Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins

Yesterday was Thanksgiving & I loaded my plate with lots of veggies! I had oven roasted sweet potato & beets, steamed cauliflower & broccoli, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (from My Beef With Meat), & of course cranberry sauce. "Where was your protein?", all the meat eaters are asking. My answer - I made raw pumpkin-maple pie with baked oat crust from THE oh she glows COOKBOOK. It's packed with nut protein & pretty darned yummy too!

Then there was leftover pumpkin puree. What's a hen to do? A little research & merge a traditional pumpkin bread recipe with a vegan pumpkin muffin recipe & here it is!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar (your choice)

1/4 cup molasses

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 flax eggs (2 Tbs ground flax mixed with 6 Tbs water)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

I tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Prepare a 12 muffin pan & set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, make the flax eggs &  let rest a few minutes. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients. Add the spices, raisins & nuts. Stir well. Add flours, baking power & baking soda. Stir gently just until all ingredients are combined. Fill muffin pan & bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Beets & Sweets & Cauliflower (oh my!)

A sweet & simple side dish


2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
3 medium beets, peeled & cubed
1/4 of a head of cauliflower, broken into flowerets
1 Tbs olive oil
seasonings of your choice (Be creative!)
(I used onion powder, garlic powder & herbes de Provence.)

Pre heat oven to 450 / 425 convection
Place prepared veggies in roasting pan
Drizzle with oil & sprinkle with seasonings
Toss with a spatula
Bake for 10 minutes
Stir & turn veggies & return to oven
Continue to bake for 10 minute intervals, stirring & turning as you go
Bake until tender or until they make you happy
(I cooked mine in a convection oven at 425 for a total of 30 minutes.)

Serves 2

Light & Easy, Not So Cheesy Spinach Lasagna

This recipe is taken from quick-fix vegetarian by robin robertson. She calls it beat-the-clock spinach lasagna. I've never made lasagna before. It just seemed like too much trouble but this recipe is really simple, light & tasty. You don't even have to cook the noodles or chop anything!

Ingredients
8 lasagna noodles (the regular kind)
1 - 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 pound of firm tofu, drained & crumbled (I pressed it for a short time, while I gathered the other ingredients)
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 - 24 oz jar of marinara sauce
1/2 cup of grated soy mozzarella or grated soy Parmesan

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the noodles in a shallow dish & pour in just enough hot water to cover the noodles. Set aside. Squeeze the water out of the spinach & place in a large bowl. Add the tofu, lemon juice, basil, oregano, salt & pepper. Mix well. Drain the noodles. Do not blot dry.
Spoon a layer of marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. Top with half of the noodles. Spread half of the tofu mixture evenly over the noodles. Repeat with a layer of the remaining noodles. Top with a thin layer of sauce and then the remaining tofu mixture, ending with the remaining sauce. Top with the cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil & bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil & bake for 10 minutes or more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4-6.

Parsley Pesto

I bought a bunch of fresh parsley yesterday to use 1/2 cup in a recipe I was making. Now what to do with the rest? I usually make parsley tea but today I decided to make pesto. I was inspired by a recipe from a Nova Scotia based catering company called Conscious Catering. Here's my version.

4 cups fresh parsley leaves (packed)
2 large cloves of garlic
1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1.5 teaspoons salt
It makes about 1&1/2 cups of pesto. I froze half & the other half will get used this week for dinner. Give my recipe a try & let me know what you think.

Persian Cucumber & Tomato Salad

I really meant to post this salad earlier in the summer. Tomatoes & parsley are still plentiful in my garden, here in Nova Scotia, & I've harvested my garlic so here goes! It's a really tasty salad, reminiscent of tabbouleh. You could add chickpeas to make it a meal & even stuff it in pita bread  to make a sandwich.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded & chopped
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 large red onion, halved & thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh, flat leaved parsley, finely chopped
 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1&1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Method
In a large bowl, place all the ingredients, tossing well to combine. Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavours to blend. Toss again & serve.