Curry Coconut Ginger Pumpkin Soup

Curry Coconut Ginger Pumpkin Soup

It's Halloween-time and I wanted to make a seasonal soup to enjoy on Halloween. I made this soup out of several pumpkins I bought, roasted and made puree out of. I am going to serve this soup alongside the pumpkin cornbread and the ginger-coconut-curry flavored pumpkin seeds!!

Ingredients

3 cups fresh cooked and pureed pumpkin
(or 1 large can prepared pumpkin)
1 can coconut milk
1 onion
2 T olive oil
1 T red pepper flakes
4 T vegetable broth powder
2 T curry powder
6 cups water
1/4 cup garbanzo (or other) flour
sea salt to taste

Process

Saute onions in olive oil with ginger, red pepper, salt, and curry.  When soft and somewhat carmelized, add flour and stir until smooth.  Add vegetable broth powder and mix in. Slowly add water and bring to a boil, stirring frequently (it should start to thicken up).  Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Add pumpkin and stir smooth.  Let simmer slowly until about 5 minutes before you are ready to serve.  Add coconut milk and stir.

Serve with fresh bread.  Delicious and has a nice bite!

Pumpkin Cornbread

Vegan *Pumpkin* Cornbread

by IsaChandra

Makes 12 to 16 squares

This is a delicious basic vegan cornbread. It is moist and crunchy and corntastic. It is not a sweet bread, but a bread to be savored with soup or smothered with guacamole. For best results, use old-fashioned cornmeal. **I added 1 cup of homemade pumpkin puree at the end!**

2 cups cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350, line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray the bottom lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, wisk together the soymilk and the vinegar and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt).
Add the oil and maple syrup to the soymilk mixture. Wisk with a wire wisk or a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together using a large wooden spoon or a firm spatula. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container.

Kale and Grit Cakes

Kale and Grit Cakes
from p. 148 of Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

Grit Cakes:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup instant white grits
• 1/2 cup shredded vegan Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Kale:

• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup sliced white onions
• 1 T EVOO
• 2 large bunches kale, torn
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 t pepper

Lightly oil an 8x8 inch baking dish.

To make the grits:

• Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the grits and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the Monterey Jack and cayenne and stir to combine.
• Pour the grits into the baking dish and cool at room temperature. When the grits are cool, cut into four cakes, whatever shape you would like. For crispier cakes bake for 10 minutes at 350 F.

To make the kale:

• Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil in a medium saucepan for 1 minute. Add the kale and stock and bring to a boil. Sprinkle with pepper and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain off the liquid.
• Position cakes in the center of your serving plate and top with drained kale. 

Spicy Soba Noodles in Peanut Sauce

Spicy Soba Noodles in Peanut Sauce
from pg. 153 in Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

• One 8-ounce package soba noodles
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and julienne cut
• 1 cup broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 T peanut oil
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into thins trips
• 3 green onions, white part and 1/2 inch green part, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup Thai Peanut Sauce
• 1 T maple syrup, optional
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Prepare the noodles per the instructions on the package, minus 1 minute. Drain, do not rinse, and set aside.
2. While the soba is cooking, steam the carrots, broccoli and peas until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Warm the oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan or wok. Add the bell pepper, green onion, and celery. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the steamed vegetables and cook for an additional 3 or 4 minutes. Add the soba noodles and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in the peanut sauce and maple syrup, if using, until noodles and vegetables are thoroughly coated. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and season with pepper to taste. Serve warm. 

Note: I didn't use most of those vegetables. I used 2 heads of broccoli, an eggplant, one leek and a few leaves of chard. Super delicious!! I also topped it with cilantro, lime juice and crushed peanuts.

Hubbard Squash with Candied Ginger

Hubbard Squash Puree With Orange And Candied Ginger Recipe

http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/hubbard-squash-puree-with-orange-and-candied-ginger-303734

by Global Cookbook

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 x Hubbard squash
• 1/4 c. Firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp Peeled, minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. Minced candied ginger
• 1 Tbsp. Orange juice concentrate--used apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter (I used vegan butter)
•     Salt
•     Cracked black pepper
• 1/4 c. Hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground--didn't use

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 . Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place cut-side up on a lightly greased roasting pan. Roast the squash in the oven till tender, about 50 min. Remove the squash from the oven. Using a large spoon, scrape the squash flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add in the brown sugar, fresh ginger, candied ginger, orange juice concentrate, and butter and puree till smooth. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
2. Top with the ground hazelnuts and serve immediately. To serve refrigerated puree, reheat just till hot through, then top with the grnd hazelnuts and serve.

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

Last weekend, the day after picking produce in Boulder with Pam, I joined a few AmeriCorps gals on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Claire, my coworker, made it super easy for me to join them on the hike: we met and Britney's and my place and Claire drove us up there. She'd researched where she wanted to go and we just joined her. The only bummer was that I'd babysat super late the night before (I think till about 2AM) and we left super duper early that morning (I got up at 5:45AM). I was a bit sleep deprived to say the least but it was a blast. It was a gorgeous day and I made sure to make a point to everyone that it was my mom's birthday. When we sat and took a break we all said "Happy Birthday Mom!" The next hike we do needs to be a bit more difficult I told Claire because I'm ready to get sweaty and see beautiful sights. Here are some shots that Claire took with her super awesome camera:

Amy, on the right, in a panorama!

Coworker buddy shot: Me on the left and Claire on the right (in case it's hard to see haha)

Britney, me and Amy by a waterfall.

The four super intense hikers haha: Amy, Britney, me and Claire.

We all struck yoga poses: I was doing more of a ballet stretch while Amy was doing the tree pose and Britney was doing a slight back bend!!

YAY Colorado, so beautiful!!! 

Mixed Greens from a Salvaged Salad

Last week we had a family event and I took home some extra greens and carrots. They've sat in my fridge in a plastic bag for over a week now due to the excessive amounts of food in our fridge. Today I started worrying they would go bad and that I should use them. I grabbed a head of garlic from the garage (from Jill's garden), chives and basil from Jill's garden and sauteed them. I then added the chopped carrots and a zucchini (from Pam's garden). I let them cook for a while with some S & P & chili flakes. I added too many flakes because my lips are still burning. I then stuck the wilted and somewhat slimy greens into the pan and let them reduce down. I was SO impressed with myself. If you'd smelt the greens in the bag, I bet you would have thrown them out. I didn't and I took a risk with them. Luckily it was a good risk and they turned out delicious, if a bit spicy!!