I actually tasted a hint of liquorice in this mash, maybe because of the combination of salty and sweet flavors.

Sweet Potato Mash:

• 2 sweet potatoes (about 500 g)
• 2 teaspoons muscovado sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons margarine
• 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice (or lime juice)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
• salt to taste

First I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes, placed them in a cooking pot with the sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and added enough water to cover. Then I boiled them until very soft.

Once they were cooked, I drained the water, added the margarine, and mashed the sweet potatoes with our potato masher. Then I stirred in the black pepper, chopped basil, lemon juice, and some salt, and served the mash with some stir-steamed veggies and an arugula salad.

The recipe we’ve been using for our seitan ribs comes from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. It’s called Barbecued Seitan Ribz, and is based on a recipe from the Vegan Chef. The latter recipe actually describes the oven cooking method we used, since barbecuing really isn’t an option for us. What follows is our version, essentially a gently modified double batch of of the two above mentioned recipes, which makes enough ribs for 5-6 persons. The main difference in terms of ingredients is that we used fresh garlic and fried onions instead of the powdered ones used in the original recipes, and that I also made my own barbecue sauce.

BBQ Sauce:

• 1 dl light soy sauce
• 2 dl mild vegetable stock
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons muscovado sugar
• 3 tablespoons fried onions
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red paprika powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each: dried thyme, dried oregano, crushed red chili
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

First, I whisked together evetything but the liquid smoke and the olive oil, and then simmered the sauce over low heat for about 20 minutes. Then I added the smoke and the oil, and mixed with an immersion blender until smooth. This sauce is pretty salty, so reducing the amount of soy sauce and upping the veggie stock might be a good idea to make it less so.

The Ribs (for 5-6):

• 5 dl wheat gluten
• 3 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons fried onion, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 and 1/2 dl water
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Heikki first mixed the wheat gluten, paprika, yeast, and onion together in a large bowl. Then he combined the water with the tahini, liquid smoke, garlic, and soy sauce, whisked until smooth, and added this to the dry ingredients. Now, he stirred to mix well, and then kneaded the dough lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Now, I covered our rectangular baking dish (30 cm x 20cm) with a sheet of baking parchment, and Heikki flattened the seitan dough in the dish. This takes a little bit of time and effort, since the dough should be quite stringy at this point. Heikki cut the seitan in 16 strips, then turned the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces (as per Susan’s instructions).

We baked the ribs and the fries in 175 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes, then turned the heat up to 200 degrees, flipped the ribs, and poured half of the barbecue sauce over them. Now, we baked them for 10 more minutes, then flipped them again, poured the rest of the sauce over them, and baked them for about 10 minutes more. This makes 45 minutes total baking time.

Curry Sweet Potato Fries (for 4):

• 3 sweet potatoes (1 kg)
• 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon each: ginger powder and cumin (jeera)
• 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

First, I peeled and cut the sweet potatoes in chunky fries, and then placed all the ingredients in a big bowl. I tossed the fries until they were all coated with the curry powder, and then poured them on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. I baked the fries with the ribs: first in 175 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, and then in 200 degrees for about 20 minutes more. We tossed them around once during baking.

These fries didn’t get very crispy, but they did hold their shape nicely, since we kept them in the oven until their tips were a little charred.

This batch made enough soup for three lunches – two for me and one for Heikki.

The Soup:

• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut in florets
• 300 g (one medium) sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 and 1/2 dl coconut milk
• 4 dl vegetable stock
• salt to taste
• about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

I fried the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, then added the sweet potato and cauliflower, and fried for a few more minutes. After frying the veggies, I added the coconut milk, vegetable stock, and garam masala, and let the soup simmer until the vegetables were soft, for about 20 minutes. While it was boiling, I prepared the cashews.

Then I puréed the soup with out immersion blender, added a little bit of salt (might not be necessary if the stock is very salty), and stirred in the lemon juice. Before serving, I sprinkled my bowl with cashews.

Cashew Nuts:

• 1 dl cashews
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• pinch of salt

First I toasted the cashews lightly on a dry frying pan, and meanwhile mixed the rest of the ingredients together. When the nuts had browned a bit, I lowered the heat to medium, poured the syrup mixture in the pan, and stirred until the cashews were shiny and covered with the syrup, and the water had evaporated. Now, I poured the nuts on a plate covered with aluminium foil and let them cool down until the soup was ready to serve.

My cashews came out really sticky, which basically means that I didn’t caramelize them enough. That’s not a problem when sprinkled in a soup, but the leftover cashews were a nuisance to eat…

• 700 g sweet potatoes (2 medium ones), peeled and cubed
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 dl water
• 1 big onion, cubed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed chili
• 1/2 cube vegetable stock
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon raw cane sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 200 g frozen green beans
• 1 dl peanuts, toasted and finely ground

First, I heated the oil in a frying pan and sautéed onions until translucent. Then I added chili, garlic, and ginger, fried for a minute or so, and added the cubed sweet potato. I tossed the sweet potato cubes around for a few minutes, and then added everything else but green beans and peanuts. Now, I just let the stew simmer, covered with a lid, until the sweet potato was tender but not mushy, added the beans and the ground peanut, and stirred to combine. Peanut thickens the sauce nicely, and at this point some more water might be needed. The stew simmered for another 5 minutes or so, and before serving, I added a little lemon juice and sprinkled fresh parsley on top.

Heikki ground the peanuts and cooked the cous cous while I was cooking the stew, so this didn’t take more than 20 minutes to make.