Best Vegetarian Chili EVER

Over the weekend I decided to make some chili.  I wandered around the farmer's market just picking up random fresh items to throw into it - and really, just about everything sounds good in chili!

I don't mean to brag, but I make probably the best freakin' vegetarian chili EVER.  I get so bored with the store-bought kind, and it seems as though "vegetarian" usually just means "tons of beans".  Kind of like the way that "vegetarian" on your office's pizza day means "cheese only".

What the heck, man?  I'm vegetarian not just because I don't eat meat, but because I LOVE VEGETABLES!!

So here's my recipe for a delicious vegetarian chili full of veggie-love.  It has a little kick and a unique (but addictive) flavor!

Beth's Best Vegetarian Chili EVER
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40-60 minutes
Total time: About 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes about 6-8 servings
Gluten-free* / Vegan

- 1 sweet potato (OR 3-4 carrots), peeled & chopped
- 4 small to medium-sized peppers (any kind), chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 10 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 can vegetarian baked beans
- 1 can black beans (drained, but not rinsed)
- 2 cups veggie broth (or water)
- 1 tbsp curry paste (curry powder will work fine)
- 1 can corn (or 2 cobs of corn, steamed and cut off the ears) 
- 1 cup soyrizo (vegetarian chorizo), (*you can substitute vegetarian ground beef, or vegetarian sausage - but please keep in mind these may NOT be gluten-free)
- 1 can tomato paste (small) 
- 2 large tomatoes, diced (OR 1 large can diced tomatoes, not drained)
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish), optional (a dollop of cottage cheese is awesome on top too)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the sweet potatoes (or carrots), and onions, and cook until the onions become soft.  Add the peppers and garlic, stir well, and cook another minute.  Add the mushrooms, stir well.  Carefully add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer for 40-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so (you may need to add a little more liquid).  Serve hot!

I like to put them in containers in the freezer, and store them for up to a month!

Banana Cashew Muffins

I decided to make a new muffin recipe to start off the week right.  I love having ready-made breakfasts on hand so that I can just grab something healthy before I leave the house for the day.  It just starts my day off on the right foot! 

I adapted this recipe from my favorite cookbook of all time, How It All Vegan.  Their recipe calls for blueberries and bananas, but I figured I'd leave the fresh berries to serve on the side with yogurt (my favorite way to eat a muffin!) so I substituted nuts instead.  

I also added in Wheat Bran for a little extra fiber, and some spiced tea for an extra kick.  

Banana Cashew Muffins
Adapted from the recipe in How It All Vegan
Makes 9 muffins
Time: About 1 hour

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dry sweetener (I used whole trade sugar)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup soy, almond, or flax milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract (optional)
1 banana, mashed
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
2 Tbsp wheat bran
1 cup raw cashews (or any other kind of nuts you have on hand!)
1 black tea bag (any kind will do, but one with vanilla notes will work best)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and sweetener.  Cut open the tea bag and dump the contents into the mix.  

This is the kind of tea that I used, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand!  I think anything with vanilla in it is just an added bonus. 

Your dry mix will look "peppered" when you add the tea bag - but it just makes it even prettier!

Add the remaining ingredients and stir together gently until "just mixed".  

Spoon into lightly oiled muffin tins. 

You can fill 'em up pretty high, they don't rise too much.  You can use muffin liners too if you'd like, but I like to crumble my muffins, so I didn't use them.  You can also sprinkle some brown sugar or extra nuts on top at this point if you'd like something a little extra!

Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Test with a knife to see if done.  

Easy peasy, huh?  I love recipes like this that you can just throw together and keep munching on the rest of the week.  The added fragrance of the tea really brought out something special in these guys.  I can't wait to have them for breakfast again tomorrow! 

As a note, I would recommend storing these in the fridge in a container - it'll make them last longer!  Take one out when you first get up and let it come to room temperature as you get ready for the day.  Or zap it in the microwave / give it 5 minutes in the oven at 300 degrees, so it's toasty. Yum yum!  

