Warm Roasted Potato, Beet & Butternut Squash Salad

For me, the popular dish Potato Salad conjures up images of church picnics and summer pot lucks when I was a child. I used to love potato salad the way my mom made it, with lots of mustard, pickles and hard boiled eggs, tucked perfectly into an ice chest for a day at the lake or a pot luck at the park.

This potato salad is all dolled up and ready for a night out on the town with the addition of roasted beets, butternut squash and herbs, and a light, warm mustard vinaigrette dressing. I still get my mustard fix(I used to eat the stuff plain or stir it into my mashed potato's as a kid. *Cringe*, I know), but I sub Dijon mustard for its common yellow cousin. And vinegar gives the dish the same delightful tang of pickles.

Warm Roasted Potato, Beet & Butternut Squash Salad

Ingredients:

- 2 beets, washed, peeled and diced (I actually tend to not peel them because it's messy and mine were organic, but I guess most people do peel theirs, so I leave the life altering decision to your discretion)
-2 potatoes, diced(I used 1 Russet and a couple small reds)
-1/4 of a butternut squash(about 2 cups), diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 onion, diced
-1 Tbs. olive oil

For Dressing:

-1 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
-1 Tbs. vinegar(I used apple cider vinegar, but would have subbed red wine vinegar if I had any on hand)
-A handful fresh rosemary(or maybe about a Tbs. dried)
-2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp, dill
-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all vegetables and oil in a large bowl, then divide between 2 baking sheets. Roast for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile prepare dressing by whisking all dressing ingredients in a bowl.

When veggies are done, pour into a large bowl and immediately toss with dressing. This dish is delicious warm, room temperature or cold. You have choices!

Creamy & Tangy Secret Ingredient Pasta Sauce

I've been a little squash obsessed recently. There are just so many varieties and it's the perfect fall food. Even though California holds onto that summer warmth until November, this year I'm hoping for early gray skies, colored leaves, and some October sweater weather. I will it. I've even accessorized with scarves at least a few times a week in the 100 degrees Fahrenheit weather, just to protest these Californian 8 month summers. It's a travesty.

End rant.

Anywho, as you've probably ascertained, the secret ingredient in the pasta sauce is... squash! Specifically of the butternut variety. A delicious food with a very fun name. Come on, say it with me: butter nut, butternut, butternutbutternutbutternutbutternut! It's just fun to say. And this pasta sauce is equally fun to eat.

Pureed squash adds creaminess(without fat), to this recipe and lends a very pretty pale orange coloration. I also add cauliflower because... why not? Lemon juice lightens up the flavor while adding some tang. Try this recipe. It's super healthy, super delicious.

After devouring my first attempt at this recipe I had to go back to the store and pick up another squash and make more pasta sauce. I had to. To perfect the recipe and make it blog ready obviously.

Creamy & Tangy Secret Ingredient Pasta Sauce

(Makes 3 cups sauce)
Ingredients:

-1/2 a butternut squash, cubed(I like to cube and roast the other half with mixed veggies and add to pasta and sauce)
-2 cups cauliflower florets
-1 cup non-dairy milk
-1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
-1 1/2 tsp. salt
-1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
-3 cloves garlic, diced
-1 lemon
- Optional: 1 Tbs. olive oil(I used it the first time I made the recipe and omitted it the second without noticing much of a difference)


Method:

Steam squash and cauliflower until tender. Meanwhile puree all other ingredients in vita-mix(or blender/food processor). Add steamed veggies and puree until smooth. Serve over pasta and roasted veggies.

Chick Pea Brownies

I'm sure I've said this before as a good number of my recipe's are, at first glance... odd. Think: Quinoa Granola, Hot Chocolate Pancakes with zucchini, Avocado Alfredo. The list goes on and on. But trust me these are good. They are. Really.

I first came upon a recipe for black bean brownies a couple of years ago and was instantly intrigued. Ecstatic really. I have this strange disorder in which I impulsively add random fruits and vegetables to everything I make, including desserts, so a recipe in which black beans took the place of flour was enough to send my little health nerd heart a flutter. Imagine my disappointment when the end result was gummy and tasted awkwardly of beans. Not one to be easily deterred it took about 12 more hideously failed attempts before I threw in the towel.

Fast forward a couple years and what do I come upon whilst trolling one of my favorite food blogs, but a recipe for my mortal nemesis: The Black Bean Brownie. He was fudgy and chocolaty, and decadent looking, shamelessly mocking me from my computer screen. I could not let him win. So I strapped on my imaginary Super Vegan cape and chefs hat and it was off to the kitchen I went.

