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Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado

December 11, 2012 by Erin

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Ahh, christmas. It’s right around the corner. How many of you are excited? How many of you are ready??

That is not me at all. Let me tell you a little bit about my relationship with christmas- we normally dont get along. I like christmas the week of Christmas but i spend the weeks leading up to it resembling Grouchy Cat:

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from Tardthegrumpycat.tumblr.com

I think we’re twins. LOL

BUT this year was different. I had a mission! I was going to make all my Christmas gifts by hand which means 1. No/minimal mall craziness. Thank gosh! 2. getting to try all the fun projects I’ve pinned on pinterest. Super exciting! and 3. All this Christmas project-ing would help me get into the holiday spirit!

Yeah well, I’m here typing this blog on my smart phone, at 1 am, in the dark, under my comforter because I forgot there would be a 4th component to handmade gifts- finding time to make it all! I’m just a wee bit behind on my to do list…and by a wee bit, I mean I don’t have one single project completed. And I just can’t sleep thinking of all the things I need to do! And all the work things i need to do! And my social life that needs fixing. Eek!

On the plus side, I managed to find some time to make some food- finally. A girl can’t make Christmas cards til 1am on an empty stomach! Or in this case, watch the Monday Night game without something hearty!

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Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado
minorly tweaked from Cookie and Kate
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers, chopped (or equivalent jarred roasted red peppers)
  • 1 small butternut squash (less than 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and chopped into small cubes
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • ground sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2+ tablespoon chopped chipotle in adobo* (I used 1 of the chipotle peppers in the can which was about 3/4 TBS)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 14-ounces canned fire roasted diced tomatoes, including the liquid
  • 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 TBSP tomato paste
  • 2 cups finely chopped kale (optional)
  • 2 Avocados from Mexico, diced
  • cilantro (optional, for garnish)
  • Field Roast Chipotle vegan sausage (optional)
  • 3 tortillas, flour or corn (I used flour because it’s what I had)
 
Instructions
  1. In a 4 to 6 quart Dutch oven or stockpot, sautée the chopped vegetables (onion, bell pepper, butternut squash, garlic) in one to two tablespoons of coconut oil on medium-high heat. Stir the ingredients every few minutes so they can cook evenly.
  2. Once the onions start turning translucent, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add all of the spices (salt, chili powder, cumin, chipotle, bay leaf and cinnamon) and stir, cooking one or 2 more minutes until fragrant. Add all the canned ingredients (tomatoes, black beans, broth, tomato paste). Cover for about one hour, stirring occasionally. After 40 minutes, stir in the chopped kale if you are using it. After 1 hour, taste test for spice level and add more chipotle if desired.
  3. By the time your chili is done, the butternut squash should be nice and tender and the liquid should have reduced a bit, producing the hearty chili consistency
  4. To make the crispy tortilla strips: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin little strips, about 2 inches long and place on a non-greased cookie sheet.  Brush the strips with some oil ( I ran out of olive oil so half had coconut oil and you couldn’t tell the difference). Sprinkle with salt, spritz with a lime (optional) and toss. Spread into a single sheet with minimal over lapping. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the strips are crispy and turning golden, flipping the strips over once at the half way mark.
  5. Serve the chili in individual bowls, topped with crispy tortilla strips and plenty of diced avocado. I sauteed up some Field Roast Chipotle vegan sausage and served on top of the chili as well and it was delicious. You don’t want to cook the vegan sausage in with the chili cause it will get super soggy and lose it’s flavorings.

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This comes together insanely fast. There a minimal veggies to cut (I may have bought my butternut squash pre-cut cause I have no sharp knives and because I had 800 crafts to do) and then you practically dump it all in a pot and walk away. It’s perfect for the holiday season when multi-tasking becomes 100% necessary but you want something warm and filling to hold you over.
 
My goal tonight: Start gift wrapping what I can and finish my Christmas cards! How is your christmas preparations coming along?

