Pumpkin Patch Part One: Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

In honor of my favorite time of year I've decided to do a series of
the most famous autumn fare (and my personal favorite): Pumpkin!

I love squash because of the wonderful colours, shapes, variety and
simple versatility. It is amazing in savory and sweet dishes alike.
Therefore, I thought I'd start off with something you might do a
double take at... Pumpkin Pasta Sauce!

Also because I wanted to use the adorable animal shaped pasta I
recently got. I bought it for mac and cheese, but I had a lot leftover.
The shaped pasta like this really captures the sauce well.

We ate it with some sauteed zucchini and some garlic bread--
But now I have a craving for spiced apple cider!

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce



2 cups of cooked pumpkin
1 cup soymilk or cashew cream
1 vegetable bouillon
5 fresh sage leaves, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp salt
black and white pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

1/2 tvp
1 tsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable broth

nutritional yeast

Brown the tvp in a pan over medium heat in the oil. Once the tvp
begins to reach a golden brown and start to toast, turn down and
continually add vegetable broth, while cooking. Once the tvp has
plumped up, is no longer dry on the inside and any excess liquid
is cooked off remove it from the heat. Set aside.

Blend or process your cooked pumpkin with the ‘milk’/cream until
smooth. Over medium heat saute the onion in a few tablespoons of
water. After about two minutes, add the garlic and then the sage.
Cook, adding more water if needed, until the onion appears
translucent and tender.

Add the bouillon, pumpkin mix, tvp, 1/4 cup water/broth and
remaining seasonings. Turn down to medium-low heat and cook for
about more 15 minutes.

Serve over your favorite cooked pasta and top with some nutritional
yeast or mix about a 1/4 cup in right before serving.

Makes enough sauce for 3-4 servings.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Whenever I don't really feel up to cooking or I'm worried abut
time, I make soup. It was one of those 'what needs to be used
in the fridge' days. I didn't have a lot of open kitchen time
and had a ton of broccoli that needed to be used, so cream of
broccoli soup it was.

I like adding potatoes because it adds a heartiness and
thickness that is so yummy. You can either use a variety of
vegetables or keep it simple with some foundation onions and
garlic then add a dash of nutmeg!

Monkey-man likes his soup with all the big vegetable chunks,
but if I'm cooking for guests and such or if I used some funky
or odd shaped veg I'll blend the whole batch. It is also good
if I want to hide a certain vegetable from my picky Mom. Even
blending half is good and gives you the best of both worlds.

I served these with some baked potato cakes. They are super light
fluffy biscuits. I also added a little bit of kale to keep the super green
color. It is important to try and chop everything around the same size
so that it cooks evenly.

Simple Broccoli Vegetable Soup



2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 small crowns broccoli, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 leaves of kale, shredded
1 bouillon cube
1 1/2-2 cups unsweetened soymilk or nondairy milk
2 tbsp braggs
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp sage
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
water

Saute the garlic and onion briefly with water, until tender
and fragrant. Add the remaining vegetables (except kale) with
about a cup of water and cover. Continue to cook, stirring
occasionally until potatoes are almost soft. Add the kale and
cook for about 5 more minutes.



Either add to a blender and add soymilk slowly until you get
your own desired thickness or just add the soymilk and
nutritional yeast if you're not blending. Keep on low-med heat
to heat added soymilk, but do not boil.

If blended, add nutritional yeast last. It adds a nice subtle
cheesy taste that rings of old cream of broccoli.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Seven: Double the Yum

Getting back on track here... Heading into finals week for my
first completed year of grad school, go me! Half way done with
my masters... or there abouts!

Plus these kittens have been a real time vacuum of cuteness.

I have had some posts to share with you, but on top of everything
our internet/phone was out for over a week. In fact they had to
come and entirely replace the telephone pole in front of our
house to get things back online!

But here is one that I've been really wanting to share with you.
The general idea was Monkey-man's, but I whipped it up and
it really surprised us. I don't think I've ever made a pizza
that tasted so much like a digiorno. Now, I don't know if you've
ever had one of these frozen pizzas or if you hate them...



But I want to pin it on the strange anomaly of their crust or
really the crust of any mainstream frozen pizza. The recipe itself
is nothing special, just my go to foundation ratio for pizza
crust. It usually makes two crusts that fit on our stone, but this
time I stacked them on top of each other.

This caused the crusts to be much softer and just short of doughy.
In a really good way!

