Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Butternut squash is one of my favorite autumnal foods, and autumnal is one of my favorite pretentious words. So here is some soup I made for lunch today (challenge no. 20). The recipe comes from choosingraw.com. It came out having an applesauce-type consistency (I was going for creamy), so that's why it looks like orange applesauce. This is probably because I had to use a food processor instead of the recommended high-speed blender and also I'm not a very good cook. But I like the taste. It's both refreshing and hearty, if that is possible.

Ingredients (serves 2-4)

4 cups butternut squash, chopped
1 cup fresh apple juice or cider
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup water (a bit less if you like a very thick soup)
2 large stalks celery
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 pitted and soaked dates (or 2 tbsps agave)
1 tsp salt
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of onion powder (or some fresh onion if desired)


Instructions:

Blend in a high-speed blender. Serve chilled or warm. You could also steam the squash beforehand for an easier blending experience.

Liquid Lunch

This protein stuff + one banana + ice + water = challenge no. 20 (barely).

Challenge no. 20 is to make and bring my own lunch two out of five days per week.

Recipe Resources

While I wait for some equipment to sanitize in preparation for tonight's bottling and corking of my blackberry wine (challenge no. 9)...

...I thought I'd share a few websites that I frequent for lunch recipes (challenge no. 20):

1. CHOOSING RAW
Despite the name, not all of the recipes are raw. But they're consistently creative, well-balanced, and tasty. Also my go-to resource for smoothies.

2. VEGETARIAN TIMES
I like this one because it provides all of the nutritional information, and it has a pretty good search feature. Plus the recipes are reliably delicious.

3. SPRINT 2 THE TABLE
This site belongs to a friend from college, so I see her posts via Facebook regularly. She is big on working out, so her recipes support that kind of lifestyle.

Side note (just because I get this question a lot): I'm not vegan. I'm not raw vegan. I'm not anything. I eat what I like and what makes me feel good (good being more energized and "cleaner"). Most of the time it ends up being vegan or raw. So there. Stop freaking out if you see me eat an effing cupcake.

New Obsession: Farro

Have you guys heard about FARRO?! It's only my most exciting grain discovery since quinoa. It is soft yet toothsome with a delightfully nutty flavor. Low in gluten, rich in protein, fiber and vitamins A, B, C and E. If brown rice had a cool, super-friendly Italian cousin, it would be farro. 

Today's lunch (challenge no. 20) is farro-ful. I don't have a specific recipe for you, but there are plenty of great ones online (I recommend this one from the Food Network).

Roughly: I sauteed some onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers over medium heat until soft. I added some spinach and let that cook down. I added the farro (about 3/4 cup, soaked for a few minutes and then drained) and let it "toast" for a minute or two. Then I started adding vegetable stock. Three cups were added in total, but I added it gradually. Let the farro soak it up before you put in more. Near the end I added salt and pepper to taste.

Farro is perfect if you have a ton of random veggies you need to use up. Veggies + farro + vegetable stock = perfection. I feel like this is going to be a staple in the Hamilton-Pickles-Potts household.

Dagmar's last name is Pickles.

Pot Pies

Yesterday I connected with my inner Martha to whip up a batch of individual vegetarian pot pies. A good friend sent me this recipe from Vegetarian Times. They save really well, so I decided to make the leftovers my lunch for challenge no. 20.

I forgot to snap a picture of them straight out of the oven, but they looked very similar to this, except I would never choose that tablecloth and I rarely serve meals with a side of raw asparagus:

Dough

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. cold soy margarine, cut into pieces

Filling

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium leek, white and green parts chopped (1 ½ cups)
• 1 ½ cups chopped celery or fennel
• 2 large carrots, diced (1 cup)
• 8 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 4 oz. red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (1 ½ cups)
• 2 ¼ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 2 Tbs. creamy cashew butter, optional (I left this out)
• 6 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
• ½ cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 
  

Directions

1. To make dough: Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Cut or rub margarine into flour mixture until no large pieces remain. Stir in 3 to 4 Tbs. cold water until smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill while making Filling.

2. To make filling: Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add leek, celery, carrots, and mushrooms; sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Stir in flour 
and garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add potatoes, broth, and poultry seasoning. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cashew butter (if using), and 
cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat, and stir in asparagus, peas, and corn.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 8 4-inch rounds.

