Mushroom's Sweet and Savory Spaghetti Squash

Tony: Aha, okay. Hey, Joe! Butch-a he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, 

heavy on the meats-a ball.

Joe: Tony, dogs-a don't a-talk!

Tony: He's a-talkin' to me!

Joe: Okay, he's a-talkin' to you! You the boss! 

-Lady and the Tramp

Stoney and I survived Snowmagedden here in Nashville.  It was a good thing we had plenty of leftovers, though, because when we finally emerged from the apartment on Sunday to take our weekly grocery shopping trip, we were amazed at what we saw when we arrived at Kroger (the farmer's market was, predictably, closed).  Most of the produce was gone -- vast, empty shelves stood before us.  At this point we were starting to get nervous.  Nearly everything we needed to make dinner, which was to consist of spaghetti squash, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts, was missing.  We were able to find a small spaghetti squash on the shelf, but the other items were conspicuously absent.  Eventually, we stumbled on a restocking cart with a few containers of white mushrooms.  While not ideal for our sauce, we grabbed them.  We also struck out on one of the key ingredients for another recipe we will be making this week - homemade ruebans using sauerkraut that we made back in October!  The missing ingredient?  Rye Bread.  Le sigh.  After checking out at Kroger, we made our way over to the small, very nice (but also expensive) grocery store near our apartment.  Luckily, they had some beautiful brussels sprouts, so I was able to make dinner as planned.  

We even grabbed a handful of shiitake mushrooms to add to the white mushrooms.  However, we ended up having to settle on the bread for the ruebans, buying a multigrain bread instead.  Oh well.

Our "spaghetti" dinner was perfect for a cold winter's night.  Slightly sweet thanks to a little maple syrup on the brussels sprouts, and earthy and savory, thanks to the mushroom sauce.  The only issue we ran into was that we ended up with a very small spaghetti squash, and I had planned for a bigger squash, so my sauce to squash ratio was a little off.

What you need:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, halved, with seeds scraped out
• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, quartered
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1.5 cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1.5 cup water

Although this recipe has a lot of moving parts, it's actually pretty simple.  Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.  Rub the inside of the spaghetti squash with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place face down on a greased baking sheet, cooking for 45 minutes.  

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a bowl large enough to hold your brussels sprouts.  Stir in the maple syrup, and then toss in the brussels sprouts and 1 tsp sea salt, making sure the sprouts are thoroughly coated.  Set the bowl aside.

When there is 20 minutes remaining on the spaghetti squash, place the brussels sprouts on a greased baking sheet (one layer) and place in oven, cooking for 20 minutes.

When everything is done, let the squash cool (or don't, we usually just use heat gloves for this part) and scrape the spaghetti-ness out into a serving bowl.

Next, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and shallot, cooking until the garlic is fragrant.  Add in the mushrooms and cook until they have browned slightly.  

After the mushrooms have cooked, add mushrooms, water, nutritional yeast, and cashews to the vitamix and blend well.  Pour your sauce over the spaghetti squash, and garnish with brussels sprouts.

Jade Sea: Chile Lime Coconut Curry Soup

This soup is mainly a slow-cooker meal, but the tofu takes a little extra work so that it becomes tiny little flavor-bombs instead of tasteless mush in some soup.  I will admit that some of these ingredients won't be able to be exactly replicated, but I'm sure you can come close.   For example, we were given some lovely homemade curry spice for christmas.  We also have some dried red chile peppers that we found at a flea market awhile back.  No idea what they are, but they are slightly spicy and slightly sweet and lend a really nice flavor to dishes.  The weather has taken a cold turn lately, so this soup was nice to cozy up with on a chilly night!

What you need:

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (I generally use Silk brand)
• 1 tbsp coconut mana
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
•  3 tbsp lemongrass paste
• 1 dried red chile pepper, finely chopped
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 head bok choy, chopped lengthwise
• 14oz. Extra Firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 limes, juiced, with the juice of 1/2 lime separated
• 1 1/2 tbsp chile powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

This recipe really couldn't be any easier.  To start, mix together the juice of 1/2 lime, lemon juice, and chile powder, then cut your tofu into small squares.   

Our curry spices!  Curry and ginger is a wonderful combination.

Place the tofu and the chile-lime mixture in a plastic bag and really shake it up to make sure each piece of tofu gets coated.  Place in the refrigerator.

Mystery Chile

Put all of your other ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6.  In the last hour of cooking, pull the tofu out of the fridge and place in the freezer, and preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit.  Once the oven is ready to go, pour the tofu onto a greased baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Put the tofu squares into the crock pot and serve.  We ate it with some delicious sourdough bread from the farmer's market, and it was a great combination!  

