Bryant's Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

I've got pears coming out of my ears at the moment so, I've been scouring the internet for new recipes. This soup was something new for me. I've never had pears in soup before but, the recipe is from Bryant Terry so I knew it would be a winner. The lovely orange color comes from the butternut squash and the pears and coconut milk give it a creamy, slightly sweet finish. I think it's gorgeous.

The soup has a lot of prep time but, if you are only serving a few people you will have plenty left over for more meals. 

You will need:

• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely chopped (3 cups)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 lb.)
• 3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (11/2 lb.)
• 5 cups low-sodium veggie broth
• 1 14-oz. can light coconut milk (I used a little less than this)
  
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• Pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the leeks for 10 minutes.

2. Add squash and pears, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in veggie broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut milk. Purée soup in batches in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, and stir in thyme. Reheat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Season with salt and white pepper, if desired. Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds, if using.

recipe via Vegetarian Times

Rachel's Applesauce Cake

I finally got a chance to try Rachel's (conflower blue studios) Recipe for applesauce cake. It turned out more bread-like than like a cake but, no complaints from me! I added walnuts and chopped apples so that probably contributed to the bread-yness. Super simple vegan cake that's not too sweet. I used my peace cake mold that the hubs bought for me to make hippie bread in. (wink)

Happy 4th, ya'll

Hope you all are having a lovely day. I'm waiting on the husband to return from work and trying not to eat all the Watermelon Lemonade Sorbet I made for tonight's festivities.

xoxo

main squeeze inspiration

Did you ever have a meal at a restaurant that you loved so much you tried to recreate it at home? This meal was inspired by my favorite restaurant in Columbia, Mo. - a fantastic vegetarian place called Main Squeeze.

This dish isn't going to win any beauty contests but, it's easy on the budget and quick to put together. If you make your rice ahead of time that'll speed up the process even more.

You'll need:

Cup of cooked brown rice

Your favorite salsa

Extra firm tofu or seitan

2 Tablespoons of Green Goddess dressing

Optional: Sprouts, Mozzarella Cheese

Fill your bowl with brown rice. Warm up your salsa a bit. Cook your tofu or seitan as desired. I like to cut medium thick strips and cook it on our foreman grill. This way I don't have to take extra time to drain it. It also gives it a nice chewy, crispy texture.

Top your rice with the salsa, dressing, tofu, and anything else you might like. Hope you enjoy it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hello lovelies! Hope you're having a happy St. Paddy's Day. I crocheted this little clover leaf for my love so he wouldn't get pinched at work! Free pattern via Lion Brand.  Hubs and I both have Irish backgrounds so, we're celebrating with an Irish inspired meal- colcannon.

Apple-Pear Butter, Mm Mmm

Hello lovelies, I must have spent a week cutting up pounds and pounds of fruit to make this yummy apple-pear butter. I think 60 lbs of fruit were transformed into about ten jars of butter. Maybe more. This recipe has no preservatives and that's not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind!

Some of you received a jar (the rest of you will have to make your own, ha! or say "pretty please"). I thought I'd share with you some ideas beyond toast or the great English muffin!

OMG Onion Rings & Lentil Burger

This will be my last entry from Appetite for Reduction, but I'll be returning to this cookbook again and again. You are looking at the OMG Onion Rings and Chipotle-Lentil Burger. I was so hungry I didn't even bother to set up this photo properly. This summery meal cured my winter blues, at least for a little while! Even better, it was filling and no grease. This makes for a happy tummy.

If you'd like to try these delectable onion rings hop on over for the full recipe. Do it. The Post Punk Kitchen has a lot of other fab recipes up, too. Commenter J had a great suggestion for making them GF -replace almond meal and coconut flour for the breadcrumbs and flour. I mostly stuck to the letter on this recipe and I think the rings turned out really nice.

This was definitely Mr. Meat-and-Potatoes favorite meal from AfR, I had to claim some of the leftovers so he'd leave me some. Whodathunk he'd eat something with lentils in it? I'm calling it a success.

