Jury Duty Jury Duty Jury Duty!!! (And Vegan Greek Salad with Lemon Oregano Dressing)

That has been my life over the past week and a half.  And seriously is has not been fun.  I had to be in court Monday thru Friday, plus these last two days as well.  The schedule is from 9:30 am-4:30 pm, but it really isn't as bad as it seems in regards to time.  We were given an hour lunch break from 1-2 pm, which I have not had since I was working in Michigan, which was nice, because it's the first time I've been able to decently chew my food during lunch in about five years!  The worst thing was all the waiting.  And the waiting and the waiting .......

Being in the physical courtroom only occurred a couple hours out of the day, but sometimes it was the most boring and/or uncomfortable thing in the world.  Several of the jurors fell asleep, which I almost did yesterday.  When I first got the notice in the mail, I was horrified and angry to say the least.  This was several months ago and my schedule was beyond crazy, so I postponed it.  On the exact date I said would be ok to send me another notice, I received my notice.  So, I went to the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, and saw hundreds and hundreds of people in the main room and felt pretty confident that I would be sent home soon.  Then, the announcer came to the podium and told everyone that Brooklyn Court was one of the busiest courts and everyone possible would be needed.  I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.  Several different groups of people were allowed to be excused: those ill with doctor's notes, unemployed mothers with children under 7 that happened to have their child's birth certificate with them, and people who could not speak English.  There were several people I overheard saying in clearly spoken English that they would go and fake it.  And inevitably, they came back scowling, arms crossed over their chests.  It was quite funny.  Because prior to them leaving with the group to be tested, I remembered several of my friends' suggestions to get out of jury duty: claim you are racist or against whatever type of person the case is against, tell them you don't want to play god, tell them you couldn't be held responsible for sending someone to jail.  And honestly, I was thinking about the chances of any of these excuses working, even though I clearly did not agree with the statements my friends told me to make.  I just wanted out of it.  But even then, I was hesitant.

So, they called my name, and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of waiting later, I was chosen as an alternate juror.  When I asked what that was (I had absolutely no idea!) one of the attorneys told me that in the event of one of the main jurors calling out, I would replace them.  Ok.  He did not, however, tell me to come in the following Monday, or at least did not verbalize it clearly.  So, in my way of thinking, I would be called at home if I was needed as the juror.  So when Monday rolled around, I stayed at home and received a call from the court at about 10 am. I was horrified when I was told I had to come in immediately!  Frazzled, I ran around the house, getting dressed, brushing my teeth while putting on my shoes, etc!  I took a cab, which I thought was a great idea, but ended up taking me 25 minutes, and costing me $15.  The train by the way, took 15 minutes and only cost $2.50!  Boo!!!

So I got there late and looked like a moron.  Everyone else was up to speed, and I showed up with a red face, out of breath and feeling completely frazzled!  (One good thing that ended up happening, was that two of the jurors were vegan  - not sure how that's even possible!  And on three of the days, I brought in breakfast-y treats for everyone, and got some great feedback from non-vegans, which is very important!) So the day went on and we learned what our roles were.  I got it, but I didn't really think about the end result of me being an alternate juror vs. a true juror.  The case was about malpractice being brought about in a gynecology & obstetric case where a woman was given a hysterectomy at a young age to stop excessive bleeding she was having after a post Cesarean delivery hemorrhage.  It was quite graphic and disgusting at times and made me really happy about my future choice in a birth plan.  Absolutely no hospital and with a midwife at home.   I feel positively sure about that more now than ever!  We were given so much technical information, which was exhausting.  With the addition of the different methods of questioning by the plaintiff and defense's lawyers, it was even more exhausting and sometimes just completely ridiculous. 

