Butternut squash macaroni cheese.

This is hands down one of the best freaking things I've ever eaten.  Blending the roast pumpkin with the cheese sauce is a stroke of genius.  I have to stop writing about it, it's making me too hungry.

From Oh She Glows.



Yield: 4 servings or 1.5 cups of cheeze sauce

Ingredients:

1 fresh butternut squash* (peeled and chopped) OR 1 cup canned butternut squash OR canned pumpkin
Extra virgin olive oil, S & P
1 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter replacer)
3/4 cup unsweetened & unflavoured almond milk (revised from 1 cup)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt (to taste) & ground black pepper, to taste
4 servings brown rice macaroni (8oz or half a 16oz package) makes 3 1/4 cup cooked
Mix-ins of choice (e.g., kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)


1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a casserole dish with tin foil. Mix chopped squash with EVOO, S & P. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour) until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, S & P) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).

3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.

4. In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash (or if using canned, simply stir 1 cup into the pot).

5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.

Notes: 1) My 3.5 pound squash made 5 cups cooked squash, so I had about 4 cups leftover. 2) The sauce does not cut in half well (the blender has a hard time blending it up), 3) I tried this recipe with canned pumpkin and it was awesome!

Mexican feast for our bar opening.

We built a junkyard bar in our back garden!  That doesn't quite excuse the lack of posts, but I am trying to make up for it now by sharing this Mexican feast.  It is all taken from http://ohsheglows.com/ except for the black beans (I used red kidney beans), which are from http://www.epicurious.com

CHEF'S NOTE: I cooked the beans for hours, adding water, salt and tomato paste.  They were so thick and sweet and salty.  Perfect.

Also I used cracked wheat for the salad instead of 'spelt berry'.  What the hell is spelt berry anyway? 


MEXICAN FEAST

Pico De Gallo & Guacamole:





Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes
1 large bunch of Cilantro (approx 1/2-3/4 cup), thick stems removed, roughly chopped
1 large sweet onion
1 lime
1-2 Jalapeno peppers or other hot pepper
Kosher salt, to taste


Directions: Finely chop the onion, tomatoes, and hot pepper. Note that the seeds inside the hot pepper are the most heat-producing, so you can remove the seeds if you don’t want it super hot. Remove thick stems of the Cilantro and then roughly chop. Mix the onion, tomato, hot pepper, and Cilantro in a bowl and squeeze fresh lime juice on top. Stir well and then season with kosher salt to taste.

Makes about 4 cups worth and lasts only for about 24 hours or so. Seal in an airtight container to keep it fresh. Use in quesadillas, tacos, fajitas, or just enjoy with some of your favourite nacho chips!

THEN add to mashed avocado, with extra salt and lime.  Amazing.


CARROT RAISIN SALAD:

1 cup uncooked spelt (or wheat) berries
4 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped into small 1/4” pieces
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
Pinch or two of red pepper flakes (or ground red pepper)
1/3 cup raisins
1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 bunches of Cilantro, stems removed and minced (yield about 5-6 tbsp minced)


Directions:

1. Place spelt berries in a pot and cover with water to 2 inches above the berries. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium until tender, about 35-45 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

2. Meanwhile, chop and prepare your veggies. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the chopped carrots, olive oil, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes and raisins. Stir well and add into a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or so. You just want to lightly cook this mixture. After about 5 minutes of cooking, place back into the bowl.

3. When the spelt berries are cooked, drain and rinse. Now stir them into the carrot mixture. Stir in your cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. I added another teaspoon of olive oil. Serve warm or cold. Makes about 3 cups.



LENTIL WALNUT TACO MEAT:





Yield: ~ 2.5-3 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup dry lentils
3 cups veggie broth or water
1 & 1/3 cup walnut halves, toasted
1 cup bean medley (chickpeas, kidney beans, etc)
Homemade Taco seasoning, to taste


Directions: Cook the lentils in about 3 cups or so of vegetable broth or water until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, toast your walnuts on baking sheet in a preheated oven at 300F for 10 minutes. Drain lentils and place lentils, beans, and walnuts in food processor. Add homemade taco seasoning to processor, starting with a teaspoon at a time. Process for just a few seconds, until chunky. You don’t want to over-process it. Taste and add more taco seasoning, repeat until desired taste is achieved. Just before serving dinner, heat a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil in it, and add lentil taco meat. Heat and serve.


RED BEANS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small green capsicum, deseeded and chopped
1 small red capsicum, deseeded and chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
400 g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup (175 g) frozen corn kernels
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ cup (65 g) no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chilli sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, garlic and capsicums and cook over a medium heat, stirring, for 3 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the red chilli (if using) and the ground cumin and stir for 1 minute.
2. Put the red kidney beans onto a plate and lightly crush with a fork, then add to the frying pan together with the corn and chopped tomato. Stir in the tomato and chilli sauces and the water and continue to cook gently for about 4 minutes. Stir in the fresh coriander.



Serve everything with tortillas and eat with your fingers. x