4. Divide filling among 8 1-cup ramekins. Place dough rounds on top, pressing dough around sides of ramekins with fork to crimp and seal. Poke hole in top of each pot pie. Place pot pies on baking sheet, and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Friday Faux Gras

A few months back I ranted and raved and squealed about this stuff, Faux Gras, also known as Toasted Walnut Lentil Pate:

My friend Ian, dazzled and moved by my glorious blog, decided to try out his own version. According to him, it was spectacular. So I had to make it for myself:

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups of uncooked brown lentils
About 4 cups of water
1 heaped TSP of Marmite
2 large onions, sliced/chopped
Olive oil
A bag of walnuts*
1 TBS soy sauce
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the lentils for 45 minutes with the water and Marmite. Drain any excess water.

While the lentils are simmering, saute the onions on low heat slowly in olive oil. Check and stir frequently. This slow, gentle caramelizing of the onions gives this spread its outstanding flavor.

Blend everything (I used a food processor) until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*I decided to toast my walnuts in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes before blending with the other ingredients.

Okay, so it looks a little like cat food. But trust me, this stuff is insanely good. I put it in a collard leaf with some julienned carrots and zucchini for a nice lunch earlier this week (challenge no. 20).

Kale and White Bean Salad

For today's lunch (challenge no. 20), I made a hearty and delicious salad with homemade caesar dressing. I found the recipe here.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 small or 1/2 medium head dinosaur (lacinato) kale, sliced into thin ribbons
6 sundried tomatoes, sliced into narrow strips
1/2 cup white beans

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
Juice of two lemons
Black pepper
3 pitted dates
1 tsp dulse flakes
3/4 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS:
Blend all of the dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Massage over the kale (I used three tablespoons of dressing for my portion). Add the beans and sundried tomatoes and toss.

Vegetable Party in My Mouth

Today's lunch (challenge no. 20) recipe comes from one of my favorite raw blogs, Choosing Raw (only about half of the recipes Gena posts are raw, so don't let the name scare you away). Tomorrow I'm attending the Vegetarian Food Festival in NYC and will get to hear her speak, so I thought I'd try out one of her recipes: CURRIED CAULIFLOWER OVER PARSNIP RICE.

I'm using her picture here because it's so darn pretty, but mine looked pretty identical, just stuffed in a mason jar instead of a cute little bowl from Anthropologie:

Makes two servings.

For the curry:
2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
1 1/2 tsps mild curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp avocado oil
Pinch sea salt
Black pepper to taste

For the rice:
4 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp almond butter, sunflower butter, or tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 tsps rice vinegar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional but tasty)
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Whisk together curry, turmeric, lemon juice, avocado oil, sea salt, and pepper to make a marinade.

Pour marinade over cauliflower, and mix well. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour, OR roast at 375 for 30 minutes, OR simply allow to marinate while you finish prepping the rest of your dinner.

Prepare raw rice by placing parsnip in a food processor and processing till it’s quite broken down, but not quite “rice” sized in texture. Add remaining rice ingredients, and then pulse until the mixture does resemble a medium grain rice.

Place the cauliflower mixture over the rice and enjoy.

Sage-Squash

I tried to go for a Sasquatch pun but I don't think it worked out too well. Regardless, I am pretty damn proud of today's lunch (challenge no. 20). I can't wait to inhale it later. 10:30 a.m. is a reasonable lunch time, right? On the menu: MUSHROOM SAGE CREAM SAUCE OVER BUTTERNUT SQUASH NOODLES.

I found the recipe here but didn't follow it exactly. Here is my version:

The night before:

Submerge 1 cup cashews in water and soak in the fridge overnight.
Soak 4 cups of thinly sliced mushrooms in the following marinade overnight as well:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sweetener of choice (I actually used grade B maple syrup, but you can use agave or honey)

The next morning:

Rinse and drain cashews. Combine cashews, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp sage (I used fresh sage), about 1/4 cup water (add until you get the desired consistency), and salt/pepper to taste in a food processor (or high speed blender) and puree until smooth and creamy.

Rinse and drain mushrooms. Mix sauce and mushrooms together.

For the noodles, peel a butternut squash and use either a spiral slicer or just grate it (which is what I did). Toss with the mushroom sage sauce.

Drool.

Mash n' Mush

For lunch today (challenge no. 20) I made Rosemary Mashed Cauliflower and Marinated Mushrooms. I'm calling it Mash n' Mush. The recipe comes from Rawmazing. I've been itching to try mashed cauliflower for a while as a substitute for mashed potatoes, and this version turned out excellent. Next time I might try it with cashews (creating a cashew cream and then adding the cauliflower) instead of pine nuts and see what happens. I also want to try a version that incorporates garlic.

