Spiced Lentils with Mashed Cauliflower and Delicata Squash

Spiced Lentils with Mashed Cauliflower & Delicata Squash

1 small yellow onion, diced
olive oil
1 small carrot, chopped
1 cup mixed french lentils
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
salt
3/4 - 1.5 cups veggie stock (Depends on how soft you like your lentils. We like them a bit firm so I used 3/4 of a cup.)

1 small delicata squash, cut into rings and seeded

1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
2-3 Tbsp soy creamer or almond milk
1 1/2 Tbsp Earth Balance
salt & pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne

In a pot, cook the onions in some olive oil until translucent. Add carrots and cook until softened. Add in spices, lentils, and veggie stock. Cover and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Once the liquid's absorbed and the lentils are cooked, remove from heat and set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, steam the delicata squash for 5-10 minutes until bright yellow-orange and tender. Remove from pot and set aside.

Steam the cauliflower for 20-30 minutes until very soft. I mean very - like falling apart soft. Remove from heat and drain off the water. Return cauliflower to the pot and mash with a potato masher after adding in Earth Balance, soy creamer, salt, pepper, and cayenne. After mashing it a bit, get it really smooth by transferring it to a food processor. Process until it looks like mashed potatoes.

To plate: Place a base of the mashed cauliflower in the center of a plate. Top with some of the lentil mixture and 2-3 squash rings. Sprinkle with a little salt and if you like, drizzle a little olive oil on top. Serve!

Serves 3-4.

Sweet Potato Dal

This evening I made Happy Herbivore's Sweet Potato Dal which I found on the Forks Over Knives website. It turned out better than the photo looks and tasted oh so good. Awesome part - there's no oil in the recipe, it used up some more of our veggie stock, I used these new beautiful mixed colored lentils I found in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods, and it was nice and spicy! I served it with a simple salad made with red and yellow bell pepper, zucchini, cucumber, and avocado drizzled with lime juice, a teensie bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. 

I just ordered the Forks Over Knives book which has 125 recipes - I'm super excited for it to arrive. Will share some of its wisdom once I get into it. 

Sorry for being MIA again. The holidays took over and I got wrapped up in knitting hats for a new group I started called Head Huggers of Greater Portland, Maine. I hope to have more time to write on here in the coming new year (which marks the 1 year anniversary of J and I converting to veganism!). 

Eat happy!

Let's play catch up...

I apologize for my recent departure from blog-posting. Life has been quite the whirl-wind lately and, unfortunately, my blog has moved to the back burner. In recent news:

-I started a Cupcake Club of the Month with Salt and Pine Bakery and, in my first month, had 5 members! Members receive 4 beautifully packaged cupcakes delivered to their door once a month. Within days of the first delivery, I increased membership to 8. J and I also recently realized that the kitchen in our place may not be all that difficult to certify after a few minor enhancements (mainly dealing with the facet pressure/temperature and finding a suitable door so that the kitties can't come in). I'm excited to move forward and take my business to "legit" status. Have you seen my new logo designed by Derek Kimball of Last House Productions? It's beautiful!

-For a while there, J and I weren't doing much exciting cooking. We go through phases and the busier we are, the less inspired our meals become. I've realized that as my back feels better, I need to really focus on weight loss since I have increased mobility. So I've started going to one-on-one Pilates sessions at Springboard Pilates and I'm planning all of our weekly meal in advance again. Meal planning not only helps with weight loss because it tells you what to eat and when, but it also helps you save money so that you're not buying things without plans. Yay planning! And FYI - Pilates is amazing. I'm loving it so far and recommend taking one-on-one or really small classes using the reformer if you can afford it. It is costly, but in my mind, my body is a worth-while investment. My trainer knows a lot about back injuries and is excellent at paying attention to my facial and body cues and makes sure I won't re-injure myself.

