Tag Archives: Vegetarian

Turnip & Sweet Potato Soup

12 May

Oh, the joys trials joys of a late winter/early spring CSA. So many root vegetables in March and April! Pounds of sweet potatoes, turnips, or rutabagas each week. Though now that it’s a bit warmer and there’s just greens greens and more greens, I kind of miss sweet potatoes. If you told me a month ago that I’d be saying that now, I would have said you were crazy, but there it is.

Actually, I don’t mind having a million sweet potatoes. I love ’em. I figured out how to cook them in the microwave, which makes for quick, last-minute meals. My favorite has been sweet potato & black bean quesadillas. Muy delicioso.

Rutabagas and turnips, on the other hand… Honestly, if I don’t see another rutabaga or turnip for a decade, I’d be okay with that.

At any rate, I had to figure out something to do with these veggies. I actually made this soup a couple months ago and forgot to post it, so here it is! If you get any last root veggies from your garden, try this out. It’s not incredibly flavorful, so you really taste the fresh vegetables. And I think that makes the walnuts necessary. The kale I could have done without, to be honest, but that was a healthy addition, so whatevs. It’s not very substantial, so serve this as an appetizer or side dish.

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Turnip and Sweet Potato Soup adapted from The New York Times

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound turnips, peeled and diced
1/4 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups water or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz curly kale, stemmed and washed (optional)
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil over medium in a large soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the turnips, potatoes, water/stock, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45-60 minutes, until the turnips are very tender. Remove the bay leaf.

Optional: While the soup is simmering, blanch the kale in boiling salted water just until tender, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, drain, and squeeze out excess water. Slice into thin strips.

After removing the bay leaf from your soup, puree with a hand blender or in batches in a regular blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls topped with greens and toasted walnuts.

Turnip Soup

 

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Hungry Happenings
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Life of the Party from The Grant Life
City of Links Party from City of Creative Dreams

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(Vegan) Banana Bread Muffins

10 Mar

Last weekend I had some black bananas and needed breakfast, so I thought, why not muffins? But I checked the fridge and realized I was out of eggs. So after texting my egg supplier to place my order for the next day (my friend Rachel has some backyard chickens), I did some quick internet research for an egg-free muffin.

Luckily, or perhaps fore-sightedly, I keep flax seed on hand for this very reason. I’m forever running out of eggs, but flax seed serves is an eggs-cellent egg replacer (ha) and it keeps for months sealed airtight in the fridge. Even if you’re not vegan, I recommend this strategy if you’re also not so good at inventory and grocery shopping.

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The flax seed completely fulfills the eggs’ role as a binder, but not so much as a riser. So it will hold your muffins together, but you won’t get that light, airy, cake-y texture. But all the more perfect for banana muffins — these come up super dense and moist, like banana bread. Two-bite banana bread! What more could you ask for?

This recipe calls for coconut oil to make them truly vegan. I had butter on hand, so I used that. But I recently purchased a jar of coconut oil, so I look forward to experimenting with it.

This made about 9 small muffins. Keep in mind that because there are no eggs, the batter won’t really rise during the baking process, so however high you fill your cupcake holders, that’s about how big your cupcakes will be.

I thought they were delicious! And apparently so did my coworkers, seeing as the leftovers vanished pretty quickly. Enjoy!

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Banana Bread Muffins from Kitchen Treaty

1 T flax seed meal + 3 T water
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 overripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce (about one of the individual cups)
2 1/2 T coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or line a muffin tin.

In a small bowl, stir together the flax and water. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the brown sugar, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and flax/water. Mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated.

Spoon batter into muffin tins. Keep in mind that it won’t rise, so fill tins as big as you’d like your muffins.

Bake 18-22 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: About 9 small muffins, or about 6 jumbo muffins with domed tops.

