Sweet Potato and Herb Quinoa Patties

These quinoa patties are very flavorful and they will definitely be a regular in my book! It would be delicious served over sauteed spinach. I served it topped off with Anna's famous 'KFC gravy' alongside a spring mix salad with herbs, edible flowers, and roasted chickpeas.

1/3 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Olive oil

1 medium onion, diced
1garlic loved, minced
3 cups peeled and grated sweet potato

4 tablespoons water


3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
 (I recommend making your own by mixing together equal parts of thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, and a pinch of black pepper and nutmeg- it's not an exact science but it saves you from purchasing one more premixed seasoning.)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 fifteen-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4-1/2 cup water

Peheat the oven to 375° F. Rinse the quinoa and add it to a small pot along with 2/3 cup water, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and pop a lid on it, cook for 15-17 minutes or until ready. In a small pan over medium-low heat toast the sunflower seeds, then set them aside. Careful not to burn them, it can happen in seconds! In a larger saute pan heat a little olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion until translucent, then stir in the garlic, sweet potato, salt and pepper to taste, and the 4 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender, then remove from the heat.

In the food processor combine the quinoa, roasted sunflower seeds, chickpeas, rosemary, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, smoked paprika, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Once combine, you want it to have some texture to it so don't get carried away with processing it, add it to the pan with the sweet potatoes. Fold everything until well incorporated, if it's too dry add in 1/4- 1/2 cup more water. Form into small patties and then place on a lightly sprayed baking sweet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

Top with 'KFC' gravy and serve!

Recipe adapted from Everyday Healthy Everyday Delicious

'KFC' Gravy! Minus the cruelty and unhealthy stuff

This is my friend Anna's recipe and oh my god it actually does taste like KFC gravy! Slather this on some mashed potatoes, colcannon, or herbed quinoa patties and you'll be in heaven.

2 1/2 tablespoons plant-based butter
1/4 cup all purpose or chickpea flour if you're GF
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium-low heat, then whisk in the flour for 30 seconds. Add in your broth and liquid aminos and stir until thick. Serve!

Roasted Chickpeas

I learned to make these delicious little guys back when I was living in San Fransisco and I adore them just as much today as I did when I first made them. They're great to add into salads but honestly I eat these straight from the oven as a snack. They're crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. Perfectly delicious in every way.

1 can of chickpeas (make sure you buy BPA free lining!)
Drizzle of olive oil
A pinch of salt
A few grinds of black pepper
A couple pinches of smoked paprika

Set your oven to 350°F on the convection setting. In a small baking dish add the chickpeas, drizzle with the olive oil (about a teaspoon) and spices and give them a good toss to coat evenly. Pop them in the oven for 25 minutes until crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. If you don't have a convection oven, that's fine, they'll probably take a little longer to cook, more like 40 minutes. You can switch up the spices to your liking, they're great with some garlic powder and rosemary- get creative!

To Die For Mushroom Tempura with Truffle Salt

One of my girlfriends and I went out the other night and hit up every hot spot from Boca to Ft. Lauderdale and every place in between. We usually end the night with a burrito, because who doesn't love a good burrito? But instead we somehow came up with the ingenious idea of skipping the burrito and went home to make the worlds best mushroom tempura.

(Sorry in advance for the poor quality pictures).

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoons sesame oil
1 1/8 cups ice water (you'll have to eyeball this measurement)
1 box of button mushrooms (plus extra, see recipe below for details)
Canola oil
Truffle Salt, like this one

This makes a ton of batter. We battered one box of button mushrooms and an entire eggplant sliced into half moons and still had extra batter left over. The eggplant was a huge success as well but nothing compares to the mushrooms. You can easily have enough batter for 4 boxes of mushrooms, but clearly that would be excessive!

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into the mixture and whisk until a forms a thin batter, a few clumps here and there are okay. Set in fridge while your oil heats up. Using a fryer, or a stock pot, add 2-inches of oil and heat to 350°F. Coat your mushrooms in the batter and carefully add a few at a time into the hot oil. Cook for about one minute, turning halfway through, they will be a golden color when ready. Place them on a rack so the excess oil drips off and dust them with a pinch of the truffle salt (seriously, splurge on the salt, it's incredible), allow to cool before eating.

