Apples to Apples, Squash to Squish

On a hot late-summer evening, sometimes soup really does the trick. Not sure how many of the folks at my house last night expected to be fed, but this big ol' pot of squash satisfied 'em all through a long round of Apples to Apples, and I still have some leftover! In fact, I'm going to go eat some more right now...

Thai Squash Soup
serves 10

1 large butternut squash
olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato puree
3/4 cup coconut milk
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon red curry paste
2-3 tablespoons peanut or almond butter
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
sliced green onions
cashew pieces
toasted coconut

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the squash in half and lay cut side down in a baking sheet filled with about a 1/4-inch of water. Bake for 45 minutes.

Once the squash is done, commence sauteing the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. As soon as they've softened a bit, add the peeled squash, tomato puree, coconut milk, vegetable broth, curry paste and peanut or almond butter. Simmer for 20 or so minutes.

Blend the soup well (whether with an immersion blender, food processor, whatever), then sprinkle with green onions, cashews and coconut.

Soup, There It Is

Although soup is usually something I savor in colder temperatures, it has composed two of the meals I've cooked this week! Bowl of this and and a buttahmilk biscuit to dip? Heaven.



Chile-Corn Chowder
serves 6

1 tablespoon Earth Balance
1 small white onion
1 1/2 jalepeno peppers, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups water
1 tablespoon red miso
4 ears worth of fresh sweet corn, de-cobbed
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
5 drops of stevia
s&p

Melt the Earth Balance over medium heat, then saute onion and peppers together for 7-8 minutes. Add the garlic, cooking for another minute. Throw in your potatoes, bay leaves, 3 cups of the water and the miso. Cook down for 20 minutes. Add the other cup of water, the corn, almond milk and stevia and simmer with a lid on for another 10 minutes. S&p to your taste.

The longer this sits, the better it gets, I'm telling ya!

Ah, the comfort foods of home...

This visit to my hometown of Lake Worth has already been chock-full of delectable food, from last night's GF grilled vegetable pizzas to the palm cake sandwiches my momma and I wolfed down at Darbster's earlier today.

So what's next? An easily veganized rendition of the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and a batch of GF imitation Red Lobster cheesy garlic biscuits!!! My mom had been raving about this soup since she had it at a dinner party over the winter holidays, and these biscuits have been on my list of things to make since my dear friend Morris teased me with a thoroughly non-vegan version he made a couple years ago.



Here's my take on 'em:

Red Lobster Cheese & Garlic Biscuits
makes about 14 biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix
1/2 cup cold Earth Balance
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup shredded vegan cheddar (I used Follow Your Heart brand)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Blend the baking mix and EB with an electric mixer until, according to the biscuit package directions, "it resembles a course meal." Add the almond milk and blend until combined. Fold in the shredded cheeze, garlic and herbs, then dump the dough onto a lightly GF-floured counter. Knead it a little, then roll out to whatever thickness you like your biscuits to be, as these don't really rise. Cut out biscuits with an upside-down mug and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I failed to realize they weren't gonna puff up any, so mine may look a little flat, but MY, are they tasty! Plus you can eat four and not even feel puffy yourself. I can personally attest to this. ;)

On a cold night, what do you crave? SOUP!

And that's a lot of what I've been eating the past coupla days. In an attempt to cleanse myself of bad bacteria, I'm taking a break from sugar. This hearty Provençal soup, paired with a movie on the couch with the roomies, adequately distracted me from any dessert cravings. Success!



Yellow Split Pea Soup
serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
2 cups dried yellow split peas, rinsed
5 cups water
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute the mirepoix with the bay leaf in olive oil until slightly softened. Add split peas, water and almond milk, then sprinkle with salt and Herbes de Provence. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Dinner/Dance

On a Thursday night like this one, many hip Gainesvillains (as in, "Chillin' like a Gainesvillain") head over to the Atlantic for Indie Dance Night. It can be a pretty fun time when you've got the right people to dance with. The last time I was there, my roomies and I were very pleased to take part in a spirited singalong of Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." - a song, the DJ announced with a laugh, he was playing "against his better judgment."

But tonight, the ladiez and I are bringin' the party to the Cheetah House. I'm being a little facetious. We're having Internet Café Time in the dining room until one of us puts on a New Boyz song and we practice jerkin'. (That's a dance, y'all.)

Anyway, for dinner, made...



Mom's Easy Cheezy Broccoli Soup
serves 4

1 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
2 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup veganaise

Simmer broccoli and onions in broth, oil and Tamari until tender. Let cool for ten minutes or so and put it in a blender for a minute. Then add the yeast, paprika, veganaise, and s&p to taste.

Cold and cold

Gainesville is around 30 degrees outside (darn cold for Florida!) and I am a snivelling mess of congestion. Gotta work on getting better quick, before school really starts to go nuts. To this end, I threw together an ever-so-comforting lentil soup.

At the heart of this soup is a mirepoix, the fancy French term for onions, carrots and celery chopped and sauteed in oil or butter - a fantastic place for any savory dish to begin. Recipe courtesy of Mom, bien sûr, so in lieu of a picture, here's a video tutorial from my momma and her friend, Dee. These industrious ladies launched a Youtube cooking show to prove they could make truly delicious vegan food that even their omnivorous husbands could enjoy.



Tender Lovin' Lentils
serves 4

olive oil
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 bag green lentils
32 oz. vegetable broth
1 bunch parsley
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
s&p

Heat a large pot on medium-high. Give it one or two turns of olive oil, then add onion. Saute until onions are soft. Add the lentils, coat them with oil, then toast for a couple minutes. Add the celery and carrots and continue to saute. Pour in the vegetable broth, and toss in the parsley and tomatoes.

Crank the heat to high. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

[EDIT] This is how cold it is here:

Photo courtesy of Hard Work