-So since we started cooking planned meals, we've made some awesome things. Here's your recipe recap:

• On Monday we tried Vegan Yum Yum's Pan Fried Tofu, Kale, & Stir-Fried Noodles. The recipe was easy to follow and came out wonderfully. One thing I'll say about Vegan Yum Yum is that her recipes tend to be a bit intricate and can take some time, so if you're in a hurry, I don't recommend trying out her stuff. This dish used a wonderful marinade on the tofu and a dipping sauce based on the marinade.  

• Tuesday's dish was Post Punk Kitchen's Black Beans & Quinoa with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce. Again, a dish that took some time, so don't make this if you're in a real hurry. I also recommend using a food processor for the dressing, not a blender. At the time, we didn't have a food processor (just got one on Friday!) so sauces in the blender were a pain because everything just gets stuck on the blades and doesn't move. The dish was awesome though - we made it with a small hot chile instead of chipotles in adobe because we just don't really like that flavoring all that much. I also used cashews in the sauce because we didn't have any almonds.  

• Wednesday morning I set up the crock pot to make Fat Free Vegan's Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup.  One of my favorite things about cold weather seasons is using my crock pot. There's nothing like coming home from a really busy day to a home smelling like someone's been cooking and a meal ready to eat. The garam masala in this dish is a wonderful touch and makes the soup smell so delicious.  

• Thursday was Vegan Yum Yum's Pistachio Arugula Pesto with Penne & Sauteed Broccolini.  YUM! Just look at the photo on her website and you'll salivate. J made this dish and I think one of my favorite parts was the miso in the pesto. Such an interesting twist and it gave it a little bit of sweetness. We didn't have any arugula so we used spinach instead....soooo good. I'm curious to try it again with arugula, but it was really awesome with spinach. 

-On Friday, J and I went to Portmouth, NH and had dinner at The Friendly Toast. They've got a lot of vegetarian options, but not so many vegan ones. You can have things modified though...they're totally open to that. And nothing beats the decor in there :)

-Saturday we had a delicious brunch at Local Sprouts. J had a VLT - a vegan version of a BLT with tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and their homemade vegan mayo. I had the sweet and sour tofu sandwich and we shared a little bowl of their vegan mac n cheese. Yummers!

-Today I received the sad news that my family cat Pumpkin passed away over the weekend. My mom got Pumpkin back in 2006 from Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeberg where she volunteered. He was such a fluffy little cat and we were told that he was an adult...but as it turned out, he kept growing and growing and growing into a 15 pound cat the size of a small dog! He was the most cuddly cat I'd ever had and enjoyed spending an upwards of 10 minutes kneading your chest every night. He loved to jump really high in the air to catch toys and would run after me as I walked across our dining room, pawing at my feet.

After my mom passed away in 2007, my step-father kept Pumpkin until he had to give him up in 2010 because the apartment he was moving into wouldn't allow pets. I tried to take Pumpkin in but my apartment was very dark (I was living in an awful basement apartment) and my kitty Ellie was being extremely dominant and Pumpkin just was not happy. So my friends in Boston offered to take Punky and he's been living with them for the last year or so. They've given his such a wonderful, loving home and I'm so happy he lived out his time with them. I feel just awful that we've all lost him so soon; he was only maybe 6 or 7 years old. In any case, he will be sorely missed by many and I am deeply saddened to receive this news. It's times like these when you realize just how meaningful our relationships with our companion animals become. After my friend called me in tears, I grabbed both of our cats and gave them more hugs than they could stand.

We will miss you, Pumpkin.

Vegan Lunchbox!

Post Punk's Ancho Lentil Tacos (modifications: sub spicy salsa for tomato paste & hot sauce and sub cayenne pepper for ancho chili -- we were missing some ingredients and these subs worked well!); cantaloupe, and From Scratch & Sniff's vegan pineapple bar

Nom! Nom! Nom!

Potatoes & Plantains

So now we've tried two of Vegan Stoner's recipes and we can officially say these two writers know their stuff! On Sunday we went on a nice picnic on the coast with some friends (we brought Post Punk Kitchen's Quinoa Puttanesca - definitely worth a try if you like olives and capers) and later that night we wanted something snacky. So we chopped up the two plantains we'd bought earlier in the weekend and popped them in the oven to make Vegan Stoner's Plantain Chips with Guacamole. Whoa! Mind blowing. Such a simple, cheap snack that was easy and quick to make It would be great for company or when you just need to nom something. Om nom nom plantain chips!