Tempura recipe by Chef Chloe

Broccoli Cheeze Soup

With my three week break from school being officially over you can imagine my enthusiasm of being up since 6am, not getting home until 6pm, and then having to get dinner on the table. I absolutely did not feel like cooking, but this gem of a soup took about 30 minutes from start to finish including the prep and came out so velvety and flavorful! You can thank me later.

Soup:

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup celery, chopped

4 cups broccoli florets

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 a lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnishes if you choose to have any: minced parsley, smoked paprika, coconut bacon

Cheeze Sauce:
1 tablespoon plant-based butter
2 tablespoons flour (you can substitute it with GF AP, chickpea, or rice flour as well)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cup soy, almond, or coconut milk
1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a stock pot heat the oil and add in your onion and garlic, saute for six minutes over medium heat. Next add in your celery, broccoli florets, and potatoes, saute for another five minutes. Add in your vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, and cayenne pepper, stick a lid on the pot and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.

While the soup is simmering make the cheeze sauce: heat the butter in a pan over medium low heat, then add in the flour and milk and whisk until it's almost clump free. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and allow to cook and thicken for another 3 minutes, then set aside.

Carefully pour your soup into the blender in batches and pulverize it until the desired consistency. Mix in the lemon juice and all but 1/3 cup of the cheeze sauce, the remainder will be spooned over each bowl of soup. Ladle your soup into bowls, top it with the remaining cheeze sauce and extra garnishes. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows

Restaurant Review: Darbster, Boca Location

Located: 6299 N Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33487

Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 5-10 p.m, Sunday 5pm-9pm
Brunch: Sunday 10:30am-3pm (call to confirm: 561-586-2622)

Website: www.darbster.com

My friend Anna and I  have been dying to try Darbster for while now, but making the schlep up to West Palm always seemed impossible. Lucky for us they opened a Boca location! They have a gorgeous bar with drink specials, an outside patio (where you can bring your pooch), and are now serving brunch on Sundays. Also, 100% of all profits from Darbster Food go to Darbster Foundation which assists in animal welfare and animal rights efforts through education, charitable contributions and direct sponsoring of animal care such spaying and neutering.

Perfect for: date night, special occasions, girls night, family dinner, casual dining, brunch, anyone who wants to enjoy fabulous food.
Atmosphere: Don't judge a book for it's cover, it's located in a shopping plaza that could very easily be overlooked, but once inside you are welcomed by a gorgeous serene dining environment. The back patio is a gem! If it's not too hot out I highly recommend sitting out back.
Overall: Highly recommended. I particularly appreciated how they had both raw and gluten-free options marked on the menu, with plenty of options for each.

Click here to check out Darbster's menu!

Reviews of things I've tried: 
Brunch Cocktail, Bellini, $3: Perfectly refreshing in every way! During brunch the mimosas are also $3, and Bloody Marys are $5. 

Brunch, Eggs Benedict with tempeh bacon and home fries, $13: absolutely phenomenal. The portions are extremely generous, so much so that I couldn't even finish it! And you know how much I can eat... I would order this again and again. It wasn't the traditional Benedict, as it was served over a scramble, and it has a béarnaise sauce instead of a hollandaise sauce. The bacon was maple infused and slightly sweet; everything on this plate was to die for.

Appetizer, Palm Cakes, $8: These mini cakes were to die for, and it was astonishing how much they tasted like crab cakes. They come two per order, the perfect little starter. I would definetely say this is a Darbster signature dish.

Appetizer, Nachos, $10: The nacho cheese on these were spot on! My only gripe was there was just not enough, I would definitely ask for an extra side if you order these. They were topped with black beans that were delicious, it was obvious they were home made and well seasoned. The guacamole was nothing special, a little too bland and lemony for my taste, but the beans and cheese are reason enough to reorder this dish!