Banana Bread Muffins

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Hungry Happenings
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderfully Creative Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove

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Spinach Artichoke Quiche

3 Mar

I love me a good quiche. Generally people give me a hard time about eating things at inappropriate times, like pasta for breakfast and whatnot. And while I generally feel like those people can build a bridge and get over it (what is this, Alyson, 1998?), it’s also nice sometimes to just not have my culinary choices questioned. (But I mean, really people, why are you limiting yourselves!?)

The thing about quiche is that it’s totally an anytime food. Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner — no one cares. Eat it whenever! I guess most people would put it in a breakfast or brunch category by default, and I’m even okay with that, because quiche doesn’t taste like a breakfast food. It’s not too sweet like waffles and it’s not too heavy like eggs and sausage. It’s just perfect, breakfast or not.

Spinach Artichoke Quiche

And it’s customizable! You can put anything you want in a quiche! Everyone wins! And it’s really hard to mess up a quiche, y’all. Like, grab a recipe, dump a bunch of cheese in there, and you’re good. Take it to any sort of potluck and it’s great to share, no matter what time of day and no matter how fancy the event. People will be so impressed with a quiche.

Okay, I might have just convinced myself in the process of writing this that quiche is the best dish ever. This may not look like the best thing ever, but I assure you, this spinach artichoke quiche is amazing. Cheesy, spinachy, artichokey. Yum. And I used the same crust as the one for my super amazing to-die-for tomato pie. Next potluck, try this one. You won’t regret it.

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Spinach Artichoke Quiche

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4″ cubes
3 tablespoons cold water

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands, kind of like kneading, until all ingredients are incorporated. Shape dough into a ball.

Flour your working surface and turn out dough with a floured rolling pin, making a large circle. Transfer crust to a pie pan and press evenly into the dish.

Bake the pie crust for about 8-10 minutes.

Quiche: 

1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
6 ounces (1 bag) fresh spinach
7 ounces (a little more than 1/2 the can) canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half
3/4 cup cheese of your choice, grated (I used colby jack. Mozzarella, asiago, or white cheddar would be delicious!)
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pan. Add garlic and onion. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted.

Add chopped artichokes and seasonings. Stir well and remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl to cool.

In a large bowl, scramble the eggs. Add the half & half and cheese, and mix well. Once cooled, add the spinach and artichoke mixture, and mix well.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until set.

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Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Hungry Happenings
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderfully Creative Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove

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Silky Ginger PB Soup

6 Jan

A friend of mine made this tasty soup for an appetizer when we went to her house for dinner a couple months ago. I’ve been meaning to try it myself since then, and I finally got around to it. I’ll definitely be adding this to my regular recipe file.

If you use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, this soup is totally vegan. It’s amazing how creamy and silky it is without any dairy. It makes for a smooth, rich, and filling lunch or dinner. The original called for just zucchini, but I decided to toss some carrots in there too. It came out a beautiful yellow color.

Silky Ginger Peanut Butter Soup

Overall, the flavors are strongly ginger-y and peanut butter-y, which is why I decided to go with that in the name. The original recipe didn’t use peanut butter at all, so I imagine the flavor profile changed quite dramatically. But the peanut butter is really tasty and adds more protein, which is especially helpful if you go with the veggie broth. The PB-ginger combo reminds me of Malay or Thai food. Delicious!

Try this out, and serve a big bowl as a main meal or a small cup as an appetizer for an Asian main course.

Silky Ginger Peanut Butter Soup

Silky Ginger PB Soup adapted from The Clothes Make the Girl

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter

Heat oil in a large soup pot on medium heat, 2 minutes. Add onions and garlic. Stir often and cook until the onions and garlic are soft and golden, but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add ginger, salt, and black pepper; stir to combine.

Add the zucchini and carrots into the pot. Stir well, then cook ’til beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 45 -60 minutes until all the veggies are very soft.

Stir in the peanut butter. Puree with an immersion blender or by blending in batches in a blender or food processor. Serve hot.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderfully Creative Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove

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Cheesy Spinach Tomato Pie + A Giveaway!