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Quinoa Lentil Vegetable Soup

December 6, 2012 by Erin

These past two weeks have been miserable in terms of food. I have eaten at my work’s caf so many times and had take out so many times that I was feeling pretty crappy this week. My breaking point came Tuesday night when I had two pieces of Peace ‘o Pie pizza (best vegan pizza place in Boston) with a side of vegan garlic cheese bread and a beer. Um…carb overload! It was so good but in a ‘oh-my-god-i-now-want-to-die’ way. You know what I mean?

So, the next day I went out and did some serious grocery shopping, something I haven’t done in two weeks. This is like, a big deal. I have a problem staying away from Whole Foods for more then two days, I don’t know how I managed two weeks. I think I was still in a food coma for Thanksgiving.

Last night I did some cooking, some baking, I had taken some pictures for the blog and I was feeling so good! Nothing like getting back in a routine to back you start feeling better. (I’m also doing 800 crafts. I can’t wait until I get one done to show you. But you know, I’m the Queen of ‘starting and not finishing/taking on too many ‘ crafts soooo that may never happen.)

Then I went to load the pictures…and could NOT find my memory stick plug-in anywhere. I had artsy kale pictures for you! I had steaming bowls of soup in cute bowls with handles! I had pictures of soup surrounded my fresh, colorful veggies. And you get to see none of them.

So sad.

But I really wanted to share this recipe with you because it’s delicious AND it’s for a good cause . It’s from an on-line cookbook that Charity:Water put together with recipes from some great bloggers, including one of my favorites, Ashley of Edible Perspectives, who created this recipe. All photographs in this post are 100% hers. I wanted to give you some incentive to go download the book and donate some money.

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Picture was taken and belongs to Ashley at edibleperspective.com

Quinoa Lentil Vegetable Soup
created by Ashley from 1 Cup Water: Charity ecookbook. Click that link to download the books and get some amazing recipes! 

The book is free to download but donations are appreciated. I have donated to Charity:Water in the past when Adam, the lead singer of Taking Back Sunday, had a page for his birthday. What’s neat is you get updates on where your money went and pictures from the project. It was really interested and I plan to donate again for this book. After all, ‘Tis the season for giving and this is definitely a great organization to support. Plus, you get great recipes. It’s a win/win.

Tomorrow, I will be back with what will (hopefully) become a weekly tradition- Christmas Cookie Friday! I have pictures of cookies with steaming cups of hot chocolate and, if I can find my memory-card plugin, I will be sharing it with you right in time for the weekend!

See you tomorrow!

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Good-Bye Thanksgiving!

November 27, 2012 by Erin

…hello Christmas Holiday!!

I  just ate the last bit of my Tofurkey and I’M SO EXCITED! The thing about being the only vegan at Thanksgiving and having your own food is that you get ALL the leftovers. Like…all of them.

Like…a whole Tofurkey…

…and whole gallon size ziplock baggy of vegan sausage stuffing…

…and whole green bean casserole…

…and a whole pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie…

…I’m really sick of Thanksgiving food…

I’ve literally been eating leftovers about two meals a day in an attempt to try and get rid of everything.

But, with the end of my Tofurkey (and the leftover sweet potato casserole and the pie…did I mention I’m sick of Thanksgiving food??), there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Thank gosh!!

So with my cleanse completed and Thanksgiving out of the way, I’m looking forward to making and sharing lots of wintery/christmas recipes. Think cookies, cause I know I am! And chocolate and mint everything!! YEAH!

I’m hoping to be back to our regular scheduled 2-4 recipes a week by next week, with possibly one or two recipes at the end of the week. It’s just me so I don’t want food to go bad but I’m almost through those leftovers!

Have a great week and I will see you (hopefully) by the end of the week!

Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

November 20, 2012 by Erin

This weekend was CRAZY! I had three whole days off and I feel like I was kept busy for every second of it.

Highlights: Staying in bed late on Saturday morning, cooking marathon Saturday evening, waking up to find a guy sleeping on my couch on Sunday and then having him take and post pictures of me on instagram as I took photographs for WV (Hey Rob! Hope you didn’t think  I was too weird standing on chairs…), Hanging with Whitney, Seeing Taking Back Sunday in Maine and having them sing the Ballad of Sal Villanueva (I screamed so loud when I realized they were playing this…), eating at Silly’s in Maine, AND I started some christmas presents.