Roasted Patty Pan Squash Soup with Beans

When I went to the meeting for the Sunshine Project, I came home with this beautiful UFO-shaped squash...

...and no freakin' idea what to do with it!

I started Googling "UFO-shaped squash" because I didn't even know what type of squash it was - turns out it's just a really large Patty Pan squash.  It also turns out that I did not know how many varieties of squash there are out there!

Today I was pondering what to do with it, and after some thorough searching I realized that there are about 3 ways people make Patty Pan Squash in a recipe:

1.) Stuffed.
2.) Cubed in a casserole.
3.) In a curry.

BORRRRRRRING!!!

Naturally, I decided to make soup. :)

Since I love roasted squash SO MUCH, I decided to incorporate that into my recipe since I wasn't exactly sure how this type of squash would taste - and roasting seems to bring out the best in things.  As it turns out, when it's roasted it turns into a buttery savory bundle of deliciousness, so I know I made the right choice!

I threw in a few cloves of garlic while roasting too, because really, who doesn't love roasted garlic?

Roasted Patty Pan Squash Soup with Beans
Cook time:  About 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Serves:  About 4-6

INGREDIENTS
- 1 large Patty Pan Squash (peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" cubes)
     If you only have small Patty Pan squashes you can definitely use those too!  I'd recommend about 5 total.
- 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/3 cup brown rice
- 1 can Great Northern Beans (I used canned)
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt & Pepper
- 1 tsp Sage
- 1 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (or Soy Sauce)
- Shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Set oven to 400 degrees F, and spread the cubed squash on a large cookie sheet.  Throw in the garlic cloves, and douse everything with olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, and sage. 

Roast in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, turning once halfway through.  Everything should be pretty evenly browned when they're done. 

Pretty gorgeous, huh??

In the meantime, heat the veggie broth in a large pot on the stove to medium-high until boiling.  Dump in the brown rice, reduce the heat, and cover to let simmer for about 20 minutes.  The rice will not cook all the way through.  

Dump in the roasted squash & garlic and stir.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes.  

Add the beans, and stir until everything is heated through.  You may need to add a little more hot water or broth at this point to make sure everything is submerged. 

Remove from heat and use a hand blender to blend everything together.  I left some big chunks in there still, just for texture. 

Serve with some crusty bread, and top with Parmesan cheese if desired! 

This turned out so delicious and creamy (without any cream!).  This soup would be beautifully accompanied by a bright & fruity green salad to counter the salt.

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Vanilla Pistachio Muffins

Here's another recipe that I made this week since my allergic-to-everything lil' sister has been staying with me.  These turned out SO DELICIOUS!!  

You could easily make this recipe fully vegan by just using an egg substitute (and oil instead of butter).  The original recipe actually called for chai tea bags (they were actually called "Pistachio-Chai Muffins"), but I am one of those weird people that don't like chai.  So I just substituted Vanilla Spice tea instead!  

Vanilla Pistachio Muffins
Gluten-free / Vegan optional
15 minutes prep / total time 30 mins
Makes 12 muffins

1 3/4 cups gluten-free baking flour (I used a blend from Arrowhead Mills - found it at Whole Foods!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 vanilla tea bags (or black tea, or chai tea - whatever you prefer!)
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup of almond milk blended with about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar - it works the same way! You could do this with soymilk too). 
1/4 cup butter, melted (or oil, if making vegan)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided (I used 1/2 almond extract, 1/2 vanilla - just 'cause I had it!)
1 large egg, lightly beaten (or egg substitute, if making vegan)
Cooking spray
1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp water

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.) Combine flour & next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, and stir with whisk.  Cut open tea bags, and add tea to flour mixture, stirring well.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Combine "buttermilk", butter, 1 tsp vanilla (or 1/2 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp almond extract) and egg in a bowl, stirring well with whisk.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. (My mixture was a little dry, possibly due to the type of flour I used.  I added a few more splashes of almond milk - it should be wet but not thin like pancake batter. I had to scoop it into the cups.)

