Pumpkin-Ricotta-Spinach Casserole

1 small pumpkin (or spaghetti squash), roasted
1 bag frozen spinach
1 container fat-free ricotta
1 egg
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp roasted garlic powder

1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
nutritional yeast
pine nuts


Shred the squash/pumpkin flesh.  Mix with the frozen spinach, ricotta, beaten egg, nutmeg, salt, white pepper and roasted garlic powder.  Dust with nutritional yeast and sprinkle on some pine nuts.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Cauliflower Butternut Red Lentil Curry (Vegan)

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
2/3 cup red lentils
1 jar Trader Joe's Masala curry simmer sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 cups veggie broth

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Stuffed Delicata Squash w/ Apples, Onions, "Sausage" and Beets

Ingredients: Makes 6 servings

3 delicata or acorn squash, halved, seeds scooped out1 Tbsp. olive oil1 apple, diced1 medium onion, diced2 Morningstar Farms veggie sausage patties,s diced1 beet, roasted2 tsp. pomegranate molasses1 tsp. sage1/4 tsp. turmeric1/4 tsp. garam masala1/2 tsp. smoked salt

2 Tbsp hummus

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish with a little water in it and let cook while the rest of your ingredients are being prepared.

Dice the roasted beet and toss with pomegranate molasses.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion, apple and sausage chunks and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the spices and stir for another few minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the hummus and beets.

Remove the squash halves from the oven. Drain off the water. Spoon the apple mixture into the squash halves and bake for 20 minutes.

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.

***

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.

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.

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).

Curried Ginger Acorn Squash w/ Apple Stuffing

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 apples - chopped
2 onions - diced
3-4 garlic cloves - minced
1 handful dried apricots
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each ground ginger, curry powder, turmeric and garam masala
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 bottle real ginger ale
2 acorn squash - seeded and cut into rings

Saute the apples and onions until tender. Add garlic, apricots, salt, spices and nuts and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Place the squash rings in a baking dish. Spoon the filling into the center of the squash rings. Pour the ginger ale around the squash rings and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender.

Butternut Squash, Chorizo and Polenta

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 package polenta, cubed
2 veggie chorizo sausages, diced
2 Tbsp fresh salsa
olive oil

Roast the butternut squash cubes for 25 minutes, or until tender. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a pan and pan-fry the polenta cubes over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until browned. Repeat the process in a different pan with the chorizo. Once everything is ready, add the chorizo and the squash to the polenta, add salsa and stir. Eat hot.

Notes: I used the chorizo recipe from Vegan Brunch, with dark kidney beans, a chipotle pepper in adobo and some fennel. The polenta was homemade, too, and it came out a little mushy, but the flavors in this more than make up for it.

Amazing Vegan Butternut-Polenta Lasagna

This is a remix of this recipe, made almost entirely with freezer staples and a few assists from the lovely folks at Gateway Market.



1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
8 oz. frozen chopped greens
8 oz. sliced mushrooms

Prep: heat the olive oil. Add the onion, mushrooms and greens and saute for 5-10 minutes, or until wilty and darkened.

2 cups pureed butternut squash
1-2 dashes nutmeg

Prep: mix squash puree with nutmeg and 2-3 Tbsp of the vegan white sauce (recipe follows).

1 block silken tofu
1 4-oz. container vegan pesto (or sachet of dry pesto mix)

Prep: Mash tofu. Add pesto. Stir.

1 block polenta
marinara sauce

Prep: Slice the polenta very thinly (these will be your 'noodles.' You can, of course, use no-boil lasagna noodles as well).

Vegan white sauce:
--------------------
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 tsp veggie bouillon powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Prep: Blend.

Assemble the lasagna. I generally like to keep the reddish-orange stuff together and the greenish stuff together, so you might do something like this:

polenta 'noodles'
marinara
squash puree
polenta 'noodles'
tofu-pesto mash
greens & mushrooms
white sauce

Repeat this pattern as often as necessary. Top with marinara and a drizzle of the white sauce. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Peanut BBQ Tofu; Orangey Roasted Squash & Sweet Potatoes; Kale & Black-Eyed Peas

Peanut BBQ Tofu

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
1 lb. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and whisk until incorporated. Smear the tofu slices on all sides and marinate for at least 20 minutes (overnight is best).

Lay the slices in a baking dish, smear with any extra sauce and bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

***

Orangey Roasted Squash & Sweet Potatoes

1 largish sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt & pepper to taste
a drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the squash chunks are fork-tender. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

***

Kale & Black-Eyed Peas

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tsp Cajun/Creole seasoning
a dash of liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 cups finely chopped frozen kale (or 1 bunch fresh)
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
2 Tbsp salsa
1/4 cup water

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the liquid smoke and Cajun seasoning, followed by the kale. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the black-eyed peas and salsa and stir well. Add the water, cover, and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes, or until the kale is tender.

