Butternut Squash Casserole

Butternut Squash Casserole, Rice, and Salmon

Every once in a while I get all squashy and buy multiple butternut squashes with no particular plan. Since squash lasts so long, sometimes I forget I have it. Then I realize it’s sitting there, waiting patiently for me and get to using it. This is one of those times. Last week you saw my tasty recipe for Butternut Tomato Soup and this week I bring you an old Vegetarian Times gem for Butternut Squash Casserole. I’ve marked this as “quick and easy” because of the small amount of ingredients and relatively short time it takes to put this together. There appear to be only 2 difficult steps in this recipe: preparing the butternut squash and waiting the 40 minutes for the casserole to bake.

Butternut Squash Casserole
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Combine the squash and onion in a 2-quart baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, blend the apple juice, butter, and honey.
4. Pour this mixture over top of the squash and onion and sprinkle with the almonds.
5. Cover and bake till tender, about 40 minutes.

Butternut Squash Casserole

Paddy Burke’s Pepper Soup

Paddy Burke’s Pepper Soup

I found this recipe in the “Irish Pub Cookbook” that my friend Valerie suggested to me long ago (link to buy this book is on the Cookbooks page). I have a love-hate relationship with bell peppers. Sometimes I think they are the greatest things in the world, sometimes I really dislike the taste of them (mostly if they’re raw). In any case I don’t usually like them in large amounts. So I thought it would be interesting to try out this soup and see how I reacted to it. This soup was my Thanksgiving contribution this year. All the main dishes and sides were pretty much spoken for, but I wanted to contribute something too. So I figured a nice light soup that people could sip on but that wouldn’t fill them up or snatch focus from the main event (TURKEY!) would work well. I’m not a huge fan of blending soups, mainly because I liked chunky soup. But there are some soups that need to be blended, and cream soups featuring bell peppers are one of those soups. So I figured I might as well try it. One thing to note is that they suggested serving the bowls of soup with a tablespoon of crème fraîche swirled into each one. There are 2 things I have to say about that. The first thing is that I did spring for a little container of the stuff at the store, but if you feel like you can’t afford it, sour cream or plain yogurt will work just as well. The second thing is that I have never tried crème fraîche until this moment. Never in my whole life. It was rather a lovely experience. I can see the appeal. It’s similar to sour cream or yogurt, but the consistency sits (in my opinion) between the two and the taste does as well. It was delicious, but that said, I’m not quite sure why everyone freaks out over it. I probably won’t buy it again unless I feel it’s necessary to the success of a certain recipe. I’m cool using plain yogurt instead. This soup was a fun complement to the heavier sides and mains of Thanksgiving dinner. No one really had massive bowls of it, but I figured that would happen anyway. Rather, I noticed people using this BETWEEN their different dishes almost like a palate cleanser (Really?!). Eat a ton of mashed potatoes, take a drink of soup, eat a few forkfuls of turkey, take a drink of soup, green bean casserole, soup again. Anyway, I considered it a huge triumph. And after the decadence of Christmas eating this may be just what you need to ease back into your work week. It is just the right amount of decadent to practical. Remember to use Kerrygold’s Irish butter if you can find it. It really has a certain something that makes the soup a little special. My gift to you. Ho ho ho.

Paddy Burke’s Pepper Soup
1 stick Kerrygold’s Irish butter
4 bell peppers (combination of red, orange and yellow), seeded, deribbed and diced
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups vegetable stock
2/3 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons crème fraîche

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add the peppers and onion and cook, covered, stirring once or twice till the vegetables are tender but not browned.
3. Stir in the flour until blended with the vegetables.
4. Add the vegetable stock a cup at a time, stirring after each addition to blend with the flour and vegetables.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 50-60 minutes or till the vegetables are tender.
6. Remove from the heat and let it cool 10 minutes.
7. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree till smooth.
8. Return the soup to the pot.
9. Whisk in the half-and-half.
10. Season with the basil, parsley, salt and pepper.
11. Simmer till heated through and serve.