For future reference my pizza dough consists of ....

1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
2 1/2- 3 cups flour

I like to switch it up with different flours, sweeteners and oils
or adding things like olives, rosemary, garlic, or a little more
sweetener for a dessert pizza.

Pizza is so easy and quick if you have the crust made ahead of time.
It is insane that more people don't eat it homemade. I cannot
understand those who will spend $20+ on a generic pizza when they
actually cost a fraction of that at home. If you have the dough
ready, you can have your dinner ready in the time it takes to
preheat your oven and out 10 minutes later.

Double Decker Pizza

Start out with your preheated stone or baking sheet.
Lay down the first layer of crust and spread on the tomato sauce and
nutritional yeast.



Then your next layer and toppings... Yes it's that simple.




Unbaked and baked overview... Yes my crusts are wonky shaped.

And my slice! Nom Nom Nom.
It seems like a normal sized pizza, but it goes twice as far,
so we had to seriously watch how much we were eating!

Vegan Fettucini Alfredo

The summer I spent living with two of my best friends, our
cheap college fare was extremely bizarre and fatty. Granted
we did eat our fair share of potatoes and the vegetarian ramen,
there were three main things I learned to cook during that time
span. I learned how to make crepes from my neighbor, mochi from a
classmate and alfredo from my roomie.

I wrote before how we used to eat a crap ton of crepe...
But I have no idea why we started making alfredo. It was
originally what me started back on a path to attempting to
reincorporate mushrooms into my diet. Ultimately that was
foiled by my strange gag reflex triggered by them.
However, we used porcini mushrooms nonetheless in hopes that
someday I could stomach them.

Since those days I continued making alfredo, but very rarely or
when I was desperate to make something my mom would eat.

I learned to make it with fresh parmesan and heavy cream and
since been trying to make a vegan version with nutritional
yeast and soymilk.

*Enter 'The Urban Vegan'

I really dig this cookbook. Unlike most of the vegan books that
get churned out, it doesn't contain a lot of asian dishes or
bizarre expensive ingredients. I have a very european palate I
must admit.

So finally I shoveled out the earthbalance and made Balcavage's
Vegan Alfredo. I made a couple adjustments...

First, I added garlic. Sorry, but I don't know what alfredo without
garlic would be like... Oh yeah. Boring.

Second, I cut down on the earthbalance and upped the nutritional
yeast. Theory was to make a roux out of the oil and yeast. Well,
to make a proper roux you need equal portions of the fat and X--
typically flour.

Third, having a proper roux you don't need the kudzu root that is
called for.



Vegan Fettucini Alfredo~ Adapted

Ingredients

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup earthbalance
1/4 cup heaping nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup soy milk
black pepper

In a medium pan over medium heat, saute garlic in melting
earthbalance. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add the
nutritional yeast to form your roux.

Continue to cook for about for a few minutes to cook roux.
Whisk in soymilk a little at a time. Add salt and turn to
low. Allow to simmer until it thickens up.

Toss with fettucini or other desired pasta.
I made about 2/3 of a package for this much sauce and served
it with some dark leafy greens.

To add some extra protein try tossing in some vegan chic like
gardein.

Even without the mushrooms, the memories hit me and I tasted
them anyway. Amusingly enough, Monkey-man said later that if
we hadn't had it with greens he wouldn't have been able to
stomach it either because he kept 'memory-tasting' shrimp.
Go figure! So, yes. This alfredo is so authentic tasting it
will blow your mind!

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Baked Vegan Courgettes

Frankly anything Irish is big in my family. It is really the only
ethnic tradition we hold on to... and its passed on pretty well.
I love making traditional Irish dishes and my Brother loves
drinking beer! Hee hee, its true! (But believe it or not, Irish
wine is a rising foodie's heart-throb).

You may not have realized it yet, but next week is Saint Patrick's
Day and although my pagan spirit may not agree with the
accompanying connotations of the holiday's origins-- I can never
turn down a reason to celebrate life. 

To celebrate I'll be posting a series of traditional Irish dishes
everyday until Saint Patrick's Day and then finally break down and
have a bottle of Irish Stout or whiskey while I'm writing my
final paper for this quarter. So lets all hope that I get my work
done early and be celebrating finishing that instead.

To kick start the Irish in all of us, here is a great snack for
anytime of day. I'd have it for breakfast, but I also like it when
I get home late from class and don't want a whole meal.

