plums in the icebox

roasted butternut squash & plum salad

It should be evident by now that my preferred way to eat veggies (and sometimes fruit) is to roast them. So you're getting more of that with this recipe, which I came up with on the way home from the grocery store after I had bought the plums and the butternut squash (neither of which are really staples on my grocery list, despite the name of this blog).

Butternut squash season is on its way out and plum season hasn't even begun, but I still think this is a delicious recipe for spring. Butternut squash gets really sweet when it's roasted, but it's a totally different kind of sweetness than that of the plums; the squash's sweetness is heavy and deeper, and the plums' is light and juicy. I feel like a judge on Chopped or something saying this, but it was a really interesting interplay of flavors. And aren't the colors pretty, too?

I really like to roast the hell out of my butternut squash, so I roasted mine for 20 minutes before I added the plums. You can play with the roasting time, but I think overall, you should roast the squash for a longer time than the plums. You can use regular salad greens for this, but I wanted to use up some of the sturdier greens I had in my fridge, so I used both kale and spinach. 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Plum Salad 

total time: about 30 minutes

total hands on time: less than 10 minutes

serves 2

What you'll need: 

2 1/2 cups of chopped butternut squash

3 plums, sliced

4-5 cups of sturdy raw greens (kale, chard, etc), divided

1-2 tbsps olive or coconut oil (I used coconut)

1/2 cup of cooked quinoa, farro, or kasha, divided

salt and garlic powder to taste

for dressing:

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey or agave nectar

1 tbsp olive oil

pepper to taste

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Place chopped buttersquash into a pan, toss with oil and add salt and garlic powder to taste. Mix to coat. Put in the oven.

3. Meanwhile, put greens into a bowl and massage with a few teaspoons of olive oil, using your hands. Let sit until other veggies are finished cooking. 

4. After 20 minutes of the squash roasting, add plums to pan and roast for another 10-12 or so minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Combine dressing ingredients and stir or shake to emulsify. Set aside. 

6. When the fruit and veggies are finished roasting, divide greens, fruit, veggies, and grain between two bowls or plates. Drizzle with dressing.

Notes: If using lettuce or other greens, there's no need to massage the greens with oil and let them sit.

I didn't have any on hand, but this would be delicious topped with feta or goat cheese. I'm also not that great at making salad dressings, but if you had some orange juice (or even cranberry juice?!?!) on hand, I think that would be a delicious addition to this dressing.  

roasted vegetables with peanut sauce

I haven't written too much about how my month-long vegan eating challenge is going, but I've really enjoyed it so far. Will I stay vegan? No. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been a worthwhile experiment. I have about six days left and I have lots more I want to say about it, but I'm planning on writing a longer post once the whole month is over. Right now, I need to share a recipe for one of the best things I've made while eating vegan. THIS IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS.

I whipped this up for lunch last Sunday on a whim, wanting something different than the bean-heavy meals I'd been eating for the last few weeks. I usually like peanut sauce, but I'm not terribly good at making Asian food myself (or at least Asian food that I actually want to eat. There are so many tasteless Thai curries in my past, ew), so I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful this was. It's also ridiculously easy to make and is endlessly customizable, too—I really want to try it with different vegetables and maybe even sub the peanut butter I used for cashew or almond butter. 

I used carrots, shredded brussels sprouts, cabbage (duh) and green onions for this, but I think any combination of Asian-y vegetables would be good. Broccoli, peppers, bok choy, onions, mushrooms and more could all work in this recipe.

Roasted Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

sauce recipe adapted from the Eat, Drink and Be Vegan cookbook

makes about 1 cup of sauce

total time: 30 minutes

total hands on time: less than 5 minutes

What you'll need:

5-6 cups total of vegetables (see above for the kinds I used)

a few glugs of the oil of your choice (I used a combination of sesame and coconut oil)

salt to taste

for the sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tbsps Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil

2 tbsps lime juice

1 or 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsps honey, brown sugar, or agave nectar

2-4 tbsps water or unflavored non-dairy milk (to make it more liquidy)

pinch of salt

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Toss veggies in oil (I used a combination of sesame oil and coconut oil), sprinkle with salt, and roast for 20-30 minutes in a large pan. After 10 or 15 minutes, stir to make sure they're cooking evenly. Mine were done at about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile,in a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and blend until it reaches a consistency kind of like a thick alfredo sauce. It should be easily pourable, but not runny. Add as much additional liquid as you'd like. 