As the trial went on, I felt better about the entire situation, even though I did have to put my life on hold completely and came home everyday in a weird mood towards my husband.  I needed at least 30-45 minutes to chill out as soon as I got home so I could process everything.  I can't stop saying how it was exhausting - that's the only way I can describe it.  So yesterday rolls around and it is the day when the judge is supposed to tell us the law and we are supposed to deliberate and come up with a verdict.  I assumed my vote would not count since I was an alternate, but I didn't really think beyond that.  When we were brought back to the deliberation room, the alternate jurors were told to take all of their belongings and were led to a separate room than the jurors.  We were told we had to wait until a verdict was reached.  So for almost four hours we were sitting twiddling our thumbs, coming up with our own verdict amongst ourselves.  I was really surprised by how upset I was at not even being able to give my thoughts on the verdict to the other jurors or even hear their thought process.  When it was 4:30, we were told a verdict was not reached and we would have to come in again tomorrow, to sit in the room by ourselves while the jury determined the verdict.  Unfortunately, I had a doctor's appointment this morning (seriously true, and I have had it for a couple weeks), so I couldn't come in.  Once of the jurors told me she would text me the result the next day when it was all over.  I felt like I was really missing out!  But the verdict just came in, and I feel very relieved and happy about how it ended up turning out.

So, absolutely needless to say, food did not cross my mind in the least when I was at home - what a crazy week!  However, I do have a hungry Hubby at home, so I needed to do something about it.  Most of the time, I prepared something that was at least partially pre-made, or frozen, which I don't usually do, but I felt the need to for this period of time.  I was just emotionally exhausted!  So, most of the evenings I would also make a gigantic salad, which is what I would eat for dinner, and also take for lunch the following day.  And silly to say, it was the same kind of salad everyday - a veggie laden Greek Salad.  It hit the spot, and I'm actually thinking about making it as soon as I'm done here.  So, my thoughts on jury duty have changed, and if you haven't had the opportunity of doing it yet, I think you will ultimately feel the same, even though it does take a huge chunk out of your life.  So, enough about that, and onto the food:

Vegan Greek Green Salad:




So tasty!



Yields: 2 very large salads

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped, washed and spun dry
1/4 green pepper, chopped
1/3 cucumber, quartered and sliced
1/2 small red onion, cut in half and sliced
1 small tomato (not overly ripe), quartered and sliced
1/3-1/2 cup vegan feta, homemade or store-bought, crumbled
5-10 green olives, sliced
pickled jalapeno pepper slices on top, optional (if you're brave!)

Lemon Oregano Dressing:
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons agave
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
fresh black pepper and sea salt to taste

1.  Prepare the dressing first:  place all ingredients in a glass jar and shake until completely  mixed and emulsified.  Place in the fridge to chill while making the salad.
2.  Place the lettuce in a large bowl.  Begin placing the veggie topping on top of the lettuce.  The order doesn't really matter, just start layering everything on top.  Place the peppers, cucumber, onion, tomato, feta, olives and optional jalapeno slices. 
3.  Place a generous serving of the salad on your plate and top with the dressing.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy with crackers if desired.

Enjoy!

- Koko

Greek Lentil Salad

Whenever I get my Vegetarian Times Magazine in the mail, I am like a little kid, seriously.  I go through the entire magazine, page by page, looking at the tasty pictures, going through the recipes and dreaming about preparing every dish out of it. What usually ends up happening though, is after looking at the magazine for a week or so, I retire it to the bookcase and maybe will look at it again several months later when I am reorganizing the book cases.  Then I'll sigh about the recipes again, but I usually don't make the recipes.  Not sure what was different this time around, but I saw this recipe for a Green Lentil Salad and decided I had to make it.  It was good that I was going to a picnic in Prospect Park, because I could use it all up, so I decided to make it and bring it along.  It was pretty decent and everyone seemed to like it, though I likely should have added the chopped cucumbers right before serving it, because they got a little soft from sitting in the dressing.  But it was a nice addition to the rest of the meal.  I probably wont make it again, but it was good.

Greek Lentil Salad:





A lot of Pretty Colors and Contrasting Textures!