3.) Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups & coat with cooking spray.  Divide batter evenly between cups. Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter.  Bake at 375 for 15 mins or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (mine took a few minutes longer than this).  Let cool for 5 minutes.
4.) Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 tbsp water, stirring until smooth.  I added a few more chopped pistachios to this mix as well!  Drizzle topping evenly over cooled muffins.

Approx 192 calories per muffin.

Seriously guys, these muffins are crazy good.  Even my sister who is like the pickiest gluten-free person ever, LOVED these!  I served mine with a side of Noosa Honey Yogurt (YUM), and some sliced fruit. 

Enjoy!!  

Delicious Gluten-Free Vegan Brown Rice Salad

My little sister is going to be staying with me for a few days while she's transitioning between apartments, and she happens to have a gluten allergy, AND be lactose intolerant. 
POOR THING!! 

So I decided to whip up a few things that would accommodate her dietary needs that I would also enjoy, so today I made this! 

I changed the recipe up a little bit to fit my needs (example: dried cherries were like $10 more / pound than raisins, so I went with that - also I didn't want to buy a whole container of miso paste for one recipe, so I just omitted it).  Feel free to do the same with whatever you have at home - this seems like a pretty darn flexible recipe, that's delicious to boot!  

It's also a great recipe to make ahead since it gets better as it sits in the fridge (all the flavors can meld more).  And even better, if you have some leftover rice just add a few more ingredients and you have this awesome salad!  Woohoo!

Brown Rice Salad with Peas, Raisins, and Walnuts
Adapted from theKitchn.com recipe
Vegan / Gluten-Free
Serves 6-8

1 cup brown rice (or 2 cups already cooked leftover rice)
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 apple, diced into small pieces
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 stalks green onion, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (I used the curly kind), optional

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon agave syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Cook the brown rice in about two cups of simmering water until tender.  Fluff and cool to room temperature.


Combine the peas, apple, raisins, walnuts, onions, and cooled rice in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a small jar or tupperware container and shake well to combine. Stir the dressing into the rice mix until all the ingredients are coated.  If you have time, allow rice to rest for at least eight hours or overnight for flavors to come together.

This would be AWESOME to bring to a picnic too - it stores well, and would be super yummy straight out of the cooler.  

Enjoy! 

Breakfast Tacos!

The other morning we had brunch at my parent's place for my Dad's birthday.  I wanted to come up with something fun & different to have for the meal, so I came up with Breakfast Tacos!  They were so delicious, I had to make them again at home.  

Beth's Breakfast Tacos
Serves 2
Gluten-free optional
Vegan optional

Ingredients
4 corn tortillas (either fully corn for gluten-free, or the kind that's mixed with flour - they're a little easier to pick-up without having them break on ya)
1 cup cheddar cheese (I used rice cheese, you can use Daiya to make this vegan)
3 eggs
Splash of soymilk
Black beans (I used canned)
Soyrizo (vegetarian chorizo)
1/2 a tomato (diced)
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 yellow onion (diced)
1 avocado (diced)
1/2 a cup of green chili or salsa
fresh chopped parsley (optional - for garnish)
Salt & pepper (to taste)
Hot sauce (optional)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large non-stick pan, saute the onion in a little bit of oil over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until soft.  Add some crumbled Soyrizo (about 1/2 a cup), and squish into smaller pieces with a spatula (warm for about another minute).

Mix the eggs with the splash of soymilk, and season with salt & pepper.  Turn the pan down to medium, then dump in the eggs.  Keep the eggs moving to cook evenly, and turn off the heat before they are fully cooked.

Meanwhile begin to assemble tacos.  Place 4 corn tortillas on a cookie sheet, and top with cheese, beans, corn, and green chili (or salsa).  Pop in the pre-heated oven while you finish the rest of your cooking / chopping / preparation (about 10 minutes total).

Remove tacos from oven, and top with the remaining ingredients (including the egg / chorizo awesomeness).  Garnish with a little fresh parsley and a splash of hot sauce.