(Pictured in a sundae with my "Pumpkin" Pie Ice Cream(recipe coming soon) and cacao nibs)


Imagine my distress when I realized that black beans I had not. Enter Super Vegan inspiration! I HAD JUST MADE A BATCH OF CHICK PEAS!(Okay okay it was actually my mom who made them, but regardless). Maybe the mildness of chick peas(also called garbanzo beans) would help quell the unpleasant beany flavor I experienced in my previous encounters with these brownies. And it worked!... Well on my second try. The first I don't really want to talk about it. Let's just leave it at two words: hot mess.

These brownies are fudgy, chocolaty and decedent. They are "healthy brownies" though so don't expect them to taste like their oil and processed sugar filled cousins. My Chick Pea Brownies are their own thing, and I promise they're good. If you'd like, mix in some chocolate chips for extra chocolaty-ness.

Chick Pea Brownies

Ingredients:

-1 Tbs. Vanilla
-1 15 oz. Can Chick Peas
-1 Tbs. Nut Butter(I used almond, though if I had had peanut butter I probs would have used that)
-1/2 of a Small Avocado(Stop looking at me like that. It's good! Trust me on this.)
-1/3 cup Raisins soaked for 10 minutes or so and blended in food processor with 2 Tbs. Soaking Liquid
-1/2 tsp. Salt
-1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
-1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
-2/3 cup Cocoa
-1/4 cup Brown Rice Syrup
-Optional: 1 packet Stevia or more syrup if more sweetness is desired
-Optional: Chocolate chips

Method:

Pre heat oven to 350 degreed Fahrenheit. Blend all ingredients save for cocoa powder in a food processor until very smooth. Add cocoa powder and pulse until combined. You can try it at this point to see if you want it sweeter, but fair warning, it kind of tastes like sweet hummus at this point. Mix in chocolate chips if desired. Pour into a lined and greased 8x8 inch pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they feel firm. DO NOT TASTE UNTIL COMPLETELY COOL. The texture improves significantly and the flavor gets much better as they cool.

More-Quinoa-Please Granola

I love crunchy granola. The secret to this granola's super crunch lies in the addition of uncooked quinoa. This may sound a bit strange at first. It's not.

After trying this recipe out, I have become a crunchy quinoa-a-holic. I have plans for raw quinoa energy balls, quinoa crispy treats, crunchy quinoa cookies, and my ever present recipe for world domination has been rewritten to include uncooked quinoa.

Do not be deterred by this recipes long ingredient list. The process is super simple. You basically just throw all the ingredients in a bowl, press into a pan and bake. And voila! You have a CRUNCH!-tastic batch of world domination worthy granola.

 

 

More-Quinoa-Please Granola
 
 
Ingredients:


-1/3 cup applesauce
-1 Tbs. coconut butter
-2 Tbs. brown rice syrup
-2 Tbs. coconut sugar
-1 Tbs. agave nectar
-1 Tbs. nut butter
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. almond extract
-2 Tbs. flax seeds
-1 tsp. vanilla
-2 Tbs. chia seeds
-2 1/2 cups oats
-1/2 cup quinoa
-1/4 cup oat flour
-1 cup roughly chopped almonds(I like mine raw, but use whatever you prefer)
-1 cup raisins
-1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
-1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut


Method:


Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse quinoa in a strainer under running water for a couple minutes(this gets rid of the sometimes bitter aftertaste quinoa can have). Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in dry ingredients. Press into a lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray like you would granola bars. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and break granola into pieces. Bake for and additional 10 minutes. I like to stir in the almonds, dried fruit and coconut during the last 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before storing in a plastic bag or glass jar.

Disappearing Oatmeal Quick Bread

Okay so this loaf of bread kind of looks like meatloaf. But if you can get past that I promise you'll be in for a world of delicious.

I've looked high and low. To and fro. Through trial and error and searching in books. I gave the internet a look... Basically I've been searching for that perfect gluten-free vegan bread recipe with as much gusto and rhyme scheme as Ted in Dr. Seuss's The Lorax searched for a live tree and, well, the Lorax...

AND I FOUND IT!!!

Okay so my discovery won't save the world, make oxygen free again, or win the heart of my crush, but it does make a pretty darn good bread.

This recipe is courtesy of Gluten Free Vegan Girl(Original Bread Recipe) and the recipe already looked so perfect that all I changed was substituting raisins for dates as the sweetener because that's what I had on hand.

