The Bowl

It all started with the Chipotle burrito bowl. When I ate meat, I'd get it with chicken. Now, I get it with grilled veggies. I always top it with guacamole rather than cheese, and add black beans and pico de gallo. With the bowl's base of brown cilantro lime rice, it makes for one delicious dinner.

After reading a bunch of vegan cooking blogs and cookbooks, I discovered that the bowl is a versatile and balanced meal, combining whole grains, protein and veggies. Although I'm not vegan, I often eat vegan when I make a bowl. I've just discovered smoked tofu which is a delicious protein to add to a bowl. But today, I'm skipping the vegan part and embracing dairy in my bowl.

Building the bowl

My lunch bowl today consists of quinoa, kale, peas and cottage cheese. I had a similar bowl yesterday, but added a quarter of an avocado on top. It was delicious, but sadly that was the last of my avocados and I haven't had time to go to the store.

This recipe is my basic bowl, but bear in mind that you can use any grain, such as rice, millet or bulgur, any veggie you have on hand, and any protein, whether it's meat, vegetarian or vegan. I chose kale and peas because they are quick-cooking and I don't want to spend too much time making lunch. Usually I use beans or tofu, but today I used cottage cheese because I had some in my fridge and I love it.

The finished bowl

Quinoa, Kale, Peas and Cottage Cheese Bowl

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups kale, shredded
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup cottage cheese

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam peas and kale either in a steamer or in the microwave.

Once quinoa is done, top with veggies and dollop your cottage cheese on top. Mix well and enjoy!

Quick and Easy Enchilada Casserole

So I saw this post on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen for microwave enchilada casserole. It sounded like the perfect thing for me to bring to work for lunch some day, but the problem was that I had leftovers coming out of my ears (not literally) and so I had no time to eat a microwave enchilada casserole for lunch! What a dilemma to have. So all last week, I had a craving for something similar. I even went out and bought a nice-looking jar of salsa with which to make said casserole, but before I knew it, Saturday was here and I was casserole-free.

Luckily for my craving, we had a super busy Saturday redecorating our living room and spending too much  money at Ikea, so I needed a quick and easy recipe to make for our dinner. Enter my oven version of the microwave enchilada casserole.

Fresh from the oven

It literally took less than five minutes to put this casserole together, so that left plenty of time to unpack our new furniture and get our new living room in shape while it was cooking. That's my kind of quick weekend meal!

Served with roasted kale

Enchilada Casserole

8 corn tortillas

1 jar salsa

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced

1/2 an onion, diced

10 olives, sliced

3/4 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread a thin layer of salsa over the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish. Top with four of the tortillas, cutting them if necessary to almost completely cover the salsa layer. Sprinkle half the corn and beans on top of the tortillas, along with the diced onions and jalapeno. Spread another layer of salsa over the bean mixture, then arrange the remaining beans and corn on top. Finish with the rest of the salsa, then top with shredded cheese and sliced olives. 

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes to allow the cheese to crisp up slightly. 

Slice into 6 pieces and enjoy with guacamole, sour cream or any other sides you have on hand (I roasted some kale because I love kale with everything!)

Kitchen Makeover and Falafel

Last week, I went a little overboard. For months now I've been talking about getting new kitchen appliances. My original plan was to buy good quality items, one at a time to save money. However, this was before the shopping gods delivered a 30% off voucher for Kohl's to my door. For those who don't know, Kohl's is the most awesome department store, where everything is on sale and store card holders always get either 15%, 20% or 30% off everything. Plus, for every $50 spent, you get $10 back to spend on anything in-store.

Oops.

I ended up with a Cuisinart food processor, a Cuisinart waffle iron and a Kitchen Aid hand mixer. I figure if you're going to go crazy, it's best to do so with quality brands that should last a while.

Blueberry waffles

So, last weekend I tested out my new toys. I made waffles in the waffle iron (using the hand mixer to mix the batter), then I brought out the king of all food processors. I made homemade vegan nutella (see recipe here), then I made some falafel for dinner. The verdict? I love all my new kitchen gadgets and want to use them every day!

Better than the original... although the photo looks quite disgusting

Last but not least, I had $40 Kohl's cash to spend, so I went back and got a Cuisinart griddle/grill/panini press dealy that is also most awesome. Not looking forward to that credit card bill!

Falafel
Recipe from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1/4 cup dried parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons hot sauce
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

Process chickpeas and garlic in food processor until finely chopped. Add shallot, parsley, olive oil and hot sauce. Process until smooth, then decant chickpea mixture into a separate bowl. Add the spices and flour, and mix well to combine. Form into 12 balls, then squish to make patties.

(If you don't have a food processor, chop onion small and mince garlic, and smoosh chickpeas and other ingredients in a bowl. The mixture shouldn't have any chickpea lumps in. Then proceed as usual, or go buy a food processor because they are awesome).

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil. Flip, then bake another 8 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, use a skillet or grill to cook the falafel. Enjoy with pita bread, tzatziki, spinach, or whatever tickles your fancy.