2 Dec

I won’t lie, I occasionally listen to Christmas music throughout the year. So it would be incorrect to say that now that Thanksgiving has past, I’m finally getting to listen to my fave holiday jams. What would be more correct is to say that I am finally getting to listen to my fave holiday jams without hiding it. I can put on my Happy Christmas! playlist in the car, and the BF will (somewhat reluctantly) allow it. It’s a very exciting time of year for me.

My dear friend Eleanor gave me my Christmas present already: this beautiful pie pan. She knew I would be baking for Thanksgiving, so she gave it to me early!

Pie PanI’ve already used it for my Secret Recipe Apple Pie and this oh-so-amazing, super delicious, completely to-die-for tomato pie. I’m not kidding: this is one of the best meals I’ve ever made. Our dinner conversation primarily revolved around how delicious it was and how this will definitely be a dish to serve for casual dinner party guests. The BF and I each had thirds, which is amazing for us light eaters. And I may or may not have had some for breakfast the next day.

Here are the star players: Ingredients

It’s really not complicated, though maybe a little time consuming, but totally worth it. After the crust is ready, just add your layers… sliced tomato, fresh basil and sauteed spinach, and then cheese!

Layers

I edited a more classic recipe a bit to include spinach (I figured I needed something healthy to counter all that cheese) and to substitute Greek yogurt for mayonnaise (I’m not a fan of mayo, so we never have any in the house). I tried to squeeze extra water from both the tomatoes and spinach, and it still came out a bit soupy, so maybe I’ll use my cheesecloth next time and try a bit harder. But not to worry — even a little runny, it didn’t stop us from enjoying our third helpings!

Cheesy Spinach Tomato Pie

And in the spirit of Christmas and delicious cheesy tomato pies, here’s my first-ever Giveaway! Enter to win this cute little Clinique gift set.

Clinique Gift Set

Gift set includes:

  • 7-Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula
  • Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
  • Clinique Eye & Cheek Colour Compact: Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Pink Slate, Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover, and True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer in Sunkissed
  • Long Last Lipstick in Bamboo Pink
  • Brush Set
  • Matching large and mini cosmetics bag

* Does not include mascara shown in picture

There are a few ways to enter – the more ways you enter, the better the chance you have at winning – so make sure you comment once for each of the following things you do:

  • Favorite the new Wine & Plum Etsy shop! Favorite 1 item in the Wine & Plum Etsy shop, and comment below to share which item you would like to give or receive for Christmas!
  • Bonus: Follow Wine & Plum on Pinterest! Pin your favorite Wine & Plum recipe or Etsy shop item to one of your Pinterest boards, and share the link to your pin in a comment below.
  • Bonus: Follow Wine & Plum on Instagram and tag 3 friends on my Instagram giveaway post.
  • Bonus: Follow Wine & Plum on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway: Excited about this delicious Cheesy Tomato Pie #recipe plus an awesome #Clinique #giveaway from @wineandplum! http://bit.ly/1fYGSw8
  • Bonus: Like Wine & Plum on Facebook, and share any post from the W&P Facebook page.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for those bonus submissions!

Now, here’s the recipe for the Tomato Pie! If you make it, come back and let us know how you liked it!

Mmm... cheesy

Cheesy Spinach Tomato Pie adapted from Simply Recipes

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4″ cubes
3 tablespoons cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands, kind of like kneading, until all ingredients are incorporated. Shape dough into a ball.

Flour your working surface and turn out dough with a floured rolling pin, making a large circle. Transfer crust to a pie pan and press evenly into the dish.

Bake the pie crust for about 8-10 minutes.