Whew! How was your weekend??

cashew cream!

Now, to focus on Thanksgiving which is two days away! Oi with the poodles…

So, to stay vegan during Thanksgiving, I have found the best thing to do is be prepared! Be prepared, be prepared, be prepared. I can’t say it enough. Last year (and this year too), my mom was super helpful in working out things I can and can’t eat but it’s because we knew what everyone was bringing so we could work around it. Last year, I had a tofurkey and a bunch of veggies. I also made an appetizer (this salsa…so good!) and a dessert (these cookies) and got my mom to make this casserole, which we are making again this year because everyone loved it (sub Earth Balance for butter and leave out marshmallows to make vegan). By planning ahead and strategically contributing to the spread, I was able to make sure that I had at least one thing to eat per course and that was super helpful in allowing me to avoid things.

So, when prepping this year I wanted to tackle some classic staples that may be favorites for you. First up, green bean casserole. I LOVE green bean casserole! Though it’s a classic, I only started really loving it recently so I was pretty bummed when I couldn’t have it last year. Thus, it was the first thing on my list of things to make this year.

Green Bean Casserole
casserole from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
toppings from How Sweet Eats

Beans

  • 1 1/2 pounds of fresh green beans, ends removed and cut in half
  • 1 TBSP salt

Sauce

  • 10 oz of mushrooms (I bought the pre-washed, pre-sliced variety. Save time on Thanksgiving day!)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt, to taste
  • fresh pepper, to taste
  • 2 TBSP flour
  • 3/4 cup vegetable brother
  • 1 TBSP dry sherry
  • 3/4 cup cashew cream* or soy creamer (important note)

(Note: to makes cashew cream- soak 1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews in water for a minimum of 4 hours or over night. Then, drain the cashews and place them in a blender with 1 c. of dairy milk of choice. Blend until smooth. Soy creamer can be used in place but I’m much prefer cashew cream. I think it provides a much more neutral base and it’s something that can be made if soy creamer is not stocked at your local grocery store)

Toppings

  • 1 large sweet onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat panko crumbs
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp oregano

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Beans: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the beans and the salt. Cover and cook 6 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Let drain and see aside.

Topping: While the beans are cooking, heat a large skillet over low head and add the olive oil, onions and salt. Stir well to coat, then cover and cook onions until caramelized, about 20 minutes. While the onions are cooking, mix together the panko crumbs, thyme and oregano and set aside. Alternatively, I imagine if you have 1/2 tsp of onion soup mix, that would also taste great mixed in with the panko crumbs.

Sauce: Spray a skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt pepper and (optional) cayenne pepper. Cook until mushroom are soft and exude their juices. Whisk together the veggie broth and the flour until mixture is smooth and then add to the mushroom mixture along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring and everything is well mixed. Add the cashew cream and cook for about 5-10 minutes until the mixture thickens (the cashew cream is pretty thing anyway so this only took be 5 minutes). Add the beans.

Place the green bean/mushroom mix into a casserole dish. Top with caramelized onions and panko crumbs. Place in a pre-heated 425 degreee oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the casserole is warmed through and the  panko crumbs are golden.

To make this the night before, follow the steps through placing the green bean/mushroom mix into a casserole dish. Cover and chill until prepared to serve. Right before placing this in the oven, top with caramelized onions (I cooked these the night before and kept in a separate bowl until ready to put on casseroel) and panko mix. Cook for 15-20 minutes at 425. If you find that the mixture has turned too solid in the fridge over night, pour a little bit of soy milk on the green bean mixture, stir it around, then top with onions and panko.

I really love this dish! I was actually eating it cold and uncooked out of the casserole dish the night I was prepping it. Unfortunately, unlike the Sweet Potato casserole above, I don’t think this dish will pass as non-vegan to the other people at your Thanksgiving dinner. I think traditional green bean casserole has too distint a taste and when you start veganizing it, people will know. It’s so yummy, though! My suggestion would be if you are making this for just you, half the recipe, make it the night before,  bring it to your Thanksgiving dinner and just pop it in the oven with all the other veggy dishes when they  are heated up. You’ll get your green bean casserole AND all the left overs when you tell your family it’s vegan. At least, that’s what will happen at my house!