Serves 6 as a side dish, 4 as an entree

1 cup French Green lentils, rinsed
2 bay leaves

1large shallot, small diced, about 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small cucumber, seeded & diced, about 1 cup
2 medium tomatoes, diced, about 1 cup
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled mock feta

1.  Place lentils and bay leaves in a medium pot, cover with water, and cook over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. 
2.  Drain, remove bay leaves and allow to cool while preparing the rest of the salad. 
3.  Stir together the lemon juice and shallot in a medium bowl and allow to sit while prepping the remaining ingredients.  This will allow the bite of the shallot to mellow a bit. 
4.  Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl: the lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, mint and olive oil.  Toss together.  Add the mock feta and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.  Toss gently. 
5.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.  That's it!  Super simple!

Enjoy!

-Koko


Leftover Pizza Dough: Snack Pizza

I usually don't have any pizza crust leftover when I make homemade pizza, but I did for some reason this time.  I'm pretty sure it's because the Hubby insisted on having his pizza be super thin-crust, but it actually turned out well.  A couple days later I noticed that I still had a chunk of pizza dough leftover in the fridge and most certainly did not want to throw it away after all the work and time it took to make in the first place.  So, I decided to make it into a snack pizza of sorts.  I also didn't want it to be like "regular" pizza, in that I didn't want it to have marinara - I wanted it super crispy, so that's how I made it.  It hit the spot and was nice and simple.  I dipped it in some leftover marinara sauce and it was darn tasty.  I'm sure I could have chosen to be more creative and make some form of calzone or something, but truth be told, this was much quicker and easier.  Next time though!

Leftover Pizza Dough: Snack Pizza

Yields:  A Snack Pizza!

Prepared Pizza Dough

Toppings of choice:

Chopped Green Peppers

Chopped Onions

Diced Seitan

Sliced Green or Kalamata Olives

Daiya or other vegan cheese

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degree.  Lightly oil a pizza pan or baking tray with spray oil and set aside.

2.  Place the remaining dough onto the prepared baking tray and spread it out as thinly or thickly as you would like. 

3.  Place the crust in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes, or until the crust is partially baked.

4. Top the partially baked crust with your cheese, then with the remaining chopped veggies of your choice.
5.  Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is baked all the way through, the cheese is melted and the veggies are softened. 
6.  Let cool for a couple minutes and cut into pieces.  Dip in a prepared marinara sauce if desired.  I usually have some of that leftover as well when I make homemade pizza.

Enjoy!

- Koko

Pasta with Capers & Artichokes & Spanikopita

Several months ago when I was still working at Lifethyme Natural Market in the Village, I did one last shopping spree.  While working there I received a 25% discount on all products in the store, which was great.  When items were on sale, with that additional discount, it was even better!  When I was leaving, there was a sale on organic filo dough, which is usually quite expensive.  With my discount, each package ended up being like $1.50 each, so I stocked up, buying four of them.  It seemed like a truly great idea at the time, but all of these months later, there are still 3 in my freezer.  One day when I was organizing my freezer, I decided that I really needed to use filo dough, and also finding a package of frozen spinach, I decided what better thing to make than Spanikopita?  (I was really tempted to make Baklava, but with just the Hubby and I, it would be a huge sin, because we would be forced to eat it ourselves - it's too good and expensive for him to take to work!)  It turned out pretty decently, but I would definitely like to tweak it. 

Only problem is, I of course misplaced the recipe scribblings.  Unfortunately, I am always doing that and it is forever driving me, but especially the Hubby absolutely crazy!  I am always running around the house, going "where is my ....".  And he is forever telling me the same thing my dad told me as a kid - "put it in the same place everyday and you'll know exactly where it is!".  If only it were that simple.  I am always moving things around.  Funny thing is, I am always writing down the recipes in these little spiral bound notebooks.  However, the problem is that Hubby is always bringing in new notebooks, and I am just grabbing whichever notebook I find first.  I know, I know, I should just take one notebook, clearly label the cover and just use that, but it is too simple of a solution.  Anyway, so until I find it, I unfortunately cannot post the recipe, because I don't remember the precise teaspoons of spices I added. So, until then, enjoy the simple pasta recipe I made!

