Sunday, November 27, 2011

Seriously Yummy Winter Soup

Is there anything more perfect and tasty than a butternut squash?

Natural beauty
I think not. In fact, I'd be so bold as to say that butternut is probably my favorite variety of squash. As you've probably gathered, I'm a huge fan of winter squash, so I'm in my element this time of the year.

Our local healthy supermarket, Earth Fare, has a soup bar featuring the delicious-sounding butternut squash and apple soup. I haven't tried it myself, but the hubby assured me it was yummy when he had it. Since I had a butternut squash on hand, I thought I'd give it a go myself.

Cooking up a storm
The smell of butternut squash sauteing in olive oil is deliciously sweet, and once I added onions, garlic and apple my mouth was watering.

Identity crisis
Once the soup was ready and pureed, I served it with my failed bread rolls, which look weird but taste yummy! We ate the soup for dinner Saturday night, lunch on Sunday, and there's still leftovers for me to take to work one or two days in the week.

After a soupy lunch today, I dug the Christmas tree out from the basement and got decorating.

Christmas tree + advent calendars = happy me!
It's probably a bit early by British standards, but we always decorate the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Speaking of British standards, it wouldn't be a real Christmas tree without a cameo from the Union Jack.

My patriotic decoration
Among my other decorations, most of which are pretty boring and have no stories, were a few knitted decorations care of my talented mother.

Knitted glory
Now I know it will be a good week, since I'll have Christmas tree lights to look forward to every night!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 apple, cored and diced
5 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Throw in butternut squash and saute until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

Add onions and garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes. Add apple and stir to combine.

Pour broth into pot and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add salt and curry powder and mix well. Add milk and stir to combine.

Using a blender or immersion blender, puree soup until it's a smooth, creamy consistency. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat as needed.

Makes approx. 6 servings.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Experimenting with Leftovers

So yesterday was Thanksgiving. Yay! While I didn't grow up with this holiday, I have come to enjoy it since living Stateside. The best part of Thanksgiving, hands down, is the double whammy of homemade stuffing and pumpkin pie. Well this year, Ben's family did not deliver on the pumpkin pie (although they did deliver on the awesome apple pie), but I wasn't about to let that happen to the stuffing. Since it's the absolute best part of the meal, I make it my duty to bring it every year, without fail.

This year I'm not eating meat, so turkey and ham were out for me. But the sides more than made up for it. I made stuffing with celery, onions, carrots, apples and fresh cranberries, plus some veggie sausage. It was delicious, if I do say so myself (and I do!), and I was excited that there were leftovers for me to bring home.

Usually I'll eat leftover stuffing cold straight from the Tupperware, but this year I decided to attempt a meat-free loaf. I made up the recipe myself, which didn't quite turn out as I expected.
Veggie loaf fail!
It was way too moist, so although it was delicious, it wasn't pretty and didn't hold its shape. So, no recipe this time, but I WILL succeed in making a great vegetarian loaf that sticks together without being too mushy!

Bisto makes everything OK
Even though the loaf was weird looking, it was delicious with roasted acorn squash and carrots, and of course, onion gravy made with Bisto gravy granules! How this stuff has not made it to the U.S. I'll never know.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Yep, that's what happened for breakfast last Sunday. I meant to post about it sooner but we had an open house and my camera was locked in our safe. This week, I was too lazy busy to retrieve it, hence the seriously late posting of the awesome recipe.
Mixin' it up...
Anyway, I'd bought some chocolate almond milk because it was on sale and because it is awesome, and had been eating it with my Lucky Charms. Ben's response: "What are you, five???" Well yes, but I have to admit that I was getting a little bored of using the milk that way. I made hot chocolate with Bailey's a couple of times but it seemed like the milk carton was bottomless. Enter chocolate chip pancakes, please.
Eat me!
I used a basic whole wheat pancake recipe from Skinny Taste and built upon it using my own kind of chocolately magic. With the addition of chocolate chips, this was one recipe I'd gladly make again. We ate the pancakes with homemade applesauce I'd made in the crockpot earlier in the week and it was utterly magical.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes


2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup applesauce (can use 2 eggs)
2 cups + 2 tbsp chocolate almond milk (can use regular chocolate milk)
2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp chocolate chips

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar together in a large bowl. Add applesauce, milk, vanilla and chocolate chips, and stir until just combined.

