Hoisin Sweet Potato Open Faced Sandwich

Is the sweet potato the secret to longevity?  Here is a quote from the article that appeared in the Huffingpost written by Dan Buettner the author of the book The Blue Zones:

All Okinawans age 100 or more who are alive today were born between 1903 and 1914. During the first third of their lives, roughly before 1940, the vast majority of the calories they consumed — more than 60 percent — came from one food: the imo, or Okinawan sweet potato. A purple or yellow variety related to our orange sweet potato, the imo came here from the Americas about 400 years ago and took well to Okinawan soils. This sweet potato — high in flavonoids, vitamin C, fiber, carotenoids, and slow-burning carbohydrates — is one of the healthiest foods on the planet.

Realizing this fact and because sweet potato is so easy to bake in the microwave, it has been a staple in my diet.  It is good as is straight from the microwave sans anything.  I have used it to to make plant based burgers,, savory pancakes, and burrito that satisfied me.  I was watching the TV show The Chew and one of the hosts mentioned that sweet potatoes are being used like a piece of bread spread with all kinds of toppings.  But I love my bread and did not want to do away with it.  So I decided to have it and also eat my sweet potato by preparing this open faced sandwich.

I decided to have an Asian influenced open faced sandwich with sweet potatoes as the "meat" and Hoisin sauce, green onions and cilantro as toppings.  My oh my.  This is the bomb!

Hoisin Sweet Potato Open Faced Sandwich

• 1 six inch long whole wheat baguette 
• 1 small sweet potato, cooked or baked in the microwave or oven
• 1 piece napa cabbage
• 2 tsp Hoisin sauce (store bought or homemade using recipe below)
• 1 small bunch cilantro
• 1 tbsp green onions, sliced in small pieces

Split your baguette open.  Toast your baguette in the toaster.

Line the baguette pieces with napa cabbage and then spread the sweet potato slices on top of the baguette. Squeeze Hoisin sauce from the bottle on top of the potatoes and top with cilantro and green onions.  Enjoy!

Homemade Hoisin Sauce

(From CDKitchen)

(Makes 1/2 cup)

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter or black bean paste
• 1 tablespoon honey or molasses or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 20 drops chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together.   At first it does not appear to be mixing together, keep at it and whisk a bit longer.

Zucchini Cranberry Walnut Salad

I have this love fest for Aldi's Grocery Little Salad Bar brand Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad shown below. When my sisters, Bebeng and Menchie (shown below with Maddie my granddaughter) came for a visit this month, they also found this salad irresistible.  So much so they made sandwiches out of this salad to take with them on their airplane ride to Los Angeles.  Luckily they left me with one full container of this awesome salad which I ate with gusto.

I had been off my plant based diet when my dear sisters were here and I have decided to go back to this approach to eating.  For one thing I have not had a cold or flu since I adapted this way of eating and I want to stick to it.  I am a believer.  Anyway I could not get this chicken salad off my mind especially during lunch. What is key to this salad is the combination of the ingredients and I thought that as long as I could mimic the delicious dressing, substituting some kind of veggie with a crunch for the chicken might work.

I resorted to using good old zucchini.  It has a neutral taste and good crunchy texture.  I added nuts, walnut, in this recipe and dried cranberries that give the salad its distinct personality and deliciousness. I used light Miracle Whip but one can use plant based mayo.  I just have this love fest with Miracle Whip. I added rice vinegar which gave the dressing an added tang.

Did I miss the chicken?  Of course there is nothing like having chicken pieces but you know what with the delicious dressing, the nuts, cranberries and crunch of the zucchini, you will fall in love with this vegetarian version like I did. Try it.

Zucchini Cranberry Walnut Salad

• 1 large zucchini, cubed 
• 1/2 cup walnut
• 1/2 cup sweet dried cranberries
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup light Miracle Whip
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Serve over lettuce or over lettuce lined bread or as it is as a salad.

Apricot Walnut Chicken Salad

This was inspired by the cranberry walnut chicken salad I purchased at Aldis Grocery Store. You can find it in the refrigerator section of this store together with the other salads and cheeses.

I fell in love with it!  It was tangy yet sweet from the addition of cranberry.  It has that crunch from the walnuts which complements the creaminess of the dressing over the chicken pieces.

