OYMST Day #6: Stay Gold

Ah, my new love, the golden beet. There are few vegetables I don't like, and for a long time beets were among the two or three I just refused to put in my mouth. I'm not sure if it is the earthy taste, the staining, or just the way that I've had them prepared-(mostly in a can). Regardless, I'd NEVER call myself a beet lover. Ever.

A long while back, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard had bottles of Biotta Beet Juice. I tried it. A little strong, but when cut with some club soda and a little cranberry juice, I had me a great mocktail! I tried to find it at the local grocery store but it was $6 a bottle! No sale. Then I gave the real deal a try when I saw some Detroit Red ones sitting all lonely at the bottom of a bin at the food bank at a later date. I made this pie for 2011 Vegan MOFO.

Fast forward to last week, and I'll tell you about how I brought home what I thought was going to be a red beet because it was so dark on the outside, then I peeled it and saw this glorious yellow gold. I held it against the gray sky outside, gazed lovingly at the orb, and pretended it was the sun. Thank goodness it wasn't really the sun, or I would have burned my eyeballs out of their sockets.

So--um, what do I do with these? I'm still at a loss as to how to prepare them, and I only had this one beet. I finished peeling it, sliced it 1/4 inch thick, coated it in some olive oil, kosher salt, and dill. Since my oven-oven was full, I put it in the toaster oven at 300 for 10 minutes, flipped, then another 10 minutes. After the 20, I couldn't fully pierce it with a fork, so I set the timer for another 5-7. Perfect. Rays of light fell from my mouth with each bite. Not as earthy as a red beet, just sweet bliss. I'm sure they're great raw, but I'm not ready for that level of commitment.


What vegetable did you used to despise then later changed your mind? How did you prepare it?

OYMST Day #5: Squashy McWaffles

Much like early veganism, Operation Yank My Sweet Tooth is forcing me to come up with creative solutions to replace my usual meals that have way too much sugar. Sometimes it is a hit. Other times, I get a miss. This is a little of both. I tried to make protein rich waffles using quinoa, soy, and garbanzo flour, but the waffles were very moist, almost too moist. Perhaps more flour in the future? I'll have to keep going back to the mixing bowl and see what happens.

For now, give these a try. I imagine they'd make better pancakes. Tell me what you think!
*The crushed rice krispies make this recipe NOT GF, just wheat free. If you are a person who cannot tolerate barley-(and many cereals contain barley malt), try a rice cereal that doesn't include it or use rice flour.

Squashy McWaffles w/ Mango Balsamic Topping

Dry Ingredients
1/3 c quinoa flour
1/3 c rice krispies, crushed or pulverized in a food processor
1/3 c garbanzo flour
1/4 c potato starch
1/4 c soy flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
2 pinches garam masala
2 pinches clove powder


Wet Ingredients-(blend in a blender or food processor)
1T brown rice syrup
1T canola oil
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 c soy milk (any non dairy milk will do)
2T ground flax seeds
1 c roasted butternut squash (I'm also sure pumpkin or sweet potatoes would be fine)

Balsamic Mango Topping:
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and pureed
1/2 t balsamic vinegar

Mix wet and dry together. The batter will be really, really thick. Spoon 1/2 c in your waffle maker (mine is a cheapy square one) and follow your manufacturer's instructions. SPRAY that iron with canola spray, do you hear me? Mine took about 5 minutes--but they stuck to the iron. They're super moist the moment you eat them, but if you store in fridge for later, they seem to be better toasted in the toaster oven.

For the topping:
In a small sauce pan, heat the pureed mango and balsamic over med heat until you get a nice soft boil. The vinegar really makes the mango do its thang! Spoon over your waffle and top with a little vanilla soy yogurt and extra dash of cinnamon.

Would you buy a 'zine dedicated to waffles and pancakes? Would you prefer paper copy or paying for a PDF download to save trees?

OYMST Day #4: I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

When the holidays are over, I still like holiday food. Here we have a nice lentil, rice, & walnut loaf matched with some cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce-(no sugar!), and mashed turnips in lieu of potatoes. That bit of yellow in the far right corner is my new love, the golden beet. I'll talk more about that later.

Although my intentions were to reduce some of the carbs by including more veggies, I must have done something wrong in the cooking process, because the turnip mash was watery and not very creamy. Note: use coconut milk in the future and a little garlic powder. That ought to do the trick. Or maybe do 1/2 potatoes and 1/2 turnips, kind of like Isa's caulipots- (photo in link by Maggie Muggins) from Appetite for Reduction.

I'm finding that I'm still pretty hungry between meals, and I'm not sure whether that is psychological or physical. Regardless, I still snack away and stick to nuts, fruit, or vegan yogurt between meals. The objective is to lay off the dessert, not diet! I'm just amazed at how much of my daily food intake was from dessert type items. I want to carve out better habits for myself so I can appreciate my dessert a little more instead of mindlessly stuffing my pie hole.

Is there an activity you find yourself doing that has gone autopilot? What is it? What can you do to make it a special experience again?

Thanks for supporting my project and please spread the word about Operation Yank My Sweet Tooth!