Udon

So being a vegetarian sometimes I cannot always get an udon without a fish sauce or other meat product in the broth. Due to that, I often make my own.

First chop up 1 leek,  5 carrots, and  a green bell pepper and saute in sesame oil and pepper
Add a tbspn of red chili paste (or flakes if you dont have the paste lying around)
Then add in rainbow chard or other leafy green vegetable (bok choy is a good one to use)
After about 5 min, add 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1 tbpsn of sesame seed oil
After about 5 min, add 1/2 a box of vegetable broth.
After about 5 min, add 1 package of Eden Organics Udon noodles
Cook until the noodles are tender.
When the noodles seem to have about 5 min left, add in broccoli.

Ladle into a bowl and say yum!

Vegetarian Wellington

This Thanksgiving, I decided to make a vegetarian Wellington and it came out amazing! The lemon definitely made the dish.

1 frozen puff pastry (make sure to plan for 40 min to let thaw)
1 butternut squash- peeled and chopped
3 cups spinach
a tsp on garlic
pepper to taste
1/2 of the juice from a large lemon
3 tbspn of butter

Saute for about 20 everything but the puff pastry.
After squash is soft, with a spatula, mash the ingredients very well so that the squash is thin.
Stuff puff pastry with the veggie puree. Wrap. Take 1 egg (beaten) and paint the top of the pastry. Bake for about 20 min at 375 degrees (check every 5 min to make sure it does not overcook).
Take out when golden brown. You may have to rotate the baking sheet a couple times to make sure cooking is even.

Say yum!

Veggie Lentil Soup

It looks like soup to me!

This week's box came with:
1 round squash - not sure what type, but it is sweet
1 green romanesco
1 bunch of carrots
dino kale
1 leek


Saute the leek, carrots, and romanesco with olive oil, lemon, and pepper for about 15 min
Add in 1 box of veggie broth, the round squash (peeled and cut), kale, your favorite herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano) and 1 cup of red lentil.
Simmer on medium heat for about 45 min.

Say Yum!

It looks like soup to me

Husband is not as much of a fan to macrobiotic lifestyle as I am, so every fall when I start to get my CSA box and I look at the ingredients as say "It looks like soup to me," he rolls his eyes. He knows what he is in for - local nutrition served warm to heal the soul through a big bowl of soup.

The season began this past Friday. My box came with
Delicata Squash
Savoy Cabbage
German Butterball potatoes
Green Romanesco,
Fennel
Baby Broccoli
carrots
Dino Kale

Now I did not use all of this in my soup, but here is my soup:

2 Delicata squash - these are similar to butternut squash but a lot smaller. You have to peel them, take out the seeds and then cut them up

4 full size carrots
1 Savoy Cabbage
A pound of butterball potatoes (or any potatoes)
2 leeks - I had to buy this at the store since it did not come in my box
Herbs from the garden or dried - thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary to taste
Pepper to taste

Either 4 tbspns butter OR oil depending on if you like to keep it vegan.

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and saute everything for about 20 min. Stirring at least every 5 min. Then add 4 cups of veggie broth - you can add more if you like your soup brothful - I like mine stewlike.

Cook for about 1 hour more, stirring every 20 min. The potatoes should become really soft and creamy.

Say yum !

Black Bean Chipotle Hummus

1 can organic black beans ( I like Safeway O organic brand)- drain 1/2 the juice
1 can organic garbanzo beans -- drain 1/2 the juice.
1/2 cup cilantro
1 juicy lime (or lemon)
1 or 2 depending on how spicy you like it - chipotle peppers (I buy the canned ones and freeze what I do not use)
1/3 cup tahini

Blend in a GOOD blender or food processor until a creamy consistency. You may have to add olive oil, water, or more lemon/lime juice to get it to blend properly if your beans did not have much juice.

Say Yum!

How the BLEEP do you eat a pumpkin?

My CSA box came on Friday and inside was a sugar pumpkin. Thinking about my love for roasted pumpkin seeds, I was excited. The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that the rest of the pumpkin was either going to end up in the trash or as a jack-o-lantern, and that did not sit well with me. Off to the internet I went and  2 min into my research had a DUH moment. 

Basically equate the pumpkin with a butternut squash. A trick I learned a long time ago about the butternut squash is to cut off the top and bottom and then PEEL it with a potato peeler. That is exactly what I did. I decided to make pumpkin soup with it. 


Boil the pumpkin first and then puree it when soft to add to the other ingredients ...
2 tbspn of olive oil, 2 carrots, 1 granny smith apple, the pumpkin, sage leaves, 1 box of veggie broth, and some pepper. 

SAY YUM! 

Old Recipe New Twist

So a friend recently introduced me to Nutritional Yeast. It is a complete protein and also a great source of various vitamin B! It is low in fat and gluten free. It has a cheesy flavor, which makes it perfect to add to veggies - especially the kale chips that I discussed in an earlier post.

You can find nutritional yeast at Whole Foods. They sale a HUGE container of it, but they also sale it in the bulk section where you purchase it by the weight so you can get just a cup or two at a time.

Give it a try - I am sure you will love it!