Sesame Encrusted Roasted Vegetables with Pumpkin Banana Poppy Seed Dip Vegan MoFo day 14

That title's quite a mouthful, no? Perhaps it's even long enough to let me off the hook for tomorrow's post? :oP Just kidding.

My new friend Somer of Vedgedout and I were discussing the craziness that Vegan MoFo is on our Vegan Temptivists group and there was something she said that really hit the nail on the head, "Don't know if I'm going to do it again next year, or maybe it's like childbirth and once its over you forget how painful it was". That's *exactly* what Vegan MoFo is like! LOL

Every year, right after the first 3 exciting days of the event, the stress starts to build up. We're like, "Arrrghhh too much pressure. Too. Much. Pressure!!" But the next year when Vegan MoFo is announced, it's all, "Gleee!!! Yippeeee!! This is so exciting!!"

Umm WTF happens to the memory part of our brains between November to September? NO idea! All I know is that, despite our various levels of insanity right now, next year when MoFo gets announced, we'll all be going towards it in a zombie-trance, with our arms stretched out in front of us. "Yessss master. What can we cook for you master?"

Well this is what I've cooked for you today...master. :oP

Here's a little secret. You know those veggies that have been sitting in your fridge for over a week? Those half dried up beans, or beets and carrots which have gone soft? Yep, those are what I'm talking about. Well *they* are just perfect for oven roasting!!

I don't peel my vegetables because they are just so much healthier and tastier that way. Besides, have you ever tried peeling soft carrots? Yeah, good luck with that! So just scrub your veggies clean, slice them and they're all set to be turned into crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside goodness. Nom nom nom.

You can make these out of fresh vegetables too but these half-dry ones tend to crisp better on the outside in comparison. So next time you want to finish up an old batch of veggies, this is the way to go. I can't think of a better dish to prepare with them. :)

Also, you can roast a variety of vegetables in this manner, especially root vegetables like Yam (needs peeling), Sweet Potato, Potato. I just roasted Carrots, Beets and Beans today because that's what I had in my crisper and I wanted to finish them before my fresh batch of veggies from Towness arrived in the evening.

I roasted my vegetables in the microwave but you can do the same thing in a regular oven too. It might take a few minutes longer to get nice and crispy. Just test after 15 minutes and continue roasting if required.

Sesame Encrusted Roasted Veggies

Vegetables - beans, carrots, beets
Olive Oil
Sesame Seeds
Salt

Preheat microwave oven to 250 C.

Scrub the carrots and beets clean and cut them into thin strips.
Clean the beans and remove the ends and the fibre from the sides.

Place on a baking tray in a singe layer (I did the beets separately so their colour doesn't leech into the beans and carrots).
Drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle a bit of salt (little goes a long way).
Sprinkle sesame seeds generously over everything.
Toss or mix with fingers to coat well.

Bake in convection mode for 10 minutes.
Switch to Micro-Grill option and roast for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot with or without dip.
Enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Banana Poppy Seed Dip

1 large slice Pumpkin (500 gms) (cleaned well and seeds removed)
2 small (Yelakki) Bananas
2 T Poppy Seeds
1/4 C Cashews
1/8 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/8 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1/8 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Cilantro
5-6 cloves of Garlic
Salt
Lime Juice

Cube the pumpkin (with the peel) and place in a microwavable dish.
Sprinkle with salt, turmeric powder and drizzle 1/4 C water over it.
Nuke on high for 3 minutes, mix once and nuke for another 3-5 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender (you can optionally boil or steam it if you prefer to avoid the microwave).
Let it cool completely.
Blend all the ingredients together, adding some water if required, to form a creamy dip.
Serve in a bowl with pepper crushed on top.
Enjoy! :)

This yields about 2 C of dip. After having some with the roasted veggies, I just added a lot more water to the rest, adjusted the salt and pepper and heated it up to make Pumpkin Banana Poppy Seed Soup. That was pretty yum too. *slurp* :)

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By the way, if you'd like to be a part of our Vegan Temptivists group on Facebook, *carefully* read through the group charter (you'll need to click on the 'see more' link above the members list to view the complete charter) and if you think you're a good fit for the group, do apply to join. We are a small, active bunch and will be happy to have a few more people in our gang. :)