New Year's Eve Spent up North + an Intermediate Butternut Squash Mac 'N Cheese

New Year’s Eve is the worst, isn’t it? All of that pressure to find awesome plans, paying out the nose for tickets to everything, crowds so large you find yourself spending the evening shoulder to shoulder with strangers and of course, not a cab in sight when you are ready to go home.

This year (in a moment of sheer brilliance) Jon and I decided to skip out on all of that nonsense and book a cottage up north. The beautiful northern landscape covered in snow, a roaring fire, a glass (or two) of red wine, Maizee and Zoe snoozing away, some great food and days on end spent in sweat pants. My friends, the best New Year’s Eve of your life will be spent in sweat pants, trust me.

Such a northern rendezvous called for some serious homestyle cooking, so I prepared a homemade broccoli soup with fresh bread and a beautiful butternut squash mac ‘n cheese with an almond crumble top to bring along. Both rely heavily on nutritional yeast (a vegan alternative providing that cheesy flavour) so if you are new to this ingredient, don’t be frightened – be excited. I’ll be making the broccoli soup again soon (it is a cinch) so sit tight for that recipe. Until then, I leave you with this delicious mac n cheese.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
Coconut oil
1 tbsp vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1 cup almond milk
1 cup raw cashews
7 – 8 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
5 - 6 servings gluten free pasta
6 cups greens of choice (onion, garlic, broccoli, peas, spinach, celery, etc.)

Almond Topping:
3 cups almonds, crushed or finely chopped
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. Toss cubed butternut squash in oil, salt and pepper and distribute on cookie sheet. Cook for 40 minutes, flipping once.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce by assembling all ingredients into a food processor (cashews, almond milk, garlic, lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, mustard, seasonings). Process until a fine crumb forms. Now add the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Leave the sauce in the processor and add in the butternut squash once it has finished cooking. Process into a smooth texture (add water or vegetable stock to thin if necessary).

Cook your pasta (enough for 5 servings) according to package directions, drain once cooked and set aside. At this time, also cook any greens you would like added (I sautéed 1 large onion in coconut oil with 4 cups chopped Brussels sprouts, 2 cups frozen peas and 2 cups chopped celery). Set aside.

Mix butternut squash cheese sauce, vegetables and pasta into a casserole dish and blend well.

For the Topping: In a bowl combine all ingredients (crushed almonds, ground flaxseed, olive oil, water, minced garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning and salt) until well mixed and forming slightly sticky ball forms (add more water if needed). Spread over casserole.

Bake for 15 minutes and broil on high for 6 minutes (watching closely).

And with that, wishing you all a Happy New Year!

*Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows 

Intermediate Vegan Dinner: Kale and Quinoa Minestrone Soup

I was so impressed with this recipe as I chopped up all of the veggies and admired the vibrant colours and healthy ingredients. The soup was delicious, although not as savory as I expected. Next time I make this I am going to play with the spices (maybe adding in cumin, curry powder and fenugreek) to really give it a punch of flavour.

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced, fresh zucchini
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
1 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar (if you're going to play with the spices I listed above, make this brown sugar)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup dry quinoa
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups chopped fresh kale, thick ribs removed
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, carrots and celery and saute about 5 minutes, until softened. Add in zucchini, green beans, red bell pepper and saute 2 minutes, then add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.

Add in vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, water, rosemary, thyme, granulated sugar, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and allow soup to gently boil, uncovered for about 20 minutes.

Add in dry quinoa then cover and cook 15 - 20 minutes longer.

Add cannellini beans, chick peas, kale and lemon juice and cook, uncovered, until kale has wilted, about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Advanced Vegan Dinner: A Bunch of Stuff

So I have labelled this advanced only because I decided I was a cooking superhero and could make them all for one big meal. The timing was all over the place so having everything ready at the same time was quite the feat. If you are going to make these individually I would give them each an 'easy' or 'intermediate' label.

Having everything on the plate I realized the colour palette was a bit bland, so I would probably subtract the cauliflower and make roasted green beans or carrots in it's place next time (here's a yummy looking recipe if you would like to try that instead!)

Regardless, everything was delicious and the chickpea cakes have been fantastic leftovers - I've used them in sandwiches and crumbled them up in salads too!

Fried Quinoa

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
2 tablespoons coconut
4 medium carrots, diced
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
Salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sriracha

Directions
Cook quinoa (bring water to boil, cover to simmer on low for 15 minutes). Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pan. Saute the carrots, shallot, and white scallions over high heat until soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and green scallions and stir fry until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Fold in the quinoa and stir fry until well-coated in the vegetable mixture and beginning to toast, 3 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha. I opted to top this off with cilantro - my fave.

Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 celery stalk, diced
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp gluten-free flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Directions
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion, green pepper, and celery for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat.