SO easy, and crazy delish.  I think these would be great for a brunch with friends type of meal too - you could just set everything up "serve yourself" style!  
Enjoy! 

Coconut Chia Tapioca Pudding Dessert

I'm feeling SO much better now that I've cut the sugar out of my life (at least for the past 7 days, anyway), but every now & then I crave a little sweetness.  Like today.  :) 

I know that there are a TON of great health benefits to chia seeds (good fats, cleansing, etc.), so I decided to try out my own little dessert with them! 

When chia seeds are soaked in water, juice, or milk, they form a squishy membrane around them.  Alien-like?  Yes.  Kinda awesome?  YES.  

Coconut Chia Tapioca Pudding Dessert
Vegan, Gluten-Free
Serves 1-2 people

1 cup soy or almond milk (unsweetened)
2 tbsp chia seeds (preferably organic)
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut shreds
splash of flavoring (vanilla extract is great - I used maple extract)
pinch of Truvia (or other natural no-sugar sweetener), optional
----------------
In a container, add all the ingredients, cover with a lid, and shake well to combine.  Let refrigerate for about 7 hours (or overnight).

And that's it!  
I really enjoyed this dessert.  It tasted sweet even though there's no sugar in it, and I just loved the consistency.  I'm just loving trying out all of these new & healthy recipes!  

Vegan White Bean, Kale & Sweet Potato Soup

Today I made a seriously delicious soup!  I wanted to make something healthy, hearty, and warm (for the cold weather) to last me through the week for meals.  I also wanted to use some in-season ingredients too!  I found this awesome recipe through Pinterest, and decided to make it my own! 

This soup takes a little bit of time to make, however the beans can be made ahead of time to cut down on that or you can even used canned.  But since I'm trying to reduce my waste, I got mine uncooked from the bulk section of Natural Grocers. :) 

Vegan White Bean, Kale & Sweet Potato Soup
(Serves about 5)
Vegan, Gluten-Free

1 cup uncooked white beans (I used Great Northern Beans)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled & diced
1/2 one sweet yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red potato, peeled & diced
3 leaves of kale, spines removed, torn into pieces
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2-3 cups vegetable broth
Salt & pepper (to taste)
Olive oil
Splash of white wine, or sweet rice cooking liquid
----------------
Soak the white beans overnight - or if you want to cook the soup same-day, boil the beans in water for 4-5 minutes, then cover & let rest for 2-4 hours.  Drain water off the beans, and add 4 cups of fresh water.  Bring to a boil for 15 minutes (covered), then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.  Continue to let them cook throughout the next steps (after the hour is up).

In a large pot, add some olive oil.  Cook the onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes until tender.  Splash with white wine or sweet cooking liquid to deglaze the pot.  Add the kale and stir well until welted (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the potatoes and stir well.  Add the vegetable broth, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Dump out about 1/2 of the water from the beans, then add the beans and their remaining water to the soup pot.  Stir well, and let simmer (covered) for about 10-15 more minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Mash some of the potatoes on the side of the pot, or use a hand blender to mix it up just a little bit (I wanted to keep some chunks in mine, but give it more body).

Add seasonings and nutritional yeast and stir well.  Serve hot!

This soup was CRAZY delicious - I ate my whole bowl in 5 minutes (about 1/18th of the time it took to make.  Haha!).  Its savory with a little sweetness from the sweet potatoes, and tasted like a great comfort food that just happened to also be super healthy!

Seriously, this was super yummy.  You must try it!  I will for sure be making it again. 

You can also use butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes or yams (as per the original recipe).  
Enjoy! 

Christmas House / Christmas Bark / Javier!

Just after Thanksgiving I decorated our house for the holidays!  I've never actually had a "house" to decorate before (at least on the outside - I've always lived in apartments), so I was very excited to try outdoor decorating this year.  I think it turned out super cute!!

It was a beautiful night when I took this photo - a very pink sunset!  That's the moon in the background - pretty rad, huh? :)

Earlier this week I was working on some yummy Christmas food / cookies, so I decided to make some Christmas Chocolate bark, as well as one of my favorite recipes from last year - Pine Nut Brittle with Rosemary & Sea Salt.  Here are the recipes! 

