BURSTING with flavor!
Happy Thursday, guys! I am back in NY and sad to say I am missing England a TON. Every time I come back, it takes me a few days to get out of the vacation mind set, and back into my everyday life of working & cooking (and cleaning. ugh). But this time, it's extra hard because work is in full effect, and busier than ever! As I'm sure many of you have been here- Imagine coming back from a nice mini vacation, and having boxes & boxes & boxes of work waiting for you. Ooooof. Ouch.
Anyhow, I'll be back to London eventually, and I'll be back in my glory to soak up it's beauty once again! However, I must say.. the vegan options in London felt quite limited. Maybe I'm used to everything at your finger tips in NYC, or being able to cook whatever I want in my own kitchen, but this time was a bit tricky when it came to eating because 1) Everything closes SUPER early. Like 7:30- 8pm (!!) and 2) the options felt SO limited. Whenever I found a place that seemed pretty good and had a generous amount of vegan options on the menu, it was nowhere close to the city, or it was way outside of London. Like 40 minutes at least on the tube! UGH. To show my frustration a bit more (then I'm done, promise!), we traveled pretty far out of the way to this Ice Cream vegan bakery that was apparently mind blowing-ly good, and literally trekked around in the rain to find it. And you want to know what happened when I finally found it? IT WAS CLOSED. AT 5PM! (?!?!?). What the......
SO, with that being said (and if anyone actually read my rant), please send me any good London eats or restaurants you think would be a great fit for 2 vegans on vacation, so we can check them out next time! And this time, we won't waste any time on the hunt ;)
HOWEVER, we did have an AMAZING time at the wedding, and it was more than amazing to spend a few days with Family. Congrats to Chris & Kate Welsh! The new Mr & Mrs <3 <3
Let's get back to these amazing sweet potatoes of joy. These are SO good and SO loaded with millions of flavors. It's basically everything you want on a baked potato, when you don't feel like going with the boring sour cream & butter. And since we don't eat either of those toppings, this dish was extra good to me! You can basically top it with whatevaaaa you like, but that garlic dill sauce is a MUST! I've adapted this recipe from Minimalist Baker, and once again, she wowed me with her recipe ideas. I <3 Minimalist Baker 4EVA. Hope you'll give it a go! xx Sam
| Vegan • Gluten Free |
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 3-4 sweet potatoes, cut in half & baked
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Sea salt
ROASTED CHICKPEAS! - 1 (15 oz.) can of Garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
- Small drizzle of olive oil (or any neutral oil)
- 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tsp Chili Powder
- Dash of Turmeric
- 1/2 Tsp Oregano
TO TOP: - Small bunch of cherry tomatoes, diced
- ~Half a red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, minced
- 2 Tbs of lemon juice
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Life changing Garlic dill sauce!
BAKED SWEET POTATOES: Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Clean well & slice your sweet potatoes in half (length wise), and rub with a bit of oil + a sprinkle of some salt. Poke around with a fork, and pop in the oven to cook until tender. I found it took about 30 minutes!
CHICKPEAS: Toss your chickpeas in all ingredients listed above. At the last 10-15 minutes of baking the sweet potatoes, toss your chickpeas in on a separate rack. Cook for 10 minutes (longer if crunchier is desired), and remove once complete to cool.
TOMATO YUMZZ: While your food is in the oven, we can wiz together the rest of the toppings! Throw your cherry tomatoes, onion, cilantro + lemon juice in a small bowl. Toss to combine, and adjust with additional olive oil, salt & pepper if desired. In a separate small bowl, quickly put together your garlic dill sauce. So. Good.
SERVE!: When your potatoes are done and cool enough to handle, smash down the flesh with a spoon to make a bit of a well. Top with the roasted chickpeas & tomato-cilantro garnish, a nice [generous] drizzle of the garlic dill sauce. Enjoy & devour! And it's OK to be greedy- it's all healthy goodies ;)