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Sick

November 14, 2012 by Erin

Hey Wicked Vegan users,

I apologize for the lack of posts this week but I have been feeling a bit under the weather. I went to lay down after work last night and take a short nap and I woke up 4 hours later at 10! As I still had a headache and still wasn’t feeling great, I read for a whopping 30 minutes and fell right back to sleep. Nothing like 13 hours of sleep to make you feel more refreshed!

Combine that with my Two-week cleanse, and there hasn’t been a lot coming out of my kitchen lately. I’m dying to make you some Thanksgiving treats but have had to put it off because of the cleanse. Thanksgiving should be filled with yummy comfort food like green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, both of which I am hoping to provide recipes for next week.

So come back on Monday when I’m, hopefully, feeling like myself again. I’ll have some yummy recipes for you that will get you excited for Thanksgiving and make it easier for you to avoid the non-vegan items.

xo- Erin

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No Spend November and Two Week Cleanse update and Vanilla Almond Butter

November 9, 2012 by Erin

*Note: my photoeditor is completely useless now so, again, pardon the photos. I’m never home when its sunny  out anymore and I have nothing to help me out with my poorly lit apartment =/ *

Alright, so let’s do this review things, shall we?

No Spend November:

I’m actually not having as much difficulty with this as a imagined I would. I think I helped myself out by budgeting everything super well, taking cash out and dividing it into envelopes. And avoiding Target like the plague. I will admit though, that I’ve had a few temptations. My friend, Lisa, introduced me to this god-awful-but-I-can’t-stop-watching-it Youtube channel by a girl named Bethany, aka, MacBarbie07. She reviews beauty products and clothes and it makes you sort of want to try everything. What’s this? Taylor Swift has a new perfume? Dry shampoo works great after the gym? That matte powder with the giant brush looks so fun…I want to try that lip balm…AHH!

My current solution is to look up what she reviews on Amazon and put it on my wish list. That way, I can come back to it at the beginning of December and ask myself, Do I really need three new lip balms? The answer should be a very firm no. Though…that big fluffy brush did look super fun…

My other tempation has been spur of the moment food treats, like coffee. I went to vote around 11/11:30 on Tuesday and it was super Fall-y out- the sun was shining, the wind was blowing, it was cold out, I was rocking my favorite Fall coat, I had just done my patriotic duty and voted for President and I thought, I should totally treat myself to Starbucks now. It was hard to resist. But, I knew that I wanted to go to the movies this weekend and I didn’t have a lot of fun money left so I was able to pass.

I think the biggest help in all this was that small amount I put aside for fun. So far, I have been able to go out to eat  a few times and I have a movie outing planned. I am still able do stuff and plan stuff and I’m not stuck inside my super cold apartment and that’s a huge help.

Two Week Cleanse:

This is A LOT harder. Yesterday was day 3 which was the all liquids day. I had smoothies throughout the day and pureed cauliflower apple soup for dinner. I was craving bread so hardcore, though! I shot Leanne over at Healthful Pursuit a comment and she said I may be missing complex carbs and to have a baked sweet potato today. You can bet your ass I went to the grocery store immediately after work and bought a few. I also bought some butternut squash, roasted it when I got home and pureed it into my soup. It was a huge help! It gave new life to a soup I have been living off of, it smelled so good when it was in the oven and it made me feel like I was really eating food. This weekend I have my mom’s birthday at home so we’ll see how I do when tempted with cake.

Another thing that helped me through yesterday when all I wanted was warm, yummy carbs was making this Almond Butter. A success in the kitchen always makes me feel really good! I’ve tried making nut butters before and they just never come out right. Turns out I was missing a key ingredient- patience!

