  Sometimes I'll make a double batch and have lunches for the week; it reheats pretty well.


The Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1 cup tvp
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans
1 avocado, chopped

The Process:

1. Bake sweet potatoes in a 425 degree oven until soft (about 35-45 minutes).
2. When sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes of cooking time remaining, rehydrate tvp in water according to package directions.
3. Heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet.  Add onion and saute for a few minutes.  Stir in rehydrated tvp, salsa, and black beans.  Bring to a simmer.
4. Slice open the sweet potatoes, fluff them with a fork, and top with tvp mixture and avocado.

Roasted Artichoke Hearts

I'm going to spare you the photo on this one, because somehow with anything oil-marinated, all my photos turn out looking slimy and repulsive.  In person they're perfectly appetizing, though, I promise.  

It's artichoke season in sunny California, and the plants in my backyard have had a bumper crop this year.  In years when I have just a few artichokes, I prefer to eat them steamed whole, but this year I could eat an artichoke for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and still have extra, so I've been just eating the hearts and composting the rest.  It takes 4-5 large artichokes to fill a pint jar.

To trim the artichokes, first chop off the top couple inches, and cut the stem flush with the base.  Remove the outer leaves until you reach the softer, pale-yellow leaves on the inside.  Now trim off any dark green parts that remain on the bottom of the artichoke.  Next, cut the artichoke in half lengthwise, and use the tip of a spoon to scrape out the hairy choke.  Cut into bite-sized pieces, rubbing the cut sides with lemon juice as you go (they turn brown almost instantly if you don't do this).  

Toss the artichoke hearts with olive oil, plenty of white wine, a sprinkle of salt, and a little tarragon.  Bake at 425 degrees in a covered pan for about 35 minutes, or until artichoke hearts are soft.

I keep a big mason jar of these in my fridge, and use them for snacking or tossing on salads or pasta.  They'll last at least a week, probably longer.