Caesar Salad and Sweet Tater Fries - Vegan MOFO #2

Vegan MOFO Day 2!

I'm a thrifty sort of gal.  I don't really do actual meal-planning, but I do try my damnedest to use up my food before anything goes south.  That is precisely what motivated me to make this dinner tonight.  I had 2 small heads of Romaine lettuce that were starting to go soft, along with 2 large sweet potatoes I bought a couple of weeks ago and a few Gardein Crispy Tenders rolling around in my freezer.

One dressing that I've missed so badly since going vegan was Caesar dressing.  So, today when I was skimming through Alicia Simpson's cookbook, Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food, I came across her Caesar dressing recipe and squealed with delight!  Literally, I squealed.  I couldn't contain my overwhelming joy.  I knew immediately that I had to make it.  And, it was a delicious addition to my day :)  It turned out fabulously and will have a permanent place in my salad repertoire!

Tonight's Dinner:
Baked Gardein Crispy Tenders with a sprinkle of garlic salt.
Baked sweet potato fries with a garlic mayo (Vegenaise, of course)
Caesar salad with homemade dressing

In case you don't have Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food (pg 98), here is the dressing recipe with my adjustments, so it is slightly different from Ms. Simpson's.
 Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 TB Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 TB nutritional yeast
• 1 TB capers 
• 1/4 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
• 1/2 cup Vegenaise (or your preferred vegan mayo)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in the blender except the oil.  Blend until creamy.
2. Put the blender on the lowest setting and slowly drizzle in the oil.  Blend until well-combined.  You could add some vegan parm cheese if the mood strikes.  Instead, I added a bit extra nooch to my salad after I had served it. 

If you're interested, the sweet potato fries are insanely easy.  Preheat your oven to 430 degrees F. First, I peel mine, then chop unto wedges.  Then, I spray a cookie sheet with some olive oil cooking spray.   I lay out the wedges on the cookie sheet in a single layer.  I bake them for 20 minutes.  Then, take out and flip the wedges over, lightly spray the tops with the oil and sprinkle a bit of salt on them.  Put them back in the oven and cook another 15-ish minutes, or until they are done to your liking.  We like ours a bit crispy on the edges.  I know this is bad for you, but we like to mince garlic and mix it with some Vegenaise to make a garlicky dip for our sweet tater fries.  Yum.