Savory Sweet Potato and Kale Hash

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Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

This is a lovely, hassle-free dish. It's one pot, there's minimal chopping and a fairly short list of ingredients. Sure, the sweet potato takes half an hour to roast, but you know what I did during that time? I took a freaking nap sesh. Okay, that's not true. I washed a bunch of dirty dishes. But my point is that I could have taken a nap! Yes, you can literally make this dinner in your sleep...kinda. 

People around the clinic (people besides patients) are all sick with The Crud. You know what I'm talkin' about. I've been fighting it myself. Fighting and WINNING! I haven't been sick for seriously the entire year since Todd and I went vegan. I'm not exaggerating. Dont' get me wrong, fighting off the crud takes it's toll. I'm pretty exhausted, but at least I'm not sick. Not a cough and not a sniffle. Just tired. This is the second bout of yuckiness I've fought off within one year. All the more reason to go vegan. Maybe you'll be sick less. And I'd like to remind you that I work in a hospital...and I've not been sick in over a year. 

I used to get sick all the time. Like, scary sick. I would get a cold which would evolve into a sinus infection, which would transmogrify into walking pneumonia for a month and a half. That's what used to happen when I'd get a cold. Most people just get over a cold in a week or so. Not me. My doctor even recommended that I acquire a humidifier to hopefully help me from getting sick constantly. I bet she misses me...

Regardless, I was pretty tired yesterday and this meal was just the ticket. It's savory and completely satisfying. The fresh edamame and sauteed kale will give you an extra dose of energizing iron and vitamin C with a punch of protein from the browned seitan and a boost of vitamin A and potassium thanks to the roasted sweet potato. Did you know that per gram, sweet potatoes have about the same potassium load as a banana. True story. 

Make this and do yourself a favor by fighting off the dreaded crud!

Savory Sweet Potato and Kale Hash

Serves 4

• Sustenance:
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8 oz. cubed seitan
• 1 cup edamame (frozen, fresh or cooked)
• Aromatics:
• 1 Tbsp. liquid aminos or soy sauce
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground paprika
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• Conclusion:
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped

Notes: I used frozen edamame that I added without steaming. It gave a nice crunch, but feel free to pre-cook the edamame if you'd like it a bit tender. 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Scrub the sweet potato and poke several times with a knife. Roast whole on a baking sheet at 400 F for about 30 minutes until just tender. Remove  from oven when done and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

When there's about 10 minutes left for the sweet potato to cook, heat the oil in a large frying pan over low. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. 

Add the seitan and edamame and continue to saute another 5 minutes over medium heat, until the seitan begins to brown. 

Dice the sweet potato and add it to the frying pan along with the aromatics. Stir well to coat, then deglaze the pan with the vegetable broth. Add the chopped kale.

Cook another 5 minutes or so, until the kale has wilted. 

Serve hot. 

This man is a genius. Best song ever. Come listen with me. Hans Zimmer – 503

German Word of The Day: Hash --> Hackfleisch (pronounced: hock-flehsh)

Good Deed of The Day: Sign this petition to stop Philip Morris from conducting cruel animal testing for tobacco products. We all know tobacco is bad for us, okay. Tell Philip Morris to stop torturing animals. They don't smoke! Also, if you smoke...what are you doing smoking?? For real. It's not cool anymore! Knock that shit off, it's gross. 

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Easy Sushi Bowl

This is a lazy person's dinner. Minimal veggies to chop. Throw the rice in the cooker and walk away. Sit your lazy butt down outside with a beer and shell edamame while you stare off into space. Then, mix them everything together and much away. You don't even have to use utensils if you don't want to...

I crave sushi pretty much around the clock. I could eat sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But rolling all those sushi rolls can be tiring and darn it, it can take forever! Ain't nobody got time for that. There's certainly nothing lazy about making sushi, so what's a lazy person to do? Surely going to the store or a restaurant and buying some sushi is out of the question...that would involve putting pants on. Well never fear, the Easy Sushi Bowl is here!

Who needs utensils anyway? Or plates for that matter...maybe a couple napkins though.

Easy Sushi Bowl

Inspired by Veggie Wedgie

Makes 1 very large bowl of rice filling, serves about 4-6

• 2 cups dry rice of choice (I used 1/2 Jasmine and 1/2 Forbidden) 
• 1 large cucumber, diced small
• 2 small avocados, diced small
• 3 packages of edamame beans, shelled (3-9 oz. bags or 12 oz. shelled total)
• nori sheets
• sesame seeds for garnish
• For the sauce:
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger paste
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp. fresh wasabi paste
• 3 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Start by cooking the rice according to the package. This, obvs, will vary by the type of rice used. Forbidden rice takes an ungodly amount of time, 35-45 minutes?! Ain't nobody got time for that! I dunno. Use whatever rice you want. I would have liked to use my red rice because that's my jam nowadays, but I needed to get of the rest of my other opened rice first!

While the rice is cooking, chop up the cucumber and avocado. Mix the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the veggies and let them marinate while the rice is cooking.

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Now, go find some poor soul to help you shell all those damn edamame pods. This is important. You can't be shelling them all yourself, ain't nobody got time for that! (I feel I must redirect you to this) Okay you can do it all yourself, if necessary. Don't worry, it only took me like 10 minutes.  Todd helped at the end when he got home. And yes, I did sit outside in the sun to shell them. In my lawn chair. In my nightgown. With a beer. You don't think I make these things up do you? Anyways, the time you're done shelling, the rice will be all done and ready to rock.

Combine the rice, sauce, veggies and edamame in a large bowl and give it a good mix up.

And now, the best part! This dish can be eaten a variety of ways. Make a handroll. Put a scoop of the filling in a bowl and add cut-up strips of nori. Or, make actual proper sushi rolls. Have it however you like!

My ever-present Sous Chef Bob, sticks his tongue out at the heat.