Quiche Delight

I know it's Valentine's day next week, so technically I shod be planning cards, gifts and romantic surprises for my hubby. But I honestly don't really care for Valentine's day. I'm just not the romantic type, nor did I marry Mr. Romantic... Thank God! So rather than planning some ridiculously over-the-top evening of luuuurve for me and the man, I decided to just cook something nice and have a night in. Which, come to think of it, is what we do most Saturdays. Fine with me!

I decided to make a quiche tonight. I had a leftover whole wheat pie crust in the freezer from when I made pumpkin pie over Christmas, so it was begging to be used up. The hubby is a huge quiche fan so he was just fine with this plan. He suggested using cheese and tomatoes as a filling. I had grape tomatoes on-hand, and we took a trip to Trader Joe's to purchase some good cheese. We ended up buying gruyere, a personal favorite of mine. This means we can have French onion soup with the leftover gruyere, yum!

What could taste bad with these ingredients? :)

I didn't really follow a recipe for the quiche, except to figure out how much liquid to use. The recipe I looked at used heavy cream and ricotta, but I had neither so I made some slightly healthier replacements with what I had on-hand -- plain Greek yogurt and skim milk.

Before baking

We had a salad on the side, which was yummy but had some slightly odd ingredients. Ben requested grated carrots and olives, and I wanted mushrooms. With the addition of some Greek dressing, we had ourselves a weirdly wonderful side salad.

After baking -- deliciously golden

All in all, a successful meal, no doubt finished off by something Ben sneakily picked up at Trader Joe's... not that I put much effort into stopping him!

Trader Joe's, you've done it again!

Tomato and Gruyere Quiche

Pie crust, either homemade of store-bought
1 shallot, sliced
4 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup gruyere or other cheese, grated, plus some for the top
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Approx. 15 cherry or grape tomatoes, halves and the seeds squeezed out

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Sprinkle the sliced shallots into the bottom of the pie crust. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium bowl, then add the milk and yogurt. Beat until well-mixed. Add the salt, pepper, cheese, basil and oregano and mix to combine.

Pour the mixture over the shallots, then place the tomatoes, one by one, cut-side down, into the mixture, pressing down slightly on each one to ensure it's nicely emerged in yumminess. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the quiche is golden and set. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 mins before cutting.

Superbowl? What Superbowl?

I am a self-confessed football hater (American football of course). I hate that there are commercials every two seconds and that a one hour game takes about six hours to complete. I hate that it's called "football" when it has very little to do with feet, meaning that football as I know it has to go by the name "soccer." I hate the commentators (although that is true of every sport). I hate the drawings they do on the TV to show you exactly what they're talking about. I especially hate the fact that it's on every Sunday for months on end, resulting in my DVR recording the wrong shows. So today is a celebration for me -- the end of football season for at least a few months!

Another reason I like Superbowl Sunday is that we always eat chili, which is one of my favorite things to do. Usually we make a chicken taco chili in the crockpot which is to die for, but that was out since I don't eat meat anymore. So Ben found a recipe for veggie chili that sounded delicious. The addition of chocolate and beer to chili? Score! We followed the recipe to a T, and I made some cornbread and guacamole to go on the side. And you know what? It was good! The tempeh gave it a meaty texture, although we couldn't really taste the mushrooms. Next time I'd either omit the mushrooms or use more, and I'd add corn to the chili, which is a personal favorite of mine.

We got the recipe from Slate so I won't reprint here, but click on the link if you want to check it out... which you should.

Apart from "football," today was about making beer (for Ben) and making hummus (for me).

Tomato Herb Hummus

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon powdered chile
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Handful sundried tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, or a mixture of basil, oregano or whatever your tastebuds tell you
1/2 cup water

Dump all ingredients into a food processor and blend. Add water a bit at a time until you get the desired creamy consistency. Eat!

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

It's been another week of mostly cooking for one on account of Ben traveling for work. Last night I did make a delicious veggie and miso stir fry, but it was a quick meal and I was too tired to note what went into it and to take photos... I was hungry and the meal was gone before I even thought of getting my camera!

But this weekend is the start of hubby's birthday celebrations. His actual birthday is Sunday. He hates his birthday and the most we ever do is invite his parents over and cook, but they had the nerve to disappear to Hawaii this year so we had to get out of our rut (I'm totally not jealous that they're in Hawaii... I just love cold weather and rain!)

Tomorrow night we're off out for a meal, but tonight is a night in. I decided to make shepherd's pie with lentils and mushrooms since I'd seen the recipe somewhere, but when I found said recipe it seemed like too much. I just bought some large ramekins and wanted to make two individual pies for fun, so I made this up and hoped it would work... And it did!

Perfect night in!

Deliciousness was mine (and Ben's) and it was pretty easy. The pies turned out very big so I didn't have to make any veggies to go along with them. You could also double the recipe to make a regular-sized pie if that's what floats your boat.

Underneath the taters....

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup brown mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup French (green) lentils
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

Sauté onion and garlic in some olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add celery and mushrooms and cook until the onions are translucent.