4. Once the veggies are done, pour the sauce over them and enjoy!

The peanut sauce keeps for about a week in the fridge and has a lot of other uses: you can try it as a dip for fresh veggies, chicken satay, fried tofu, or spring rolls; as a sauce for a stir fry; or as a sauce for tofu, fish, or meat. I bet you could even blend it with some tofu or edamame and turn it into a thicker dip to serve with Asian crackers and snap peas.  I'm sure I'll be making this recipe again soon, maybe with a chicken breast on the side. 

apple cinnamon breakfast kasha

This is actually a breakfast I was eating before I started eating vegan, but it's something I've relied on a lot during my vegan eating challenge.

Since it's still cold as balls around here (and I need some warming up when I get in from my dog's morning walk), I've been really into eating warm breakfasts. I love oatmeal and I also like quinoa as oatmeal, but I'm also always trying to expand my eating horizons. Enter kasha, often called buckwheat. I'd heard about it when I first went gluten-free, but I hadn't ever really tried to incorporate it into my diet, other than eating the Kashi cereal once in a while. It's super healthy, though—filling, full of fiber, and pretty close to being a complete protein. It has a very distinct, very earthy flavor. I like it, but kasha can be strong for the morning, much stronger than the flavors of oatmeal or quinoa. That's why I like to mix it with applesauce, it adds a bit of sweetness (plus another fruit serving!)

This is the quick, easy way I've been eating kasha for breakfast in the mornings. The recipe says it takes 20 minutes, but if you cook up a pot of kasha and keep it in the fridge, you can have this breakfast ready in 3 minutes flat. 

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Kasha

serves 1

total time: 20 minutes

total hands on time: 3 minutes

What you'll need:

1 cup of dry buckwheat kasha

1/4-1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used almond, but soy, coconut or even regular milk would be fine)

1 apple, diced

sprinkle of cinnamon

squirt of lemon juice

What you'll do:

1. Prepare the kasha according to these directions. Like with quinoa, you use a 2:1 ratio of kasha to water. You will likely have some leftover.

2. Once the kasha almost finished (about 20 minutes), chop the apple, squirt on some lemon juice, sprinke on some cinnamon, and microwave it on high for about 1 minute 45 seconds, or until just slightly cooked.

3.When the kasha is done, portion out the amount you want to eat (it will have cooked up in size quite a bit) and place it in a bowl. Stir in the applesauce until it is totally mixed in with the kasha. Add in a bit of the milk of your choice here, too.

4. Top with diced apples and enjoy.

When I make this, I usually make enough kasha for a few days' breakfasts and just microwave it with the applesauce and the milk. It's easy to modify this to include what you have on hand; today, I ate mine with blueberries and bananas. Dried fruit and granola would be good to add, too. 

super spicy vegan kale & chickpea soup (for a cold)

I've been sick for the last few days: not exactly the best way to start off eating vegan. All I wanted was some comforting chicken soup, but instead I googled around for vegan soups and found this recipe. I thought it looked like just the thing to clear up my clogged nostrils and WHOA was I right. The spice of the peppers, combined with the garlic and the ginger, totally got the job done (bonus: garlic and ginger can both help boost immunity).

I modified the recipe to my own liking: I added more carrots, more broth, and more garlic as well as kale. I also cooked it on the stove rather than in the slow cooker. Even so, this is still THE soup to eat if you're a vegan and you enjoy spicy food and you have a cold. It's the spiciest soup I've ever eaten in my life, and I say that in a good way. If you want to make it and you don't like things quite so spicy, only use a few of the chile peppers, or omit them altogether.

Right now, I'm eating this ridiculously spicy soup again for lunch, except this time over rice. It's not quite as spicy as it was last night, but it's still got more than a bit of a kick to it. I really like this soup and I'll definitely make it again; I love how it's kind of equal parts Asian and equal parts Mexican. 

Super Spicy Vegan Kale & Chickpea Soup

adapted from West Of Persia

serves 4-6

total time: 1 hourish

total hands on time: 15-20 min

What you'll need:

32-48 oz of vegetable broth 

5-7 garlic cloves, peeled

1 can chiles in adobo sauce

1 small chunk of fresh ginger, peeled or chopped (1 or 2 tbsps)

1/2 an onion, cut into chunks

3-4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins

1-2 tbsps olive oil 

1 can of chickpeas, drained

about 3 cups of fresh kale, torn into bite size pieces

cilantro to your taste (as a garnish)

What you'll do:

1. Put 32 oz of broth, plus the garlic, chiles (with sauce), onion, and ginger into a blend and blend until smooth.

2. Chop carrots. Then, in a large soup pot, heat olive oil on medium. 

3. Saute the carrots in the olive oil for a few minutes, no more than 2 to 4.

4. Then, add the broth mixture and turn heat up to high. You may want to add a bit more veggie broth (I added about 12 more ounces) or even some water to distribute the spiciness a bit.