Pasta with Capers & Artichokes & Spanikopita:

Serves 2-3

Pasta:

8 oz. spiral pasta, cooked

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

1/2 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and squeezed of excess moisture

1/4 cup parsley

2 tablespoons earth balance, or as needed

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta in boiling salted, oiled water until al dente.  Drain and set aside.

2.  In a large wok, add the olive oil over medium heat and allow it to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it is fragrant.  Add the capers and artichokes, stirring to coat in the garlic oil.

3.  Add the earth balance and allow it to melt.  Once it has melted, add the pasta and toss to coat.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.  Toss around until all of the ingredients are hot.  Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and toss to coat. 

4.  Serve with the Spanikopita or a green salad for a light lunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Rice and Garbanzo Bean Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers.  I really do.  I'm sure I would love other stuffed foods like tomatoes, zucchini, etc.  I know I like stuffed mushrooms and cabbage too.  Stuffed foods are really fun and homey and so simple to make.  I have always thought that my mom used to make them, which is why I love them so much and make so many different varieties.  I was making a variation of them for the family I cook for about a week ago, and I was running late and wanted to expedite the process.  So I called my my mum and asked her advice.  I was very surprised when she informed me that she never made us stuffed peppers or stuffed anything as kids, yet I distinctly remember eating them at home.  Of course, at the time they were filled with white rice and ground beef.  I asked her several times if she was sure she wasn't mistaken, but she was adamant.  I'm just wondering where or whom the hell I ate these peppers with that I distinctly remember eating as a child. 

It's so strange how you have memories of things that happened when you were a kid that actually didn't happen as you remember them.  Such a strange thing.  There is one particular incidence I have in mind that happened when I was about five.  I have an older sister who is over 10 years older than me and shared a room with me for several years when I was very young.  Have I ever mentioned that I am one of 6 kids?  I know it sounds crazy in this day and age, but I loved and still love every moment of it.  Well, one day my sister was cleaning our room, tossing all of my/ "our" toys into the toy boxes in the closet.  I was in the closet, going after a Cabbage Patch doll (did those things really ever exist?!) she had just thrown in the box, and I had the misfortune to stand up as she was tossing in a Barbie doll horse with sharp hooves.  Of course the hoof gashed the side of my head and cut it open.  I didn't cry until I saw that my hand came away covered in blood.  My mom took me to the hospital and I remember being a very good girl, and being rewarded by the doctors with a small stuffed smiley face and then later with some bubble gum by the foot from my mom.  When I brought up the incidence many many years later, my mom told me I was actually the worst in the hospital - screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, making a huge fuss, and just generally being a hideous pain.  Funny right?  Because I truly remember it happening that I was a good girl.  Long way of saying it's funny how you remember things differently than they actually happened, right?  I'll have to figure out where it is that I first ate those stuffed peppers.  It's driving me crazy that I don't know how it is I fell in love with them!


Stuffed Peppers:

The Cooked Pepper Filling



Serves 4

Stuffed Peppers:

4 medium peppers, assorted colors tops removed, insides scraped out and tops reserved

1/2 cup green pepper, small diced (from reserved tops of peppers)

1/4 cup orange pepper, small diced (reserved from top of peppers)

1 medium onion, small diced, about 1 cup

2 stalks celery, small diced, about 3/4 cup

2 small carrots, small diced, about 3/4 cup

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked white or brown rice

1 cup cooked chickpeas

2 tablespoons sofrito

2 teaspoons vegetable bouillion powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

Daiya, for top of pepper, optional

1.  Place a wok on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once it is hot, add the green, orange and jalapeno peppers, onion and celery.  Saute for several minutes, or until veggies are crisp-tender.  Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

2.  Add the sofrito, boullion, cumin, black pepper and chipotle pepper powder.  Stir to coat the veggies.  Add the cooked rice and cooked garbanzo beans.  Stir all ingredients to coat.  Season to taste. 