Add peas and lentils to pan, then pour broth over the top. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.

Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the water. Meanwhile, boil the sweet potatoes until tender, then mash and add the butter and cheese, stirring well to combine.

Divide the lentil mixture between two large ramekins and top with the sweet potato mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes start to brown. Eat, and enjoy!

Pesto Perfection

It's been a looooong time since I've posted here, due to a mixture of pure laziness and travelling. We went back to the UK for 3 weeks over Christmas to visit my family and best friend, and had the most awesome time. It was depressing to come back to the US but it was surprising how quickly I got back into my routine of food, exercise and watching other peoples' dogs hump each other frantically.

This weekend we did a lot of exercise and celebrated with the world's yummiest pizza. We make our own dough and had some in the freezer which was awesome because it meant much less work. While I'm a fan of the regular tomato-based pizza, I have to say my favorite pizza sauce topping is pesto. It's so delicious, especially when it's fresh and homemade.

I baked the pizza crust for 10 minutes at 425 Fahrenheit, then I spread a generous amount of fresh pesto on top, followed by sliced onions, diced tomatoes, black beans, sauteed mushrooms and crumbled feta. I let it bake for about another 15 mins, then we chowed down. I had plenty of leftover pesto which made me very happy. My mum likes to make sandwiches with hummus spread on one slice and pesto on the other, so I did that this week and filled the sandwich with cucumber slices and lettuce leaves. Yum!

This photo just makes me hungry

Pesto

2 cups basil leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minces
1/4 cup olive oil, or to taste

Put pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan in a food processor and grind well. Add the basil leaves a little at a time, processing as you go. Add the olive oil slowly until the pesto reaches the desired consistency. (I used about a half of the 1/4 cup I measured out because I didn't want it super oily)

Pesto should keep in the fridge for a week or so.

Slow Cooked to Perfection

What to have for dinner on a cold day when you feel like poop? Something made in the slow cooker, obviously. This week an old health issue reared its ugly head. I've had trouble with swollen glands on occasion ever since I had mono in my early 20s, and this week the gland monster showed up to ruin my week. It's just one gland, but it is painful, tender and makes it really difficult to move my head. Luckily, I recently bought the most awesome of slow cookers, with a fancy timer to prevent overlooking.

I had some leftover sweet potatoes, squash and onions lying around, so I chopped them up and threw them in the crockpot for a few hours with some tomatoes and spices. I was fresh out of beans, or I would have thrown some of those in as well. This chili was yummy, comforting, and had a slightly smoky spice thanks to the chipotle chilis I added at the last minute.

I've had this for dinner two nights in a row now, and plan on eating it for lunch tomorrow too. I actually got way too excited about eating it tonight and almost forgot to take a photo, hence the half-eaten bowl and PB sandwich!

Veggie Chili

1 onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 winter squash (I used buttercup), peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 15oz can chopped tomatoes
4 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 package taco seasoning
2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with wheat berries, brown rice or a plain old PB sammich!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Turban Squash Experiment

Today was all about experimenting. We're planning a trip to King's Island tomorrow and I wanted to make something healthy that we could sneak in so we don't have to eat the nasty food they have at the park. So I attempted granola bars... they're still cooling so we'll see if they stay together once cut!

The second food I experimented with today was turban squash. If you're wondering, "what on earth is turban squash?!" then I was right there with you until I saw my first one a few months ago. They look a little something like this:

Weird, no? I was intrigued by this odd-looking squash, so I bought my first one this week. I searched online for recipes to no avail, so I decided to wing it. I started by cutting the squash in half and deseeding it.

Like a little mushroom!

Then, I peeled the skin off using a potato peeler and cut it into small pieces. I laid the pieces in a baking dish and sprayed them with olive oil cooking spray, then sprinkled some garlic powder on top, then I baked the squash until they were just starting to brown.

Meanwhile, I heated some olive oil in a skillet and added some minced garlic, dehydrated chopped onion and sundried tomato oil seasoning, and cooked some whole-wheat linguini in a medium saucepan. Once the pasta was done, I mixed everything together and topped it with feta because, let's face it, feta makes everything better.

The end result was pretty good for an experiment, although next time I'll probably use butternut squash -- the turban squash was such an odd shape that it took about 30 minutes to peel the thing!

Yumminess!

Roasted Squash Pasta

1 winter squash (butternut, acorn, turban etc), deseeded and chopped into small cubes

Cooking spray

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp dehydrated onion

2 tsp sundried tomato seasoning, or any other Italian-style seasoning

3 oz whole wheat linguini

Roast squash in a baking dish at 350 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

When squash has 10 minutes left, bring a pot of water to boil and add whole wheat linguini. At the same time, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a skillet on a medium-low heat. Add garlic, onions and seasoning and mix well.

Add roasted squash to the olive oil and stir thoroughly to coat. Drain pasta and mix it in with the squash mixture, adding 1 tbsp olive oil to coat the pasta. Serve immediately and sprinkle with feta. Yum!

Makes 2 servings.