Pie:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, sliced
2 large handfuls spinach
1/4 cup sliced basil (about 7-8 leaves)
2 cups grated cheese (Any combination of your favorite cheese; I suggest mozzarella and cheddar. In ours, we ran out of mozz so substituted havarti, which was delicious)
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper

Place the tomato slices in a colander and sprinkle some salt over them; allow to drain while preparing the rest of your ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and yogurt; set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and stir well, coating leaves with olive oil. Cook until spinach is wilted, only 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

Once the pie crust has baked for about 8-10 minutes, remove from oven and assemble pie. Pressing each slice between paper towels to remove excess liquid before placing, arrange tomato slices in a circle in the bottom of the pie pan. Sprinkle the basil on top of the tomatoes. Squeeze spinach in paper towels or cheesecloth to remove excess liquid and then arrange evenly in the pan. Last, spread the cheese mixture evenly over top of the entire pie.

Bake until the top of the pie is golden brown, anywhere from 25-45 minutes.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderful Food Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove
Foodie Friday from Simple Living & Eating

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Black Bean & Quinoa Veggie Stew

25 Nov

Mmm so tasty and warm and filling… and healthy! I cooked up a huge batch, froze the leftovers in individual containers, and have been enjoying this hearty stew more and more as it’s gotten colder.

I like it like chili: with some shredded cheddar on top and scooped up with tortilla chips.

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I used collards because that’s what I had, but you could use other greens, like kale or spinach. Or you could leave ’em out altogether if that’s not your thing.

This is a short one, but I’ll leave you with this gem: beans, beans, they’re good for your heart colon.

Enjoy!

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Black Bean & Quinoa Veggie Stew adapted from Oh She Glows

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped to 1/2″ dice
1 carrot, sliced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 handfuls collard greens

In a medium-sized pot, add quinoa along with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cover. Simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and keep it covered until ready to use.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic and onion, and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sweet potato and carrots, and sauté for 5-7 minutes more.

Stir in the cumin, chili powder, and broth. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for about 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender.

Just before serving, stir in the cooked quinoa, black beans, cayenne, and greens. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding more spice if desired.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderful Food Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove
Foodie Friday from Simple Living & Eating

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Eggplant Bharta

14 Oct

When I was in Hendersonville, we stopped by a new spice and tea shop on Main Street, and I picked up a packet of garam masala. So since then, I’ve been wanting to use it to make something delicious. When I got an eggplant in our CSA, I thought that was the perfect opportunity.

I did a little internet research, trying to find a recipe that was authentic but wouldn’t have too many specialty ingredients that I’d have to go out and purchase. Naturally, the result was delicious, but maybe not quite as delicious as if I had spent the time and money on those speciality ingredients.

I know it looks like mush, but it's actually really good.

I served this eggplant bharta (I believe bharta just means ‘mashed’) with jasmine rice and mini chicken tikka samosas from Trader Joe’s. The eggplant was not incredibly flavorful, but combined with the samosas and rice, it was really delicious. The BF and I are both fairly light eaters, so this recipe and a box of frozen samosas made dinner for the both of us and another lunch for me. If you’re cooking for more than two, I would definitely recommend getting two eggplants and doubling the recipe. I also recommend attempting this on a weekend since prepping and roasting the eggplant will take quite some time. But the results are worth it! Try it out!

Eggplant Bharta

Eggplant Bharta adapted from Indianfood.about.com and FineCooking.com

1 medium-sized eggplant
1 tbsps cooking oil
1 shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2″ piece of ginger, grated
4 oz (~3/4 cup) grape tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise. With the tip of a knife, score the flesh deeply in a diamond cross-hatch pattern by making two or three long cuts, cutting at a steep angle, and then rotating the eggplant to make another set of similar cuts. Press on the edges of the halves to open the cuts and sprinkle salt over the surface and into the cuts. Set aside, cut side up, for 30 min. Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Over the sink, gently squeeze the eggplant to extract the salty juice and wipe them dry with a paper towel. Brush each half thoroughly with olive oil. Place each half, cut side down, on the lined baking sheet. Roast for 1 hour. The eggplant will collapse and the bottoms will be a deep brown caramel color. Let cool considerably before handling, at least 20 minutes. Gently turn the cut side up, and scoop the flesh from the skin with a spoon. Coarsely mash and set aside.