5. Add chickpeas and bring mixture to a boil.

6. Once it's boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

7. Stir in kale and cook until kale is wilted.

8. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

If you're not vegan, feel free to use chicken broth or even add shredded chicken to the recipe. Prepare for your sinuses to be opened, regardless!

mexican baked potatoes

Inspired by this recipe that I saw on Food Lush, I decided to make baked potatoes for dinner tonight. I've always kind of gone back and forth with baked potatoes; my mom made them all the time when I was growing up, and sometimes I liked them and sometimes I didn't. I can probably count on my hand the number of times I've made them as a adult, mainly because I'm kind of impatient and waiting for them to bake takes forever. But I thought they'd be a delicious winter dinner, especially paired with spicy veggies. This recipe is ridiculously easy and pretty healthy, too. 

Sadly, my good DSLR camera (that I barely know how to use, anyway) died right in the middle of cooking this recipe. So I only got one picture with it! Below:

As you can see, I used green chile in this recipe. SURPRISE SURPRISE! My friend Robbie sent me these in a New Mexican care package and the little 2 oz packages were perfect for this recipe, but you can also use canned green chile or frozen. 

The other pictures for this recipe are kind of crappy, but I hope you'll forgive me because I had hot potatoes on my hands and figured crappy pictures were better than Instagrammed ones (although....who am I kidding? I instagrammed the hell out of this). 

Mexican Baked Potatoes

makes 4-6 potatoes

total time: about 1 hour

What you'll need:

4-6 potatoes

glug of olive oil or another oil of your choice

1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

6 oz green chile

1 tsp cumin

salt to taste

What you'll do:

1. Bake your potatoes. I used this method which worked quite well (I took the suggestion of adding sea salt which was a good suggestion). 

2. When your potatoes are about 20 minutes from coming out of the oven, start cooking the filling.

3. Glug some olive oil or another oil of your choice (I actually used jalapeno grapeseed oil. I KNOW!) into a frying pan. Turn to medium and add fresh garlic.

4. Once the garlic is sizzling a bit, add the beans. Cook for 3-5 minutes and then add the corn and green chile.

5. Cook for a 3ish minutes and then add cumin and salt to taste.

6. Let the mixture cook down until it's not quite so juicy/watery.

7. By now, your potatoes should be done. Cut the potatoes down the middle (not completely, just a bit, you know how they do) and fill with veggie mixture. Top with cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, green onions, cilantro or whatever your heart desires. 

You could also add other vegetables into this mixture, including tomatoes, onions, peppers, even fresh spinach. If you don't have green chile, you can make this spicy by adding red pepper flakes and cayenne powder (to taste). Most likely, you'll have veggie mixture left over; I plan to eat mine in a salad for lunch tomorrow. 

slow cooker asian chicken soup

Pre, during, and post-hurricane, all I've wanted to do is curl up inside with good books and warm food. We didn't get hit too badly here, but we did lose power for about 24 hours earlier this week. And Sandy brought THE COLD. There's nothing I am a bigger wuss about than cold weather, so I was happy when our heat came back on and I could make up a big pot to soup to eat for the rest of the week. I guess most of New York City has just gotten their power back, but I'm thinking of all the people in Staten Island, New Jersey, and other places who are still without power and have lost their cars, homes, or other possessions. It seems a little empty and callous to just say "I'm thinking of them," but I am. And I wish I could send them some soup (although I guess money is probably more appropriate). 

All of this to say bascially, sometimes I just get in the mood for Asian food; specifically Asian soup. Thai is usually my top choice, but I can never make Thai even half as good as the Thai place up the street (added bonus: the elderly lady who is the deliveryperson. OMG, she's my fave). But this soup is one of my better Asian food experiments.

This isn't a "put in the crockpot and let it sit" kind of recipe, by the way. It's more of a "come back once an hour to add or stir" kind of recipe. Good for a lazy day spent inside. You get all the benefits of a warm tasty dinner but you don't actually have to put too forth much effort to get it.