All the credit for this recipe goes to Gluten Free Vegan Girl. Check out her blog, it's pretty nifty. (Gluten Free Vegan Girl)

Disappearing Oatmeal Quick Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:


-1 cup old fashioned rolled oats(for a truly gf bread make sure these and the flour are gf certified)
-1 cup oat flour
-1 cup boiling water
-1 cup unsweetened non dairy milk(I used flax milk)
-3/4 cup brown rice flour
-1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
-1/2 cup raisins or dates
-2 heaping Tbs. almond butter(I actually used almond meal because I was out of almond butter and it worked out just fine)
-1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp salt


Method:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine rolled oats and boiling water in a large bowl. Let sit for a few minutes before stirring in 1/2 cup non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Meanwhile blend in a food processer until smooth: remaining 1/2 cup non dairy milk, almond butter and raisins or dates. In another bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Add this to your wet oat mixture along with the raisin paste.

Let sit for a couple minutes to absorb the liquid while you line a bread pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Scoop bread dough into your prepared pan and sprinkle with rolled oats. Bake for 1 hour. Check to see if the middle is done by inserting a toothpick or knife. You will most likely need to bake for another 30 or so minutes.

I baked my bread for and hour and a half and the middle still came away a little doughy, but the bread firms up considerably as it cools and sets.

Avocado Alfredo

I don't know if it was my avocado craze of the past couple years that did it, or if I'm just an anomaly of nature, but recently the texture of avocados has given me the heebie-jeebies. What the heck?! I love avocados. Doesn't everyone? They're creamy, versatile, full of healthy fats and are such a pretty shade of green. Unfortunately, I did not fully realize the extent of my avocado aversion until after I bought four of the beauts.

Needless to say, I needed to come up with some creative recipes incorporating avocado stat. Ashleigh used a couple of them to make this rawsome raw chocolate pie, and I incorporated 1 1/2 into this creamy pasta sauce.

 

 

 

Avocado Alfredo

(Makes enough sauce for about 12 oz. uncooked pasta)
Ingredients:


-1 1/2 avocados
-1/2 tsp. salt
-Pinch pepper
-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-1/4 tsp. onion powder
-2 cloves garlic
-Handful basil
-1/2 lemon


Method:


Dice garlic in a food processor. Add basil and process until the mixture resembles pesto. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Combine with cooked pasta and vegetables if desired and serve immediately. The warm pasta and veggies should be enough to heat the sauce; you don't want it to hot with the avocado. This dish is best on the first day, but saves alright for another day or so eaten cold like pasta salad.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

 

 

Growing up, I was that weird kid who preferred a nice, chewy, spiced oatmeal raisin cookie to crowd favorites like chocolate chip or M&M. I didn't like oatmeal chocolate chip, and while oatmeal butterscotch cookies were alright, my absolute favorite was chock full of cinnamon and raisins. I used to get made fun of for this. It was a rough time in my life. Okay, not really. But it did get to the point when every other kid I knew was "allergic" to raisins or thought oatmeal was "gross" that I pretended to be a oatmeal hating, raisin-allergy ridden sheep as well. I just wanted to fit in. I was what is known as an extreme people pleaser.

 

 

 

 

But you know what? I LOVE RAISINS! And now, I'm not afraid to say that. It seems like such a funny thing, being embarrassed to like something as harmless as dried fruit. But I remember many a time when the oatmeal raisin cookies were the only type left in the box and I turned my nose up at them simply because that's what my friends were doing.

 

 

Am I the only one who kept these dumb secrets as a child in order to be like everyone else?

 

 

Thank God for growing up. That's all I have to say. Now I can finally enjoy my oatmeal raisin cookies -and oatmeal raisin cookie granola- in peace.

 

 

 

 

This oatmeal is super crunchy, not too sweet, and tastes a lot like it's cookie namesake, I think. If you don't like raisins, try dried cherries or dried cranberries, or, if you really want to, chocolate chips. I actually used dried cranberries in this batch because I was out of raisins. It's pictured in this post atop chocolate banana nice-cream(recipe coming soon), but my favorite way to serve it is with almond milk and frozen blueberries.

 

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

-1 cup almonds

-5 cups oats

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-Dash ginger

-2 Tbs. ground flax seeds

-1/4 cup brown rice syrup(if you like your granola on the sweeter side, I'd recommend adding more sugar or syrup.)

-1/4 cup coconut sugar(I'm sure brown sugar, raw sugar or any granulated sugar would work as well)

-1/2 cup apple sauce(I just pureed a couple apples in my vitamix)

-1 Tbs. vanilla

-1/2 tsp. almond extract

-1 Tbs. coconut oil or coconut butter

-1 1/2 cups raisins

 

 

Method:

 

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Blend almonds and 2 cups of oats in a food processor until flour-y. Set aside remaining 3 cups of oats in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except oats and raisins to food processor and blend until combined. Pour into your large bowl and mix to combine with oats. Spread granola between the two pans and bake for 20 minutes. You will probably need to bake your granola for anther 10-20 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Let cool and devour, like the vegan lion that you are. :P