MASH N' MUSH

Mushrooms:
3 large portobello mushrooms, sliced 1/3" thick
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup nama shoyu (I just used soy sauce)
1 tbsp agave (I used Stevia)

Mix marinade ingredients, pour over mushrooms, and marinate for at least 4 hours. I marinated mine overnight in the fridge. If you can, stir them occasionally.

Cauliflower:
1 large head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp rosemary (chopped)
Water

Cut florets from the cauliflower and thinly slice. Place slices in a bowl, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss. Place cauliflower in one layer on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 2 hours at 116 degrees. If you don't have a dehydrator or don't give a crap about eating raw, you can roast them in the oven until soft.

Once done dehydrating, place cauliflower in a food processor along with the pine nuts, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and enough water to give it the right consistency. Puree until smooth. Add the rosemary and blend. Salt and pepper to taste.

The CCA's

I've always wanted to watch an award show that was hosted by Christopher Walken. So from this point on, read in his voice.

Thank you all for coming to the First and Last Annual Cupcake Challenge Awards. This is a very special evening that a lot of talented cupcakes have been waiting for. Cupcakes are delicious. I like the ones with a surprise in the middle. It's like, your eating a cupcake, and then, BAM! An extra delight. As if cupcakes weren't delightful enough. Cupcakes are like little unicorns.

(awkward pause)

Oh, we're starting now? Okay. We're starting now.

BEST FROSTING
Maple Pecan from Butter Lane
Runner up: Green Tea from Spot Dessert Bar

BEST CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Doughboy Bake Shop

THE WAY TOO MUCH FROSTING BUT IT'S OKAY BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD FROSTING AWARD
The Red Velvet cupcake from La Delice Pastry Shop

BEST CAKE
Banana Cake from Butter Lane
Runners up: Pistachio cake from Pinisi, Peach Cobbler from Molly's

BIGGEST FAIL
The Casablanca from Sweet Revenge
Runners up: Earl Grey cupcake from Tu Lu's, S'mores cupcake from Dessert Club Chikalicious 

BIGGEST SURPRISE
The Cake Batter cupcake from Molly's
Runner up: The Black Bottom cupcake from Cocoa V

BEST PRESENTATION
The Chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting from Cocoa V
Runner up: The Earl Grey cupcake from Tu Lu's

MOST UNIQUE
The Chocolate Souffle cupcake from Kyotofu
Runner up: The Peach Cobbler cupcake from Molly's

VEGAN GRAND PRIX
The Chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting from Cocoa V
Runner up: The Black Bottom cupcake from Cocoa V

THE ULTIMATE AWESOME CUPCAKE OVERALL WINNER
Banana cupcake with Maple Pecan frosting from Butter Lane

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Peach Cobbler cupcake from Molly's
The S'more cupcake from Sprinkles
The Cake Batter cupcake from Molly's
The Pistachio cupcake from Pinisi
The Green Tea cupcake from Spot Dessert Bar

Oh, and there's the ADAM AWARD. My friend Adam requested that I name a cupcake award after him, so I'm giving it to the cupcake that most resembles him. Congratulations, Vegan Boston Cream Pie cupcake from Lifethyme Natural Market!

Planning for Kyle's Future

Kyle, my Italian basil plant (challenge no. 24), continues to bask in the sun on the windowsill of my "dining room," also known as "that corner in our apartment where we managed to squeeze a bistro table." While I nurse him into adulthood, I've been planning for his future a la some pretty fantastic looking basil recipes:


Blood Orange Basil Gimlet, courtesy of Design*Sponge.

Of course, a pesto is a good way to go. I found this recipe for raw vegan pesto and plan to toss it with some zucchini noodles or kelp noodles and top it with some Rawmesan cheese. Yes, that is a thing. It's actually incredibly delicious. Or perhaps, if I'm feeling ambitious, I can attempt to make raw vegan lasagna.

Soups are also in Kyle's future. They are incredibly easy to prepare and will make some great lunches for challenge no. 20. I love corn soups, and corn and basil make a wonderful pair. I plan on turning this recipe for cream corn with basil into a soup by putting all the ingredients in a blender and adding a little almond milk.

Feel free to share your favorite recipes involving basil. They don't have to be raw vegan. I do live with a 6'4" carnivore.

Cupcake Extravaganza Part 3

More cupcakes. Pretty sure I'm halfway to diabetes by now. Away we go:

 Day 11 (Jan 17, 2012): The Vegan Lemon Coconut cupcake from Lifethyme Natural Market

Featuring custom-made dessert plates inspired by this Eddie Izzard bit. I really enjoyed the burst of lemony flavor in this cupcake. The cake was a little boring and I could have done without the chewy coconut on top, but after so many chocolate and cream cheese cupcakes, lemon was quite refreshing.