Heat the cooking oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, etc.) in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and saute until shallots are nearly translucent and the garlic releases its smell. Add the ginger and cook for one minute more. Add the tomatoes, cumin, and garam masala. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the spices from sticking to the pan. (Sprinkle a bite of water if necessary.) Add the eggplant and mix well. Cook for one more minute, then serve hot with rice and/or naan.

Linking up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Twelve O Eight,Redhead Can Decorate, and Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
Melt In Your Mouth Monday from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild, Inside BruCrew Life, The Recipe Critic, and The Gunny Sack
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Full Plate Thursday from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove and My Fashion Forward Blog
Foodie Friday from Simple Living & Eating

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Apple Cheddar Squash Soup

30 Sep

Do y’all know how much I am loving soup? I never thought of soup as a main dish, except for chili. But after last winter’s CSA, I found myself really enjoying soups, not least because soups are an easy way of sneaking in more veggies into your diet. I’m not a fan of simple vegetables — I like lots of added flavor and spices. The BF is happy eating steamed veggies with salt and butter, but I prefer something a little more than that, so spiced soups are awesome. Plus, I love cooking up a soup and then having bowls and bowls of it leftover for meals throughout the week. As I’ve mentioned before, I eat weird things for breakfast, and soup is one of my favorites to have in the morning.

Squash Soup's On!

When I was researching recipes to use up the 4 dozen apples I had after the Apple Fest, I found this amazing recipe for Apple Cheddar Squash Soup. Even after ABC sandwiches and Honey Apple Cake, I still had apples from the festival. I also happened to get a butternut squash in my CSA that week too, so it seemed like fate. I finally got around to making this soup and have been enjoying it since.

This soup is super tasty with subtle flavors. I thought that the soup tasted better and better with each passing day — the flavors built over a few days in the fridge and were stronger by the time I finished the last bowl around day 5. It is a pureed soup — I love eating pureed soup but I don’t love preparing it. After transferring multiple batches of soup into my semi-functioning food processor, I am feeling the need to invest in an immersion blender soon. The lid on my food processor keeps getting stuck on, and I’m certain that if I keep wrestling with it, this will eventually mean a lot of soup spilled all over my kitchen, and I really don’t want to have to clean that up. How long is it until Christmas again?

Delicious Fall in a Bowl

Apple Cheddar Squash Soup adapted from Food Network

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium apples, thinly sliced
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup apple juice
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
Chives for garnish (optional)
Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, apples, sweet potato, and squash. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the sage and flour. Add the apple juice and cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the broth and milk. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted.

Puree in a food processor or blender in batches until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If necessary, transfer back to the pot and cook uncovered over low heat until soup reaches desired consistency.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, chives, and more cheese, if using. Serve with bread.

Linking up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Block Party from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Twelve O Eight, Redhead Can Decorate, and Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
Melt In Your Mouth Monday from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove and My Fashion Forward Blog

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

5 Aug

This was so easy and so delish, I’m about to go out and find me some more acorn squash. The acorn made a terrific bowl that both held tasty fillings and also made for good eating. Like a tasty bread bowl for soup expect it doesn’t get soggy and mushy.

As we ate this for dinner last week, we brainstormed all the amazing ways we could prepare it. Italian style with sausage, tomatoes, mozzarella, and herbs. Greek style with lamb, tomatoes, olives, and feta. Mexican style with beef, tomatoes, cheese, and taco seasoning. There are loads of all-veggie options too.

Mmm cheesy goodness

This is such a versatile recipe. If you try it, you should definitely experiment and make it your own. Think up what flavors you’re in the mood for, and run with it. And if you don’t have a veggie on the ingredient list, no worries. Just leave it out or substitute it for something else. No big deal. It will still be delicious.

