Sweet Potato & Broccoli Rabe Orzo

I've been doing pretty well with clinging to the raw vegan diet, like ivy writhing its way around the paint chipped lattice work of a gazebo with a lakeside view adorning the lawn of an old victorian home, I proclaimed at the onset of these summery days. I've found glee in an endless variety of green & fruit smoothies that make the perfect start to facing another hot & humid summer day. I've also started experimenting with fruit infused water this week, and have been pleasantly surprised by how well that's working out. 

As I said before, this raw adventure was going to be approached with a certain amount of leniency, which would fluctuate around the 70% mark, and it has, pretty much, faithfully remained around that percentage without all that much effort. Sure, I still snag an iced coffee from time to time, I partake in my fair share of falafel sandwiches, and I'm sometimes struck right on the crest of my cranium with an oversized cartoonish anvil of an urge to really cook something special. I love cooking vegan foods, so I'd probably be pretty miserable if I went all summer without whipping up a nice batch of vegan cherry almond cookies, or maybe, when the mood strikes (like said anvil), what you see in the photo below:

Sweet potato, broccoli rabe, onion, & tomato

 on whole wheat orzo

Other than the orzo, none of the other ingredients required more than a slight sizzle to get the job done. All in all, it probably took less then 20 minutes to go from opening the vegetable crisper to setting the plate down and taking this photo. I used a splash of olive oil with some minced garlic in the pan and treated the veggies much like a stir fry, without really frying them all that much. There's also a bit of ginger in the mix to add a slight kick. I made up the recipe on the fly, and just kept in mind the flavors I wanted to have naturally compliment one another. It was a great success. The overall taste was light & breezy; perfect for a summertime meal. The sweet potatoes offset the airy bitterness of the broccoli rabe, and the whole wheat orzo grounded everything with a earthy touch. 

Since I didn't really go into this meal with a plan—I just sprang into action when I saw the bat signal that I confuse the refrigerator light for from time to time—I don't have a specific recipe to give you fine people. I will list what I used, with approximate measurements, and just note that the portions were plenty enough for 2 people, or maybe, if you're really hungry, just one. 

Onto the recipe...

Makeshift Recipe:

1 sweet potato (medium size; quartered)

A  hearty handful of broccoli rabe 

1/4 yellow onion* (diced)

1 roma tomato (diced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger 

1 TBSP olive oil (if not less)

1 cup whole wheat orzo

Directions: heat oil on low with minced garlic. Sauté all other veggies in the pan for about 5-8 minutes**. The broccoli rabe will wilt fast, so add it last. Sprinkle in ginger, mix thoroughly.

Orzo is made with a 1:2 (orzo:water) ratio. It took about 10 minutes covered on a simmer (after initial boil).       

Combine. Enjoy. 

Footnotes:

*I'm not a huge fan of onions, so feel free to play around with these ingredient portions to suit your needs. In fact, it's probably best to consider this entire meal a preparation recommendation first, and a recipe second. 

**This process can be expedited slightly if you handle your sweet potatoes thusly: 1) rinse 2) poke holes in it with a fork 3) microwave for 2-3 minutes. Though some might consider the microwave approach blasphemy, it works well enough when you're extremely pressed for time. Quarter it into nice chunks, and throw it in the pan to sauté with the rest of the veggies.