Baked Farmhouse Courgettes (Zucchini)



Cut however many courgettes/zucchini you plan to make in
half. Place in a glass baking dish and sprinkle on a thin
line of nutritional yeast. I did this to pump up the
nutritional content a little and add a sharper flavor to
the vegan cheese.



Sprinkle with whatever vegan cheese you're using. I used
daiya here, but use what you like. I'd like to try this
with the follow my heart cheddar. Add a few little dots or
pats of earthbalance and place under the broiler.



Cook until cheese starts to bubble and turn golden and
the zucchini looks tender (about 15-20 mintues).



Monkey-man and Pandamonium waiting for their snack...



Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can eat it as a side dish
or serve it on top of buttered/earthbalanced toast like we did...

No Posts= High Grades

Yes my friends, I have discovered a relationship with a very high
level of statistical association. Finally squeezed through midterms
and emerged triumphant. Now to just actually start my final projects
and start studying for finals. Ha. I got my midterms returned and
only have three weeks of classes left for the quarter.

I have been cooking quite a bit when I am at home, naturally.
Much of that has been experimental, so no solid recipes unless you
wanna be a tester for the book.

Here are some of the highlights since St. Valentines Day...


Monkey Man's Potato Pierogies



Creamy Fat-Free Basil Pesto


Luscious Vegan Lasagna




Bad lighting, sorry.


Back to making my 'Cutie Quiche', but this time around its all vegan.
At one point I was known for the palooza of quiche I'd make and now
it may happen again.


I love the pie pan that I finally got to use. I actually had not
made any sort of pie since my pie series and my friends had given me
a gorgeous ceramic pie dish that I had not gotten to use yet.

Maybe I'll make them a quiche to say thanks! This one was a whole
wheat crust and stuffed with broccoli and garlic.

All of these were amazing, if I do say so myself and you could taste
absolutely no difference between these and their non-compassionate
counterparts.

I have some great recipes and series coming up soon, so don't fear!

Eggplant for Two

Happy St. Valentine's Day everyone!
Before I run off to have fun with a bunch of LA Vegans
I thought I'd throw a post out there!

I don't eat entirely enough Italian food. Probably because I miss
my little Italian place in Hawaii, Cafe Concerto. And ever since
Matt over at My Veggie Kitchen posted his seitan parmesan I've been
craving eggplant parmasan like there was no tomorrow.

I made some oober chunky tomato sauce with tvp to go on top
and used a vegan bleu cheese to top the eggplant... the brand
name escapes me right now. But they also have a tomato garlic
feta...

I didn't use bread crumbs, mainly because I didn't have
any old bread. But I use wheat germ for my falafel and
like how that comes out alot, so I made a wheat/flour
breading instead. The yeast adds the cheesiness and punched
out with all the seasonings.



Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

1 Eggplant, sliced in to 1/2" slices
salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons flaxmeal blended with 4 tablespoons water
1 tsp salt
and pepper to taste
olive oil

place sliced eggplant on a cookie sheet and sprinkle
generously with salt. Put another sheet on top, weighted
down with something heavy. Angle your stacking so it will
drain into your sink. The salt will draw out the bitter
liquid in the eggplant. After about 15-30 minutes remove
the eggplant and rise, blotting after.

Blend your flax and pour over the eggplant on the baking
sheet. Let it soak in. After blending the flax it will
become slimy and gooey. This worked as a good sub for
egg. Mix all the dry ingredients in a shallow pan and coat
the eggplant. The juices will start to soak through so
you can keep coating it as you heat your oil.



Grill/Fry on medium-hi until well browned and flip.
Keep in a heated oven until all are done. You may need
more dry coating as you go, depends on how much you make.

I served with al dente pasta and mah chunkah sauce and
it fulfilled all my parmesan desires!!

Vegan Mac and Cheese revisited: Blast to the past

I will not lie, when I was growing up we ate a CRAPLOAD of
kraft mac and cheese. My Mom was a decent cook, but she hated
it. My Dad was a cook for a long time, but he worked alot!
So the last thing he really wanted to do after 12 hours in a
kitchen all day was come home and cook. Cooking is not all
love and glamor. Far from it. That is why I am admitting
my childhood staple was the ole neon orange noodle in a box.