Slow Cooker Asian Chicken Soup

makes 10ish servings?

total time: 4-5 hours

total hands-on time: maybe 30 min total

What you'll need:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 or so tsps of ground ginger

black pepper to taste

1-2 tbsps sesame oil

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

4 leeks, sliced into rounds

1 1/2 cup dry white or brown rice, cooked

fresh cilantro and green onion for garnish

What you'll do:

1. Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot (I put fresh garlic underneath of them) and liberally sprinkle with black pepper and ginger. Add a drizzle of sesame oil.

2. After about an hour, add broth and water.

3. After about another hour (you're now at hour 3), take chicken out and shred it, then add sliced leeks. Add other seasonings if you'd like.

4. At about 3.5 or 4 hours, start cooking your rice in a saucepan on your stove, in a rice cooker, however you do it. I used rice that takes about 40 minutes to fully cook.

5. Once the rice is done, add it to the crockpot and drizzle in a bit more sesame oil. You can also add some soy sauce. Add more water if the soup seems too thick. This soup can cook a bit more if you want, but as long as the chicken is fully done, it's ready to serve. 

6. Ladle into bowls and serve with cilantro and green onion.

Don't skip the cilantro and green onion! I think they add a needed burst of fresh flavor to this comforting soup. I guess you could sub in other green herbs that you like, or omit one, but I loved having both of these as extras in my bowl. 

pumpkin apple baked oatmeal

I kind of feel hypocritical posting this recipe, after I railed against pumpkin over at Blisstree. Although I do think people are WAY TOO caught up in pumpkin frenzy during the fall, that doesn't take away the fact that I actually do enjoy it. I bought a few cans the other week and made a crustless pumpkin pie (consumed solely by me, as R does not like pumpkin). Then I made gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and then I made this baked oatmeal. Two cans of pumpkin, three recipes, and I'll be good on pumpkin until Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie filling will probably be about the only thing I'll be able to eat on Thanksgiving, anyway, as I am getting my wisdom teeth out two days before! WAHOO!

I based this pumpkin apple baked oatmeal recipe off of my original baked oatmeal recipe on HelloGiggles. It's warm, filling, and perfect for cold mornings. Plus it has that which is apparently the DEFINITIVE flavor of fall, the almighty pumpkin. 

This would be a great meal to serve your relatives for breakfast when they're staying for Thanksgiving: I bet you could even use leftover pumpkin pie filling instead of plain old canned pumpkin. If you want to go even further into fall flavor overload, you might stir some dried cranberries into the mixture before baking. 

Pumpkin Apple Baked Oatmeal

serves 2-4

total time: 50-60 minutes

total hands on time: less than 10 minutes

What you’ll need:

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup plain gluten-free oats

1/4 cup sugar

hefty dash of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 egg

1/2 cup of apple sauce

3/4 cup milk

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 apple, sliced

optional: small handful of chia seeds

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Grease a baking dish (9x9 or similar size, I used a round Pyrex) with oil of your choice; I used coconut.

3. Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl.

4. Beat egg and milk together in another bowl, then stir in applesauce and pumpkin. 

5. Slowly stir dry ingredients into wet ones, then pour the whole mixture into pan. Slice apple and arrange on top.

6. Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown. 

You can also put bananas on the bottom, as I did in my original recipe, or try some thinly sliced apples. I didn't put any apples on the bottom this time, but I think that would make the baked oatmeal just a bit more moist and a lot more delicious. 

 

apple picking + apple mush!

Here are the obligatory food blogger fall apple picking photos! We drove out to Bluemont, VA the weekend before last and picked a bunch of apples. So many, in fact, that I still have a huge amount sitting in my kitchen, even though I've already made apple muffins, apple cookies and apple mush (recipe below; it's tastier than it sounds, I promise).

We ended up getting 20 pounds of apples; I was feeling ambitious that day, I guess. The first thing I made? Apple mush. I can't think of a fancier/more appetizing name for it although I guess apple confit might work. But we're utilitarian here—this stuff is apple mush. And what is it?

Well, apple mush is kind of halfway between apple sauce and apple pie filling. It's a sweet, soft, mush of apples, and it's super versatile too. I ate mine on top of yogurt for breakfast, but it's just as good with ice cream, with oatmeal, or heated up alone and then squirted with a bit of whipped cream. Apple mush is also great for dipping graham crackers or cookies into (or crumbling them on). It's also the easiest thing of all time to make, providing you have a crock pot. 