Heat a nonstick skillet over a medium heat. Spray some oil into the skillet and pour in 1/4 cup pancake batter. When batter starts to bubble, flip and cook the other side until golden. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Top with maple syrup, fresh fruit or applesauce. Enjoy!

Makes approx. 7-8 pancakes.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

I Heart Curry

It's been a while since I posted -- it's turned out to be a crazy busy week for me, with work, dentist trips, running and yoga. So the food I'm about to rave about was mainly cooked last Sunday. But even though it was a while ago, the yumminess is still fresh in my mind and I want to share the joy.

I managed to check off everything on my Sunday list. The bread I made was pretty disastrous since it didn't rise and I might have baked it for too long, but it was still edible and actually tasted pretty good. My first experience with making chutney and canning went well, but I have to wait two weeks to see how it turned out because that's how long it apparently takes for chutney to become uber-delicious.

For breakfast on Sunday I made a favorite -- steel-cut oats. I used pureed pumpkin instead of milk and added raisins and bananas. It was yummy, although I think the apple and cinnamon is still my favorite.

Eat me!
We had leftover soup for lunch as planned, and I rustled up a quick afternoon snack while baking bread and making chutney. Pita bread cut into triangles + olive oil spray + baking for about 7 minutes = yummy pita chips to go along with the red lentil masala dip I got last week from Trader Joe's.

Dip that chip
After all that work I felt crazy for even attempting to make dinner. But I did anyway, and I'm glad I did. It turned out amazing. I recently got an Indian cookbook and was dying to try out a recipe or two. The one I chose was for zucchini (courgette) curry, but I used kabocha squash instead (also known as Japanese pumpkin, it's green on the outside, orange in the middle, and sweeter than a regular pumpkin).

Almost too pretty to eat!
This recipe is not actually very spicy, but it has a wonderful flavor that I imagine would be equally tasty with a regular pumpkin or butternut squash. I made the whole recipe, which serves 4, and had the leftovers for lunch on Monday and Tuesday.

Kabocha Squash Curry


1 kabocha squash, pumpkin or butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (I used Colman's mustard powder instead)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
14-oz can chopped tomatoes
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon garam masala

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and chop roughly. If using pumpkin or butternut squash, peel before chopping. If using kabocha squash, leave the skin on.

Heat oil in a large heavy pan and fry cumin and mustard seeds for 2 minutes. If using powder, skip this step.

Add onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.

Add cumin, mustard powder (if using), turmeric, chili powder, coriander and salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add squash and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Mix tomato paste and chopped tomatoes, and water with cornstarch, and stir both into the pan. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.

Add chopped cilantro and garam masala and mix well to coat. Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Serve over brown rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Spaghetti Squash Saturday

It's Saturday, and I had big plans. Get up, go for a run, make lunch, go out to buy canning supplies, make dinner, drink wine and veg. Well, I ran 4 miles after a hearty breakfast of Lucky Charms and a banana, made potato and onion soup in the crock pot for lunch, got my canning supplies, made dinner, and now I'm sitting down with a big glass of white. Mission accomplished.

I was out for longer than I'd planned, since I had a $20 coupon for DSW and spent way too much time dithering over whether or not to buy boots I didn't need just because I had the money. I decided on no, and was about to leave when I came across the slipper section. So I am now the proud owner of some seriously comfy Dr. Scholls, complete with faux fur, for the delicious price of $5. Needless to say, once I'd done the Kroger run on the way home and unpacked my groceries, I was famished.

The only produce left from my last veggie box was a spaghetti squash. When I've had one previously, I've made "spaghetti" and meatballs, or stuffed spaghetti squash with black beans and yummy spices. This time, I wanted to try something different. I came across a recipe for Moroccan spiced spaghetti squash and thought it sounded like a winner. We served it with cous cous cooked in veggie broth, and ate the entire squash between the two of us! The recipe says it serves 4, but I figured since my squash was smaller than average and we both ran today, we deserved a large dinner. It was seriously yummy, definitely a meal to repeat.

