Maple Peanut Soba Salad with Edamame & Apples

This is what's born when vegans have no vegetables in the house. Creativity! The great produce purge of 2014 was a purposeful one of course. But we got back from vacation over a week ago. The only reason we even had these apples was because Todd's mother lovingly packed up six honeycrisps which he gently toted all the way back to Alaska from Ohio in his carry-on. The edamame are those frozen packs from Costco, I always have them on hand.

Soba and peanut butter are a natural combination and apples and peanut butter go together beautifully. Edamame goes with soba and voila! 

“I don’t feel superior because I am vegan. The truth is I am vegan because I don’t feel superior to others.”

— Michele McCowan

A quick and simple peanut butter soba noodle salad studded with vibrant edamame and crisp apples. Sweetened with maple syrup, with an Asian flare. 

Maple Peanut Soba Salad with Edamame & Apples

Recipe by Katie @ Produce On Parade

A quick and simple peanut butter soba noodle salad studded with vibrant edamame and crisp apples. Sweetened with maple syrup, with an Asian flare.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 cup water (adjust according to desired thickness)
• 9 oz. package of soba noodles, dry
• 9 oz. frozen package of edamame, shelled or 1/2 cup soybeans
• 1 medium apple (I like Honeycrisp), julienned
• dash sesame seeds (for garnish)

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the peanut butter through and including the water. Add additional water as needed for it to have the consistency of an alfredo sauce. Taste and add additional soy sauce and/or syrup to your preference.
3. Microwave the frozen edamame according to package and when cool enough, shell and place in large bowl. Discard the pods, or feed them to your dog like I do.
4. Core and julienne the apple. Add to the soybeans.
5. Cook the soba noodles according to package, usually they only require 4 minutes to boil. Drain and add to the apples and soybeans. Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix very well to combine.
6. Serve warm and topped with a dash of sesame seeds.

Dutch Word of The Day

Kind --> aardig (are-digch)

Good Deed of The Day

November is World Vegan Month! Here, from the Huffington Post, is "A Countdown to Kindness: A Reminder for Each Day of World Vegan Month." You'll definitely want to read it!

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. 

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

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!

print recipe

Chipotle Maple Sweet Potato Burgers

by Katie @ Produce On Parade 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: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 8 burgers

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. 

Blueberry Maple Baked Oatmeal

I am making a concerted effort to refrain from making the blueberry crisp from a few posts back. That crisp was so delicious I ate the entire thing in two days, by myself. If I knew it could even adequately sustain human life, it's all I'd eat. A healthier substitute had to be created. 

In full confession, bashfully, I made this oatmeal bake yesterday and by tonight it will be completely gone. All me, yep. This is not a surprise, I knew it would happen. My blueberry gluttony apparently knows no bounds (it's a wonder that I don't need to be rolled around everywhere like the giant blueberry girl from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory), however, this time I was smart and made something that's both irresistible and healthy. 

My blueberry maple baked oatmeal can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert....or yes, dinner I too suppose. That's what I did (shhhh! omg and it's my lunch today too, don't tell). It's minimally sweetened and full of the nutritional goodness of old-fashioned oats and wild blueberries. Flaxseed and walnuts make an appearance for good measure, as well. No butter and just one tablespoon of oil. 

So give it up to a breakfast/dessert/dinner(..../lunch?) you don't have to feel guilty about. Even if you do eat half the thing in one night...like me. 

Not to mention it's done in 30 minutes flat. 

Blueberry Maple Oatmeal Bake

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

Healthier than a crisp, this adaptable blueberry oatmeal bake is flavored with sweet maple syrup and speckled with toasted walnuts. It’s a wonderful, wholesome, and delicious breakfast or dessert. Notes: Feel free to use any flour, milk, oil, and nuts of your choice. This is a very adaptable recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats, dry
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• ¼ heaping cup of flour (I used whole wheat white)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened, plain coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. maple extract (optional)
• ¼ cup whole walnuts
• 2 cups frozen wild blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and coat a square 9x9 inch or round 9 inch baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a food processor, add the oats through and including the cinnamon. Pulse several times until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the milk through and including the maple extract. Slowly pour into the dry mixture while stirring.
4. Fold in the blueberries and then spread the mixture evenly in the baking dish.
5. Add the nuts to the food processor and pulse until chopped. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the oatmeal and bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving hot.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 00:20
Total time: 00:30
Yield: 4-6 servings

German Word of The Day

Oatmeal --> Haferflocken (halfer-flocken)

Good Deed of The Day

Did you know at Martha's Vineyard they hold six lemur races a day from August 21-24th? Yuck. Lemurs are an endangered species and no animals should be crammed into tiny crates then forced to race, solely for the pleasure of screaming onlookers. Seriously? People have no other means of entertainment? Let's try and stop that. It reminds me of the mice races at our state fair. Even as a kid they made me sad. It makes sense now why I seemed to be the only one disturbed by this.