3.  Place the empty peppers into a pan that has been lightly oiled.  Portion out the filling into the peppers, really packing it tightly into the pepper.  Only three of my peppers could fit into a square 8" baking pan, and my 9x13" pan was busy with a casserole, so I baked my peppers in batches.

4.  To help the peppers cook faster and more thoroughly, place about 2/3 cup of water in the bottom of the baking pan.  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the peppers can be easily pierced with a fork. 



The Raw Stuffed Pepper, Bottom of Pan Covered in Water



5.  If you would like, once the peppers are soft, remove the foil, top with daiya and return to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.  These, you really should let cool for at least 10 minutes, because the peppers themselves will retain a lot of heat.  Once these cooled, I put them into leftover plastic 1 lb. deli containers - they fit perfectly, and were an easy, secure way for the Hubby to transport them to work for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Gluten Free Wednesday: Gluten Free Cherry Almond Biscotti

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

I have honestly never really been that into biscotti before.  Not until my brief stint working as a vegan baker at 'Snice Brooklyn.  They have several creative baked goods that I really enjoyed making, although not eating.  The thing I didn't like about the baked goods there is that they were very refined.  They used a ton of Earth Balance, which I appreciate as much as the next person, but do not use it in all of my vegan baking applications.  I tend to use it in only certain things and would never use it in muffins or cakes, unlike 'Snice.  But I really did appreciate their creativity and presentation of the baked goods.  I love how they serve their cookies behind the counter in cookie jars - I think it is adorable and I am hideously obsessed with their sandwiches.  They are really too expensive for my tastes at the moment, unfortunately.  One of the good things about working there though was that I was given a bagel and coffee for breakfast and a complimentary sandwich when I left each day.  That was very cool, since I was able to sample a lot of the sandwiches free.  I have tried to replicate several of them at home, to the approval of my Hubby.  When I was working there, I would save him half of the sandwich, which he absolutely enjoyed.

Back to biscotti, shall we?  The first time I actually ever made biscotti was at 'Snice.  And it was another one of those things calling for mixing Earth Balance and white sugar together, then adding several other ingredients to the mixer to create the dough.  I do have a stand mixer, which is a little uncommon for NYC, simply because we tend not to have a lot of counter space.  Most of the time my mixer is in storage and I only get it out occasionally, so I did not want to make something with the mixer unless it is absolutely necessary.  I also thought their biscotti was far too sweet, but a good starting point.  So, I searched and searched for a gluten free recipe for biscotti, because I figured why not make something that I have never made before a little more complicated by trying to make it gluten free.  I came across several, but not a vegan gluten free biscotti recipe.  So I took several points from several of the recipes and combined them. 

The first time I made the recipe I was convinced it wouldn't work.  I was very surprised when it almost worked.  So I set about making several changes, trying it again, with the result being even better but not exactly what I was looking for.  It really improved the third time around.  Sometimes I think about how many times I test each recipe, and think about how many resources it takes to prepare them: time, money, supplies, disappointment when it doesn't work out ...  But I hate the fact that even after Hubby and I sample it, we have to throw it away.  If it is edible and enjoyable, I give it to him to take to work and give to his coworkers who are very honest in their opinions.  But a lot of the time when I make the first or second batches, they don't turn out and I wouldn't want to give them to someone.  Yuck.  I would love to compost them, like my parents in Michigan do.  They have an amazing organic garden and have composted my whole life.  I'm sure there are locations here in NY I can bring my compost to, but do I really want to keep a container of smelly compost in my apartment, and lug it on the train or bus somewhere.  Sigh.  Until a garden opens up down the block.  Shall we get onto the biscotti???