I heart spaghetti squash
While I was waiting for the squash to bake, I used up some papaya that had been sitting in my fridge for a week by making some papaya coconut muffins.

Deliciousness
All in all, an awesome Saturday. Sunday's mission: go for a run, eat leftover soup for lunch, make bread, make chutney and can it, drink wine.

Moroccan Spiced Spaghetti Squash


Recipe from Eat Drink Better

1 spaghetti squash
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
3 tablespoons golden raisins or sultanas
Half a 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Brush 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the inside of the squash, then place face down in a baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

Heat remaining oil in a skillet, then add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add spices, salt, raisins and chickpeas, stir to coat and heat until warm, then remove from the heat.

Remove squash from oven when done, and rake a fork over the flesh, separating the strands as you go. Toss the squash with the olive oil mixture and serve over cous cous.

Serves 4 as a side dish, or 2 hungry hippos.

Papaya Coconut Muffins


Adapted from Skinny Taste

1 cup papaya puree
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (or 1 large egg, beaten)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp melted vegan spread (can use butter or marg)

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Toss papaya in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a small amount of water, if necessary to get the papaya moving.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and coconut.

Combine egg or pumpkin, melted butter or spread, vanilla and papaya puree in a medium bowl. Add to the dry mixture and stir until just blended.

Using a teaspoon, divide batter between 12 muffin liners. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Comfort Food

I've been a bit lax in cooking this week. Ben's away all week, and I often find myself making uninspired meals when he's gone. Cooking for yourself just isn't the same as cooking for other people. I actually did attempt something earlier in the week, but it was a huge disaster so I'd prefer to forget about it!

Tonight, I wanted something comforting and yummy. It was a cold day and we had the first snow flurries of the season, so a nice, hot meal was an absolute must.

I had a delicata squash leftover from last week's veggie box, so I decided to attempt to make "fries" from it. A delicata squash is pretty small, so one is perfect for one person. I peeled, deseeded and sliced the squash, then seasoned and baked the slices. 

Pre-baked "fries"
The squash fries turned out really well, and there was the perfect amount for one person. I ate my fries with a homemade pumpkin veggie burger from my freezer stash, and some quinoa cooked in veggie broth. Yummy, satisfying and a perfect use of a leftover squash!

Not your typical burger and fries
Delicata Squash Fries

1 delicata squash
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder
Chili powder

Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit.

Peel squash and cut it in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds using a spoon, then cut the squash halves into long, thin, fry-shaped pieces.

Put squash slices in a Tupperware container. Add the olive oil and season to taste with garlic powder and chili powder. Place the lid on the container and shake it well to coat each squash slice. Arrange slices on a baking sheet.

Bake squash slices for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes. Once cooked, throw the fries under the grill/broiler for a few minutes to crisp up, turning every minute or so. Watch the fries closely to prevent burning, and serve immediately once they're done.


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Sweets, Treats and Pizzas

This weekend was a little rushed. Ben is working in Seattle this week, and his flight left this afternoon, so we tried to fit in lots of things together in a shorter-than-usual amount of time. The first point of business: Breakfast.

Yummicilous!
I was such a fan of the steel cut oatmeal we had last week that I decided to make it again this weekend. With the addition of fresh apples, golden raisins and agave nectar we had ourselves an awesome breakfast that kept us both full until lunch. I love it so much I'm making enough tonight to last me through the week!

While I was waiting for my oats to beef up, I decided to experiment with some cereal that was starting to go stale. A couple of months ago I went on a mad cereal-buying spree, and ended up with about 10 boxes of random cereals in my pantry. I ate cereal daily for the longest time, but then I discovered oatmeal and my consumption has since waned. As a result, I had some apple and cinnamon Cheerios in my cupboard for about the last two weeks. I decided to make some cereal bars that we could enjoy through the week. They were easy to make (just nut butter, agave, cinnamon, vanilla and raisins went into the mix) and they are AMAZING!