Better yet, prepare this on a night when you have guests over. The presentation is pretty amazing. They will think you’re a secret top chef.

This recipe was enough for the BF and me, but we’re pretty light eaters, so one half of a filled squash was enough for each of us. I’d recommend getting two squashes and doubling the recipe.

For me, the key to this recipe is to chop everything really small — that way, you can cram more into your squash bowl.

Beautiful Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash adapted from TheKitchn

1 medium acorn squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 bell pepper, chopped small
handful cherry tomatoes, chopped small
1 large sausage link or vegetarian substitute, diced small (I used sweet apple chicken sausage)
1/2 teaspoon French or Italian herb mix
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup baby spinach
Salt and pepper as needed
Bread crumbs (I used crushed-up seasoned croutons — they gave a little extra flavor!)
1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated

Wash the squash and halve it. Scrape the insides and seeds out of the squash. Place the squash in a shallow dish with about half an inch of water. Microwave on high for 7-10 minutes or until tender. Leave in microwave until ready to use.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, bell pepper, tomatoes, and sausage. If using uncooked sausage, cook until sausage is almost cooked through. If using pre-cooked sausage, cook until the garlic starts to smell.

Add the spices and stir well. Add the spinach and cook, covered, until wilted. Add salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.

Place squash halves on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spoon the filling into squash halves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add one tablespoon of water to each squash. Coat the filled squash with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with a thick layer of grated cheese. Broil just until cheese is lightly browned.

Dig In!

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Market Yourself Monday from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild, Inside BruCrew Life, The Recipe Critic, and The Gunny Sack
Link Party Wednesday from Lil’ Luna
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove and My Fashion Forward Blog

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Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

15 Jul

Mmm this is so delicious. Maybe not quite as delicious as the Best Chocolate Mousse Ever, but still pretty incredible. I have a friend who is both gluten-free and dairy-free, so coming up with a dessert that fit those parameters was difficult – I mean, I bake, right? But I was so excited for this amazing find. So simple, so quick, and so tasty.

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As long as you remember to refrigerate the coconut milk in advance, this only takes about 5 minutes to put together. Plus, mousse is like grown-up pudding. It’s as delicious and creamy as a Snack Pack, but super classy. To make it even classier, serve it out of something ridiculous like a martini glass or something a little less ridiculous like a stemless wine glass. And then when everyone’s done, bring out the bowl and mixing spoons and let people lick them clean. Classy.

For my mousse, I used a combo of regular Hershey’s cocoa powder and Special Dark Hershey’s cocoa powder. I haven’t tried it, but I imagine spending money on some high-quality cocoa powder would be worth it. There’s not a ton of sugar in this recipe, so unless you like really dark chocolate, be careful using too dark chocolate.

Also, need a good way to use the leftover coconut water? Try using it as the liquid base in smoothies! Super tasty with banana and pineapple.

Okay, go try this! It’s super easy to get a delicious, smooth, creamy, chocolate-y with a slight hint of coconut dessert that’s not too terribly unhealthy for you. I might just leave a can of coconut milk in the back of the fridge for whenever I need a quick chocolate fix.

Mmmousse

Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse from The Urban Poser

1 cup full fat (canned) coconut milk, cream only (takes about 2 cans)
4-5 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons honey or vegan alternative or stevia, to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chill your cans of full-fat coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight.When ready to make the mousse, open up the cans and scoop the thick coconut cream into a large bowl, leaving the liquid behind. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and beat the mixture for 2-5 minutes.Serve. Excellent with strawberries, raspberries, etc.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Market Yourself Monday from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Anything and Everything Blog Hop from My Thrifty Chic
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild, Inside BruCrew Life, The Recipe Critic, and The Gunny Sack
Link Party Wednesday from Lil’ Luna
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove and My Fashion Forward Blog

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