Image via Elana's Pantry

Christmas Chocolate Bark 
Adapted from Elana's Pantry
This recipe is gluten-free! :) 

2 cups dark chocolate chips (I used regular milk chocolate, but this would be great too!) 
⅓ cup pistachios (mine were salted, but unsalted is great too)
⅓ cup dried cranberries
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt (or more, depending on taste)

In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate (stir with wooden spoon). 
Pour chocolate into a parchment paper lined 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish. 
Sprinkle pistachios and cranberries over chocolate. 
Using a metal spatula, spread the mixture evenly back and forth to around ½ inch thickness. 
Sprinkle salt over bark. 
Allow to sit out until set, 1-2 hours. 
Cut into 16 squares and serve!

And here is the other one (it is seriously my favorite... I kinda want to eat it all myself!) 

Image via Food52

Pine Nut Brittle with Rosemary & Pine Nuts
Adapted from Ms.T's Food52 Recipe
This recipe is gluten-free! :) 

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups pine nuts

4 tablespoons (one half stick) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (I highly recommend fresh rather than dried for this recipe!) 

1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt 

Place the sugar in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar begins to melt. DO NOT TOUCH IT - it will be ridiculously hot!  Lower the heat to medium-high and keep stirring just until the sugar is melted. Stop stirring and watch for it to turn a medium caramel color. About 10 minutes total. I added about 1/2 the butter at this point too - stir well (it will bubble up for a moment!) 

Stir in half the pine nuts. Allow pine nuts to cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in half of the rosemary and half of the sea salt.

Turn the mixture out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and spread it evenly to the desired thickness with a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining rosemary, pine nuts, and salt on top, while brittle is still warm.

Allow to cool completely--at least one hour--then break the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature. If your brittle isn't brittle enough to break into pieces, pop it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, until it hardens enough to snap easily.

Last night we had my work Christmas party too.  I got this lovely Santa during the White Elephant gift exchange! 

We named him Javier, but then decided he kind of looked Russian.  So now his full name is Javier Svetlana-Claus.  I carried him around with me all night! 

It was such a super fun Christmas party - I love everyone I work with so much!  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  LOVE THEM!!

I hope you've been enjoying the holiday time as much as I have!

Perfectly Pink Drink!

So I just recently discovered the magic of cake-flavored Vodka.  Someone left a half-full bottle of it at our Halloween party, and I've been thoroughly enjoying it ever since!!  It's awesome mixed with orange juice (it tastes like a creamsicle), but today I discovered the best way to have it EVER.

We didn't have any more juice in the house, so I decided to use my juicer to make my own mixer!  :)

Perfectly Pink 
Serves 1 
2 apples (I used Honeycrisp)
1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen raspberries, thawed)
2-3 oz of cake vodka 
Ice

Juice the apples and raspberries in your juicer.  Add ice to your glass and dump in the vodka.  Top with the apple/raspberry juice.  Mix well & enjoy!  

OH MY GOSH IT'S SO DELICIOUS!!

I think the only thing that could make this drink better is topping it off with a splash of champagne for a little fizz at the top.  Holy guacamole!

I'll be enjoying this the rest of the afternoon. :)

Potato Leek Soup - YUM YUM!

Remember how much I told you I love soup!?  Well, surprise surprise - I made some! 

We went to the last Farmer's Market of the season last weekend (so sad!), and I loaded up on potatoes & leeks.  I just ADORE potato leek soup - it has such wonderful flavor.  I worked off a recipe that I found on Simply Recipes, so here is my version! 

Beth's Potato Leek Soup
Prep time 10-15 mins / Cook time 20-30 mins
Serves about 6-8

INGREDIENTS

6 large leeks, cut lengthwise, separate, clean. Use only the white and pale green parts, chop.
4 Tbsp butter
2 cups whole milk (or dairy-free soymilk or almond milk)
2 cups vegetable broth
3 lbs potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Marjoram - dash
Thyme - dash
Hot sauce (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Shredded cheese & diced tomatoes (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS
Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover pan, cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check often. Do not brown leeks! Browning will give leeks a burnt taste.

Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Add milk and let soup warm again (be careful, dairy boils very easily and quickly).  Scoop about half of the soup mixture into a blender, puree and return to pan - OR use a hand blender (my new favorite tool!!), just remember to remove your pot from the heat first.  Seriously, hand blenders are the best thing ever if you love making soup!  They will make your life so much easier. :) 

Add marjoram, parsley, and thyme. Add a few dashes of chili sauce to taste. Add some freshly ground pepper, 1-2 teaspoons salt or more to taste.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese and sweet diced tomatoes! 

I actually made a couple little "sliders" to go with my soup - aren't they cute?  I just put fake sandwich meat on them, with sliced tomato, cucumber, mustard, & mayo.  They were a great compliment for the soup (and perfect for dunking!). 

I added a few more dashes of hot sauce to the top of my soup too ('cause it's so yummy).  It was wonderfully warming and delicious! 

Enjoy! 

Soup's On!!

It snowed like crazy last night in Denver (yep, SNOWED!), and we're supposed to get even more tonight.  Crazy, huh? 

But the best part of that means, it's time for SOUP!! 

I love love love soup.  Hearty chunky soup, creamy mellow soup - it warms you through and through.  Nothing is better than coming in from a cold day and having a hot steaming cup of your favorite soup. 

I recently made a big batch of "anything goes" soup which included pretty much everything but the kitchen sink - any veggies I had in the fridge and then some!  I threw in: 
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Broccoli 
- Asparagus
- an Apple (it was great, trust me)
- leftover black beans

And I think even a few more ingredients.  I sauteed the harder veggies in olive oil in the pot first (the carrots / celery), then tossed the rest in.  I added some veggie stock and water and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or so.  Then I removed it from the heat and used my hand blender to get everything well blended.  I seasoned it and popped 1/2 of it in the freezer.  

It was great with noodles too - oh my goodness, so hearty and yummy! 

Unfortunately that soup is all gone now (I kind of ate it all), so I'm gonna have to make some more!  Luckily Pinterest has given me some great ideas for the next batch of warm delicious awesomeness: 

Vegan Sweet Potato & Cauliflower soup.  A lovely seasonal soup with a bright orange color - yum yum!  And so simple according to the recipe!  Can't wait to try it.

A classic favorite with a sweet twist - Butternut Squash & Apple Soup!  I love love LOVE butternut squash soup, and I happen to have a butternut squash sittin' on my counter right now, waiting to be chopped!  Definitely going to try this savory / sweet soup.

I found this one on the Whole Foods website, and boy does it sound hearty and totally delish.  Hearty Minestrone Soup!  Who doesn't love a big bowl of veggies and tummy-filling noodles?  YUM!

Lasagna + Soup = LASAGNA SOUP!  Yes, you heard that right.  How could this not be a crowd favorite?  It has everything!!  Of course I would use veggie sausage, but you understand. ;) 

Also, I saw that there were plenty of potatoes and leeks at the Farmer's Market last weekend, and this weekend is the last one so I'm gonna have to load up!  (So sad!!)  But man, potato leek soup is friggin' scrumptious.  

YAY FOR SOUP!! 

Fall Butternut Squash with Raisins, Pine Nuts & Couscous

We just harvested a beautiful little butternut squash from our garden, so I decided to make up a recipe so that I could use it! 

I started with a base of couscous, then I roasted the diced squash in the oven so that it caramelized on the outside.  I realized that it needed something else to contrast all of the salty flavors, so I figured raisins would be a nice compliment.  And what better way to plump them up than with some seasonal apple cider? :)  

This recipe would be a great dish to bring to any fall dinner gathering (I brought it to Canadian Thanksgiving), or as a side dish to a main meal.  I'm definitely going to make it again, it was delicious! 