 Day 12 (January 18, 2012): The Vegan Boston Cream Pie cupcake from Lifethyme Natural Market

Meh. I was expecting more. This ended up just being a tiny bit of cream in the middle of some dry, bland cake.

Day 13 (January 19, 2012): The Vegan Pumpkin cupcake from Lifethyme Natural Market

Cream cheese icing was light and flavorful, but the cake part was a little too dense.




Day 14 (January 20, 2012): The Peach Cobbler cupcake from Molly's Cupcakes

Everything you would want a cupcake called Peach Cobbler to be. Icing was whipped-cream-like (in fact, it might have been straight-up whipped cream), and the cake was moist and peachy. LOVE. Also would like to note that Molly's has the cutest interior of all the cupcake joints I've visited. Their bar seats look like swings; there's a wall of board games and an overall sense of whimsy.

Day 15 (January 21, 2012): The Cake Batter cupcake from Molly's Cupcakes

Another winner from Molly's. I had to get past the superfluous blue frosting to get to the amazingness inside. You guessed it: CAKE BATTER. Smother anything with cake batter and I'd probably eat it.

Day 16 (January 22, 2012): The Casablanca cupcake from Sweet Revenge

I had such high expectations for this one. Here's how it was described on the menu: a pistachio cardamom cake with rosewater buttercream. I was pretty excited. Then I took a bite. The cake itself had no pistachio or cardamom flavor whatsoever, although there were bits of actual pistachios mixed in, and it was too muffin-like in texture. The rosewater icing was nice and I could definitely pick up hints of rose, but it was WAY too sweet. Instant-stomach-ache sweet.

Cupcake Extravaganza Part 4 will be coming at the end of this week. If you're wondering if I'm getting sick of eating cupcakes, the answer is YES. Sorry, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. But I am having fun on my little cupcake crawl through New York City. I'm becoming quite the expert.

Do Rice Cakes and Peanut Butter Count as "Making" My Lunch?

Because that was my lunch. Re: Challenge #20.

If you're impressed by my culinary skills and think that you'd like to attempt this incredibly complex recipe, here are the things you'll need:
1. Rice cakes
2. Peanut butter
3. Knife or finger

Instructions:
1. Remove peanut butter from jar with knife or finger.
2. Spread on rice cake.
3. Indulge simultaneously in rice cake and self pity.

You could also just dunk the rice cake directly in the peanut butter, which I have totally never done before.

Speaking of peanut butter, there's this:

And this:

"If you can't control your peanut butter, you can't expect to control your life." -- Bill Watterson

Yeah. Think about THAT.

Great post, Noel.

Cupcake Extravaganza Part 2

Ten cupcakes down, nineteen to go. (For those of you just joining, I was challenged with eating 29 cupcakes in 29 days). Here are the last seven cupcakes that made their way into my belly. Just warning you that this probably counts as cupcake porn.

Day 4 (Jan 10, 2012): The Elvis cupcake from Crumbs

Anyone who has ever been to Crumbs in NYC knows that their cupcakes are ridiculously huge, almost to the point of being offensive. But they do not lack in interesting flavors. I loved the peanut butter, marshmallow, banana combination in this cupcake. It was a little too dense and rich, but I enjoyed it.

Day 5 (Jan 11, 2012): The White Chocolate Blueberry cupcake from Crumbs

Another from Crumbs. Just as dense, just as rich, just as offensively huge. But I love blueberry, and this cupcake didn't disappoint. It was like a blueberry muffin that got all dressed up and put on extra frosting for a big night out.

Day 6 (Jan 12, 2012): The Pistachio cupcake from Pinisi Cafe & Bakery

My top cupcake out of the first six. Clearly. I was down to one bite before I realized that I needed to take a picture. Perfect icing-to-cake ratio, a good size, simple and well done.

Day 7 (Jan 13, 2012): The Carrot cupcake from Pinisi Cafe & Bakery

Another from Pinisi. Can't go wrong with carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. 

Day 8 (Jan 14, 2012): The Red Velvet cupcake from Pinisi Cafe & Bakery

Third cupcake from Pinisi. A nice touch with the red velvet crumbly topping. Otherwise pretty straightforward.

Day 9 (Jan 15, 2012): The Vegan Black Bottom cupcake from Cocoa V (Blossom)

I had no idea what "black bottom" meant, but now I know it means "awesome." It's like they injected a cupcake with cream cheese cookie dough. Pretty incredible. Absolutely decadent.