Place chickpeas in a food processor along with the onion mixture. Pulse until chickpeas are no longer whole, but dont process them too much. Place chickpeas in a bowl and add spices, hot sauce, and cilantro. Add flour and cornstarch and mix well. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Shape chickpea mixture into 8 - 10 patties and fry in batches, about 4 mins per side, or until crispy and browned.

Roasted Chili Lime Cauliflower (found here)

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into vote seized
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1/2 a lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cauliflower florets in olive oil, chili powder, cumin, and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast cauliflower for 35 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime over top the cauliflower and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Leftover chickpea cake on a gluten-free bun with fresh tomato from my best friend's garden. Delicious.

Easy Vegan Dinner: Split Pea Soup

This recipe is my Mum's (so you know it's good!) and bonus - it's gluten free! Super simple and full of flavour. I'm typically not a fan of dill, but in this soup, it really works.

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 large potato peeled and diced
1 cup dried split green peas, rinsed
8 cups vegetable stock
1 cup broken spaghetti (use brown rice pasta to make gluten free)
1 tbsp dried dill
¼ tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onions and garlic and cook for five minutes. Do not brown.

Add carrots, parsnips and potatoes and combine well. Cook for another five minutes.

Add peas and stock. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer gently, covered for one hour, or until peas are tender and soup is very thick. Thin with water if necessary.

Add spaghetti and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until very tender.

Stir in dill, pepper and salt. Adjust with seasonings if necessary.

Easy Vegan Dinner: Red Curry Vegetable Soup

I love soup. Jon says I am the queen of soup and I wear the crown proudly. I also love curry, et voilà, curry soup. This recipe is a cinch and super tasty.

Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 cups cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
4 large green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup coconut milk (the recipe called for light coconut milk, but I really find the light version lacks flavour)
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tbsp lime juice

Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower and white parts of green onions; sauté 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to brown. Add curry paste and sauté 1 minute more.

Add broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and green beans, and simmer 5 minutes, or until beans are tender.

Stir in lime juice and remaining green onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Intermediate Vegan Dinner: Raw Taco Salad

This recipe is fairly straight forward, but it does involve a number of steps to assemble items separately and then bring them together.

I found this recipe on Oh She Glows - a go to resource for vegans (so I've learned). I'll be posting another recipe that I've made from there soon (although that one will definitely be filed under the 'Advanced Vegan Dinner' heading; difficult, but worth it!)

This was my first time making 'fake meat' (using walnuts) and I was quite impressed. It didn't look all that convincing while it was in the preparation stages, but it came together nicely once layered on the salad and the taste was great. Most meat substitutes found at the grocery store are overly processed and leave me feeling pretty crummy afterwards so I was happy to make a substitute at home using simple, whole ingredients. I'll need more practice until I'm confident serving it to anyone other than Jon (he's such a good sport), but it hits the spot until then.

Walnut Taco Meat
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked for 2-8 hours
1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

In a food processor (or by hand), pulse (or chop) the ingredients until combined. Make sure to leave the walnuts chunky. Remove and set aside.

Cashew Cream
1 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2-8 hours
6 tbsp water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt, to taste

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Add them into a processor and process. Stream in about 1/2 cup water and a couple tbsp of lemon juice. Add more water as needed to achieve your desired consistency. The nut sauce should be super smooth and not grainy. Add salt to taste.

3-Minute Guacamole
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 small tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
Itty bitty splash of tequila

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the avocado flesh with a fork, leaving some chunks. Stir in the chopped tomato, red onion, lime juice, and seasonings to taste.

Other salad ingredients
greens of choice
salsa
green onion
crackers or tortilla chips

To assemble (per bowl) 
Add a hefty base of greens in a large bowl followed by a heaping scoop of guacamole in the middle. Spoon on 2 tbsp of salsa over the greens followed by half of the taco meat. Drizzle with cream sauce and garnish with a chopped green onion and leftover chopped tomato and red onion. Place a few crackers into the salad before serving.

Easy Vegan Dinner: Fajitas

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 can black beans
2 bell peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 yellow or white onion, cut into long thin slices
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
6 small flour or corn tortillas
Optional: salsa, guacamole (recipe included below)

Directions
In a large pan, add 1 tsp of coconut oil, followed by the onions, minced garlic and peppers. Rinse chickpeas and beans and add to pan after five minutes. Season with lime juice, cumin and chili powder (you may want to add more of each for more flavour).

While the bean filling cooks in the pan for roughly 10 to 15 minutes, prepare the guacamole by adding two avocados to a bowl, mash with a masher or fork, add juice from the other half of the lime, one minced garlic clove, 1/4 cup of sweet or red onion, fresh cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add a splash of tequila if you're feeling feisty. Set aside.

Once the bean filling is cooked, warm tortillas and assemble.

This is a very simple recipe that is uber filling and healthy. Enjoy!