Pumpkin!
First, read this to prime you for some awesome vegetarian recipes. (And because I'm having a rare missionary moment and feel the need to remind all of the strange southern flisty people who celebrate Thanksgiving in November that it IS possible-and delicious-to have said autumnal celebration without dead birds. Did I mention that I highly recommend Tofurky?)
A few weeks ago, harmony_bites was recounting all of her mad pumpkin adventures to me via chat, so I went out and bought a pumpkin with the intent of following suit. There was a lot of pumpkin. Most of it ended up puréed and frozen in my freezer. Some of it is still there.
The rest of it is in my refrigerator in the form of soup and casserole and pie.
This is the soup recipe, which turned out very well and was relatively easy in the land of chopping and mixing and cutting.
The other two recipes are from The New Moosewood Cookbook, which is a bible of easy, delicious, and creative vegetarian cooking.
Arabian Squash Casserole
4 cups cooked squash or pumpkin, mashed or puréed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 chopped onion
1tsp salt
2 small bell peppers (one red and one green, if possible), minced
4 or 5 medium cloves garlic, minced
black pepper and cayenne, to taste [I used chili peppers]
1/2 cup firm yogurt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Optional: sunflower seeds and/or minced walnuts, for the top [note: I used pecans]
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place the mashed or puréed squash in a large bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add onion, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and bell peppers. Sauté about five more minutes, or until the peppers begin to get soft.
Add garlic, black pepper, and cayenne, and sauté a few more minutes
add the sauté, along with yogurt and feta, to the squash, and mix well. Spread into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan; sprinkle the top lightly with sunflower seeds and/or mixed walnuts.
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Note: I served it with toasted pita bread and it was delicious. The cookbook also suggests a delicious-sounding variation, which doesn't have the yogurt, feta, seeds, or walnuts. Instead, add 1tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp dried coriander, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 cups corn, and top with 1 cup grated cheddar.
Crust:
6 tsp butter or margarine [I used that Earth Balance stuff, which I think works better than real butter. A nice alternative in pretty much everything if you are trying to cut back on dairy or have something healthier, etc.]
1 1/2 cups flour
about 4 tbs cold water, milk, or buttermilk.
Use a pastry cutter, two forks, or a food processor to cut together the butter and flour until the mixture is uniformly blended and resembles coarse corn meal.
Add just enough liquid to hold the dough together. Roll out the dough and form a crust in a 9- or 10-inch pie pan.
Filling:
2 cups cooked, puréed pumpkin or squash
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp. ground cloves or allspice
2tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
3/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs [note: I used 2 tbsp ground flax with 6 tbsp water]
1 cup evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place pumpkin or squash purée in a medium-sized bowl, and add all other filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Spread into the pie crust and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350, and back another 40 minutes, or until the pie is firm in the centre when shaken lightly.
Cool at least to room temperature before serving. This pie tastes very good chilled, with rum- or vanilla-spiked wipped cream, or some high-quality vanilla ice cream.
Notes: When it says 'no fault,' it means it. This was sooooo quick/easy and hands-down the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted. And my baking skills aren't all that great, so this is impressive indeed. And if anyone knows a dairy-less substitute for dehydrated milk, do let me know. I'll never be a true vegan, but I like to flirt with it occasionally (and help out the dairy-allergic friends).
Also, for those interested, the new Imogen Heap album is fucking amazing.
A few weeks ago, harmony_bites was recounting all of her mad pumpkin adventures to me via chat, so I went out and bought a pumpkin with the intent of following suit. There was a lot of pumpkin. Most of it ended up puréed and frozen in my freezer. Some of it is still there.
The rest of it is in my refrigerator in the form of soup and casserole and pie.
This is the soup recipe, which turned out very well and was relatively easy in the land of chopping and mixing and cutting.
The other two recipes are from The New Moosewood Cookbook, which is a bible of easy, delicious, and creative vegetarian cooking.
Arabian Squash Casserole
4 cups cooked squash or pumpkin, mashed or puréed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 chopped onion
1tsp salt
2 small bell peppers (one red and one green, if possible), minced
4 or 5 medium cloves garlic, minced
black pepper and cayenne, to taste [I used chili peppers]
1/2 cup firm yogurt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Optional: sunflower seeds and/or minced walnuts, for the top [note: I used pecans]
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place the mashed or puréed squash in a large bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add onion, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and bell peppers. Sauté about five more minutes, or until the peppers begin to get soft.
Add garlic, black pepper, and cayenne, and sauté a few more minutes
add the sauté, along with yogurt and feta, to the squash, and mix well. Spread into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan; sprinkle the top lightly with sunflower seeds and/or mixed walnuts.
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Note: I served it with toasted pita bread and it was delicious. The cookbook also suggests a delicious-sounding variation, which doesn't have the yogurt, feta, seeds, or walnuts. Instead, add 1tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp dried coriander, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 cups corn, and top with 1 cup grated cheddar.
Crust:
6 tsp butter or margarine [I used that Earth Balance stuff, which I think works better than real butter. A nice alternative in pretty much everything if you are trying to cut back on dairy or have something healthier, etc.]
1 1/2 cups flour
about 4 tbs cold water, milk, or buttermilk.
Use a pastry cutter, two forks, or a food processor to cut together the butter and flour until the mixture is uniformly blended and resembles coarse corn meal.
Add just enough liquid to hold the dough together. Roll out the dough and form a crust in a 9- or 10-inch pie pan.
Filling:
2 cups cooked, puréed pumpkin or squash
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp. ground cloves or allspice
2tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
3/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs [note: I used 2 tbsp ground flax with 6 tbsp water]
1 cup evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place pumpkin or squash purée in a medium-sized bowl, and add all other filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Spread into the pie crust and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350, and back another 40 minutes, or until the pie is firm in the centre when shaken lightly.
Cool at least to room temperature before serving. This pie tastes very good chilled, with rum- or vanilla-spiked wipped cream, or some high-quality vanilla ice cream.
Notes: When it says 'no fault,' it means it. This was sooooo quick/easy and hands-down the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted. And my baking skills aren't all that great, so this is impressive indeed. And if anyone knows a dairy-less substitute for dehydrated milk, do let me know. I'll never be a true vegan, but I like to flirt with it occasionally (and help out the dairy-allergic friends).
Also, for those interested, the new Imogen Heap album is fucking amazing.