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Chips & Onion Dip is the Recipe of the Week...

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Dec 11, 2020
  • 4 min read
Crispy Baked Vegetable Chips

Pep time: 20 MINUTES - cook time: 40 MINUTES - total time: 1 HOUR


These Crispy Baked Vegetable Chips come together in just 30 minutes, and are the perfect crunchy snack for lunch boxes or movie nights.


Ingredients

  • Sweet potatoes, red or golden beets, zucchini, summer squash, taro, rutabaga, white potatoes, or a combination thereof

  • Fine sea salt

  • Avocado oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

  2. Scrub clean vegetables, and then peel, if desired (I usually leave the peels on everything except for taro and rutabagas). Using a mandolin, slice the vegetables into thin slices.

For Veggies with High Water Content (beets, zucchini, summer squash):

  1. Lay the veggie slices in one layer on paper towels. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Set aside and allow to sweat out excess moisture for 15 minutes.

  2. When 15 minutes is up, use paper towels to dab off the extra moisture. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets in one layer, then brush or spray with avocado oil

  3. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the pans (including switching racks). Bake an additional 15 minutes, then rotate again. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until chips are brown and feel slightly crisp. Some chips might crisp up earlier than others—remove those as they finish.

For Veggies with Low Water Content (sweet potatoes, taro, rutabaga, white potatoes):

  1. Place the vegetable slices in a large bowl, add in enough oil to lightly coat all slices, and toss to coat. Make sure all sides of each slice are well-coated.

  2. Place the chips in one layer on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with the sea salt.

  3. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the pans (including switching racks). Bake an additional 15 minutes, then rotate again. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until chips are brown and feel slightly crisp. Some chips might crisp up earlier than others—remove those as they finish.

Notes

  • You want to slice your veggies as thinly as the mandolin will go without the veggies being paper thin/see-through. On my mandolin, this is the second thinnest setting.

  • All these chips will crisp up even more when cool, so don’t worry if they are a bit floppy still when you take them out. This is especially true with zucchini, summer squash, and beets.

Nutrition Information: SERVING SIZE: 1 cup Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 79TOTAL FAT: 0.9gSATURATED FAT: .2gCHOLESTEROL: 0mgSODIUM: 151mgCARBOHYDRATES: 16.6gFIBER: 3.5gSUGAR: 6gPROTEIN: 2.7g


French Onion Dip

Prep Time: 10 mins - Serves 4

This French onion dip is creamy, tangy, and packed with umami flavor! Served with potato chips or veggies, it's a fantastic appetizer or snack. If you don't already have caramelized onions on hand, note that you'll need to budget around 90 minutes to make them and allow them to cool before mixing up the dip.


Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Cashew Sour Cream

  • 1/2 packed cup chopped Caramelized Onions*, chilled or at room temperature

  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

  • Potato chips, for serving

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, stir together the cashew sour cream, caramelized onions, onion powder, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Cover, and chill for one hour.

  • Top the chilled dip with the chives and serve with potato chips.

Notes *From about 1 onion. It’s easier to make the whole batch and have extra than to cook just 1 onion. Caramelized onions will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months.





Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

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Chewy Molasses Cookies is the Recipe of the Week...

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Dec 4, 2020
  • 4 min read
Chewy Molasses Cookies

Molasses Cookie Recipe Ingredients

Something else I love about this molasses cookie recipe? It’s totally vegan! It comes together with these basic ingredients:

  • Molasses, of course! I make these cookies with unsulphured blackstrap molasses, which gives them a rich molasses flavor and dark color.

  • Brown sugar and white sugar – For sweetness. This combination also contributes to the cookies’ delicious chewy texture.

  • Coconut oil – For this recipe, your coconut oil should be soft, but not melted. To achieve the right consistency, I usually pop it in the microwave for around 15 seconds before I start to bake. The exact timing depends on its initial texture, which varies based on the temperature of the kitchen. Room temperature butter will work here too.

  • All-purpose flour – For the most precise measurement, use the spoon-and-level method.

  • Baking soda – It reacts with the molasses and brown sugar to help the cookies rise.

  • Warm spices – You can’t make good chewy molasses cookies without spices! I use the same ones that I do in my vegan gingerbread: ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom.

  • Vanilla – It deepens the warm, spiced flavor of these molasses cookies.

  • Fine sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

  • And natural cane sugar – For rolling! It creates a sweet, crispy crust around the cookies’ chewy middles.

First, make the dough. Cream the coconut oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla, and mix again to combine. Then, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Gradually add them to the bowl of the stand mixer, mixing after each addition. Finally, mix in 1 tablespoon water to moisten the dough.

Next, shape the cookies. Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to portion the dough, and roll each scoop into a ball. Roll the balls in a small bowl of cane sugar. When they’re evenly coated, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.


Before you bake, gently press down on the balls to flatten them slightly.


Then, bake! Transfer the cookies to a 350° oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies have spread slightly and cracks form on their surfaces. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!


