Roasted Squash with Chipotle-Pumpkin Cream Sauce [vegan]
Ingredients for squash
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 Tbsp EVOO
- 2 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients for sauce
- 1 Tbsp EVOO
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin pureé
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
- 2 tsp adobo sauce (use 1 Tbsp if you like it a little hotter.)
- Pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup vegan sour cream
- Nutritional yeast, for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400F. Add EVOO, garlic, squash, tarragon, salt, and pepper to a large bowl and toss until well blended. Transfer to a shallow baking dish and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until squash is tender and just beginning to brown on the edges.
- Meanwhile: in a large skillet, sauteé onions in EVOO over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until onions are translucent and just beginning to brown.
- Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add pumpkin pureé, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add chipotle peppers and adobo sauce and stir well to incorporate.
- Add pepper and vegan sour cream; cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes to incorporate flavors.
Prepare soba noodles as directed on package; note that they do not require the time that traditional pasta does, so time it accordingly.
Serve hot. Place baked squash on top of soba noodles, cover with chipotle-pumpkin sauce, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast, as a replacement for parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Vegan Date Fingers
My great-grandmother’s date fingers are legendary among the people who have tasted them. SO GOOD! We all lament the fact that we only got to eat them around Christmas, because they were somewhat time consuming to make. I’ve been working on making it faster and more convenient for a couple of years, with great success.
The main difference here is that my version replaces the butter and eggs with plant-based spread and bananas, respectively. Because bananas are naturally sweet, this has allowed me to cut out the sugar from Mama Sadie’s recipe as well. I have a hard time saying these are better tasting than the original, because I love the originals so much, but these certainly are healthier and delicious unto themselves. I’m quite proud of this remake and excited to share it. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 (10-oz) package pitted dates, finely chopped*
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread
- 1/4 tsp organic vanilla extract
- 1 overripe banana, thoroughly mashed**
- 1-2 Tbsp coconut milk, if needed
- 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 cups puffed rice cereal
- Shredded coconut, for coating
Directions
- In a medium sauce pan, melt the buttery spread over medium heat.
- Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas and stir constantly with wooden spoon, mashing banana against the side of the pan until smooth.
- Add coconut milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, if mixture is too thick to stir easily.
- Add chopped dates to pan; cook for 4-5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Mash dates against the side of the pan as they soften, to minimize lumps.
- Sprinkle ground flax seed over mixture; stir well to blend. Cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add puffed rice cereal and mix thoroughly.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to handle, but not completely.
- Once cooled enough to handle, form into balls or fingers of whatever size you like, and roll each one in shredded coconut.
Best served slightly warm, but these travel well in tins for gifting purposes, too. Yield will depend on how big or small you make your pieces. Store in air-tight container, as they will dry out if left in the open air for prolonged periods.
* Use a mezzaluna or, better still, an ulu to make this part super easy.
Veggie Sloppy Joes
I wanted to make sloppy joes without meat, so I tweaked this recipe and it was DELICIOUS. Will definitely make this again (and again and again…) This is now one of my “go-to” meals for delicious and quick!
Ingredients
- 2 tsp coconut oil or EVOO
- 6oz (half a package) LightLife veggie protein crumbles [optional]
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 1 small/medium zucchini, finely chopped
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp spicy mustard
- 3/4 cup ketchup (We only use Hunts because it doesn’t have any HFCS.)
- 2 tsp dark brown sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a cast-iron pan or large skillet, brown the veggie crumbles, onion, shallot, and zucchini in coconut oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender.
- Add kidney beans and continue cooking 3-4 minutes until beans are heated through.
- Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve open-face style over whole-wheat sandwich rounds or hamburger buns for best flavor. Enjoy!
Avocado Quick Bread
I don’t like avocado, but I love love love this bread! Next time, I’ll add raisins or maybe some crushed pistachios. Yummy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup avocado, peeled and mashed (I used 1 large avocado)
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F and spray a 9x5 bread pan with nonstick coating. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients (first 7 in the list) in a large bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients (except coconut milk) in a smaller bowl until well blended.
- Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix with a wooden spoon until dry ingredients are just wet. (If the batter is too thick to mix, add the coconut milk. If adding raisins or nuts, fold them in at this time.)
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. You may need to adjust your bake time, so keep an eye on it beginning at about 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Making Bagels at Home
Due to the amount of chemicals and preservatives (not to mention the sheer amount of sugar!) in my favorite store-bought breakfast bagels, I recently decided that I would no longer buy them. I told myself that if I want a bagel (or any bread, really) that badly, I can just make it myself. If I’m unwilling to do the work required to make it (which, honestly, isn’t much since I have a bread machine), I don’t need it.
Well, today I really really wanted a bagel for lunch. What better way to test my resolve than to dive right in? This was super easy with my bread machine’s dough cycle. (If you don’t have a bread machine, never fear! I’ve got you covered below.)
The best thing about homemade bagels is obviously the way they taste, fresh out of the oven, but the smell they create while they bake is a very close second. :) And you won’t believe how easy these are. Let’s get started!
Ingredients for dough
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast (dry active yeast if you aren’t using a bread machine)
- Add the above ingredients to your bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer. (My machine came from a thrift store, hence I do not have a manual; it’s a “Red Star” brand. A good rule of thumb is to add the wet ingredients first, then dry, and the yeast last. If adding fruit such as raisins or whatever, add these about 15 minutes into the cycle. If your manual says to do otherwise, follow its directions instead.)*
- Set it on the dough cycle and let it do its thing. If your machine doesn’t have a dough cycle, do a manual cycle so you can pull the dough out before it begins to bake.
- You can leave the dough in the bread machine to rise, but I like to take it out and put it in a bowl, covered with a towel. I don’t know if it makes a difference. You can leave yours in the machine if you prefer. Either way, once the dough cycle on the machine stops, let the dough rise for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- After dough has risen, punch it down and let it rest for another 10 minutes or so.
- Prepare a baking sheet by sprinkling some corn meal onto it and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 475F and bring a medium/large pot of water to boil on the stove top. Once boiling, you can turn down the heat to about medium so it stops rolling.
- Separate dough into 6-to-8 pieces. (I like large bagels; this recipe made 6 for me. If you want smaller bagels, make 8.)
- Squeeze air out of dough as you roll each section into a smooth ball between your hands. Using your index finger, poke a hole in the center of each and stretch the hole way out. (Don’t worry, it will settle back some. You want it to be exaggerated, or the hole will close as the dough cooks.)
- Set each one on the baking sheet when formed. Let rise for about 5 minutes or so before the next step.
- Place bagels into boiling water, a few at a time, and boil for about 1 minute. Flip bagels and boil the other side for about 1 minute. (The point here is to “set” the shape. You aren’t really trying to cook them in this step. The longer you leave the dough in hot water, the chewier the bagels will be, so take them out after 45 seconds on each side if you want them softer.) Remove bagels from hot water with a slotted spoon and set back on baking sheet. When all bagels are boiled and set, you can begin dressing them up.
- At this point, you can sprinkle onion/garlic powder, fresh garlic (minced), sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cinnamon and sugar, sea salt, or whatever you like on top of your bagels. Why not do one of each? Don’t forget to sprinkle some on the bottoms, too. Whisk an egg in a small bowl and brush onto the tops of the bagels if you want them shiny and “professional” looking.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Page 1 of 7