Butternut Squash, Kale & Mushroom Pasta Bake w/ Coconut Bechamel

This post by A Hungry Bear Won't Dance was the inspiration for the dish. It sounded delicious, and she even said you could veganize it by leaving out the bechamel and cheese, but I thought a coconut bechamel might be just as delicious and decadent. This recipe takes a little bit to put together, but it's so, so worth it.

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Arrange the cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the cubes can be easily pierced with a fork.

1 lb. medium shells
a lot of water
1/4 tsp salt

Bring the salted water to a boil. Add the shells and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 smallish yellow onion, diced
1 bunch kale, leaves de-stemmed and chopped
2-3 cups sliced crimini or shiitake mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can cannellini or navy beans, drained
a splash of white wine (optional)
a dash of salt

Heat the olive oil. Add the onion, kale and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the kale is dark green and wilty. Add the tomatoes, beans, white wine and salt and cook on low until heated through.

1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
3 Tbsp white miso
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Blend the coconut milk, cashews, miso, nutritional yeast and nutmeg for 3 minutes, or until completely smooth.

Combine the squash, sauteed vegetables and drained pasta in a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour the coconut bechamel over everything. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired (I used a little of Milton Creamery's amazing Prairie Breeze), then cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. (If not using the cheese, you can just combine everything in a large pot and heat through. Gets it on the table faster. :)

Curry Pumpkin Soup

This is a thick, spicy, creamy soup. Perfect for fall evenings.

1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp each chili powder & garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Thai red curry paste
2/3 c apple cider
4 cups cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup chickpeas (optional)
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp peanut butter (optional)
1 cup plain soy milk

Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the spices and salt and cook for another minute. Add the cider and pumpkin, lime juice and chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or so. Lower heat to low. Stir in the peanut butter and soy milk and stir just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings as you like. I sometimes add applesauce, agave nectar, orange juice, etc. to balance out the sweet and tart tastes.

Pumpkin-Chevre Empanadas & Spiked Honey Cider

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, diced
1/4 tsp each cumin & chili powder
1 can black eyed peas OR black beans
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup frozen corn
1-1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 can diced green chiles, drained (optional)
2 oz. Northern Prairie Chevre (Summertime Salsa flavor preferred)
1 batch Gateway Market pizza dough or 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
cornmeal for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 425. Sprinkle a pizza stone with cornmeal and roll/stretch out the dough into 1 large or 2 medium-sized discs (you can make as many as you want, but I'm lazy and only do two at most).

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cumin & chili powder, beans, salsa, corn, chiles and pumpkin and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until heated through.

Place dollops of the goat cheese down the center of the pastry. Top with the bean/pumpkin mixture, and fold the dough over to seal into half-moons. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

***

Spiked Honey Cider

Mix equal parts:
Sutliff apple cider
Summerset mead

Add a tablespoon of grenadine, if desired. Serve hot or cold.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

We had this for Thanksgiving. Super-easy and delish.

1 can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup Mexican hot chocolate mix (or normal hot chocolate + 1 tsp cinnamon)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cornstarch/arrowroot
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Oreo crust
1 handful chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients except crust and chocolate chips in a bowl. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. Pour the filling into the crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Chill overnight to set.

Eat with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Squash Patties

My mom used to make these when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure they're directly responsible for me liking squash. They're sweet and earthy. The texture is different depending on whether you bake or fry them -- I actually liked the baked ones a little better after they'd been in the fridge overnight.

1-1/2 cups cooked squash
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp plain soy yogurt
4 Tbsp honey, maple syrup or sugar

Mix all ingredients together to form a slightly stiff dough. Either bake at 450 degrees (in liberally oiled cast-iron muffin cups) or drop by teasponfuls into hot canola oil and fry.

Ingredient Notes: You can use canned, frozen or freshly cooked squash here. I used a mixture of delicata, acorn & sweet dumpling that I had previously roasted and frozen. I also used spelt flour, because that's what I have in the house.

Baked Winter Squash with Curried Apple Compote

This is based on a Vegetarian Times recipe.

2-3 smallish acorn, delicata or sweet dumpling squash
3-4 apples, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup applesauce or apple butter
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp olive oil
1 largish handfuls currants or raisins
salt & pepper to taste
1 bottle ginger ale (I like Reed's)

You can make this recipe in one of two ways. The first is arguably tastier, but it takes more time. The second doesn't quite have the depth of flavor, but it's on the dinner table faster.
Both are delicious.

The first way: Cut the squash into rings. Make the filling. Heap the filling in the center of the rings, pour the ginger ale into the bottom of the pan and bake.

The second way: Split the squash in half. Bake the squash halves in the ginger ale while you're making the filling, the combine and serve immediately.

Prepare your squash.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the apples and onions for 5 minutes, or until the onions are starting to get translucent. Add the curry powder and raisins (and a little water, if necessary) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir in the apple sauce or apple butter.

Serve squash with the filling either heaped in the center of the rings, or mounded in the hollow of the halves.