I baked a whole chicken yesterday and had plenty of leftovers.  I decided to mimic the Aldis version.  Since I did not have dried cranberries I substituted dried apricots instead. I also chose to use Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise but you definitely can use the latter instead.

This is pretty close to what Aldis sell.   Do tweak the proportions of the ingredients to your taste. It is a forgiving  and delicious recipe.

Apricot Walnut Chicken Salad

• 1 large cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1/2 cup diced dry apricots
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup pickle relish
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup Miracle Whip dressing or low fat mayonnaise
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• sugar or splenda to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.  

Serve between pieces of bread as a sandwich or over salad greens as a main dish.

Spicy Pepper and Mushroom Ragu Sub

I wanted to have some plant based food around as a choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I do not covet my husband's carnivore dishes.  So I am on a cooking spree these days trying to get back to the plant based way of eating after falling off it I have to admit these past few days.  I love to have variety in what I eat for the day or sometimes within a meal.  

I have crusty baguettes cut into 3 inch lengths in the freezer ready to be thawed and toasted for sandwiches with vegetable laden fillings.  One I have wanted to see if it will work is to make a spicy pepper and mushroom mixture reminiscent of the carnivore version I made a few weeks ago except this time without the hamburger meat.  That is what I attempted just a few hours ago.  I already devoured the sub I made using this mixture and I was satisfied.  It is not totally like the meat version but it made me happy especially over crusty bread.  Yum, yum, yum.  

I am trying hard to adhere to the low fat way of cooking in the plant based approach of eating and stuck to using water instead of even little oil to saute the vegetables.  As long as one is patient in cooking the vegetables, they will turn out sweet like they would if sauteed in oil.  In this dish I did use diced tomatoes with chilies but one can opt to just use an equivalent amount of diced tomatoes.  The presence of these tomatoes will help soak into the crusty bread or roll and moisten it and you would not need any mayonnaise or oil.  

Just like in the carnivore version which I used to pattern this dish, I used Worcestershire sauce to give it a "steak" like taste plus I enriched the flavor of the dish with soy sauce.

Over crusty roll or baguette this will give you the satisfaction you get from a steak sandwich without all the fat.  It is also healthier than the mayonnaise ridden vegetarian sandwiches you can get from Subway.  

Spicy Pepper and Mushroom Ragu Sub

• 1/4 cup water or 2 tsp vegetable oil (Note 1)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced
• 1-8 oz package of button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 -10 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilies (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes (optional)
• 2 tsp dry garlic flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
• crusty rolls

Place 1/4 cup of water (or 2 tsp oil) in a saute pan.  Allow to boil then place the sliced onions.  Let the onions to turn translucent then add the sliced peppers and diced tomatoes with chilies.  When the peppers are cooked add the button mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion flakes (if using) and garlic flakes (if using).  Continue to cook till the mushrooms are cooked but not soggy.  Then add the cornstarch in water mixture. Stir till the mixture thickens.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Place this Pepper and Mushroom Ragu over crusty rolls and have a hearty plant based sub sandwich.  It can also be a delicious side dish for any carnivore dish you desire.  

Note:

1.  If you are a strict plant based afficionado, use the water and if you are vegan use the vegetable oil to saute the vegetables.

2. You can also just used diced tomatoes if you do not like spicy stuff in your food.

Easy Meatball Sandwich

Are you expecting a crowd and you need an easy dish that will appeal to everyone? This is the recipe for you.  You just stick the two ingredients, meatballs and pasta sauce in the crock pot overnight at the Keep Warm setting and you have the filling for your meatball sandwich.  You can also cook it at low for 2-3 hours. The two main ingredients are available in all grocery stores.  No sweat and No fail recipe.

I did not believe my exercise teacher, Bonnie, when she said she cooked it at the Keep Warm setting in her crockpot. I am pleased to say it works at the Keep Warm setting.  This is not surprising since the frozen meatballs are already cooked as well as the pasta sauce.  She prepared it the night before and her mother brought it to the Silver Sneakers Christmas party at Webbs Gym in Penn Hills for the luncheon buffet the next day. Easy and so delicious.  Here are some of the pictures from this party.

