Baked Leek and Sweet Potato Gratin

I must be craving sweet potatoes because it seems like I've made a lot of recipes lately using them. I found this one here at vegetariantimes.com. I did a few minor adjustments to the recipe after reading some of the comments.* 

 I love the sweetness of cooked leeks. *I used six leeks instead of three. 

 Lots of fresh rosemary and garlic-yum! *I added 3 cups chopped spinach to the sauteed leeks and let the spinach wilt. 

 Thinly sliced sweet potatoes.

 Instead of Italian seasoned bread crumbs and Romano cheese *I used Panko bread crumbs (6 instead of 3 Tbsp), 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning, fresh chopped rosemary and 2 Tbsp. vegan parmesan. It smelled and tasted heavenly. 

 The recipe calls for using a 10" round pan; *I used a 2 qt. dish and it worked just fine. 

~ Baked Leek and Sweet Potato Gratin ~ 

I served the gratin with a green salad and some Gardein Crispy Tenders. The hubby really liked this. 

I made a long time favorite this week ~ Spinach Artichoke Pasta and served it with another favorite ~ Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Garlic from Vegan With a Vengeance.

I made a quick and easy meal last night of Lentil & Black Bean Soup which I had previously frozen and Wolffie's "Buttermilk" Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan. 

Tempeh Toss

From "The Garden of Vegan"-pg. 145:

As you can see, I didn't use tempeh. I have tried tempeh before and I love the taste and texture but wouldn't ya know, I would be allergic to it. I'm sensitive to foods that have been fermented like tempeh. I used firm tofu but it still crumbled up a little. I served this over brown rice and doctored mine up with some sriracha hot chili sauce and Braggs. The recipe called for 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes but that wasn't hot enough for me! Next time I might try using Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips.

Country Turnip Carrot Soup

From The Garden of Vegan ~pg. 81:

The picture doesn't do this soup justice. It is delicious; especially now that the weather is finally cooling off. It is chock full of turnips, carrots, potatoes and leeks. I served it with "Wolffie's 'Buttermilk' Cornbread" from La Dolce Vegan (my favorite-ever-cornbread). I'm not printing these recipes because you need to buy the cookbook! All of Sarah Kramer's cookbooks are excellent. I use them the most out of all my approx. 50 vegan cookbooks! Alot of the cookbooks use too many ingredients, unfamiliar or hard to find ingredients, are too time consuming or make too many servings so I usually go back to Sarah Kramer's cookbooks! On the days we just make a dessert I'm going to fill in with some of her recipes from her other cookbooks; it takes alot of guesswork out of what to make for supper!

Day 6 Simple Leek and Potato Soup ~page 109

Vegan Culinary Blog La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This is the way I like to cook! Simple and delicious. No frou-frou ingredients or fancy decorations. I have over 40 vegan cookbooks and Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan! and her two other cookbooks are my favorites; down to earth, not trying to be some "gourmet chef" style cooking. I made this for my lunch today, my husband likes a little more substantial meal in the evening.

I like a few chunks so I used my hand blender and blended about half of the soup.