Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

This soup is pure love. Love of squash. Love of Fall. Love of whatever you like.

I tend to favor acorn squash for smooth soups over butternut squash for a couple of reasons. One; butternuts always tries to kill me when I'm trying to crack them open and two; acorn squash has a more developed flavor when roasted compared to butternut. Did I mention that the little green guys are a lot easier to work with?

Poor little acorn squashes all forlorn and neglected in favor of trendy butternut or snazzy spaghetti squash. Not 'round these parts. This soup delicately showcases acorn squash in all it's glowing glory. Todd and I ate the entire pot in one night, that is how amazing this soup is. I plan to make it for thanksgiving too, which is a coveted recipe spot!

“I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

A perfectly creamy, fall soup that’s incredibly delicious. It’s quite easy to prepare and mostly hands-off. I prefer my soups probably thicker than most, but this can be thinned easily with a bit of additional water.

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Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

by Katie @ Produce On Parade October-6-2014

A perfectly creamy, fall soup that’s incredibly delicious. It’s quite easy to prepare and mostly hands-off. A delight for Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squashes (about 3-4 lbs. total)
• 1 Tbsp. vegan butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• dash of kosher salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Instructions

Microwave both whole squashes on high for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then slice in half lengthwise. Preheat oven to 450 F and coat a baking sheet with a nonstick cooking spray. Scoop out the seeds from the squashes and discard. Place the four squash halves face-side down on the sheet and cover loosely with aluminium foil. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes, until very tender.Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium low. Add the diced onion and sauté until fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Sprinkle with a dash of kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add the fresh herbs and sauté for a few additional minutes. Now, add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Carefully scoop out the flesh from the cooked squash and allow to lightly boil for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and transfer the soup to a blender. Blend on high, allowing steam to escape the lid, until smooth. Add additional water as needed to thicken to desired consistency. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 3

Dutch Word of The Day

Soup --> Soep  (pronounced the same actually)

Good Deed of The Day

Doctors from Government General Hospital announced at a scientific conference in Vancouver, Canada that they have recently uncovered, "when meat or fish is cooked directly over fire, it gets covered with cancer-causing carcinogens, making it more dangerous than even smoking or consumption of alcohol, surgical gastroenterologist Dr S M Chandramohan said". Yikes! Just one more reason to steer clear of meat, yo. Read more here. Que "The More You Know" chime...

Chai Spiced Baked Doughnuts

Food photography friends...I had to break out the artificial light for the first time this fall, and it nearly broke my tiny heart. Darkness is coming. Take this time to be thankful for the light, for it is precious. 

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Todd requested a dessert for a party being thrown for a co-worker friend who is moving jobs. He always gets to bring the raddest vegan desserts to his work. Remember the pumpkin cinnamon rolls from last year? He requested them again because everyone loved them, but I told him that we had to make something new!

I reckon some readers are tired of pumpkin this and pumpkin that. Oh, what a life these people must lead that their biggest frustration is an acute obsession with a delicious, orange winter squash. Boo hoo. Who are these people!? I don't know. Honestly, I didn't make them pumpkin doughnuts because Todd is convinced he doesn't like the stuff. Although, I'd like to remind him that he was the one who requested the pumpkin cinnamon rolls again. He's a closet pumpkin lover. 

“Rule your mind or it will rule you.”

— Buddha

These baked donuts are infused with chai spice in the batter and the crunchy glaze.  A unique doughnut that’s easy to make and sure to be a big hit. The taste is a bit like snickerdoodles.

