Blood Magic: Vegetarian Borscht

Stoney and I have been on a vegetable kick lately, and I decided to make a vegetarian version of one of my favorite soups: Borscht!  I've made borscht in the past using the stovetop, and while it's always delicious, it's a pain in the neck to make.  The solution?  Crock pot it!  I also had the vitamin to help me puree up some of the recipe, so that was an extra plus.

What you need:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 4 small celery stalks
• 4 small daikons, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 leek, diced
• 3 beets, peeled and chopped
• 2 14oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 medium green cabbage, shredded
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Optional toppings: yogurt or sour cream; horseradish or dill

To begin, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and then sauté the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and daikon, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once everything has softened, pour it into a blender along with one can of tomatoes and puree it.

Next, sauté the leeks in the skillet that you used for the onion mixture, adding a little more oil if necessary.

 Put your puree in the slow-cooker, and then add in the other ingredients (except the optional garnishes).

Let it cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4).  I had planned to whip up some horseradish yogurt to serve it with, but I forgot yogurt at the store, so that didn't happen, but I still maintain that it would be outrageously delicious.  Sour cream and dill would also be a tasty addition.

Winter is Coming Pumpkin Alfredo

With fall officially winding down, I decided to make one last delicious pumpkin dish.  The "alfredo" sauce is incredibly easy to throw together, and it was really tasty with a big pile of zucchini noodles.

What you need:

• 4 zucchinis
• 3/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or more, depending on how much you like garlic)
• 2 springs fresh rosemary, stems removed and discarded
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned or make your own)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• salt & pepper, to taste 

Start by spiraling your zucchini into zoodles.  To keep the zoodles from getting too watery when you cook them, I recommend spreading them in a thin layer on a paper towel, sprinkling with salt, covering with another paper towel, and gently pressing the paper fowl down.  Let them sit this way while you get everything else ready, and that way a lot of the moisture will be pulled out of them.

The rest is pretty simple.   Blend the cashews and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth in a blender.   Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat, and then add in garlic and rosemary, cooking until fragrant.

I used more than 1 tbsp of garlic... it's just too tasty!

Turn the heat to low, add in your blended cashew mix - at this point, to get the last bit of cashew/broth paste out of the blender, I put the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable broth in the blender and blended with the remaining paste.  Pour that in your saucepan, too.  Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and salt and pepper, as well.  Stir to make sure everything is blended and let it heat through.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat, and then toss in your zucchini noodles.  Cook until heated through.

Remove the zucchini noodles from heat and mix in your sauce.

Enjoy!