Viper Tomato "Bisque"

For christmas, I received an immersion blender, which is something I have been desperately wanting.  Although the vitamix is a miracle machine and I am still smitten with it after a year, it was always a hassle to ladle hot soup into it whenever I wanted a smoothly pureed, thick, creamy soup.  For my first recipe with the immersion blender, I decided to play around with tomato soup.  I love tomato soup, but my favorite type of tomato soup is generally filled with cream, which isn't really diet-friendly.  To revamp the recipe, I decided to veganize it and create a tomato "bisque" using tofu, a few cashews, and nutritional yeast (we call this stuff magical vegan fairy dust in my house - it's so good!).  Now, I am not sure that our recipe was 100% vegan, as I added in some white wine and I have no idea whether the brand I used was vegan friendly, but if you are interested in making the recipe and being 100% sure it is vegan, you can go to this website, which provides a handy guide to vegan wine (and other alcohol).

What you need:

• 3.5 lbs fresh tomatoes, cored and halved
• 1 14oz. container of tofu, drained (I used firm because that was all that was available, but I think silken would be prefereable)
• 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews 
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup dried basil
• 1 tbsp Emeril Essence Seasoning (or Old Bay)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 dried red chile pepper, de-seeded

Turn the oven broiler to high.  Place your tomatoes on an oiled baking sheet and place them in the oven to broil.  Let them broil until they have blackened slightly (around 5-10 minutes) and then put them in the crock pot.

In a blender, add cashews, 1 cup vegetable broth, and the red pepper, and blend until you have a nice puree.  Add that mixture to the crock pot.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and then saute the onions.  Add the cooked onions to the crock pot, as well.

Dump the rest of your ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve, use an immersion blender to make the soup into a beautifully creamy consistency.  Enjoy!  We served it with some hot, crusty bread, and it was a great way to stay warm and cozy on a cold evening!

• 
  

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!

Dornish Vegetable Rice

Like Dornish food and Dornish law, Dornish speech was spiced with the flavors of the Rhoyne, but a man could comprehend it

A Dance With Dragons, George R.R. Martin

This dish is similar to a paella, but requires no baking.  I was extremely happy with how it came out, and the arborio rice lent a nice creamy texture to the dish.  Makes 6 servings.

What you need:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 dried red chile (any kind will probably work), torn into small pieces
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 heaping tbsp minced garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 zucchini
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 1/4 cup arborio rice
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• Fresh parsley for garnish
• 6 lemon wedges for garnish

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add the dried chile, onion, and garlic, cooking until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Stir in the rice, and then the broth. 

 Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Garnish with parsley and a lemon wedge and serve.

Martell Gazpacho

It's not blood, it's tomato juice!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

When I was in Spain, my favorite thing to eat was gazpacho.  Even the grocery store gazpacho was delicious.  It is the perfect summer dish, in my mind.  After getting the vitamix, I vowed to make a delicious gazpacho once the weather turned nice, and I am happy to say I succeeded in my goal.  It's an incredibly simple recipe, and took all of 20 minutes to make (and that includes the time spent rough-chopping the vegetables).  And the best part?  The only clean-up required involved wiping down the cutting board and the vitamix.  Couldn't be simpler.  The recipe makes about 8 cups, so serve it as an appetizer for a summer dinner party, have it for lunch during the week, or let it be dinner for a couple of nights!

What you need:

• 2 lbs Tomatoes, stems removed and quartered
• 4 inch slice of French Baguette (and then you can eat the rest of the baguette with the soup!)
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 small-medium yellow onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt & Pepper to taste. 

Other than chopping your veggies, the only other prep you need to do is to soak the piece of bread in water, and once it is saturated, squeeze the water out as best you an and throw it in the blender with everything else.  Start by putting the tomatoes, poblano, and cucumber in the vitamix, and let it run just long enough to liquefy everything and give you some more room in the blender (assuming the veggies have filled it up!).  Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until it is smooth.  Don't let the soup get hot!  Pour the soup into a large serving bowl or pitcher and refrigerate for at least an hour, to be sure it is nicely chilled upon serving.

Rainwood: Beet Chip & Kale Salad

Breathe properly.  Stay curious.  And eat your beets.

Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

Happy (belated) Earth Day!  To celebrate, I decided to make a salad using one of the most deliciously earthy vegetables out there: the beet.  I love beets in every form, and for this salad, I tried something I haven't done before.  I recently bought a vegetable spiralizer, so I decided to make roasted beet chips.  Mixed in with kale and candied walnuts, the salad was a perfect blend of earthiness and sweet, all topped with a sweet and spicy dressing.

What you need:

     For the salad:

• 3 medium-large beets, peeled and spiralized (or sliced VERY thin)
• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1 large bunch Lacinato Kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tbsp 100% pure dark amber maple syrup
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

     For the dressing:

• 1 tbsp stone-ground mustard
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Heat the oven to 400.  After spiralizing the beets, toss them in the olive oil and then lay them out on a foiled and oiled baking sheet.  Let them cook for 20 minutes.

While they cook, put your walnuts into a skillet and cook on medium-high until they begin to brown.  Once they have started browning, add the maple syrup and stir until all walnuts are coated and the syrup is basically evaporated.  Remove from heat and pour the walnuts onto parchment paper to cool.

Next, mix together the ingredients for the dressing, and toss all of your torn kale into a large salad bowl.  I recommend massaging the kale a bit to soften it before adding the other ingredients.  When the walnuts have cooled and the beets are finished roasting, combine all of the ingredients, toss them in the dressing, and serve. 