Easy Meatball Sandwich

• 5-6 lb bag frozen cooked Italian beef meatballs
• 1- 48 oz Ragu Original Pasta Sauce (or your favorite brand)
• sausage buns
• provolone cheese

Place the frozen meatballs and pasta sauce in a crock pot.  Cook overnight using the Stay Warm setting or at low setting for 2 -3 hours. 

Serve on a sausage bun with a piece of provolone cheese.  Enjoy.

Tomato Pesto Avocado Toast

If you have a good loaf of whole wheat bread, anything will taste good on it. Actually even air.  It can go naked.  I buy my whole wheat bread from Aldis where they sometimes cost less than a dollar but even if not on special they only cost less than a dollar fifty.  If you are running out of ideas of what plant based sandwich you can have for lunch then you have come to the right place.  This is easy and delicious.

If you spread a homemade tomato pesto on it using the recipe I have in a past blogpost or one you can purchase at Aldis the whole wheat bread can be easily your lunch with a good cup of vegetable soup.  Since I discovered how good Daiya non dairy cheese, this time I used cheddar, I like to splurge and use a sprinkling. I just saw Daiya cheese being sold at Giant Eagle Grocery Store less than what I paid at a specialty food store.  Check it out.  For a special treat, I topped my toast with sliced avocados which I have plenty of since my adorable Aldis was selling them for less than 70 cents a piece a week ago.  If you have cilantro do use it. It gives a special refreshing flavor to the whole package.

I had this toast with Plant Based Corn Potato Chowder the recipe of which I posted in this blog or you can always pair it with any favorite soup of yours.

Tomato Pesto Avocado Toast

2 servings                                                              

• 2 pieces of whole wheat bread
• 4 tbsp tomato pesto (here is a home made recipe)
• 2 tbsp Daiya non dairy cheddar cheese
• 1 whole avocado sliced
• 1 handful cilantro leaves.

Spread the tomato pesto on the whole wheat bread. Top with Daiya cheddar cheese and toast till the cheese melts. Top with avocado slices and cilantro. Enjoy with your favorite cup of soup.

Easy Sloppy Joe

Busy night.  Lots of picky mouths to feed.  You are tired but do not want to order take out.  This is the recipe you need.  Short list of ingredients are needed.  Very flexible.  You can control what you want in the sauce unlike the bottled commercial Sloppy Joe sauce you can buy.

The most essential ingredients in the list are of course ground beef (preferably low fat to skip draining of the fat step), catsup and Worcestershire sauce.  You can embellish the flavor with the onions, green pepper and garlic powder.  Yes you can add Sriracha sauce for extra oomph and depending who you are feeding. Children tend to find it too spicy.

My family loves this and so do my friends.  I gave this to an ailing friend and her husband, Joe, wrote me an email gushing that it is the best he had had or something like that.  Superlatives no less.

Easy Sloppy Joe

• 2.5 lb ground beef (preferably low fat)      
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups catsup
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (optional)

Saute the onion and green pepper in a the oil in a saute pan.  Add the ground beef, salt, black pepper and garlic powder to the vegetable mixture and continue to saute till the beef is browned.  If you are using beef that are high in fat, you can skim off the fat at this point.  Add the catsup, Worcestershire sauce and Sriracha sauce if using and continue to simmer the meat mixture till the flavors are blended.  Spoon over your favorite bun and enjoy pure bliss.  Do not forget to serve some veggies on the side like carrots and celery.  

Ground Beef Menudo - Filipino Sloppy Joe



This is my delicious ground beef version of a popular Filipino sandwich snack called menudo which is usually cooked with ground pork in the Philippines.   I consider this menudo the Filipino counterpart of the Sloppy Joe.  I have previously posted Slow Cooker Pork Menudo in this blog which is more a stew served during the main meals of the day either lunch or dinner.  The ground meat version is more "palaman" or filling for a sandwich.  The difference between the two is the size of the meat which is ground in this sandwich version and the way the vegetables like potatoes are cut in smaller sizes to be a a more convenient filling for a sandwich.

