Pumpkin Carrot Autumn Soup

Pumpkin Carrot Autumn Soup

Serves 5-6

Takes about 1 hour

This is one of those fresh from the autumn farmer’s market or natural food stores soups.  My local natural foods store is always full of the most beautiful array of different colored vegetables.  It feels like a challenge to create something as colorful as possible.  Purple carrots aren’t a necessity but they increase the beauty of the soup ten-fold.  They turn your broth purple and the result is mouth-watering.  If you can’t find the purple ones, use the regular old orange ones.  Baby sugar pie pumpkins work well – they are the right size and easy to deal with but you could also buy a part of a large pumpkin.  Sunchokes are optional but they add a nice crunch.  The prep time is mostly the time it takes to chop all the vegetables.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled with a vegetable peeler, and cut into small squares

3 purple carrots, peeled and diced

1 leek, diced

3 sunchokes, unpeeled and diced (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh minced, unpeeled ginger

3 cloves minced garlic

5 cups water

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 bay leaves

¼ cup fresh chopped savory leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp onion granules

½ tsp paprika (bonus points if it’s smoked)

½ tsp ground sage

Black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a pot.  When hot, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or two.  When ginger starts to stick to the pan, pour in the water.

2. Bring the water to a boil.  Add the pumpkin and the vinegar.  Bring to a boil again, then lower heat to medium, cover and boil gently for about 6 minutes.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients.  Bring back to a boil.  Boil for 6 – 7 minutes.  You want the carrots to be somewhat soft but still have firmness.  The sunchokes should still be crisp.

4. Pairs well with sweet brown rice and/or fresh bread.  Serve immediately.

Eggplant in Date-Tamarind Sauce

After a long hiatus, I return to post some more recent recipes.

Eggplant in Date-Tamarind Sauce for 1

Serves 1

Takes about 40 minutes

This makes a relatively fast and very easy dinner for 1.  Simply double, triple, or quadruple to serve more people (assume about 3 mini eggplants are equivalent to 1 large one).  Mini eggplants are very cute and are sold all other farmer’s markets but they should also be available at grocery stores.

Ingredients:

2 mini eggplants (or 1 small Chinese eggplant), unpeeled and cut into 1/3-inch slices

10 pitted dried baking dates

1 tsp tamarind concentrate

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp fresh ginger, unpeeled and finely chopped

¼ tsp allspice

Scant ¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cumin

½ cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Set the eggplant slices in a colander in the sink and sprinkle them with salt.  Allow them to drain for approximately 10 – 15 minutes.

3. In the blender, add all the other ingredients together and blend.  Wash off the salt from the eggplants and place them in a baking dish or baking sheet.  Pour the sauce over them, making sure to coat both sides.

4. Bake for 15 minutes.  Use a spatula to flip the eggplant.  Decrease heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes until eggplant is tender.  Serve with rice and soy yogurt.

Lemon-Basil Potato Summer Casserole

Lemon-Basil Potato Summer Casserole

Takes about 1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis, sliced into rounds

2 ½ lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced longwise into rounds

4 medium tomatoes, sliced into thin rounds

1 tbsp olive oil

Marinade:

Zest of one lemon

Juice of two lemons

1 cup tightly packed basil, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup water

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

½ cup white wine

½ tsp salt

Toppings:

¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the potatoes in a bowl with ½ tbsp of olive oil (alternatively you can lay them out on a pan and spray them with baking spray) and then lay out on a baking pan.  Do the same with the zucchini in a different bowl and pan.  Roast potatoes for about 20 minutes and zucchini for 10 minutes.

2. While the potatoes are baking, mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.

3.  Remove potatoes from the oven and increase the temperature to 450 degrees.  Once the potatoes have cooled enough to touch, begin to layer them with the zucchini and tomatoes in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or two 9 x 9 inch pans.  Layer like a lasagna with potatoes first, then zucchini, then tomato rounds.  Everything will not match up perfectly but that’s ok.

4. Pour the marinade over the casserole and cover the pans with aluminum foil.  Bake for 40 minutes at 450 degrees.  When the casserole is removed from the oven, top with roasted sunflower seeds.

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Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake

Serves about 5 – 6

Takes about 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (13-14 oz) box of whole wheat penne

8 oz sliced button mushrooms

1 medium broccoli crown sliced into florets

2 ½ tbsp margarine

¼ cup breadcrumbs

Sauce:

2 cups unsweetened soymilk or almondmilk

3 tbsp chickpea flour

3 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp miso

¼ cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp dry ground mustard

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cook pasta according to the directions on the package.  Drain and pour back into the pot.  Stir in the margarine until it is melted and then mix in the broccoli and mushrooms.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients.  Use an eggbeater to insure that the mixture is smooth and not lumpy.  Pour it over the pasta mix.

4. Oil a 9x13-inch baking pan or two 9-inch square pans.  Pour in the pasta mix.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs ontop.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.  Serve warm.

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Pesto Gnocchi with Zucchini and Olives

Pesto Gnocchi with Zucchini and Olives

Takes about 1 hour, 45 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Gnocchi:

1 lbs russet potatoes, diced

2 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

½ tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

1 recipe lime-almond pesto (recipe follows)

1 zucchini, sliced into quarter slices

1 cup mixed sliced seasoned olives, any type
1 cup cherry tomatoes

1. Boil potatoes 10 minutes.  Mash with a fork, add water, salt, and olive oil.  Mix in the flour and work into a dough.

2. Cut the dough into eight pieces.  Roll each piece into a long round roll and chop into ½ inch pieces.  Press each piece down a little with a fork so that there are lines on it.  Place on a cookie sheet and cover with a towel.

3. Boil a large pot of water with a small amount of oil added in.  Drop in the gnocchi in batches – you should have about 3 batches.  Make sure they are in a fairly single layer.  Boil until about 1 minute after the float (3 – 4 minutes total).  Remove with a slotted spoon and put in the next batch.

4. In an oiled skillet or wok, sauté the zucchini for about 4 -5 minutes until slightly softened but still crisp.  Mix in with the gnocchi and add the olives.  Pour the pesto over the gnocchi and mix the whole thing together.  Serve warm or cold.

Lime-Almond Pesto

Makes about ½ - ¾ cup pesto

Takes about 15 minutes

This is a variation on normal pesto.  Using almonds, instead of pine nuts, is substantially cheaper and the taste is not very different.  Lime juice instead of lemon makes for a nice change.

Ingredients:

1 tightly packed cup of basil (overflowing is good)

¼ cup slivered or blanched almonds

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp fresh minced ginger, unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp lime juice

¾ tsp salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in the food processor.  Pulse until you reach your desired consistency.