Tofurky Vegan Pizza

I found these at New City Market last night, and they are deliciously reminiscent of the Tombstone frozen pizzas I used to eat as a kid. Not health food by any stretch, but very tasty. I tried the Fire-Roasted Veggie and Sausage variety; your mileage may vary with the other flavors.

Pumpkin-Tahini Spice Dip

2 cups baked pumpkin or winter squash
2 Tbsp hummus
2 Tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp egg replacer (optional)

Puree all ingredients together. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then serve on fresh apple slices or crackers.

Butternut-Polenta Casserole with Salsa Verde

Yet another fly-by-night recipe composed largely of things I had lying around the house. Again, you could make it easier or harder depending on what degree you make things from scratch.

1 tube polenta - sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 cup enchilada sauce
4 cups roasted butternut squash - mashed roughly
1 can red kidney beans - drained & rinsed
1 tube veggie chorizo (optional)
1 cup salsa verde (recipe follows)
3 cups corn chips - crushed

Grease the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Lay the polenta slices down and top with enchilada sauce. Combine the squash, beans and chorizo and spread on top of the polenta. Top with salsa verde, followed by crushed chips. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

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Salsa Verde

This recipe is from my lovely friend Kelli, who is my first resource when it comes to homemade Mexican food.

1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup onion - minced
1 small pepper - roasted
1/2 head roasted garlic
1 bunch cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for a minute or so, or until no longer chunky.

Note: To roast the pepper, you can either rub it with olive oil and roast in the oven, hold it over the gas flame until it blackens, or put it on a grill pan. If you're using a hot pepper, add a little at a time, being careful of the seeds. To roast garlic, simply slice the top off the whole head and pop it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cloves are soft.

Arugula-Beet Salad w/ Figs

I ate far too much of this at lunch. Still, I suppose there are worse things to be obsessed over than beets, right?

3-4 medium-sized beets, roasted, peeled & sliced
2 figs, roasted and sliced
1 bunch arugula
2-3 Tbsp pomegranate molasses

For best flavor, combine the beets and the pomegranate molasses and let sit in the fridge overnight. Otherwise, just combine everything and eat!

Roasting Notes: To roast the beets, slice off the tops and tails and wrap them in foil. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes, or until they're soft all the way through. Remove from foil, let cool, and rub the skins off. To roast the figs, slice them in half, lay them in a baking dish, and roast for 20 minutes.

Ingredient Notes: I got my pomegranate molasses at Gateway Market. It's more tart than sweet.

Butternut Squash Patties w/ Tomato Relish

I made my pumpkin patties again, only this time with butternut squash and a mild tomato relish (my mom was visiting, and she doesn't like spicy things). There were no leftovers.

Butternut Squash Patties

3-4 cups roasted butternut squash, roughly mashed
3-4 shallots, minced
1 handful basil, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 Tbsp raw sugar (optional)
canola oil for frying

Combine all ingredients and stir until mixture forms patties. Heat the canola oil and fry on each side for 4-5 minutes. Drain on paper.

Tomato Relish

2 cups diced tomatoes (I used Green Zebras, my favorite)
1 handful basil, cut into thin strips
1 tsp garlic jelly (optional, but delicious)

Combine and let sit until the patties are done. Spoon on top of the patties and serve.

Flatbread w/ Roasted Squash, Arugula, Shallots & Figs

This was definitely different, but surprisingly delicious.

Based off a recipe from Chef Chloe. This is one of those recipes that can be more or less difficult depending on how many shortcuts you use. I used pre-made pizza dough from Gateway Market and hummus from Costco, as well as squash I'd roasted last week, and it came together in about 10 minutes.

1 batch pizza or flatbread dough
1/4 cup hummus
a handful of arugula
a small handful of basil leaves, cut into strips
3-4 shallots, sliced thinly
2 figs, sliced thinly
2/3 cup roasted winter squash (butternut, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Stretch the dough out on a cornmeal-covered pizza stone. Spread the hummus in a thin layer on top. Place the arugula and basil on top of the hummus; follow with shallots, roasted squash and figs. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Patties w/ Chipotle Sauce

I roasted a pumpkin earlier this week, and so I'm putting it into *everything*. Tonight I was making zucchini patties, and I remembered the squash patties my mom used to make. A little sweet, crispy on the outside and soft inside, redolent of spiciness and warmth.

1 cup cooked pumpkin/winter squash, roughly mashed or pureed
2 heaping Tbsp chickpea flour
2 heaping Tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 Tbsp hummus (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala
a pinch of cloves
1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Mix all ingredients together. You should have a stiff batter. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a skillet. Using a scant 1/4 cup of batter for each, flatten into patties and fry until browned and crispy on both sides.

Chipotle Sauce
1/4 cup vegan mayo
1/3 cup silken tofu
1 chipotle pepper in adobo
2 tsp capers
1 Tbsp smokey chipotle jam

Puree and serve.

Pumpkin Chili

2 cups chopped cooked pumpkin
2 cans red kidney beans - drained
1 head roasted garlic
1 16-oz jar enchilada sauce
2 Tbsp adobo sauce
2 cooked sweet potatoes - diced
1 small roasted beet - diced
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 vegan sausage - diced

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 8 hours.

Baba Ghanoush

1 eggplant
olive oil
roasted garlic
lemon juice
chipotle powder
tahini (or hummus)

Stab your eggplant a couple of times and pop it in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the skin is blackened and collapsing. Let cool. Remove the skin and as many seeds as you can (you won't be able to get them all; don't stress about it).

Using a stick blender, puree the eggplant. Add other ingredients to taste and blend well.

Easy Roasted Vegetables

Any time my oven's on, I try to pop something extra in it. A head of garlic, some beets, a squash, an eggplant... not only does it help me not waste heat, it leaves me with easy-prep meal material later in the week. On Saturday night, I made a meal out of mostly pre-roasted veggies... good for you, and really easy.

Roasted Okra
Wash whole okra pods. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, garlic powder and chipotle powder (optional). Roast at 425 for 20 minutes. Serve hot (don't eat the stems).

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Wash sweet potatoes and cut the ends off. Place in a baking dish and roast at 400 for 30 minutes, or until soft. When ready to eat, split it half and top with roasted garlic or baba ghanoush.

Roasted Beets
Wash beets and trim the ends off. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake until a knife goes easily through them (depends on the size of your beet, but start at 20 minutes and go from there. When cooled, rub the skins off. (My favorite easy way to serve beets is to drizzle them with pomegranate molasses and some raw minced garlic.)

Roasted Garlic
Get a whole head of garlic. Slice off the top, so the cloves are exposed. Rub the top with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and golden.

Roasted Squash
De-stem and slice your squash in half. Scoop out the seeds. Place face-down in a dish with about 1/4 inches of water in the bottom. Bake until soft (start at 30 minutes and go from there).