Day 10 (Jan 16, 2012): The Vegan Chocolate Cupcake from Cocoa V (Blossom)

Hands down my favorite cupcake so far on this sugary journey. I know I said that about the pistachio cupcake above, but this one gets an extra point for being vegan and another point for presentation. I don't know what they make this icing out of, but I would like to cover myself in it. If you're vegan, this cupcake should be in your mouth right now.

May the Cupcake Extravaganza Begin

Challenge #3 (eat 29 cupcakes in 29 days) involves extra time at the gym. But I don't care. Because I have an excuse to eat a bunch of cupcakes. Or is it a gaggle of cupcakes? A murder of cupcakes? That has a nice ring to it.

Here are my first three victims:

Day 1 (Jan 7, 2012): The Brownie cupcake from BabyCakes

 Day 2 (Jan 8, 2012): The Pumpkin Maple cupcake from BabyCakes

 Day 3 (Jan 9, 2012): The Red Velvet cupcake from La Delice Pastry Shop

So, BabyCakes. A well-known (sometimes worshiped) bakery among vegans. I myself have been known to let out a squeal or two at the thought of going down for a visit. It's a dairy-free, gluten-free, animal-parts-free, pirate-free bakery on the Lower East Side. And I hope the vegan police don't knock down my door when I say the following: Their cupcakes are kind of overrated. Okay, a lot overrated. I mean, they're decent, but I've had better. That being said, their cookies and biscuits and other baked goods are amazing. But let's focus on the cupcakes.

The icing on cupcakes #1 and #2 wasn't bad, but it leaves a weird film on the tongue. Like I'm eating putty. The cake part of the brownie cupcake tasted like a brownie. It was yummy. The pumpkin cake was good, but not great. Maybe it was just that they weren't too terribly fresh. Or maybe I just have extra-high expectations for my beloved BabyCakes.

My third cupcake was from a bakery just two blocks from my apartment, La Delice Pastry Shop, a no-frills, traditional establishment. Nothing fancy. But their red velvet cupcake was my favorite of the three so far. At first I scoffed at the amount of icing, but once I tasted it I was grateful for the generous portion. And surprise! There was jelly in the middle of the cake. Odd, but hey, I'll welcome a little unprecedented jelly. Made it more like a red velvet jelly doughnut cupcake. There are vegetables in jelly, right?

Moving forward on my cupcake journey, any recommendations around the NYC area are welcome. I still have 26 cupcakes to eat. Poor me.

Sushi-ish

***Re: challenge #20 - make and bring your lunch 2 of of 5 days per week***

This was supposed to be sushi but ended up being more like nori burritos. Delicious nonetheless.

First I chopped up some crimini mushrooms and cilantro and shredded some carrot and zucchini. In retrospect I should have julienned them so that the rolls had some structure. I'm not saying I have sufficient kitchen smarts. I wasn't even following a recipe.

Then I made a nut pate using raw pumpkin seeds, almonds and a few Brazil nuts. I combined the nuts with some lemon juice, grated ginger, chopped garlic and salt. A food processor should have been used, but I used my little nut grinder and it did just fine.

When putting the rolls together, I laid the nori sheet out, first put down the pate, then the vegetable mix, and topped it with some avocado. It was pretty simple to roll up, but then as I tried to cut it into individual sushi rolls, the filling didn't stand up. Oh well. Nut nori burritos it is!

The Eggplant Sandwich

One of my challenges is to bring my lunch two out of five work days per week, and so far I've been keeping it simple with salads and soups that I've made many times before. But today I tried out a new recipe. The eggplant sandwich.

Yes, it's raw and vegan, so go ahead and get your eye-rolling out of the way. But look! It's pretty!

The flavor is great, but mine was a little hard to eat. I attribute this to not getting the eggplant crispy enough. The recipe comes from an iPhone app called Do Eat Raw.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, sliced into circles
• 1 avocado
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 tomato, sliced
• Grated carrot
• Alfalfa sprouts
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder

Directions:

Place the eggplant slices on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate for 8-9 hours at 105 degrees. You could also just use your oven but I'm not sure of the time and temperature. You just want to get the eggplant crispy and easy to bite into. The less done they are, the chewier they'll be.

Take the avocado, cut into two pieces, scoop out the pulp and spread on the eggplant slices.

Put on some sliced shallot, tomato, carrot, alfalfa sprouts, and sprinkle some garlic powder, salt and pepper. Lay another eggplant slice on top and you've got yourself a sandwich.