Gregor Clegane's Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

No more rhymes now - I mean it!  Anybody want a peanut?

Princess Bride

I've never been very good at making pad thai, but it's one of my favorite things to eat.  For example,  I once tried a raw pad thai with bean sprouts instead of noodles.  It was fine, but definitely tasted nothing of good pad thai.  This time, I think I finally made a recipe that I will try again.  Stoney complained about the lack of spiciness, but I really enjoyed it.  I opted to make the recipe with spaghetti squash instead of noodles, and went with tofu as the protein.  In the future I might also add in some mung bean sprouts to the recipe, because I love them, but I didn't have any of those on hand this time.  The recipe is delightfully simple to make, and the lengthiest part came in cooking the spaghetti squash.  So overall?  I'm super happy with this one!

What you need:

• 14oz. container extra firm tofu, pressed (If you aren't sure how to press it, see our post here) and cut into small squares
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced 
• 1/4 cup dried cilantro
• 1/3 cup peanuts (raw or roasted, either will work)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup tamari (you can sub soy sauce for this, but soy sauce is a bit saltier)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp raw honey (but any honey will probably work)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Chile pepper or black pepper to taste

Step 1: Cook the spaghetti squash

To cook, simply preheat your oven to 350, cut the squash in half, removing the seeds and "guts," and spray or brush olive oil onto the meat.

Place the squash flat-side down on an oiled baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes.  When it's done, take it out of the oven and let it cool before scraping the inside "spaghetti" part out with a fork.  I would recommend scraping it into a colander to let it drain a bit.

Step 2: Make the sauce

Combine vegetable broth, rice vinegar, tamari, lime juice, honey, 1 tsp sesame oil, and chile/black pepper in a small sauce pan.  Set the temperature to low and let it get warm while you cook do step 3.

Step 3: Everything else

Heat your sesame oil in a large skillet or wok, and add your tofu (realistically, you can use any protein you want, or just add in more veggies and forego the protein altogether!).  Cook until your tofu has started to become golden, then add in the green onion, carrot, and pepper.

Cook the veggies and tofu until the veggies have softened a bit (they should still be pretty crisp).  For the final step, stir in the squash, cilantro, peanuts, and sauce.

And that's it!  Enjoy!  I know I did!

The North Remembers: Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew

This was after stew.  But then, so is everything.  When the first man crawled out of the slime and went to make his home on land, what he had for dinner was stew.

-William Goldman, The Princess Bride

This stew was the perfect dinner on a cold night.  It was full of flavor and incredibly satisfying.  Another plus?  It was incredibly easy to make!  We basically just there everything into a pot and let it turn into a thick, flavorful stew.

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 2 tomatoes, blended in food processor or vitamix
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 cups spinach

First, combine the lentils, broth, water, onion, and garlic in a large soup pot and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, add salt, turmeric, black pepper, and ginger.  Stir, reduce heat, cover, and let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the spinach, stir, bring the mixture back to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for another 30 minutes.  

Stir in the spinach in the last 5-7 minutes of cook time.  This will let it wilt without overcooking it.  Serve and enjoy!

Mhysa: Amy's Vegan Pizza

John: If he gets the wormhole tech, what will he use it for?

Harvey: Faster delivery of pizzas

Farscape

My favorite frozen pizza of all time is Amy's No Cheese Roasted Vegetable Pizza.  What I don't love is the fact that pizza dough is so calorie dense.  So, I set out to re-create my favorite frozen pizza, but with a cauliflower crust.  In the end, I think it turned out really well, and I would absolutely make it again, but I will definitely make more dough next time so that I can have the crust fill me entire baking sheet.  The final product was a 100% vegan, 100% delicious, healthy version of pizza.

What you need:

• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1/4 cup corn flour
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp flax meal
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or almond, or rice, whatever floats your boat)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts
• 1/2 jar roasted red pepper
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tomatoes, seeded
• 1 jar tomato paste
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Making the dough:

To begin, place your cauliflower in a food processor or a vitamix and blend until the cauliflower is crumbly and has the consistency of cooked rice.  Once you have reached your desired consistency, place cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes.  After microwaving, drain the water from the cauliflower using a towel or cheesecloth.  Mix the corn flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and nutritional yeast in with the cauliflower.

Next, mix together the milk and flax meal and let it stand for about 10 minutes before mixing it in with the cauliflower mixture.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  On a greased baking sheet, press your dough into shape, making the crust approximately 1/4" thick.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and cooked through.

Prepping the veggies:

Heat the oil and brown sugar in a skillet.  Cook the onion until it is nicely browned, throwing the mushrooms in for the last few minutes.

Drain the red peppers and artichokes, and slice the red peppers.

Making the sauce:

I actually ended up with sauce left over, but it was delicious, so I just put the extra in a jar and stuck it in the freezer.

Put the tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a Vitamix or other blender and blend until smooth.

When the crust has cooked through, pile on your ingredients and return the pizza to the oven for 10-15 minutes.