Sunchokes, Chayote, and Eating My Way through World Vegan Day

Two days.  All to myself.  Though I lament the reason for this time off ("Snow-tober" -- a Sat. night storm that left hundreds of thousands without power), I am grateful for it, as I can't remember when I last had two consecutive days of unscheduled time.  Of course, I spent the majority of that time in the kitchen -- compelled by both its warmth in these cold days and my eagerness to begin testing for Terry Hope Romero's upcoming cookbook.

Understandably, I had to start with two new items: sunchokes (otherwise known as Jerusalem Artichokes) that were a parting gift from this farm season and chayote that I found at last week's Farmers' Market.  

Connie, my farm mentor and friend, told me that sunchokes can be used much like a potato.  So, I peeled them and  mixed them with some radishes a friend had given me from his garden, market brussels, and a bit of olive oil, garlic, s n p, a splash of maple syrup, and fresh chopped rosemary from my garden.  

I love my usual homies, but this was a delicious twist-- a different kind of sweet spice with the sunchokes and radishes.

Although the chayote may look a bit ghoulish with its seemingly hairy chin and interesting form, it is delicious!  I had initially thought about putting it in a salad with apple and daikon, but then the test recipe below noted squash as a possible add on, so I thought -- why not?  Note the tiny pepper: belated though it was, we finally found some baby jalapeños right before the frost!  Just enough for my testing these past days -- woohoo!

THR Test recipe: Peanut Tofu Mafe with Eggplant and Green Beans (as well as my chayote addition:))

THR Testing Recipe: Red Lentil Dahl with Tomato and Curry (Leaves...in theory)

THR Testing Recipe: Tomato Apple Raita -- I made the dahl above specifically because it was suggested as a lovely pair to the raita.  Holy yum!  The raita made the dish.  I love the apple variation of the usual cucumber base and that our basil and mint served as the herbal contributions.

THR Testing Recipes: Spinach Coriander Roti and Coconut Chile Collard Greens
Who mourns the loss of naan?  This roti ROCKS!  As for the collards, I have always been a fan of these greens, but this combination is both surprising and delicious.  Talk about a cool wrap -- roti with greens, raita, and dahl -- yes please!

Tonight's plate

Stuffed though we may have been, there is always room for dessert!
THR Test: Spice Sticky Cake -- such a perfect fall dessert with its nutty clove and orange goodness!

And now, as you might suppose, the food coma has commenced, but I wanted to share the latest from my kitchen.  Despite my infrequent posts during this year's MOFO, thank you for reading and for your comments.  With testing in progress and an eventual lightening of the workload, I hope to bring you more posts in the coming months.

Congrats to all MOFOers for all that you posted and read!  

To all, I hope that your World Vegan Day was as delicious as mine!