About 4 or 5 months ago I posted this recipe for mac and cheese.
Well, I've made it pretty often since the Monkey-man is an
ex-cheese nut. But I don't just use it on pasta for mac and
cheese. We use it on pizza sometimes, calzones, puff pastries,
on veggies, chili and fries, etc etc etc

But I've departed from what I originally posted and simplified
it quite a bit, losing none of the flavour.
I would compare this to the Annie's version of mac and cheese,
as the nutritional yeast gives it the aged taste.



To be honest, I never liked the idea of adding a thickener.
It seemed unnecessary, so I just took out the water from
the original recipe. That was also the only reason you needed
to boil it- which I've discovered kills the vit B-12 in the
nutritional yeast- yowzers! So sometimes, I just whisk it right
up without cooking it, unless you're making a hot dish and
then I only heat it up to as low as I can keep it.

The original:
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain soymilk
1 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon salt
1-2 cloves garlic pureed
1/2 small onion, minced as finely as you can
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoon turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
black pepper to taste

The New

1 cups soymilk and then some to thin as much as you need
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons pureed onion or 1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard
1 tablespoon nut butter
1 tablespoon miso or more salt

The spices? totally opt in my opinion.
They are mostly for color.

I really like my mac and cheese with apples for some reason.
And we steamed up some broccoli.




Here are a couple shots of our unbaked pizza. Monkey-man makes
the best pizzas ever! I think this was his rosemary
crust... sorry for the grainy pics, they were taken impromptu
with an iphone in bad light.

































So it bakes up fine, just stays pretty creamy.


I recently discovered what exactly it needed to get that
kraft 'cheese' taste. Butter, or rather earth balance in this case.

I found this one stressed out day, doing a huge pile
of homework and policy data analysis, with no time to cook.
I had some plain left over pasta, was out of olive oil and
thought to myself... oh I'll just use some earth balance and
do a quick garlic-butter sauce. Half way there, after I had
already tossed a little earth balance with the pasta I remembered
I had some left over cheese sauce in the fridge. Well, I
thought what the heck and tossed it in there too. I'll be
damned if it wasn't more like the kraft stuff than you can
imagine. So take that new recipe and just toss in a tablespoon
or two of earthbalance and see what you think...

But let me just say the ultimate thing to go with mac and
cheese is something else from my childhood... a classic
80s flick. In this case it was Monkey-mans first time
(pss he's a 90s kid) to see Farris Bueller's Day Out.

Savory Turnovers

After sleeping in and missing the Rose Parade,
we were pretty stumped on what else to do on New Years Day.
We lounged most of the day, watching the reruns of
the Rose Parade and the Twilight Zone Marathon.

We dug through stuff on the internet- to no avail.
Considered going to galleries or parks, but scraped that
and went driving for ideas instead. Unfortunately we
got stuck in the residual traffic of the Rose Parade
and made our way back towards home. We hit the vegan
restaurant Loving Hut in Alhambra on our way back for
a lite lunch. (I'll write more about that later!)

Then we hung around and tinkered until it was time to make
dinner. Ok, our lives don't revolve around food that much.
Its just that dinner involved a lot of prep work and it
was going to take awhile to make!

I wanted to make pockets or turnovers with the leftover
phyllo dough I used on my 'turkey' casserole.

So first we made our fillings... A squash and sage for
some and mushroom leek for the rest!

























































I started by making the same sized squares out of the
dough, coating each with melted earth balance.



















First as dollop of cashew cheese... Then the filling...





















It took a couple to get the hang of what exactly I wanted to do.
You can see in how my first one looked like a sad egg roll or a
pillow of some sort...













Bake for 15 minutes at 425-450F
After the first batch went in the oven, I started up a
red sauce. Later blended, it can be used for dipping or
just pouring over. Its a basic Italian, nothing more.












Out they come!

























All Crispy and golden like!





The mushroom and leek, inside and out!








The Squash covered with sauce...


We made these a little larger than party h'dourves, but
smaller than a turnover you'd get at a bakery. These would
be great smaller for parties or gatherings. I'll probably
be making them the next time we throw a party. A little
fattening with all the earthbalance. We had a lot left
over. This used half a package of phyllo, so we could have
made a lot more if we had wished.
Also, you can improv a lot with fillings. I'm already planning
a curried filling myself!

But our New Years was lovely. Its nice to kick back and
go all out on rich foods one in a while, thats why we have
holidays--right? To make foods like this special. I'd be
the size of a house if I ate this everyday. A couple times
a year is just fine for me, thanks. Now back to everyday life.