I had an amazing day at work today. I mean, we're talking an everything-going-right kind of day, but it was still exhausting. I didn't really feel like taking an hour to cook so I grabbed two russet potatoes from the cabinet and brought up Vegan Stoner's Baked Lentil Potato on my iPhone. As usual, I made several modifications - I added cumin, veggie ground, salt, pepper and half a can of diced tomatoes since we didn't have salsa. Outcome - awesomeness. We served it with a crisp kale salad which offset the heaviness of the potato. We both really enjoyed it, though I may experiment with using other types of potato in the future.

Satisfaction!

I just spent the morning playing with our Wii Fit -- yes, it does make exercising fun for those of us who hate, hate, hate it. I'll admit I haven't been using it every day as I had planned, but I am using it at least 2-3 times a week, which justifies the purchase :) I am happy to report that when I stepped on the board today, I discovered that I've lost 8.5 pounds since starting to use it on the 3rd, the day we switched to vegan eating. I haven't been doing a lot of exercise because I have a herniated disk that has decided to be unruly again, but I have shoveled a few times and again I've been using the Wii Fit on and off....I think though, I need to credit the loss with being vegan! My goal is to lose 20 pounds within 6 months- which I've done before in much less time- but the goal is to not think of it like a diet, but as a way of life.

It feels so gratifying to know what's going into my food; to know that the ingredients I'm cooking with are fresh and the majority of them unprocessed. I'm feeling healthier, more alert, more active- and it feels good! I'm still at the point where I'm craving cheese and desserts, but I think if I just continue to avoid cheese for a few months it will become a thing of the past and as for desserts, I'm learning not to deprive myself, but to concoct healthier alternatives like fruit salad or a mug of hot chocolate.

Last night I was starting having only eaten a muffin I grabbed on the go (which was not vegan, but I was in a rush and unfortunately most places don't have vegan options) and an apple all day. My boyfriend suggested we us our second "out to dinner" pass (we get 2 a month- a decision made to save money and to make eating out a special thing rather than a habit). He passed out on the couch and I wandered into the kitchen to search through the cabinets for inspirations.

We had a butternut squash left over from the Portland Winter Farmer's Market and a recipe in Vegan on the Cheap for Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash. I bit my lip and wondered if I should risk making it. My boyfriend is NOT a fan of lentils, though I prepared a lentil soup for him last winter that he loved and said was the first time he'd had them and liked them. Looking around our empty fridge and cupboard, it looked like this was my only option.

I'm glad I took the risk! He loved it and so did I. It's a great recipe though it does take quite a while to prepare which isn't optimal when you're as hungry as I was! Nevertheless, here's the recipe with a few modifications (the writer of this book LOVES garlic, and I'm Italian too but I don't need to ward of vampires for a month!). Enjoy!

Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash adapted from Vegan on the Cheap


1/2 cup green lentils
1 med. butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded (this takes forever and I'd suggest just buying on that's already dismantled at the food store)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced (she uses 4...I used 1, try what you'd like!)
2 tsp crumbled dried sage (I'm going to try using fresh next time as I think the flavor will be...well fresher!)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup veggie stock (make it yourself!)
12 oz linguine

Bring a pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add lentils, return to boil and then reduce to low. Cover & cook until tender, about 45 mins. Drain & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 & lightly oil a 9x13in baking pan. Cut the squash into 1/2-in dice and spread in the pan in a single layer. Drizzle with some more oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast until tender, turning once halfway through, about 30 mins. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat some oil. Add onion, cover and cook about 5 mins. Add garlic and cook about 30 secs. Stir in the sage, tomatoes, and cooked lentils. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 5 minutes. Stir in the squash and keep warm over low heat, adding more stock if needed for a saucelike texture.

In a large pot, boil salted water and cook the linguine over med-high, stirring, until al dente about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the lentil-squash mixture and toss gently to combine. Serve hot.