Filipinos love to eat savory snacks in between meals.  Some of the favorite items in the carinderia (little rustic eating places usually in front of a person's house with just a bench or two) are pancit or noodles of every kind, lugao or rice porridge similar to the Chinese kongee and sandwiches filled with cheese pimiento or menudo.

Picture of a typical carinderia from this website. 

I remember buying pork menudo sandwich at Aling Aya's carinderia beside my grandmother's place in Malabon when I was growing up.  We used to live at my grandmother's place in Cuatro Cantos in Malabon till I was 10 years old.  Her daughter-in-law Tina would make it for me while Aling Aya asked me questions about how my Lola Fina (my grandmother Rufina or Fina for short on my father side) and my parents especially my mother who she referred to as Inso Naty were doing.  I find this perplexing since  she visited my grandmother everyday.  They were BFFs as we call them nowadays.  I remember Aling Aya in her duster and long, newly shampooed hair over her shoulder listening to my Lola Fina who always had an opinion or two about the day's events and life in general. 

This past week, for some reason I had a craving for this savory snack but I had only ground beef.  So I recalled how Aling Aya's ground pork menudo was and adapted it using ground beef instead.  Here is the recipe of a very delicious and comforting sandwich.  If you get tired of leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, do not order pizza like most people do.  Try this.  So good and so easy to make.

Groud Beef Menudo-Filipino Sloppy Joe

• 1 lb ground beef (or pork)
• 1 large piece of roasted pepper from a jar , cut to small 1/8 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 potato cut to small 1/8 inch pieces (cook in microwave with some water covering it for 2 minutes or till soft)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup catsup
• 1 tbsp minced dry onions
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ground beef or pork in a pan till cooked.  Add to it the other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes or so at low till the taste blends.  The consistency should be like sloppy joes namely thick enough to spread on a bun or piece of bread.  Serve on a bun and enjoy with your favorite Coke or Pepsi or Sarsi (Filipino cola) drink over ice.  Ang sarap ng buhay.  Life is satisfying.

Filipino Cheese Pimiento Sandwich

Healthier version of a Filipino favorite snack

When I went to visit my sisters in Los Angeles about three years ago, they took me to Island Pacific Grocery.  It was an awesome experience for me since we do not have such a place  where I came from, namely, Pittsburgh, Pa.  I was overwhelmed seeing every Filipino ingredients one could think of in the shelves.   They even had homemade dishes, pastries and delicacies in the food stands within the store.  I eyed cheese pimiento being sold in one of these food places and bought one.  It really brought me back to my childhood when I remember this being served for merienda or afternoon breaks or appetizers at gatherings. 

I recently had a craving for this popular Filipino snack and searched the web for the best recipe I could find.  After fiddling with several, I found one that came close to what I remembered cheese pimiento sandwiches to be like from childhood in filipino - food - recipes.com.  I then experimented with making a healthier version.  I replaced the butter with light Smart Balance and subsituted 2 % milk for the evaporated milk.  I then added Splenda sugar substitute to sweeten the mixture since I did not use evaporated milk which imparts a sweetish taste.  Even with these substitutions the result was what I was craving for. 

Try this recipe and you will be addicted to it like most Filipinos who grew up with it for their snack.  You can have it for your next lunch at work or pack it in our child's lunch box this coming school year.

Filipino Cheese Pimiento Sandwich

(adapted from filipino - food - recipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup American or Cheddar cheese or any other cheese shredded
• 3 tbsp finely chopped pimiento or roasted red pepper from a jar
• about 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 2 tbsp light Smart balance
• Pinch of pepper and salt
• 1 tsp Splenda sugar substitute

Mix the shredded cheese, pimiento and Smart Balance using a fork or small blender.

Add the milk gradually until you have spreading consistency.  You may not need all 1/4 cup.  

Season with salt and pepper.  Add Splenda.

Spread onto slices of white bread.  You can cut the crust if you like.

Notes:

1.  I used Monterey Jack cheese which was not as salty as American cheese.  Thus I added a tiny pinch of salt.

2.  If you are using American cheese or other type of salty cheese, you can skip the salt if you are watching your salt intake.

3.  If you use evaporated milk as in the original recipe, skip the Splenda.

4,  You do not need to melt the Smart Balance spread but you need to do so if using butter as in the original recipe.