Butternut Squash with Raisins, Pine Nuts & Couscous

Serves about 5-6

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

- 1 small butternut squash, seeds removed, peeled & diced

- 1 cup couscous

- 1 cup water or broth

- 1 cup raisins

- 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice (water mixed with a little bit of sugar will work fine if you have neither)

- 1/2 cup pine nuts

- olive oil & sea salt

Directions 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spread butternut squash on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then mix with hands to coat.  Pop in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, boil the 1 cup of water or broth in a pot on the stove.  Turn off the heat, add the cup of couscous, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes to cook through. Dump into a large serving dish, and cover to keep warm. 

Remove squash from oven, and flip pieces.  Return pan to the oven for another 10 minutes. 

Put raisins on the stove in a shallow pan with the apple cider over medium heat.  The raisins will soak up the juice and get plump.  While they are soaking, toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium-high heat.  They will burn very quickly so keep an eye on them and toast until golden brown.  

Layer raisins on top of the couscous, then check the squash.  If they are not slightly brown, put them in the oven for another 10 minutes.  If they're good to go, layer them on top of the raisins, and season with a little more sea salt.  

Top everything with the toasted pine nuts, and serve! 

Over the Weekend (and Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup!!)

I had a wonderful weekend - Saturday I helped my friend with shooting a short little action movie for a film competition (really, I just held reflectors and stuff like that), which was a lot of fun!  Then I went to a friend's birthday party that night.

Sunday morning was lovely - I went to the Farmer's Market and got all kinds of wonderful goodies!!  I've started making good use of my juicer again, so I got a lot of beautiful fruits & veggies.

That was $35 well spent (yes, ALL of this gorgeous stuff was only $35 - who says you can't be healthy AND cheap!?).

After that I met up with my mom, my sister, and Deb for brunch!  The brunch place wasn't great but we still had fun hanging out. 

We spent the rest of the day shopping (I did end up spending a little money, but actually returned most of it... I felt so guilty!), and it was all-in-all a wonderful day!

That night I watched movies and hung out with Fudgie.  He was very relaxed...

My mom gave me a hand blender to try out - I guess dad bought one too many appliances again - haha!  I decided to give it a try and make some soup - I've had a bunch of red potatoes that I needed to use.  It turned out SO YUMMY!!!

Potato Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

This will serve about 5-6 people, probably with some left over!

Took me about 20 minutes of prep, and about 1 hour total cooking time. 

- 5-6 medium red potatoes (peeled, diced)

- 1 small yellow onion (diced)

- 2-3 cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1 head of broccoli (chopped)

- 1 cup white beans (optional - I just had some in the fridge, so I figured I'd use them!)

- 1 stick of unsalted butter

- 1 to 1 1/2 cups of half & half (or soymilk / almond milk)

- 2-3 cups of vegetable broth

- 6-8 oz of cheddar cheese (cubed)

- seasonings (salt & pepper) to taste

- hot sauce (optional)

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and onion, and sautee until the onions start to become translucent. 

Add the diced potatoes and the vegetable broth - enough to cover the potatoes, plus a little extra so that it can boil.  Cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium.  Let simmer for 20 minutes. 

Add the broccoli and the beans to the soup, and stir well.  Add in the cheese cubes and milk.  Cover and turn the heat down a little more (just under medium).  Let simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Season with salt & pepper, and if you like, blend the soup in batches.  You can leave it chunky too!  I used the hand mixer (remove the pot from heat first!), which worked great - it left some chunks, but blended some of it too.  

Serve with a dash of hot sauce on top (optional) - I made toast with butter and garlic salt, then sliced it into "dipping fingers" - it was SO GOOD!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too! :)

Spinach Queso Dip - YUM!!

Yesterday I went through a bit of lady-pain-and-suffering (more about it on Chickpeas & Hulahoops here), so I decided that I wanted some cheesy OOZY goodness in my tummy to ease the pain.  

I have been wanting to try this recipe that I found on Pinterest for a while now.  It looked ridiculously easy, and since I don't have a crockpot, I just whipped it up on the stove.  And guess what.... 