Apple Mush

makes about 3 heaping cups of apple mush

total hands on time: 2 minutes

total time: 2-4 hours

What you'll need:

10 apples, cored and sliced

1/4 cup raw sugar (or try honey!)

cinnamon to your taste (a few tsps, at least)

What you'll do:

1. Place ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. When it's done, you should have a sweet, soft, caramelized mess of apples.

You can peel the apples if you want something a bit more like applesauce, or cut them into different sizes. Use as many apples as you'd like, as long as you vary the amount of sugar and cinnamon used; you can also try other spices. Cardamom (which I never seem to have in my cabinet) would be delicious, as would a bit of vanilla. Nuts would also add something to the mixture; you could add them halfway or stir in at the end for a bit of crunch. Apple mush keeps in the refigerator for about a week.

farro with chard, cannellini beans and kalamata olives

Here's a quick, healthy, flavorful dinner for a weeknight. Or anytime, really. But it works well when you're tired and lazy and pressed for time, aka the way I am most weeknights despite the fact that I do 80% of my work from home. 

There's some debate over the gluten content of farro; supposedly it's not 100% gluten-free, but it has a lower gluten content than other grains. Luckily, eating it didn't see to affect me in a negative way. I really like the texture of farro as an alternative to quinoa and rice. And it tastes delicious paired with the bold, salty kalamata olives!

Farro With Chard, Cannellini Beans and Kalamata Olives

serves 2-4

total time: about 20 minutes

total hands on time: 10 minutes

What you'll need:

1 can cannellini beans, drained

glug of olive oil

garlic to taste

4 tbsps white wine

4-6 large chard leaves (chopped)

1 cup cooked farro

1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced (or just cut up is fine too)

What you'll do:

1. Cook the farro. I used this method, but it only took about 20 minutes. 

2. In a large frying pan, saute a bit of olive oil with some fresh garlic. 

3. Add the beans and saute them for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the chard leaves and saute for a minute. Add the wine.

5. When the chard is wilted, add in the chopped olives and cook for just a minute or two.

6. Combine farro and vegetable mixture in a large bowl; toss with more olive oil.

7. Serve garnished with parmesan and more olives. 

vegan & gluten free asian pear & coconut crisp

While writing the recipe out for this post, I had to get up and get more crisp. Just looking at the pictures made me hungry for it again. I truly think this dessert, this vegan, gluten-free Asian pear and coconut crisp, is the best dessert I've made all summer. Even though summer is basically (sadly) over.

I bought $11 worth of asian pears at the farmer's market last weekend, so I knew I had to make something good with them. I originally thought of doing a cake, but a crisp seemed in order, especially once I had the bright idea of adding in the shredded coconut that was taking up space in my cabinet. 

 

Don't worry, I washed them 

There was no particular reason to make this crisp vegan, other than the fact that I'm obsessed with baking with coconut oil. You could easily make this with butter, but it was incredibly tasty with just the coconut oil and the vanilla. Moist, crumbly, and coconut-y to the max.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Asian Pear & Coconut Crisp

makes one large pan

total time: about an hour

total hands on time: about 15 minutes

What you'll need:

for the filling:

6 Asian pears, sliced (you can peel them if you like, but I didn't because I'm lazy and I like to think the skin adds fiber)

2 tbsps lemon juice

1 or 1 1/2 tbsps sugar

sprinkle of coconut

for the topping:

1 1/2 cups almond meal

1 cup oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup ground flaxseed meal

1/3 cup shredded coconut

sprinkle of salt

cinnamon to your taste (I used about 2 tsps)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Slice pears and toss them with lemon juice and 2 tbsps of sugar

3. Grease a large skillet (like I used) or a large baking dish. Pour pear mixture into and spread out in the pan, then sprinkle with a small handful of coconut. 

4. Combine almond meal, oats, sugar, flaxseed, coconut, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir thoroughly to combine. 

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut and the vanilla.

6. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stirring until the mixture becomes crumbly. You may add a bit more coconut oil if necessary.

7. Spoon topping onto pears.

8. Bake for approximately 45 minutes.

The mark of a good crisp, for me, is that it tastes equally as good cold as it does warm. And this one soooo, sooooooo does. It was perfect for breakfast the morning after I made it, chilly  and sweet and washed down with a warm cup of Earl Grey.