picadillo

Approximate WeightWatchers points value: 3, Serving size: 6


For our family Lammas feast this year I have veganized a recipe from my husband's childhood. He has fond memories of his Cuban grandfather making this delicious dish for the whole family. We are serving our version of picadillo with brown rice, fried plantains and mango sorbet for dessert. I am also making American corn bread to honor a local native food that's coming into harvest time, as well as keeping the Lammas tradition of baking bread from the first grain crop as is typical for this festival of loaves.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed & minced
24oz (2pkg) Lightlife Smartground
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup small green olives, halved
1/3 cup raisins
Salt and pepper to taste


Sauté onion, green pepper, and garlic in a large frying pan brushed lightly w/grapeseed oil. Fry about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened, using vegetable broth to deglaze as needed. Then add the tomatoes and saute till they soften. Next add the Smartground & spices: cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and oregano -- and also add the olives & raisins. Cover & reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

smokey red beans with 'taters & corn

This makes 6 servings @ approximately 4 WeightWatchers POINTS® each.

Spuds and corn are a new twist in this recipe reminiscent of the classic red beans & rice. I always think something sweet rounds out smokey flavors nicely, so a side of fruit such as applesauce or perhaps grilled summer peaches would be a fitting addition. And of course what are red beans without serving up a mess 'a greens? Saute up a batch of your fave ones to go along with this dinner inspired by southern hospitality :)

Ingredients

3 cups yellow corn

3 cups baby potatoes, quartered

3 cups cooked small red beans

2 onions, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed & diced

1/2 - 1 tsp liquid smoke

Instructions

Steam, boil or nuke the potatoes till cooked. Set aside.

In a skillet brushed lightly w/grapeseed oil, saute onions & peppers over medium heat till veggies are softened. Add the corn along with a couple cloves garlic. Saute till corn gets some color. Next add the potatoes & red beans plus liquid smoke to taste. Season well w/salt.

very berry cobbler

4 servings, 4 points each.

What's summer without fresh, seasonal fruit? Berries of all kinds are prolific now, so what better way to take advantage than a little sweet treat. This is actually a WeightWatcher's recipe that I've veganized. The original called for blackberries & strawberries, but I've made it with an assortment of various berries, including sour cherries from my own little tree. If the fruit is particularly tart you can adjust the sugar a bit. I think you could also use a combination of apples with berries as well -- lovely for an autumn treat. The point is to eat in season, and eat local.

By the way, there are two kinds of cobblers, those with a pastry crust, and those with a biscuit topping. This is the latter.

For the fruit:

4 cups berries
1/4 tsp table salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

For the topping:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk
1 1/2 teasp white vinegar


Add the vinegar to the soymilk and set aside (this is a buttermilk replacement, incidentally -- works great!)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Directly into a pie plate or 8"X 8" baking dish, stir together the fruit, 1/4 tsp salt, cornstarch and 1/4 cup of sugar. Place in the oven and bake until hot, about 5 minutes.

Next, prepare the topping: In a bowl, stir together flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the cardamom. Stir in the soured soymilk to form a sticky dough.

Remove fruit from oven. Drop the dough by heaping spoonfuls onto fruit to form 4 biscuits. Bake until biscuits are golden and the fruit is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Allow cobbler to sit for at least 5 minutes for fruit to firm up before serving.

I found this to be especially good warm, and individual servings reheated well in the microwave the next day. Of course it goes without saying that a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream would be a decadent addition!