Sunrise Pasta

Sunrise Pasta

News news! I got a new-to-me cookbook from the used bookstore I work at. It’s called “The Garden of Earthly Delights Cookbook: Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking” by Shea MacKenzie. I haven’t decided if I like it a lot yet. It has potential, though the author seems to use a worrisome amount of vermouth in her recipes. I don’t have vermouth so I’ve been subbing. This was the first recipe I made from the book and it was super serious. I’m not kidding. I will never make this recipe again. There was so much starch in it that Jake and I almost died from our stomachs exploding. I will make the veggie part of it again for sure as a side dish, or perhaps to eat alongside a small amount of rice. But this AND pasta was such overkill that it shocked me it even made it into this cookbook. I was skeptical about pasta and potatoes, so I’m very happy that I tried it. However, I’m good from now on. Maybe if there’d been LESS potato it would’ve worked well. Five red potatoes was rather overkill. That said, when you make this in your own home, definitely chop your potatoes SMALLER than I did. I followed the directions for chopping in the cookbook that had me making potato chunks rather than smaller ones. I recommend you take a bit of extra time and make the potato pieces a bit smaller. It would’ve helped the madness factor of this recipe A LOT if the potato pieces were smaller and blended in with the rest of the stuff rather than showing up in your mouth as a massive chunk. Although this isn’t my favorite pasta recipe, I do think you should give it a try with smaller potatoes and possibly fewer potatoes. Potatoes and pasta is definitely a thing in many places and I’m glad I tried it at least once. And if you, like Jake and I, find it too crazy for your pasta, just eat the leftover pasta and potato mix separately later in the week. You won’t be sad about it. I promise.

Sunrise Pasta
12 oz. penne
5 small red potatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound fresh snow peas, de-stringed and trimmed
2 tablespoons white wine
1 17-oz. can corn kernels
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup minced parsley, for garnish
grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese, optional

1. Cook the penne according the the directions on the package. Try to time it so everything is done at just about the same time.
2. While the pasta is cooking, place the chopped potatoes in a medium sized pot of boiling water and cook till just about tender. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet heat the olive oil and all the onion and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently, before adding in the snow peas and sautéing another 3 minutes.
4. About 3-5 minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the white wine, potatoes, corn kernels, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the skillet. Toss to blend well. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.
5. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the cooking pot or a big old fancy serving bowl. Add the potato and veggie mixture and toss gently.
6. Garnish with parsley and cheese (if using) and serve hot.

Tomato Cabbage Soup

Tomato Cabbage Soup

Jake and I don’t eat a ton of cabbage. It’s hard for me to find a ton of ways that I really like the taste. This recipe from the “La Dolce Vegan” cookbook was interesting, but in the end it was still cabbage and it’s not my most favorite vegetable. Still, the flavors in this soup were great and I may substitute another vegetable, such as potatoes, for the cabbage in this recipe next time. I like my cabbage better fresh in salads and things like that. If you’re a cabbage lover you definitely need to give this a try. It’s a little sour and a little sweet and very interesting and satisfying. If you’re not a vegetarian, try this with beef broth and maybe some beef chunks. I remember really loving cabbage and beef soups back when I was a kid and ate meat. This would be a great soup to add beef to if you’re a beef-aholic.

Tomato Cabbage Soup
1 small red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dill
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup

1. Saute the onions, garlic, dill, cumin, and paprika in the olive oil on medium heat in a medium soup pot till tender.
2. Add the tomatoes, veggie stock, cabbage, salt, and pepper.
3. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
4. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and maple syrup and serve immediately.

