Beet ketchup:
Medium-large beets (washed), 2
Spanish onion, ¼
Small carrots, 2
Olive oil, ½ cup
Coconut oil, 1 heaping tablespoon
Apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup
Pumpkin pie spice, 2 pinches
Sea salt, to taste (divided)
Black pepper, to taste
In a medium pot, fully submerge beets in cold lightly salted water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low.
Separately, crank your oven to 350 and quarter an onion. Place it and two carrots on a roasting tray or cast iron. Lightly salt them and roast them in the oven with your coconut oil. Remove when adequately roasted.
After approximately 40 minutes (start to finish), test beets for softness through to the centre with a paring knife. They may need a little longer. Once soft, drain water and remove from heat. Fight the urge to handle them immediately and burn yourself to shreds. Let them cool for a while.
Once you can’t wait any longer, wipe off the beet skin/peel with a paper towel, or save the environment and permanently dye a tea towel purple.
Cut beets into quarters and add them to your food processor. Add your roasted carrot and onion, and all other ingredients. You’ll find it worth tasting your ketchup and mucking around with some quantities; more vinegar or olive oil, and adjust your salt and pepper.
Fries:
Yucca Root (2 med-large yucca per hungry person)
Oil (avocado or coconut) – Approximately 2-3 tablespoons
Cumin – medium shake
Turmeric – light dusting
Sea salt – (divided) light dusting on fries
Sea salt – (divided) 2 tablespoons for water
Carefully and safely chop ends off yucca root with a chef’s knife. Use the yuccas new flat edge to stand them up on a cutting board as you slice the thick skin off. If you’re having trouble, grab a peeler.
Quarter each yucca: Cut each root in half, widthwise (you can also do this prior to peeling if you find that easier.) Now that you have halved the pieces, slice each half, lengthwise, exposing a slightly darker colored stringy centre, which you will remove by hand after you boil them.
Start your yucca in a large pot, fully submerged in cold water on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and watch the clock for 20 minutes. (warning, don’t skip boiling the yucca, it has arsenic in it and the 20-minute boil removes it; all food has toxins, so relax).
Don’t overcook: not a moment before 19 minutes and 42 seconds, remove your now soft yucca from the heat, drain and discard the water. Let them sit for at least five minutes and then dig in. Cut them to your own adventure fry romance size.
As you cut through, you will notice that the stringy non-edible centre bit removes easily by hand and/or knife. Remove it. It’s basically bark.
Turn your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the fries on the sheet and disperse the oil and spices evenly in a democratic socialist manner. Bake for 10 minutes or until brown on one side, then remove from oven to meticulously flip each fry and pop them back in the oven for roughly another 10, or until they are nice and lightly browned.
Don’t eat it until you take 900 photos, place them all on Instagram and tag @thesensitivevegan so everyone is aware that you are also a professor of veganometry.
The Sensitive Vegan is a Powell River-based health and wellness blogger and internet chef who creates recipes consistent with an anti-inflammatory vegan diet. Follow on Instagram @thesensitivevegan or subscribe on YouTube.
