Virtual Vegan Potluck, May 2013

Welcome to The Split Plate's entry in the Virtual vegan Potluck 3.0. We are excited to participate for the first time in this semi-annual event! If you have no idea what the Virtual Vegan Potluck is...then you are in for a SERIOUS TREAT!

The Virtual Vegan Potluck, also know as VVP, is an event where vegan bloggers from around the world post their favorite dishes to a virtual "table" to share with the world! Recipes from every category, including beverages, breads and, (oh yes,) desserts, will have you literally wanting to lick the screen!

For those of you who are new to The Split Plate, we are three enthusiastic young food lovers who each bring a unique perspective to the blog.

• Grace, the newest member of the team, loves to analyze tastes and textures of food, and spends hours perfecting recipes with unusual twists and flavor combinations.
• Kerry, who's passion for veganism and animal rights shines through her words and actions, loves the occasional indulgence in what she calls "vegan junk food" - and with her recipes, who are we to argue?
• Beth has been vegan for over 5 years, but for over a year has grown to embrace raw foods, and loves creating raw variations of well-loved standards.

Each of us contributed a recipe to this event that reflects our food personality. We decided to enter the Main Dish category. If you think some of these could also qualify as a side dish, you're probably right, but we think they're so delicious we serve and eat them as a main course!

WARNING: Before you continue you should know that you will, no doubt, be stuck sitting on your computer for the next couple of hours browsing through hundreds of vegan blogs filled with the most mouthwatering food porn around, so:

1. Make sure you have time on your hands because you won't want to leave in the middle of this.
2. Bring a snack- you'll be hungry
3. Grab a towel to wipe the drool off of your face . . . because it is guaranteed.

Now, let's introduce The Split Plate's contributions to the Virtual Vegan Potluck!

Comfort Food Meets Sophistication

At The Split Plate, we say that the quality of the food you create starts with ingredients you choose, and for this recipe, we picked the best! To complement our spiralized sweet potatoes we selected a light, nutty-sweet walnut oil, and an earthy sage. Add an elegant white balsamic vinegar and you have . . . heaven. By the time the house fills with the smell of roasting walnuts and sage you will think you've died and gone there!

Roasted Sweet Potato Pasta with Walnut Sage Pesto

Recipe by Grace Geiger

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sage leaves + extra for garnish
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 clove shallot
• 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts + extra for garnish
• 4 tablespoons cold pressed walnut oil
• 2 sweet potatoes

Method:

1. Blend sage, parsley, garlic, shallot, balsamic vinegar, sea salt in blender or food processor.
2. Add walnuts. Blend.
3. Slowly drizzle in walnut oil while belnding
4. Peel, rinse, and spiralize sweet potato at thinnest setting available (I use the Benriner Cook Help Spiralizer, which has a 1mm blade)
5. Mix sweet potato with pesto
6. Broil under top rack at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through
7. Garnish with additional sage leaves and crushed walnuts. 
8. Serve warm.

 Hot n' Spicy

Vegans have more fun! Who needs meat when you have poppers like these? With melting cheese bursting out of these spicy jalapenos, the carnivors will be stealing the veggies! (Better bring extra.)

Easy Jalapeno Poppers

Recipe by Kerry Macuska

Servings: 12

Ingredients: 

• 12 jalapeno peppers (thicker is better)
• 1 pack of vegan pepper jack cheese (Daiya and Go Veggie works well)
• 1 pack of vegan bacon (we used Smart Bacon)

Method:

1. Cut the tops off of the jalapenos and using a thin knife, cut out the seeds from the inside
2. Stuff with cheese
3. Wrap with bacon
4. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
5. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

 Living Food for Living Fully

Springtime! It feels like rain showers, blossoming flowers, and new beginnings. And we say, out with food that turns you into a slug and in with the fresh produce and clean recipes - like this one! We dare you to bite into this crunchy green wrap with our sweet and spicy fillings. Who doesn't want to eat food that makes you feel as great as it tastes?

Mini Quinoa Sushi Rolls

Recipe by Beth Mickens

Servings: 4-6

Sushi Quinoa Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp organic sugar
• 1 Tbsp organic agave
• 1/2-1 tsp salt

Sushi Quinoa Method:

1.  Place quinoa and water in a small saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook until the water has completyely evaporated.
2. Turn heat off, crack the lid open and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Keep the quinoa warm.
3. Whisk together in a samll bowl the rice vinegar, sugar, agave and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until the ingredients have completely dissolved.
4. Once the quinoa is cooked and "cooled", pour it into a medium bowl along with 2-3 tsp of rice vinegar mix. 
5. Toss to combine.
6. Add remaining rice vinegar mix according to desired taste*
7. Once dressed to taste, season if needed with remaining salt and set aside to allow to cool.

* NOTE: Technically, a typical sushi recipe would use the rice vinegar mix above for 2 cups of grains, uncooked, aka, 4 times the amount needed above. However, I like all my foods to be bold in flavor so more was best for me. Adjust according to your own taste preferences. 

Collard Wrap Ingredients:

• 4-6 collard wraps
• water

Collard Wrap Method:

1.  Wash, dry and prep your collard leaves. Need a How-To? Not a problem! Check out this amazing tutorial by Gena from Choosing Raw. She explains it WAY better than I ever could.

Now this step is optional. You can choose to blanch your collard leaves to make them "thinner" and more pliable OR you can leave them raw. It's up to you. For this recipe, I prefer to gently blanch my collard leaves to provide a thinner more flexible wrap to work with, similar to nori when it's moist.

To Blanch: 

1. Bring a large skillet or saute pan  of water to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn it off.
2. Place one collard leaf into the water and take it right back out. You will notice the color change from a light, dull green to a dark green
3. Pat dry and set aside
4. Repeat with remaining collard leaves

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 1/4 large cucumber, peeled and julienned
• 1/3 avocado, thinly sliced
• Seaweed Flakes (I like to use Maine Coast's Organic Triple Blend Flakes)
• Pickled Ginger
• Siracha (yes, Siracha!)
• Sesame Seeds
• Any additional veggies you like:
• Spinach
• Red Bell Pepper
• Zucchini
• Sprouts
• Tofu
• Green Onions (I used)
• Cilantro (I used)

Sushi Roll Method:

1.  Place one collard leaf flat onto your working surface.
2. In the middle of your leaf, stack 1-2 Tbsp of quinoa, carrots, cucumbers, avocado and any other veggies your prefer. Top with a few slices of pickled ginger, a squirt of siracha, a sprinkle of seaweed flakes and sesame seeds.
3. To Wrap:
1. Bring the two sides of your collard leaf towards the middle
2. Pull back the end closest to you up and over your pile of veggies
3. Tuck in under the yummies and continue to roll all the way up until your reach the other end
4. Place seam side down
4. Repeat with the remaining collard wraps or ingredients
5. Serve as is or along with a side of tamari (I think they taste amazing without the tamari!)

These can be made the night before. They taste just as great the next day. Taste nor texture is compromised.

Enjoy!

And there you have it! Our dishes for the May 2013  Virtual Vegan Potluck! Not enough? Desiring something sweet? Yeah, we are too...which is why we'll be browsing through the other blogger's recipes and so should you! Just click on the buttons below to continue your VVP journey!

Want to start from the beginning? Click on the "Thanks for Coming" logo to go to the main page which lists ALL the amazing bloggers involved. HAVE FUN EXPLORING!