Beets are one of my favorite vegetables.

Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. They are very nutritious & an absolutely beautiful scarlet color. Unfortunately that is also the problem with beets. Their deep red hue makes them very messy to prepare. By the time you finish peeling steaming & slicing, everything is red! A while ago a friend shared with me this simple & relatively mess free way to roast beets. Once you try it you’ll be preparing this delicious vegetable more often. Slice them up in a salad with goat cheese & micro greens. Or serve them as a delicious side dish. Enjoy!!

Preheat oven to 350. Cut off tops & ends of beets & scrub them clean. Wrap them up in foil & bake for about 2-2 .1/2 hours. Let them cool slightly & slice them up & toss them in a little butter & salt & pepper. This way they retain their flavor & nothing else you are roasting turns pink.

Borscht is a beet classic & well worth the mess. You can serve it hot or cold. I prefer cold.
32 oz. vegetable broth
2 lb. coarsely chopped beets(already cleaned, tops & bottoms removed)
1 bay leaf
½ cup orange juice

Place beets, broth & bay leaf in a large stock pot.
Bring to a boil & turn down heat.
Let simmer till beets are tender.
Take off stovetop & add orange juice & chill for a least 3 hours.
Garnish with chopped green onions, cucumbers, fresh dill or sour cream.

Winter is one of my favorite times of year.

Coming from Chicago I am quite used to cold weather & all of the inconveniences that come with it. But there are some cold weather happenings that are warm & wonderful. Like cuddling in front of a crackling fire. Sipping hot chocolate & warming up with a hearty winter stew. But now that I am eating a healthier vegetarian diet- what do you do? Get creative, that’s what. This is one of my mother’s favorites. I call it No Chicken & Dumplings. And the best thing is that I make it in the slow cooker.
What could be easier? I think you will like it.
Enjoy!!

1 small sweet onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 32 oz. box of no chicken vegetable broth(vegetarian but chicken tasting)
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables or 1 cup each of broccoli, carrots & cauliflower
1 packet vegetarian chicken gravy seasoning
1 Tbsp. flour
1 & 1/2 cups multigrain baking mix
½ cup fat free milk

Sauté onions in olive oil & add broth,vegetables & gravy seasoning mix to slow cooker. Cook on low for about 4 hours. Add flour, stir & cook for another 20 minutes. For dumplings mix together baking mix & milk & add by spoonfuls to top the mixture cover & heat another 30-40 minutes.

Sweet Potato & Corn Pancakes

Like so many of you out there, one of my Resolutions is to lose 5 pounds. And it does not matter whether you have to lose 5 or 50 pounds, it is tough. I love potatoes. So any time I can find a way to make them more figure friendly I go for it!!! Here's one of my favorites. Happy New Year!!!

Sweet potato & corn pancakes.

This is a great way to use up leftovers & with only using egg whites & a small amount of olive oil, they wont break your diet or your wallet!

Two cups Mashed potatoes
1 cup sweet corn
½ cup flour
1 small diced onion 1 egg white
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil

Place a small amount of olive oil in a skillet & turn on the heat. Mix all ingredients together & eyeball it. If it looks like it needs a little more flour to make it a nice thick consistency, go ahead & add a little more. This is one of those recipes where you have to judge for yourself.

Take a large wooden spoon & shape potato mixture into patty shapes.
Place in skillet & cook for a few minutes till browned on each side.
Remove from heat & serve.

Our featured recipe for the holidays.

My Mom always makes this rum cake for Christmas & it is always a hit!! In fact, we have an annual Holiday Open House & some of our friends say that the holidays would not be the same without my Mum's rum cake. Enjoy, & Happy Holidays!!!

1 cup copped & toasted pecans

1 box cake mix-yellow with pudding

4 eggs ½ cup cold milk

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup dark rum

GLAZE:

½ cup butter

¼ cup water

1 cup sugar

½ cup dark rum

Preheat oven to 325. Grease & flour 12 cup bundt cake pan.

Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan.

Combine all cake ingredients & beat on high for 2 minutes.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour.

Cool in pan.

Invert onto serving plate.

Prick the top with a fork & drizzle glaze over the top of cake.

GLAZE

Melt butter in saucepan & stir in water & sugar.

Boil for 5 minutes. Stirring constantly.

Remove from heat & stir in rum.

The rum will cause steam so be careful not to burn yourself.

Fan Recipe from Valerie V.

Italian “Meatball” Sandwich

These make great casual party food—full of flavor and so satisfying.

Ingredient List, Serves 6

Seasoning
1 Tbs. ground fennel
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. Cayenne
1/2 lb. button or cremini mushrooms
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups Seasoned Soybeans
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. tamari or soy sauce
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
Vegetable oil for frying
6 whole wheat hero rolls
2 cups prepared pasta sauce

Directions:

Make seasoning: In small bowl, mix seasoning ingredients. Set aside.

Place mushrooms in food processor and pulse on/off until finely chopped.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, 1 minute. Stir in seasoning mix, bell pepper and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to large bowl.

In food processor, puree half of soybeans. Add to vegetables in bowl. Add remaining soybeans to food processor and pulse on/off until almost smooth. Add beans, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and tamari to ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Stir in 1/3 cup bread crumbs and flour. Form slightly rounded tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls. (If it doesn’t hold its shape, add equal parts of bread crumbs and flour as needed.) Roll “meatballs” in remaining bread crumbs until evenly coated.

Fill medium skillet with 1/2-inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add “meatballs,” in batches if necessary, and cook until deep golden brown, about 11/2 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Brush insides of rolls with olive oil. Lightly toast on griddle or in broiler.

Heat tomato sauce and spoon into roll. Fill each with 5 or 6 “meatballs” and top with additional sauce. Serve.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving: Calories: 398, Protein: 22g, Total fat: 15g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 58g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 1319mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugars: g

I love to cook!!!

No, I mean I REALLY REALLY REALLY love to cook! I love to watch cooking programs on tv. I love to read cookbooks in my spare time. It truly is an obsession. So, you can imagine how thrilled & surprised I was when Healthy Cooking magazine asked me to write a regular cooking column for them. ME? You mean you really want ME, Andrea Evans, soap opera bad girl, to write about food!?!

To make a long story short, I jumped at the chance. I wrote my vegetarian cooking column for 8 years until the magazine was purchased by a new company & disappeared. Ever since, I have been searching for an outlet for my culinary quests, & now I have found it! This blog.

I am hoping that I can share recipes with my fans & friends. That we can trade culinary secrets & enrich our lives through our love of food & entertaining. I know that I am not a chef. I am an actress & a mom who LOVES to cook.

So, I hope that you will join me on this culinary quest. We can take the journey together & hopefully learn a few things in the process. So, enjoy the recipes & I will check in as often as possible. So, please send me any questions or suggestions you may have. I can't wait to hear from you, Andrea.