The magic happening

The finished product

Finally, I decided to make something fun for lunch before Ben left today. I found a recipe for pumpkin pizza on a vegan food blog and knew I had to make it. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but added a few touches of my own. It took time to make, since I always make my own pizza dough from scratch, but it is so completely worth the trouble. The pizza was delicious, nutritious and filling.

Pizza Heaven!

Pre-devouring


And so completes the weekend! Add to these scrumptious meals a pretty bunch of flowers from Ben, a night out with the ladies on Saturday for sushi and drinkies, plus two successful trail runs with Ben and Dougal, and you have yourself a pretty perfect weekend!

What I came home to on Friday :)


Apple and Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats


1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
1 cup almond milk
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp agave nectar
Handful of golden raisins

Bring water to a boil, then add the oats. Boil for 5 minutes, or until oatmeal starts to thicken, then reduce the heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add almond milk and apple and simmer for a further 5-1- minutes, until oatmeal reaches desired consistency. Serve immediately, topping with agave nectar and raisins.

Cheerio Cereal Bars


4 cups cheerios or other leftover cereal
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup smooth nut butter
5 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix cereal and raisins together in a large mixing bowl.

Melt nut butter in a small saucepan, together with the agave nectar until the mixture is a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cinnamon, and pour the mixture over the cereal and raisins. Mix well to coat cereal and raisins.

Spray a baking dish (I used 9x13) with cooking spray and pour the cereal mixture into the dish. Wet fingers and pat down to even out the top. Chill for at least once hour, then cut into 12 equal-sized treats. Wrap each treat in cling wrap and store in the fridge.

Pumpkin Pizza


Adapted from Eating Bird Food

Whole wheat pizza crust
1 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 tbsp hummus (I used homemade baba ghanoush)
1 1/2 cup fresh kale, chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup feta or other favorite cheese

Preheat oven to 425 and bake pizza crust for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute chopped onions and garlic in a skillet with the olive oil, until golden. Scoop onion mixture into a medium bowl and add pumpkin, basil, oregano, sage, salt and pepper. Mix well.

In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and kale until the kale wilts and reduces in volume.

Spread hummus over the pizza crust, then spread the pumpkin sauce on top. Add kale, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, beans and onions, then top with feta. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the pizza is done to your taste. Enjoy!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Sausages and Pumpkin and Lentils, Oh My!

Last year, my mum gave me a calendar she got from Sainsbury's (British supermarket), and each month has a different recipe. I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but a couple of weeks ago I noticed the November recipe looked extremely amazing. The full title? Chunky sausage, pumpkin and lentil pot. Yes please!

The "before" shot
Since I saw that recipe I have been excited about trying it. Yesterday's experiment with making harissa paste was part of this bigger, sausagey picture. I even went out and bought a cast iron casserole dish for the occasion (although I plan to use it for more than just this one recipe!)

Veggie broth time
So today was the day. I made it earlier in the afternoon since I'd planned a much-needed trip to the gym for a 5:30 Zumba class and didn't think I'd want to cook once I got home. The recipe was actually very easy and didn't take much time at all. The most time-consuming part was peeling, deseeding and chopping the pumpkin.

Pre-mixing
Once I got to taste the deliciousness that was my dinner tonight, I was amazed that the dish could actually taste as good as I thought it would, if not better. I actually didn't have enough lentils as the recipe called for, so my version was a little more soupy, but no less awesome.

Yes, I took too many photos of this masterpiece
Since I'm trying to eat less meat, my bowl was mainly pumpkin and lentils. But trust me, there were a couple of rogue snausage sniblets in there! Ben was a lucky chap with a much more sausage-intensive bowl. We both loved it and the best part is that Ben has leftovers to eat for dinner tomorrow while I sushi it up with my book club buddies!

