Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

I had these beautiful stalks of fresh rosemary left over from New Years Eve, and half a bag of potatoes, so I threw together this:



Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cubed (this time I used organic russet)
Zest of 1 lemon, removed in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
freshly ground black, pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 475.  I use my Pampered Chef large stone bar pan, and preheat the pan right in the oven.  The preheated stone cookies with a nice even heat, and gives whatever you roast on it, a gorgeous brown, caramelized color!

While the oven heats up, place the olive oil and lemon zest strips in a microwave safe dish, and gently warm 30 seconds at a time, until fragrant.  I think I did mine for a total of 1:30.  (You can also do this in a small pot on the stove over low)

Add chopped rosemary and let sit in the warm oil for 10 minutes.

Toss cubed potatoes with the flavored oil on the preheated bar pan, spread evenly,  and add salt and pepper to taste.

Great side dish for chickpea cutlets!!

Roast in oven for 10- 15 minutes, flip potatoes, and roast an additional 5-10 minutes, or until tender

Quesadilla Time!

So today I had to work.  The New England Patriots were playing in the AFC championship game, and I was at work for the entire duration.  As a consolation prize, my boss bought us lunch!  But my only choice was the pizza/burger snack bar next to our bookstore.  It was Sunday, and the students have not moved back to campus yet, so pickings were slim.  They do have a black bean and veggie quesadilla, which I could order with OUT cheese and sour cream.  But, I have been told, that even loaded with cheese, it is still one of the blandest things on the planet....

So, I ordered one to-go, knowing I had my lovely Smokey Mountain Cheese sitting at home in my fridge, as well as a freshly baked batch of chorizo sausages from Viva Vegan.  This was going to be good!

So, when I got home, I scraped the flavorless black beans, peppers and onions into a bowl.  I think they just need to add a bit of salt and some cumin or chili powder...  But either way, I was going to fix all that!

I added about 1/3 cup of the smokey mountain cheese, mixed it well, and zapped it in the microwave for a minute or two.  Then I chopped up about 2/3 of a link of chorizo (I had nibbled a bit of the end earlier, just to see if it tasted good)! I sautéed the bite size pieces over medium heat in a pan with a bit of cooking spray until crispy, then tossed it into the cheesy vegetable mixture.  I then RE-stuffed the tortillas, and placed them in my nonstick pan to get some brown action on them!

The result:  packed with smokey, spicy flavor, melt on your mouth Mexican quesadilla goodness!!  (If only I had guacamole...)

This MORE than made up for the fact that I missed the game... Now I can't wait for the SUPERBOWL, and the awesome game day grub I'm gonna make! GO PATS!! ^_^

Great Smoky Mountain Cheese!

I am happily cooking my way through Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson, and loving every second of it!

At long last, I finally found agar-agar POWDER at the Asian Market down the street from my house.  I've been searching for it everywhere, and these little packets were the perfect size for my initial investment.

*Telephone Brand* I like that!

I have lots of plans for these little packets, so I got two of them to start. Smokey Mountain Cheese was on the top of my list of recipes to try, (and then, there are some pies in Vegan Pie in the Sky that are next...)

The cheese came together quickly, which I liked, despite the fact that I threw paprika all over my counter trying to put the lid back on :/

Nice going... At least it was only my plain, sweet paprika, and not my beloved brand new jar of smoked!

So, now that I have this beautiful round of yummy cheese, what do I do with it??

I made the obligatory Grilled Cheese and Tomato sandwich:

NOMNOMNOM! Haven't had a grilled cheese in a while, so this was quite delicious!

Please excuse the grape tomatoes that I sliced, instead of actual tomato... I was improvising.

But, I'll ask again:  What else (besides polishing this whole round off with a box of crackers)?!?

I was thinking maybe jalapeño poppers ^_^

What are your thoughts?  All ideas welcome!

Recipe Testing: Greek Creamy Lemon Rice Soup, “No”govlemano

"The Greek classic egg-lemon chicken soup gets a vegan makeover with the help both white beans... and a touch of arborio rice". 


Warm, comforting and delicious, with just the perfect amount of lemon!  This recipe is a winner, and I will be making it often.  When L walked in the house, she said it smelled just like when her mom made it, so I'd say this recipe definitely stands up to Greek approval ^_^ 


Cannot WAIT for Terry's cookbook to come out... !!