The Origin of Buddha Bowls And How to Make One

Have you ever made a Buddha Bowl for lunch? These versatile bowls are healthy, filling, and delicious. But do you know the beautiful story behind the origin of these plant-based meals in a bowl?

Baked Apple, Yam, and Apricot Casserole

Last week one of our local farms in Bucks County, Pa. was selling  beautiful looking yams or maybe they were sweet potatoes ? 

At fifty cents a pound, I couldn't resist buying more than I needed.

The yams were sweet and delicious, and we enjoyed a few of them simply oven baked in their skin. However, the other ten were just staring at me, begging to be a part of something more creative.

Delicious Easy Casserole

I created a colorful and nutritious Baked Apple, Yam, and Apricot Casserole with walnuts and cranberries basted in freshly squeezed orange juice. 

This colorful and flavorful casserole can be served as delicious side dish for any meal, and is a good fit for the Thanksgiving or Rosh Hashanah holidays.

The Aroma Baking Smells Amazing 

The aroma of this apple and yam casserole baking is reason enough to make it.

Enjoy The Fall 

***One more thing- Leftovers taste even better cold the next day

Ingredients:
3 large yams, peeled and sliced
2 large apples (I used Honey Crisps), peeled and sliced
2 large juice oranges or 1 equivalent of 1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup-1/2 cup maple syrup (your preference) mixed with 

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of cinnamon 

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
Optional: 8-10 fresh cranberries (these are VERY tart; use dried cranberries if you don't want the tartness)

Directions:
Peel and slice yams in round slices and set aside
Peel, core, and slice apples in ring type slices
Layer the yam slices with the apple slices to make 2 layers.

Douse each layer with  1/2 of the maple syrup mixed with vanilla extract and then 1/2 the cinnamon, walnuts and dried apricots and repeat.Add cranberries if desired.

 Squeeze the juice of two large juicy oranges over the casserole and more cinnamon to taste. Bake tightly covered at 375-400 degrees until apples and yams are tender (about 1/2 hour). 

Baked Casserole 

Notes:

1. Leftovers taste even better cold the next day!

2. This recipe could also be made for Passover and is parve. 

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

 

Out of the oven and ready to eat- they were really really good!

                      
I can't believe I'm making Cajun Sweet Potato Fries. I saw this naturally gluten free recipe on the blog, Conners Cooking  and it looked really good. I usually shy away from eating anything made with Cajun spices because I right away think, " hot! hot! hot!"- but I was wrong!  wrong!  wrong!!

 I went to the grocery store and checked the ingredients on a Cajun seasoning mix.  Cajun seasoning is made up of all spices that I like: paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, salt,and some have a little cayenne pepper too.

Since I had all of these ingredients that make up Cajun seasoning in my kitchen, I decided to make my own Cajun mixture with just a very very little tad of the cayenne

My Cajun sweet potato fries came out great, I mean great! And I even liked the little touch of ground cayenne and that itty bitty kick. That's as Cajun as I want to get.

Make it plain for kids  
If you are making this recipe for kids, just leave out the Cajun spices and season with  no seasoning at all! They are fabulous just tossed in oil ( I use coconut oil) and then roasted - turning half way through.

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut up in french fries type strips
2 TBSP Cajun seasoning mix or
(make your own like I did) Use paprika, garlic powder, thyme, a little cayenne, oregano, and black pepper for the seasoning mix
2 tsp cumin
olive oil ( I added this, it is not in the original recipe.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put cut up sweet potatoes in a large zip lock bag . Add 2 TBSP olive oil or coconut oil in liquid state , shake in Cajun seasoning and cumin and shake the bag until sweet potatoes are lightly coated. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes ( depends on the size of your fries).Turn half way through. Drizzle a little extra olive if you like before putting in the oven.
Take out and serve.

STEP BY STEP PICTORIAL

3 large yams or sweet potatoes

Peeled Yams or Sweet Potatoes

My own homemade Cajun Spice Mix

Cut up sweet potatoes in strips



Potatoes cut into strips coated with spices on the way to go into the oven



Out of the oven and ready to eat- they were really really good!

Who were the Cajuns anyway? According to Wikipedia,

"Cajuns  are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now the Canadian Maritimes). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population, and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces, plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine."

I love participating in the Secret Recipe Club. Some of my favorites recipes have been as a result of checking out other member's blogs.