Please eat me!!!
Chunky Sausage, Pumpkin and Lentil Pot


1 tsp olive oil
4 Johnsonville original brats (or 2 packs British pork sausages)
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs (700g) pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp harissa paste
2 cups (500ml) vegetable broth
8 oz (250g) dried green lentils
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
1 cup (200ml) water

Heat oil in a skillet and brown sausages. Remove, cut into chunks and return to skillet to brown cut edges. Set sausage chunks aside.

Sweat onions in a large casserole or Dutch oven for 10 minutes. Add garlic, pumpkin, bay leaf, thyme, harissa paste, broth, lentils, tomatoes and water; mix well.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, add the sausages and simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 4-6 servings, depending on appetite.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Spicing Things Up

Last week, I found an awesome recipe. In fact, it was so awesome that I decided to make it this Friday and have been looking forward to it all week. The only problem? The recipe is from the UK and I had trouble finding the right ingredients for this incredible feast.

The main ingredients were no problem. The issue was with something called harissa paste. Not only had I never heard of it, but I had no idea where to start looking for it. After a quick Googling, I learned that harissa paste is a spice paste used frequently in cooking in north African countries like Tunisia and Morocco. Apparently, the ingredients differ between countries, or even between households, but it's readily available at supermarkets in the UK. I searched my local health food stores and grocery stores with no luck, so I decided to attempt to make the paste from scratch.

I found a recipe that sounded doable on a Whole Foods recipe app on my phone. The ingredients were easy to find, and I was able to make the paste tonight so it'll be ready for me to use in my recipe tomorrow.

Pastey goodness
Once I made the paste, I decided to try it out for taste in tonight's dinner. I shredded Brussels sprouts and diced a shallot, and sauteed both in olive oil with two cloves of garlic. I added the paste for a little extra kick. The result? Amazing sprouts that literally tasted nothing like sprouts! Success!

Dinner -- miso soup, sauteed sprouts and brown rice

Harissa Paste
4 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
8 dried red peppers (I used New Mexico peppers)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
8 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Remove seeds and stems from dried chilis. Cover with boiling water and leave for 20 minutes to rehydrate.

Preheat a dry skillet over medium-high heat and toast cumin, coriander and caraway seeds until seeds begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and add to a food processor. Grind seeds until they make a powder.

Drain dried chilis and add them to the food processor. Also add chipotle chilis, garlic cloves, olive oil and salt. Blend to a smooth paste.

Transfer to a Tupperware container and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Dinner for One

Weeknights are a pain in the butt when it comes to cooking quickly and healthfully. It doesn't help that my hubby travels for work most weeks, so I'm by myself for dinner a lot of the time. Cooking for one just isn't as fun as cooking for others, but I try to make the most it.

Luckily, I had a fridge full of exciting veggies thanks to the delivery of my organic fruit and veggie box yesterday, the contents of which included delicata squash, Brussels sprouts, spaghetti squash and a pie pumpkin! I've only tried delicata squash once before and wasn't super impressed, and I've never been a Brussels sprout fan. But I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, so I was excited to see if I could turn the sprouts into something edible.

Sprouts, squash, onions and tofu!
I also bought tofu at the store this week as an experiment, since I'm not a huge tofu fan either but I wanted to see if I could make it appetizing. With the addition of some yummy Indian spices, I was able to disguise the sprout/tofu combo and I actually enjoyed the results. I'd usually use tomatoes when making a curry-type meal, but I was fresh out so I went with broth instead. For a variation of this meal, you could add tomatoes and omit the broth, and you could substitute meat for tofu and whatever veggies are in your fridge for the squash and sprouts. I love a spontaneous meal inspired by what's in my fridge!

The finished product

Curried Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Tofu

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup onions, roughly chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 delicate squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
5 to 6 Brussels sprouts, halved
3 oz extra firm tofu, cubed
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet or wok. Add onions and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute for another minute.

Add tofu and saute for 3 or 4 minutes, until brown. Add squash and Brussels sprouts and stir to combine.

Whisk vegetable broth and corn starch together and pour mixture into the skillet. Allow to heat through, then add the garam masala, cumin and chili powder. Cover and cook on medium-low for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked to your liking. Serve with rice.

Serves 1.