Pumpkin Cake w/ Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

I found this recipe online and am not sure if I can/will recommend it yet….the batter was so thick that I was worried the cake wouldn’t turn out at all.  I feel a little bit better about it now, but we’ll see after the celebration of a friend’s birthday tonight!  I did modify the recipe slightly, using all ground maple sugar instead of any other refined sugars.  However, as you can see, there is quite a bit of frosting, sweetened not only with maple syrup but also with some powdered sugar (organic and fair-trade!).

I do NOT mess around when making candy- or sugar-coated nuts.  These are coated with not only maple syrup but also maple sugar.  It’s like pouring a gallon of the syrup down your throat, only more sophisticated and with extra protein and minerals.  There are candy-coated ground and whole cashews in the middle layer as well.

White Bean & Sweet Potato Soup w/ Cranberry Coulis

 

1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes

The recipes in this book that appeal to me are the ones that are more vegetable- and legume-based; I find that there are a lot of cheesy and uninspired recipes, but with so many to choose from, it’s hard to NOT find one that you want to try.

This soup has white beans, sweet potatoes, and a Granny Smith apple, all pureed and then topped with the swirl of cranberry sauce.  I’ll say this - it’s one of the most simple soups I’ve ever eaten, with no added fat, but it’s also one of the tastiest!  I really like it a lot.

Sweet Potato Scones w/ Maple Glaze

 

While this is a tester recipe, I have made it many times, as the scones are so good!  I’ve even made them lower in fat, but they do taste best when you use the original recipe.

These are going to be a part of the Thanksliving potluck dinner tonight.  I hope to get some good pictures of the rest of the food!

VeganMoFo - Beta Carrotene Bisque

150 Vegan Favorites

A spoonfully good soup with sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and garlic.  Spiced with ground coriander and curry.  I never take my immersion blender for granted, per se, but it’s on days like this that I appreciate it that much more.

I am still trying to figure out what my favorite vegetable is! 

VeganMoFo - Pumpkin Oatmeal

A Rare Breakfast Post!

Makes one large bowl or two smaller-size bowls

2 cups water

3/4 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. cubed pumpkin or sweet potato (fresh or frozen) or pureed pumpkin or sweet potato

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

Non-dairy milk and brown sugar, to taste

Heat the first seven ingredients in a pan until simmering, then lower the heat and continue to cook, stirring here and there, for 4-5 minutes.  That’s it!

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon, Potato Rolls & Squash

Veganomicon

Butternut Squash with Carmelized Onions, Chestnuts, and Sage Breadcrumbs

(I added sweet potatoes and left out white beans)

I found this dish to melt in my mouth!  I admit to being a bit nervous when I first smelled these baking.  It seemed that there was too much thyme.  But then, after everything was baked and the flavors melded, I found my fear was put to rest!  The onions were perfect. 

Note:  I don’t know if I’m hugely fond of chestnuts.  I like crispy nuts better! 

Potato Rolls

I saw a picture of these a month ago or so and wanted to eat my screen!  With white poppy seeds on top.  They were really good and could go well with margarine or jam.  I even used part whole-grain flour.

[huge pile of] Hot & Sweet Seitan (no cookbook)

This is just something that I made up, just wanting to make a simple seitan sauce that didn’t require 20 ingredients or much thought.  The seitan is pan-fried in peanut oil, then glazed with a mixture of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), ginger juice, and hot sauce (in this case, Frank’s).  I like the flavor, resembling a sweet barbeque.

Sweet Potatoes v. Kale

I don’t mean to pit two vegetables against one another, and certainly, they could go well together, but I wanted to address something that was new information to me a few months ago, when I purchased the book Calciyum! 

While I knew that plant-based foods were a superior source of calcium, I had no idea that sweet potatoes were within that category!  I contemplated making today a sweet potato-apricot dish with curried hempseeds from Hempnut Cookbook, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Why, you might ask.  I love the things just plain baked, with all of their sweet, moist flesh inside, waiting to be pierced with my seemingly peaceful fork.

Sweet potato nutritional info:  http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20h1.html

Kale nutritional info:  http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20di.html

Veganomicon - Butternut Squash Rice Paper Rolls

 

Veganomicon

I love summer rolls because it feels like you’re eating a salad but in the form of a finger food.  Well, assuming your rolls have vegetables in them! 

This was, lo and behold, the first recipe I marked in VCon that I wanted to try.  It sounded so simple yet so tasty, and believe me, it was!  The squash, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and noodles are perfectly complemented by the sesame-soy dipping sauce.  I made a dinner/main course out of this, served alongside a few other vegetables.

(for gluten-free, use Bragg’s or tamari.)

Quinoa & Sweet Potato Collard Rolls

 

Down to Earth Cookbook

My first recipe out of this book - a sweet potato and quinoa mixture that is flavorful enough on its own but much more healthy (and cute!) wrapped in a collard leaf, served over a lentil-celery-dill sauce.  I enjoyed this dish, especially to serve and contrast with the subtle richness of the ziti.

Veganomicon - Pumpkin Ziti

Veganomicon

This pumpkin looks innocent enough, eh?

Grinning from ear to ear, you might just smile back when you see it.

But then the lights go out…..

SCARY!!!!  

I had a great time carving this with Sara - it had been years and years since we had the pleasure of cutting through two-inch pumpkin flesh and getting our hands all stringy with gobs of seeds.  So much fun!

On to the food, the pumpkin ziti has brown rice pasta, cashew ricotta, pumpkin, carmelized onions, and sage-bread crumb topping.  Sound good?  Yes, it is!  I liked it a lot; it has a nice blend of flavors.  Easy to make gluten-free as well, if you use gf bread crumbs or just chopped nuts with sage for the topping.

Boo!