Millet Pilaf

Millet Pilaf

I’ve always known millet is for the birds. Kebab loves his little millet sticks and it’s a well known treat for parakeets and other birds. I’d heard tell of humans eating this stuff, but had never tried it myself and honestly had not given it too much thought because there are very few recipes for millet floating around in US cuisine ….at least, not many that I’ve seen so far. A while ago I bought a pound of millet in the bulk foods section of my favorite local grocery store and sought to learn about it. I tried putting it in a soup a few weeks back and it was good, but not great. Then Greg and Katherine over at Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide posted an amazing, easy recipe for millet pilaf. Sold. I’ve provided the ingredient list for you below. However, you’re going to have to go over to Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide to see the full recipe with instructions. You may notice that my ingredient list varies a bit from theirs. As a vegetarian I obviously subbed vegetable broth for the chicken. I also didn’t have any tomato juice in the house so I subbed in a whole can of diced tomatoes for the tomato juice and just used less water. I can’t imagine EITHER way being a bad choice. As underwhelmed as I was with the millet in my former recipe is about how OVERwhelmed I was with it in this one. It’s TASTY if you know what you’re doing. I’ll be using millet more often in my grain rotation and this recipe in particular more often. Thanks Greg and Katherine! Now get on over there and see what they’re up to….!

Millet Pilaf
1 cup millet
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth
water
1/2 cup minced red onion
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp butter

1. Find the recipe instructions via the link above!

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy, just because:

This lady hangs out in our backyard a lot. (Yes, it IS the female.) She’s gotten used to me and will sit within a foot of me now and just chill while I chat with her.

Our Queen of the Night cactus blooms more and more as the summer goes on. This would be a better blossom picture if the cactus was not taller than me.

Curry Anise Cauliflower Bake

Curry Anise Cauliflower Bake

We made this recipe from the “La Dolce Vegan” cookbook for dinner late last week. The original recipe called for fennel seeds rather than star anise, but we didn’t have any of the former. We looked up possible substitutions and discovered that it was possible to use star anise instead. We crushed a star anise into smaller chunks in our mortar and pestle and subbed it in. It was delicious, but we’re not huge fans of fennel or star anise. Neither of us really adore the taste, though we do eat it sometimes. We also altered the recipe to be more on the curry side of things by increasing the amount of curry almost twice what it was, which is reflected in this recipe. The next time we make this we might skip the fennel/star anise, but I’m glad we gave it a shot as-is. We eat a lot of things that we don’t necessarily like. Not often, but sometimes. I do it on purpose because I don’t want to grow up to be one of those people who doesn’t like trying new things or just sticks with what they know and what they like. I will continue to try even the things I’m not a fan of just so I can keep myself constantly refreshing my ideas of good food.

Curry Fennel Cauliflower Bake
brown rice, enough for 2 people
3 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
1 small red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound extra firm tofu, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 star anise, crushed
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup cilantro

1. In a medium pot, cook the rice as you normally would, till done.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F.
3. Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower, red onion, garlic, tofu, oil, curry, garam masala, star anise, salt and pepper together in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 to keep veggies from burning.
5. Once vegetables are tender, turn off the heat in the oven and remove the baking dish from the oven.
6. Add in the peas and cilantro, stirring to incorporate. Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes to sit.
7. Serve HOT over rice.

Eastern European Red Lentil Soup

Eastern European Red Lentil Soup

I used this recipe for Eastern European Red Lentil Soup from the Vegetarian Times website for dinner last week. Have I mentioned how much I ADORE red lentils. I remember the first time I tried them for this Curried Red Lentil Soup recipe. Since then I’ve discovered many more ways to use them. If you search “red lentils” on my blog search engine you’ll find many more recipes using this amazing ingredient. I can’t believe that there was a moment in my life when I didn’t eat red lentils. I work them into as many recipes as possible now and I encourage you to try them out as well. Don’t be afraid of them! Eat this soup with a couple slices of nice crusty wheat bread. You know, just to overload on carbs and starch and everything that is good and glorious in this world.

Eastern European Red Lentil Soup
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups red lentils
2 Tbs. ground cumin
2 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes with liquid
1 Tbs. honey
3 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable broth or water
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, or until soft.
2. Stir in red lentils and cumin, and cook 1 minute, or until cumin is fragrant and lentils are coated with oil.
3. Stir in tomatoes with liquid, honey, bay leaves, and 7 cups vegetable broth.
4. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
5. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft and falling apart, and soup is thick.
6. Add a little water to thin soup, if necessary.
7. Remove bay leaves, stir in vinegar, and serve with dollops of yogurt.