12 Cookbooks: Recipe #4 Moroccan Chickpeas & Zucchini

yum!

I'm super excited to share the results of recipe #4 from my 12 Cookbooks Project (as I'm now calling it). This delicious dish is destined to be a classic in my house. It smells delicious while cooking and is a perfect low-fuss meal. Again, the book for January is Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast & Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes.  So far this book is really delivering on its promise of being "drop-dead delicious."

Mini-Pot Pies are the new Cupcakes!

Ok, maybe not, but I think they're darn cute. This little creation will count as recipe #3 from Appetite for Reduction even though I modified it quite a bit. The recipe itself is just for the pot pie filling as its meant to be eaten more like a stew rather than a traditional pot pie with crust.

Chicken pot pie was one of my favorite comfort foods as a kid. When I went veg it sadly disappeared from the menu. Sure I splurged on an Amy's frozen one every once and while but, I made no attempt to make one myself. When I saw the recipe it reminded me of pure childhood foodie goodness. I knew I had to make it. This is a great winter meal -warm and its very filling. I made a few adjustments to the recipe to suit my tastes and pantry so, that's what I'm going to share with you. Get the recipe after the jump.

Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits

Recipe #2 from Appetite for Reduction

This was the first time I've ever made "drop" style biscuits (that weren't dog biscuits!). I'm loving the beautiful color from the sweet potatoes. The recipe cautioned against over mixing the ingredients so, I'm not sure if these came out "right."

They are tasty, especially paired with the apple-pear butter I made on Christmas Eve. Even better, they make a great base for the pot-pie stew from the book. On their own, they're good but, a little moist where I'd want them to be drier and crumbly like a fluffy biscuit. Mr. K enjoyed them, so I'll try them again. 

Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mmmm, this tasty vegan side dish from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's newest cookbook, Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-fat Vegan Recipes. This is the first recipe I've made from the cookbook and I'm really pleased. I love that each recipe is accomapnied by the nutritional information!

As one of my resolutions for the new year I've

decided to pick one of my cookbooks and make as many of the recipes as possible in 1 month. I picked this one for Dec/Jan.
This is something I see myself making a lot. It's tasty and doesn't require me to run to the store whenever I want to make it. This is a great recipe to make ahead of time because it reheats well and it takes a little more time than your average side dish.

S'mores Cupcakes

from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. My niece Taylor and I whipped up these babies last night. We had a lot of doubt in the beginning but, I think they turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

3⁄4 C. Brown Sugar
1⁄2 C. Canola Oil
2 T. Molasses
1⁄4 C. Soy Yogurt
1 1⁄4 C. Soymilk
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 C. All-Purpose Flour
1 t. Baking Powder
1⁄2 t. Baking Soda
1⁄2 t. Cinnamon, ground
1⁄4 t. Salt
1⁄2 C. Graham Cracker Crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350¾. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Mix brown sugar, oil, molasses, yogurt, soymilk and vanilla in a large bowl.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a separate bowl and mix. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix it up.

4. Add dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition.

5. Fill cupcake liners full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.


Quick Melty Ganache
3 T. Soy Creamer or Soymilk
1/3 C. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Heat soy creamer in a small saucepan over medium heat til just about to simmer. Remove from heat; add chocolate chips and stir til chocolate is completely melted and creamer is incorporated. Set aside and allow to cool for 10 minutes. With a spatula scoop into a prepared pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip chopped off, or drizzle haphazardly with fork. Quick Melty Ganache will set when fully cooled.

I made a plain old buttercream (margarine + confectioner's sugar + vanilla) for the icing. Surprisingly, these cupcakes did remind me of marshmallow campfire goodness and also ...gingerbread. I think we'll go lighter on the molasses next time. Or, even better yet make the chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crumbs and these toppings. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my first recipe from VCTOTW. Taylor ate two, so I'd say she approved!