Chewy Molasses Cookies Tips

  • Use natural cane sugar for rolling. I like to use regular granulated sugar in these cookies, but I use natural cane sugar on the outside. It has a slightly coarser texture, which creates a delicious crispy crust around the cookies’ edges.

  • Bake one sheet at a time. These molasses cookies spread out as they bake, so depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may need to bake them in two batches. Though working in batches takes longer than putting all the cookies in the oven at once, the extra time is worth it. Because temperatures vary throughout an oven, the cookies will bake most evenly if they’re all on the same oven rack. You don’t want cookies on a lower rack to burn before ones above them are cooked through!

  • Leave them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes after they come out of the oven. It’ll be tempting to reach for these chewy molasses cookies as soon as they finish baking, but if you can, hold off for at least 10 minutes. Straight out of the oven, the cookies are puffy and delicate. As they cool, they crisp up around the edges and become chewy and fudgy in the middle. After 10 minutes, go ahead and sample one (or more), and transfer the rest to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup soft (not melted) coconut oil or room temperature butter

  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar

  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar

  • ⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • ½ teaspoon cardamom

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 tablespoon water

  • ⅓ cup cane sugar, for rolling

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream the coconut oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix again.

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the 1 tablespoon water.

  • Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to scoop the dough and use your hands to roll it into balls. Roll in the sugar, press down slightly, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
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PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

Sweet Potato Pancakes & Stuffing “Falafel” Pitas with Tahini Gravy, Thanksgiving Leftovers recipes!

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Nov 27, 2020
  • 4 min read
Candied Sweet Potato Pancakes

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 8 1/2 ounces)

  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more to taste

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, or more to taste

  • 2 1/4 cups buttermilk

  • 1/2 cup leftover mashed sweet potatoes

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

  • Unsalted butter, for greasing griddle and serving

  • 1/2 cup granola

  • Pure maple syrup, for serving

Instructions Checklist

  • Step 1 Stir together flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, sweet potatoes, eggs, and orange zest in a large bowl. Stir in flour mixture until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Stir in walnuts. Let batter stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

  • Step 2 Heat an electric griddle to 350°F, or heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium-low; grease with butter. Using a 2 3/4-inch scoop and working in 3 batches, spoon about 1/2 cup batter per pancake onto hot griddle. Cook until tops are covered in bubbles and sides are set, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until set and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Wipe griddle clean between batches.

  • Step 3 To serve, top pancakes with butter. Sprinkle evenly with granola, and drizzle with maple syrup.

By Douglass Williams - “My great-grandmother, who is 102, would always make candied sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving,” says Douglass Williams, a 2020 F&W Best New Chef. “I wanted to try to find a way to use those sweet potatoes the day after.” So Williams came up with these light, fluffy pancakes, flecked with orange zest and studded with crunchy walnuts. The addition of mashed sweet potatoes gives them a beautiful color and keeps them extra moist and tender. Since the potatoes are already sweetened, Williams cuts back the amount of brown sugar in the pancakes and plays up the warming cinnamon and clove. All in all, this quick-fix recipe is the ideal breakfast for the morning after Thanksgiving—or any time you have leftover candied sweet potatoes on hand.

Stuffing “Falafel” Pitas with Tahini Gravy

  • 2 cups leftover stuffing, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

  • 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

  • 3 tablespoons grated yellow onion

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 large eggless egg, beaten

  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, divided

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 3/4 cup leftover gravy

  • 1/2 cup tahini

  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 6 to 8 (6-inch) pita rounds, toasted and halved

  • Leftover cranberry sauce, pickled onions, and hot sauce, for serving

  • Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Instructions Checklist

  • Step 1 Stir together stuffing, mashed potatoes, cilantro, onion, flour, egg, lemon zest, cumin, and coriander in a large bowl until combined. Shape stuffing mixture into about 28 balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Roll each ball in sesame seeds; gently flatten into patties.

  • Step 2 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, add patties to skillet; cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

  • Step 3 Heat gravy in a small saucepan over medium; whisk in tahini until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in salt and lemon juice.

  • Step 4 Stuff each pita half with 2 patties. Add a generous drizzle of tahini gravy, and top with cranberry sauce, pickled onions, and hot sauce. Garnish with parsley and cilantro.

By Zoë Kanan - Leftover stuffing and mashed potatoes get a new lease on life in these crispy, sesame-studded, falafel-like patties from Chef Zoë Kanan. “I was inspired by the overstuffed, colorful, and briny pitas of Tel Aviv,” Kanan says of this next-level Thanksgiving sandwich. “The key here is introducing crunch to the sandwich. Use my recipe as a guide, and riff by including whatever textural ingredients you have around, like fried onions, sunflower seeds, or even wasabi peas.” She tucks the patties into pitas with crunchy pickled onions and drizzle of tahini-bolstered gravy for the ultimate Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Tahini brands can vary in thickness; thin with a splash of warm water or broth, if needed.

Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
ANIMAL RESCUES WELFARE, CRIMES & ABUSE
PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

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