Vegan Red Onion and Dill Cream Cheese Dip

Soy-Free Vegan Cream Cheese

One of my favorite booths at the Sunday morning Farmer’s Market in Tucson is a booth of cheeses and butter. The ladies who run the booth are whizzes at mixing delicious cheese and butter flavor concoctions. However, though I love their products, I don’t really have the money to buy them. At least not on a regular basis. Not with student loans on my back like an evil monkey. So I decided to recreate one of my favorite flavors at home…and VEGAN. The desire to make vegan cream cheese is really the fault of that temptress Leanne over at Healthful Pursuit. She posted an amazing recipe for Soy-Free Vegan Cream Cheese with great step-by-step photos that make the process absolutely foolproof. I made the recipe below using her recipe for vegan cream cheese, which makes 1 cup. So if you want to use regular cream cheese sub in 1 cup’s worth. Otherwise, head over to Leanne’s blog and see what you have to do (basically nothing!) to make delicious creamy vegan cream cheese. Eat this with thin slices of crusty bread or with crackers.

Vegan Red Onion and Dill Cream Cheese Dip
1 recipe soy-free vegan cream cheese (you’ll need cashews, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice)
1/2 large or 1 small red onion, diced
5 tablespoons dried dill

1. In a medium bowl, combine the vegan cream cheese, red onion and dill. Mix well.
2. Cover and set in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving to let the flavors infuse.

Vegan Red Onion and Dill Cream Cheese Dip

Potato Bean Salad and Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing

We made this recipe before leaving the our last apartment. Jake doesn’t normally like potato salad because he hates mayo. In fact, he hates most condiments. I’m pretty much the only one in the house eating the ketchup and mustard. This recipe however, uses plain yogurt instead of mayo, so he was willing to give it a whirl…as long as I didn’t make it too goopy. I found this recipe in the “Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites” cookbook. I really liked using the yogurt instead of mayo (even though I always use Vegenaise, which is also fine). That said, this dressing was not my favorite one. I think we could’ve done better on our own. At least we gave it a shot. As an extra little tip, we actually added the rest of the mango chutney to an aluminum foil packet of veggies we were roasting on the BBQ last week. They turned out just brilliant, so I definitely suggest trying that out sometime too. Might as well if you’ve got the mango chutney lying around.

Potato Bean Salad and Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing
for the salad:
3 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cups cut green beans
1 16-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing
salt and black pepper, to taste

Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing:
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons prepared mango chutney
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons red onions, finely minced
1 tablespoon lime juice

1. In a saucepan, bring the potatoes to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat and simmer till tender.
2. When the potatoes are cooked through, transfer them to a large bowl using a slotted spoon and saving the water. Stir in the red onions.
3. Add the green beans to the potato water and cook till tender, about 5-10 minutes. Drain them and add them to the bowl.
4. Stir in the chickpeas and set the salad aside to cool.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and mix well.
6. Once the vegetables are cool, add the dressing and salt and pepper and toss to combine.
7. This recipe is good served immediately or stored covered in the fridge.

Potato Bean Salad and Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing

Apple-Chipotle Salsa

Apple-Chipotle Salsa

First thing’s first, this recipe is amazing. Not only is it so tasty that it totally ruined my calorie counting diet for the day, but also it made a TON of salsa. This is the perfect recipe for a party with lots of hungry mouths to feed. I found this recipe in my ever-increasing-in-value-to-me “Vegetarian Planet” cookbook. Jake and I tried this on tortilla chips and on crackers and we have come to the conclusion that it’s best on a nice wheat cracker or a roasted garlic Triscuit. I was actually going to post a soup recipe tonight but this was so good that I couldn’t possibly wait a night and deprive everyone of this. Make sure you get the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce rather than substituting, as I think that made a big difference in the taste and texture of the salsa.

Apple-Chipotle Salsa
3 Fuji apples, cored and chopped
1 cup minced red onion
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch squares
2 chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce, chopped fine
1 small garlic clove minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste

1. Combine the apples with the onions and bell peppers in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chipotles, garlic, lime juice, cider vinegar, olive oil and cilantro and stir.
3. Add this to the fruit mixture.
4. Stir well and add the salt and pepper.
5. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.