Appetizer, Fried Green Tomatoes, $10: Traditional with the cornmeal breaded, fried to perfection, very well done in my opinion.

Appetizer, Buffalo Wings, $8: Beyond impressive. I truly don't think a meat eater would be able to tell the difference between these and real boneless wings. The homemade ranch was to die for and it was served alongside Franks RedHot sauce. Fun fact: Franks was the primary ingredient in the first buffalo wing sauce concocted in 1964 in Buffalo, NY.

Appetizer, Seared Scallops, $10: Seared marinated tofu with a citrus agave soy glaze. These were really yummy, the sear was delicious and the glaze was perfect. They tasted nothing like scallops however that wouldn't stop me from ordering them again, I really enjoyed these!

Entree, Rawvioli Zucchini Pasta, $13: So light, flavorful, and delicious! Only complaint is there isn't enough zucchini pasta. Five rounds of zucchini 'ravioli' sandwiched with the most delicious cashew cream and topped off with an insanely good sun-dried tomato marinara. It is served with a small salad.

Entree, Raw Bacon Cheeseburger, $13: Fresh, light, and also very flavorful! No complaints.

Entree (special), Gnocchi with bolonegnse sauce, I can't remember the price- I think it was $15: The gnocchi was out of this world. And I know good gnocchi! I not only grew up eating it, but I grew up making it. Some of my earliest memories are making gnocchi in the kitchen with my grandma. My only complaint was the bolonegnse sauce which was so sweet and cinnamony- which did not compliment the white wine cream sauce and basil oil drizzle the gnocchi was in. If it was a special again I would ask for just the cream sauce.

Dessert, Brownie ala Mode, $7: Dark chocolate brownie served with a soy ice cream. I took my parents out to Darbster as a thank you for being such incredibly supportive parents, and ultimately my biggest cheerleaders. When dessert came around I knew we'd have to go with the brownie, not because I like them (because I really don't) but because my mom is obsessed with them. It was disappointing. The brownie wasn't warm, and you know it should be if it is served with ice cream, it was dense and fudge-like, not ooey and gooey. The ice cream was incredible. I'd say skip the brownie and go for the Sundae instead.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving is just around the corner (says the girl who sent out invites in July)! This is my favorite holiday but lately I've noticed the meaning behind it has gotten lost and muted. Thanksgiving represents loved loves, family, friends, and gratitude. It allows for us a chance to come together and celebrate in good health, with good company. It gives us a time to reflect and count our blessings.

This year we are preparing a strictly plant-based Thanksgiving and our menu is beyond extensive. It's important to me to expose others to gourmet plant-based foods this holiday, and honestly, it is not the end of the world to give up meat for 5 hours for one day of one year. I have about four days of prep work alone for the menu, but with my Dad (not a good cook but great under instruction) as my sous-chef, we will put out the best damn Thanksgiving these 21 guests ever had.

And honestly, it would just be wrong to come together to celebrate these things, talk about irony, at the expensive of others, (ie: intolerable and unacceptable treatment of animals raised for food production, the mass environmental destruction it takes to raise said animals, the rights of the small farmer which have been stripped away to keep up with the demands of the meat industry to keep production high and costs low, must I continue?).

With all that said, this is the sweet potato casserole dish I will be making this year. It's got a sweet crunchy topping with the underneath perfectly spiced.

4 large sweet potatoes, cooked (I baked them, you can boil them if you prefer)
2 tablespoons plant-based butter
1/4 cup soy, almond or coconut milk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup AP flour (I used chickpea flour to make it GF)
3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Cut your sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh, discard the skins. In a bowl whip together the potato flesh, plant-based butter, plant-based milk, orange juice, vanilla extract, maple syrup, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon until smooth. Pour into a greased casserole dish. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients and then spoon it over the casserole. Bake for 35 minutes, serve warm. 

For Thanksgiving I always say 1/3 of a sweet potato per person when calculating how much casserole to make. At least that's how I figure, we always have so many dishes that everyone just takes a small scoop of everything.

Recipe adapted from Fat Free Vegan