Around 10 minutes

Vanilla Flax Almond Butter
from Healthful Pursuits

  • 2.5 cups of raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  1. Preheat oven to 170F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon baking mat.
  2. Spread the almonds out onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, stirring once half way through.
  3. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  4. Place roasted almonds, ground flax and vanilla extract into the bowl of your food processor and process until drippy, scraping the bowl as needed.  This could take anywhere between 10- 30 minutes depending on  your food processor.

Around 15 minutes. It stayed at this stage for a while and I was getting really frustrated

So, my almond butter isn’t quite “drippy” but I got it spreadable! I did this while my butternut squash roasted so I was STARVING and I just wanted dinner so after 30ish minutes, I called it quits. I was super excited with the results though!

We have a break through around 25 minutes! Yeah! It’s starting to come together!

I halved Leanne’s recipe but kept the vanilla the same. I can’t eat sweets during this cleanse so the vanilla made it taste more dessert-y. I think with the 2.5 cups of almond, it made about 1 cup to 1.5 cups of almond butter, which is plenty for me!

aaand we have almond butter! So excited

I can’t wait to have this with an apple for lunch! It’s the closet thing to dessert I’m going to get for another week and a half! oi.

 

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Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

November 6, 2012 by Erin

Before I begin, I want to apologize for the SUPER crappy quality of these images. 1. they were taken on my cell phone. I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe but it received such rave reviews from my Mom and Grandma that I changed my mind. The only camera I had on me was my phone though and 2. My free on-line photo editor, Picmonkey, isn’t working. It keeps crashing Safari every time I try and load a photo onto it. If you have a good program you use or may know why my computer is doing this, help and guidance would be welcome!

And now on with the post!

So, as I mentioned yesterday, for November I am cleaning up my finances and my life! I’m participating in No Spend November with my friend, Rachel. I’ll update you on how that is going tomorrow.

On top of that, I will also be cleaning up my eating. I have, unfortunately, been treating halloween candy like it’s a major food group and pretty much eating it with everything. Now, we all know that halloween sized candies have no calories on halloween BUT what about days when you are stuck in the house cause of a hurricane and you lose track of what you’ve eaten. Or, a week after halloween cause it’s still hanging around.

yeah…that’s not a good thing.

I’ve been feeling pretty crappy with all the sugar I’ve been consuming so I decided to crack down on some better eating. Then, Leanne over at Healthful Pursuit posted a cleanse that she would be doing for two weeks and I really liked the idea! It’s all fruits, veggies and nuts/seeds for the first week and that’s what I needed. No sugar!  You can check out the guidelines here if you want to join us!

The best part though, salads, pureed soups and smoothies are all in, which means I get to keep trying and posting new recipes!

As I mentioned above, I actually made this recipe on Saturday for my Mom and Grandma and they completely loved it! We all went back for second and thirds. It’s all vegetables so if you omit the sugar in the sauce, I believe it will meet Healthful Pursuits cleanse guidelines.

It was, literally, bigger then my head. And that’s pretty impressive since I inherited my Dad’s huge head. Thanks Dad…

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
from Peas and Thank you
makes about  entree size servings

For the stir-fry:

  • 1 large spaghetti squash (should yield about 8 c. of “noodles”)
  • 2 c. mushrooms
  • 1 c. carrots, peeled and cut into coins
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar snap peas

For the sauce:

  • 3 T. hoisin sauce
  • 1/3 c. reduced-sodium soy sauce, tamari or aminos
  • 1/3 c. organic ketchup
  • 1/3 c. fresh lime juice
  • 1/3 c. warm water
  • 3 T. organic sugar

Garinshes: lime wedges, cilantro and peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the squash ends off your spaghetti squash and then cut in have length-wise. Scoop out the seeds. Spray with some cooking oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a cookie tray, cut side down, and bake for 30-50 minute depending on the size. You want it fork tender, soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. (Mine was ginormous so required 50 minutes but my usual medium sized squashes take about 30 minutes). Once your squash is cooked through, remove and let cool. Using a fork, scrape out the squash into strands and fluff.  Set aside.

Spray a large skillet or wok with cooking spray or a light mist of oil and place over medium-high heat.  Sauté mushroom, carrots and snap peas until tender crisp, about 4-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by whisking together hoisin, soy sauce, tamari or aminos, ketchup, lime juice water and sweetener.

