Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Reduction

My daughter Noele cooks by the seat of her pants like I do.  I used to be better at it, but I'm out of practice. Noele, on the other hand, is great at it.

Last night she made us a sweet potato gnocchi and topped it with a mushroom reduction. And once again, the flavors of her vegan dishes are really wonderful.

Sweet potato was a great base for the gnocchi. The sweet potato dough made pillows that were decently chewy but still light.

The mushrooms were super rich with distinguishable flavors of fruity wine, tart balsamic vinegar, and earthy fungus. They mixed really well with the gnocchi.

Given Noele's cooking style, here's the best recipes you'll get, but this should be enough for you to figure it out.

Noele's Sweet Potato Gnocci
1 large sweet potato
1½ cup flour

1. Boil and mash the sweet potato
2. Mix in about a cup of the flour, then roll the dough in the remaining flour until you get the texture you want
3. Roll the dough into ropes, and cut them into bite-sized pillows
4. Boil about 5 minutes

Noele's Mushroom Reduction
A bunch of wild mushrooms
Simon and Garfunkel spices (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)
A little olive oil
Red wine
Balsamic vinegar

1. Finely chop the mushrooms
2. Saute them in olive oil
3. Add spices and saute some more
4. Add the wine and vinegar and saute some more
5. Add some of the gnocchi water as needed to get the right consistency

Vegan Treats from Sprouted Raw Foods

Our daughter Noele has been introducing us to vegetarian and vegan foods, so I had to stop at the vegan treats booth we saw at the Mahoney's Farmer's Market. I find vegan food oddly wonderful, and the treats from Sprouted Raw Foods were no exception. Don't let "raw" and "vegan" scare you away. These restrictions push their proponents to make the food with extra care.

Sprouted Raw Foods has both sweet and savory lines. We came home with a kale and onion crisp that was striped with green kale. It was rich, slightly salty and featured the kale flavors well. It paired nicely with a cheese plate, but don't tell the vegans we used them that way. We also got a cranberry citrus nut cluster. It was a bright and slightly tart granola; a great cookie replacement.

Do take the chance to visit them. Besides the good food they are helpful and friendly. I took my picture moments after spilling my coffee all over the booth (sorry). See, still a smile.

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Noele has been extending her vegetarian repertoire with some great vegan recipes. She shared a vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe with us that she really enjoyed. We weren't able to find the raw cashews, so we substituted the walnuts we had.

Ours didn't come out tasting like Alfredo, but it did taste good, more like carbonara. I think you can see in the picture how the nuts didn't chop into a butter like I think the cashews will. We bought some raw cashews today and will try it again soon.

We put the sauce on a fun, flower shaped pasta. It is called Primule Mediterranee from Pasta Di Stigliano. Gail also sauteed a vegetable mix of celery, zucchini and tomatoes that was really wonderful.
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Makes 2 c sauce

½ c plus raw cashews
Salt and pepper to taste (1/16 t)
½ t ea onion and garlic powders
1 ½ c vegetable broth
2 T olive oil
1 ½ T cornstarch

1. Pulse nuts with seasonings in food processor.
2. Mix broth and oil in saucepan; temper in cornstarch. Stir into saucepan; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Pour thickened broth mixture into cashews; pulse to puree.
4. Serve over cooked fettuccine.