Gluten Free Cherry Almond Biscotti:

Perfectly Crisp & Delicious, Studded with Bits of Almonds
& Dried Cherries

Yields 8 Pieces, plus the ends

¾ cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup whole almonds
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 tablespoons arrowroot
¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup sliced almonds
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup organic dehydrated cane juice
¼ cup flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside until ready to use.
2. Place the almonds and the sorghum flour in a food processor and process until it is fine textured and no bits of almonds can be felt. Place in a medium mixing bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients: the tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, xanthan gum, baking powder, sea salt, sliced almonds and dried cherries.
3. In a separate bowl, add the sugar, flax eggs, canola oil, vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk together until completely emulsified and thickened.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together with hands until a very firm dough forms - this cannot be mixed with a spoon or spatula. Press into a rectangle and bake for about 30 minutes, or until firm in the very center and the edges are golden brown.
5. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
6. Place baked biscotti onto a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife, slice off the very ends. Slice the remaining dough into 8 slices, about ¾” each. Lay the biscotti on their sides and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until firm and crispy. They will continue to firm up as they cool.
7. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

 This is one of the rare instances where the Hubby actually not only participated in the meal, but actually cooked quite a bit.  Well, admittedly, the moro was from dinner the night before, and I made the sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies, but he made the whole spaghetti dish, all the way from dry pasta to the finished cooked dish.  Not sure why, but the Hubby has been in a fiendish carb mood lately, so I just went along with it, even though when I saw the plate he prepared for me (see below!), I had a mini freak out, but not wanting to say anything, I went with it and it all was delicious.  So, Hubby said he was in the mood for pasta, but not American pasta (meaning where pasta is served with the sauce on top, rather than mixed in), rather Dominican-style pasta (where the sauce is mixed in with the noodles). 

So, he cooked the pasta, set it aside and started on the sauce.  I told him that he should tell me what he was putting in it as he was making it, and he started off doing it, but then I looked in his pot and saw things he didn't tell me he put in there, so I'm not totally sure all of what he put in it.  I know he sauteed some onions and garlic in a couple tablespoons earth balance, then added some tomato taste, boullion cubes, black pepper, unsweetened soymilk (he wanted to use dairy milk, ugh!), and topped it off with some fresh basil, but I'm not sure on the proportions or what else he put in there.  I do know, however, that it was delicious and a nice change of pace to have the sauce mixed right in with the pasta.  Good job Hubby!  Now if he would only do it more often!

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

Hubby's Spaghetti, Sweet Potatoes, Moro, Sauteed Veggies

Serves 3


Sauteed Veggies:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced, about 2 cups
1 small onion sliced, about 1 cup
1/2 green pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
1/2 orange pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
2 medium carrots,sliced on the diagonal, about 1 1/2 cups
3 scallions, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced on the diagonal
1 c. leftover cooked sesame kale
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Sweet Potatoes:
1 large sweet potato
1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance
Pinch Sea Salt
1 tablespoon turbiando sugar

1.  You can prepare some other kind of pasta or rice dish instead of what the Hubby made.  Have that ready.
2.  Start by peeling and medium dicing the sweet potato.  Place in a small pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until potato can be easily pierced with a fork. 
3.  While the potato is cooking, prepare the sauteed veggies.  Place a large wok on the stove over high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers and carrots.  Saute, stirring frequently, until carrot is slightly softened.  Add remaining veggies: zucchini, scallions and celery.  Continue sauteing until tender crisp.  Stir in the leftover cooked kale.  If you do not have any leftover cooked kale, simply add the raw chopped kale when you add the celery, scallions and zucchini and cook until softened.  Season veggies with sea salt and black pepper.  Turn off heat and transfer to a serving dish.
4.  Finish the sweet potatoes.  Drain the potatoes and add the earth balance to the hot pot, allowing it to melt.  Add the sweet potatoes back to the pot, as well as the turbinado sugar and sea salt.  Season to taste.
5.  To serve, place spaghetti and/or moro on plate, followed by sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies.

Enjoy!

-Koko