Add the spaghetti squash “noodles” to the pan with the vegetables and heat thoroughly.  Serve the veggie and squash mix and pour sauce over individual servings, to taste, and toss. ( I had left over sauce)  Serve immediately, passing lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and peanuts at the table for garnish, if desired.

This recipe was super yummy, though I was a little sad it wasn’t more peanutty. I’ve recently heard of powdered peanut butter that has significantly less calories then regular peanut butter and taste best when mixed with things. I’m sort of dying to try it in this recipe! We ate this with Szechuan Green Beans, by the way, which is definitely one of my favorite recipes

Ok everyone, today is day 1 of my two week cleanse! I’m not sure if I’ll make it that long but I’m excited to try. I’ll update you on it tomorrow as well as how my No Spend November is going. Stay tuned!

PS. Grandma, Mom and I also played scrabble and I may have won. Not braggin’ or nothin’ but Quotha for 40+ points for the win! But, you know, I’m not braggin’…

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No Spend November

November 5, 2012 by Erin

Monday things coming when my photo editor is working and not crashing my computer.

Until then, I want to tell you about something my friend, Rachel, from RachelRobinsnest.com alerted me to. She posted last week about how she would be doing something called No Spend November, where she cuts her spending drastically, focusing only on things she must pay for, such as bills, student loans, etc.

My initial reaction was, “holy crap! She’s nuts!”, especially when she said no coffee runs. But the more I thought about it, the more I really liked the idea. I’m very addicted to “stuff” and I enjoy retail therapy a little too much, which I think was evident when I purchased a billion halloween themed things. My room is a cluttered mess of “things” and maybe cutting back on spending for a month wouldn’t be the worst idea.

In addition, after my debit card number was stolen and my checking account cleared out, I’ve been striving to use more cash and really budget things. I have cute little envelopes for different things- groceries, spending money, gas, Target, etc. By spending less, I would be tightening my budget and allowing more to go into savings. I really liked this idea.

I had some follow up questions for her, which you can read here. My biggest concern was that she had cut all her money for “fun” things. Going to get a drink with friends, going out to eat, going to the movies, etc. I felt that if I completely eliminated that, I would find the whole month unfun and would be more likely to slip in my spending.

So here are the guidelines for the No Spend November if you want to join us (I’ve added my comments in purple):

1.  No buying crap for myself.  This extends to pretty much every aspect of my life–no going out to eat, no Starbucks or Dunkin’ runs, no clothes, no shoes, no jewelry, no personal care products.  Nothing! (I have cut my spending money down to $20 a pay period. This is a DRASTIC cut. It’s also all in cash which will help me focus it better. This money is intended for social events- out for a drink, dinner, movies, etc. NOT for Target, clothes, jewelry etc.)

2.  I will still take care of necessary expenses–rent, groceries, bills, credit card payments and student loans all need to be paid.

3.  Focus on getting Christmas shopping done.  This is perfect timing, because I do all my budgeting based on 2 pay periods per month, and November magically has a 3rd pay period! (Honestly, this point was the saving grace for No Spend November. I really liked the idea of refocusing that saved money on Christmas shopping. I’m hoping to put the money I’ve saved from my first two paychecks toward christmas shopping and then use the third for saving and buying new tires for my car, which is a serious expense. Also, it means I can still indulge in some retail therapy but it’s all for other people. yeah!)

4. (This is an additional step from Rachel’s No Spend November) Since I am trying to focus on being less material driven in November (as well as saving), I would also like to go through my super cluttered room and get rid of a lot of stuff I don’t need and have been holding onto- Clothes I haven’t worn in years, books that are rapidly stacking up on my book shelves, shoes that need to be thrown out, etc. I can sell back or donate these items in which ever way is best. If I sell them back, I will put the extra money toward my savings or Christmas funds, if possible.

We’ll see how this goes! I was hoping to have a more low-key, less consumer driven Christmas and make a lot of my presents were applicable (my brother would hate me if I gave him a mason jar candle for christmas…) so I think this No spend November jives well with that. Where homemade gives wouldn’t be acceptable (Ie. my Bro), I can indulge in some retail therapy.