... it was DEE. LICIOUS. 

While I was at the store getting the ingredients, I found that Velveeta now makes a Queso Blanco version which I figured would be PERFECT in this recipe (and it totally was).  I also felt ridiculously guilty about buying the demon of all processed cheeses, so I tried to compensate by getting all of the other ingredients organic. John thought it was hilarious.

I like to think it completely canceled out the bad stuff.  Please let me keep on believing that. :)

Anyhoodle, here is my adaptation of that ridiculously good recipe!!  I kept it pretty true to form (with no added seasonings of my own), as it was GREAT just as it is. 

Yeahhhh - that's the stuff!  Haha!

SPINACH QUESO DIP

Serves a decent amount - probably 10-20 people if you're making it for a party!

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb Velveeta "Queso Blanco" cheese (cut into cubes)
8 ounces cream cheese (light - you can survive without a few extra calories)
1 small jar salsa (No fancy flavors - just regular)
Tortilla chips

Combine all ingredients (except chips) in a large pot over medium heat (cover with lid).  Mix well, and once it's all melty and gooey and awesome - serve with tortilla chips!  YUM! 

This was crazy easy, and I think I ate about 4 bowls of it.  Probably not the best idea, but hey, there's spinach in there!  I'm getting SOME nutrition.  Haha!  It was SOOOO GOOOD. 

And miraculously, I did feel much better after I ate it.  :)

Vegan Tofu Jerky - Camping Food!

I posted about my favorite campfire foods here last year, and they were a huge hit!  I know I always love hearing about new fun ideas for camping foods, and I am happy to share mine as well. :)

I did try the Tofu Jerky after I created that post, and it was DELISH!  I kind of forgot all about it until this week when I realized that A) we're going camping this weekend, and B) we had an over abundance of tofu in the fridge.  Perfect!

VEGAN TOFU JERKY
Adapted from Allrecipes.com "Tofu Jerky II" recipe. 

I just eyeballed a lot of these ingredients, since it's a marinade - it still turned out great!  I also cut WAY back on the cooking time - the original recipe wants you to cook them for 8 hours!  I don't have that kind of time.  Also, I'd rather my "jerky" be a little softer personally, but that's totally up to you. 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Marinade time: 1 hour

Cook time:  4-8 hours

Ingredients
    1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, drained
    3 tablespoons soy sauce (this recipe is gluten-free if you use the gluten-free soy sauce!  I actually used Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for the soy sauce instead since it tastes just like it). 
    2 teaspoons maple syrup
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
    2 teaspoons brown sugar

Directions
Wrap your tofu block gently with a kitchen towel, and set on a plate. Set another plate on top, and put a weight on top of the plate such as a can to press the water from the block of tofu while you prepare the sauce.

In a medium bowl, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic powder, black pepper, barbeque sauce and brown sugar until smooth.

Slice tofu into 1/4 inch thick slices, and dip them in the sauce to coat (I dumped any extra marinade on top too). Place in a tightly sealed container, pop in the fridge, and let marinate for one to two hours.

Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature, around 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Line the oven rack with heavy duty aluminum foil, and place in the lowest position of the oven. Place the tofu slices on the foil. (I just put them on a cookie sheet, but maybe this would help them dry out faster). 

Bake for at least 4 hours, checking and turning over tofu slices every few hours. Tofu jerky is done when it is hard and uniformly dark in color.  (Again, mine was not terribly dark, but I like it a bit chewy!) 

 
Keep in mind, these pictures are from BEFORE these guys went in the oven, so they look quite wet & juicy.  Trust me, they will dry out significantly.  

And they are BANANAS GOOD!!  So so yummy!  I put them in a tupperware container, and I'm so bringing them with me for camping.  They'll be a great salty snack!  YUM! 

I'm totally making my famous breakfast burritos wrapped in foil for this trip, as well as a crazy yummy vodka drink I made up last night (homemade iced tea mixed with cranberry juice, vodka, and a little bit of honey).  

So excited!