roasted vegetables with peanut sauce

I haven't written too much about how my month-long vegan eating challenge is going, but I've really enjoyed it so far. Will I stay vegan? No. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been a worthwhile experiment. I have about six days left and I have lots more I want to say about it, but I'm planning on writing a longer post once the whole month is over. Right now, I need to share a recipe for one of the best things I've made while eating vegan. THIS IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS.

I whipped this up for lunch last Sunday on a whim, wanting something different than the bean-heavy meals I'd been eating for the last few weeks. I usually like peanut sauce, but I'm not terribly good at making Asian food myself (or at least Asian food that I actually want to eat. There are so many tasteless Thai curries in my past, ew), so I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful this was. It's also ridiculously easy to make and is endlessly customizable, too—I really want to try it with different vegetables and maybe even sub the peanut butter I used for cashew or almond butter. 

I used carrots, shredded brussels sprouts, cabbage (duh) and green onions for this, but I think any combination of Asian-y vegetables would be good. Broccoli, peppers, bok choy, onions, mushrooms and more could all work in this recipe.

Roasted Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

sauce recipe adapted from the Eat, Drink and Be Vegan cookbook

makes about 1 cup of sauce

total time: 30 minutes

total hands on time: less than 5 minutes

What you'll need:

5-6 cups total of vegetables (see above for the kinds I used)

a few glugs of the oil of your choice (I used a combination of sesame and coconut oil)

salt to taste

for the sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tbsps Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil

2 tbsps lime juice

1 or 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsps honey, brown sugar, or agave nectar

2-4 tbsps water or unflavored non-dairy milk (to make it more liquidy)

pinch of salt

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Toss veggies in oil (I used a combination of sesame oil and coconut oil), sprinkle with salt, and roast for 20-30 minutes in a large pan. After 10 or 15 minutes, stir to make sure they're cooking evenly. Mine were done at about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile,in a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and blend until it reaches a consistency kind of like a thick alfredo sauce. It should be easily pourable, but not runny. Add as much additional liquid as you'd like. 

4. Once the veggies are done, pour the sauce over them and enjoy!

The peanut sauce keeps for about a week in the fridge and has a lot of other uses: you can try it as a dip for fresh veggies, chicken satay, fried tofu, or spring rolls; as a sauce for a stir fry; or as a sauce for tofu, fish, or meat. I bet you could even blend it with some tofu or edamame and turn it into a thicker dip to serve with Asian crackers and snap peas.  I'm sure I'll be making this recipe again soon, maybe with a chicken breast on the side.