I will let you guys know how it goes. I’m super excited about it and hope I can get my butt in gear to really get some cleaning and de-cluttering down.

We will return to our regular scheduled recipes tomorrow =)

Posted in Life | 2 Comments »

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

October 31, 2012 by Erin

Happy Halloween, Wicked Vegan readers! This is my all time favorite holiday and I’m totally pumped today.

Check back in with me this afternoon. I’m hoping to have one more creepy, vegan treat for you to make while handing out candy or entertaining this evening!

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Pumpkin Cranberry Soup

October 30, 2012 by Erin

I got the Taylor Swift CD last week and seriously, I can’t stop. It’s not even funny.  I’m plugged in at the grocery store, there was an embarassing moment in an aisle of Target where someone totally caught me dancing to the song “Holy Ground”, and my poor roommates probably know the songs by heart because I’ve been blasting it while cooking, which is pretty much all I do. My friend, Melinda, even tried to stage an intervention by giving me a TON of new CDs and while I’ve given them a quick listen, I make it about 30 minutes before switching back to Taylor Swift.

This is a problem. Halloween in TOMORROW. I should be listening to a halloween playlist. I even have one made up! But nooo…I keep listening to “We are never, ever, ever getting back together” ad nauseam and wondering if Taylor Swift is trying to give me relationship advice through her music.

Seriously…I need help…

BUT, even if my music life is in shambles, I am totally prepped for Halloween, food-wise. I made a huge pot of this pumpkin cranberry soup for lunch this week. Check in tomorrow, too. I may be posting a cupcake recipe that I should have given you today but totally forgot to photograph. Fail…

Pumpkin Cranberry Soup
veganized from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker. (seriously…buy this book)
found on-line at Food.com

  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries (or 1/2 c. cranberry sauce or 1/2 cup dried cranberries)*
  • 3 tablespoons Earth Balance or other vegan butter
  • 1/2 large Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 pound of fresh, uncooked pumpkin or butternut squash, cubed (Do you even need to ask which I used?  Butternut Squash Addict!)
  • 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1.5 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup cashew cream (or 1/2 c. silken tofu or 1/2 c. heavy vegan cream)**
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • pepitas for toppings

* The recipe called for dried cranberries but I couldn’t find them so I used fresh. I didn’t think this gave the recipe a ton of cranberry flavor so next time I will definitely use sauce

** Cashew cream = 1/2 c. raw cashews blended with 1/2 c. water until smooth. I like this because I feel it has a more neutral taste then vegan cream and I always have cashews, as opposed to silken tofu. All these options will work though.

Directions:

  1. If you are using dried cranberries, place the cranberries in a glass or ceramic bowl and 1/2 c. water. Cover the bowl and let the cranberries soak at least 2 hours or overnight.
  2. In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and saute 5 minutes.
  3. Add the fresh pumpkin/butternut squash and saute for another 5 minutes
  4. Add the canned pumpkin, stock, brown sugar, maple syrup and nutmeg and bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer 30 minutes or until fresh pumpkin/butternut squash is fork tender
  6. Remove from heat, add cranberries (or cranberry sauce) and puree or blend until creamy. (I used a immersion blender)
  7. Add the cashew cream and stir until incorporated
  8. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Top with Pepita seeds!

I know a lot of people don’t like blended soup. It sort of has the consistency of baby food so I get it. I love adding seeds and nuts on top of blended soup for some crunch, which helps with the texture thing.

This soup is so warm and comforting. I had a huge bowl of it while I was camped out during Hurricane Sandy and it was perfect. It’s thick and hearty and I love all the Fall flavors.

Also… Halloween mini-sized candies don’t count calories-wise, right? Cause I may have had about a bajillion Monday while camped out on my couch riding out the hurricane and watching Dexter season 6 and 7. Please tell me you have seen this show! I’m so obsessed right now!

Also… download this song so when you see me dancing like a weirdo in Target you can join me and we can be weird together. Awesome!

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