The Inaugural Committee 2009 provided the Inaugural Dinner recipes online. Unfortunately, NONE of the foods were vegan, not even the vegetables! Shame on them!

So, I’m veganizing these recipes. Today, a side dish of winter vegetables. Again, this one’s easy to veganize. I simply omitted the butter and added a bit more olive oil. I’ve made a few other changes to make it easier for everyday cooks.

Savory Winter Vegetables
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bunches Asparagus, green, bottom 1/3 of stem removed (option: frozen instead)
• 2 lbs. Carrots, peeled, cut oblong or diced (option: frozen instead)
• 1 lb. Baby Brussel Sprouts, fresh and cleaned (option: frozen instead)
• 1 lb. Wax Beans, ends snipped (option: frozen instead)
• 1 each Zest from orange (option: 1/2 teaspoon orange juice)
• 6 oz. Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste and/or your favorite seasoning blend (like Mrs. Dash, Old Bay, or Tony Chachere’s)

Directions

Asparagus:
For Fresh: Preheat grill or large heavy bottom sauté pan. Rub 2 oz of olive oil on asparagus and season with pinch of salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning blend. Lay flat on grill or sauté pan until lightly browned. Using long fork or tongs, rotate the asparagus to brown other sides. Usually 2 or 3 minutes per side. The asparagus is done when you can use a fork to cut through. Do not overcook, this will cause asparagus to become limp and stringy. Keep warm until ready to serve.
For Frozen: Defrost and then cook as though asparagus were fresh.

Carrots:
For Fresh or Frozen: Steam the carrots in a stove-top steamer or a rice cooker steamer. Cook until fork tender, meaning a fork
will easily pass through the carrot. Toss 1 oz olive oil and zest of orange and mix until carrots are coated. Season with pinch of salt and enjoy. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Brussel Sprouts:
For Fresh: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil, cut into the stem of the sprout with a pairing knife to create an X on the bottom, this will allow the stem to cook more evenly. Place sprout in boiling water and allow to cook until bottom of sprout is tender and easily cut with a knife. Preheat a heavy bottom sauté while the sprouts are cooking. Remove sprouts from water and allow all water to drain completely. Add 2 oz oil to sauté pan and add the sprouts, season with salt and pepper while tossing the sprouts around to evenly brown in the pan. If sprouts are too big, you can cut them in half. Keep warm until ready to serve.
For Frozen: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil and drop frozen brussel sprouts into water, these are precooked so you are only thawing them out. Remove from water and sauté as above. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Yellow Wax beans:
For Fresh or Frozen: Bring 3 qt salted water to boil, add snipped wax beans to water and allow to cook until fork tender or to your liking. Remove from water and toss with 1 oz oil and season with salt and pepper and/or your favorite seasoning blend. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Gently mix vegetables together and serve as a side dish.

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Sections: Vegan Food
Topics: Food, recipe, veg, Vegan, winter vegetables