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Chai Spiced Baked Doughnuts

by Katie @ Produce On Parade October-3-2014

These baked donuts are infused with chai spice in the batter and the crunchy glaze. A unique doughnut that’s easy to make and sure to be a big hit. The taste is a bit like snickerdoodles. NOTES: For an extra chai kick, try using chai tea by steeping one tea bag in ¾ cup water. Or, just plain water can be used. If you need a chai spice mix recipe, I like the one from Fit Foodie Finds.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup chai tea or water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup vegan sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. chai spice
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• -- Glaze --
• 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 tsp. chai spice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour through and including the salt for the doughnuts. Make a well in the center with a large spoon.In a small bowl, whisk together the tea or water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour into the dry well, while stirring. Stir until just combined.Scoop the batter into a regular doughnut pan coated with a nonstick cooking spray. The wells should be filled about ¾ the way full. Too full and the doughnut hole will close in, not filled full enough and the doughnut will have a huge hole in the center. If you have a six doughnut pan like me, you will bake them in batches. If you have a twelve doughnut pan, you can do them all at once, just be sure they are cooled for about 20 minutes before glazing. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a minute. Then, run a butter knife blade around each doughnut to loosen it from the pan. Tip the pan upside-down to remove the doughnuts. Place them on a wire cooling rack. Repeat with remaining batter.Once the second batch of donuts is done baking and has cooled for about 5 minutes, it’s time to make the glaze. Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat for several minutes until runny. Then, immediately dip the doughnuts face-first into the glaze one by one and set back on the cooling rack. Then repeat again for a second glaze dip. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if you like and allow to dry on the rack. It will take a few hours for the glaze to set and be somewhat hard.Store in an airtight container.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 12 doughnuts

"Hey, give me some of those doughnuts, or else!"

Still need more doughnuts? You'll probably enjoy these Cookie Dough Doughnuts too!

Dutch Word of The Day

Doughnut --> Berlinerbol

Good Deed of The Day

Did you see the news recently? Do you know what the photo below is of? That's a mass of 35,000 walruses that have come ashore at Point Lay, Alaska because their ice caps that they normally go to have melted. Scary is an understatement.  I think we should all tell our senators that we need immediate, strong climate action in order to save the grand walrus and many other beautiful, threatened species. 

Photo from NBC News. Link above. 

Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto

Activism Alert!

Tomorrow, October 2nd, I hope you will join me in a fast against animal suffrage. Pigs and cows are often starved before they are sent to slaughter and hopefully this cause will bring some awareness to horrible cruelty inflicted upon the animals who share this planet with us. If you decide to join in, be sure to hashtag #FastAgainstSlaughter

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Okay, now onto more merry festivities. Happy World Vegetarian Day! Perhaps you have an elaborate bash tonight to celebrate? This is a wonderful dish for such an occasion. When you're trying to impress your friends with your awesome vegan culinary skills, remember it's equally important to impress yourself as well.

Maybe like me, you plan to be decked out in head to toe L.L.Bean sleepwear for the celebratory-worthy occasion of watching New Girl and The Mindy Project on Hulu. Well, this meal is perfect for that too. I've got you covered, no worries.

On a side note...positively October-appropriate dish right? Black and orange for Halloween! I've never been a huge fan of Halloween, but as of five years ago, it's become a very special day indeed. It's the day Todd and I met!

“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.”

— Albert Schweitzer

Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress. 

Aren't these purple carrots gorgeous? They came in my CSA box!

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Roasted Carrots & Beluga Lentils with Carrot Greens Pesto

by Katie @ Produce On Parade October-1-2014

Roasted carrots rest atop beluga lentils, dressed with a fresh, carrot greens pesto. This exquisite dish is done in under an hour and will definitely impress. NOTES: Feel free to use green lentils in place of black or beluga. Spinach can be used in place of the carrot greens. Skinny carrots will cook faster and work better in this dish than standard, large yellow carrots.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup + 3 Tbsp. olive oil (divided)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves (divided), minced
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups beluga lentils, uncooked
• 2 bushes (about 2 lbs.) of skinny carrots with green tops
• -- Pesto --
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup walnuts
• heaping ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp. liquid amino acids or soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ cup water

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion and 2 garlic cloves and sauté for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Now, add the stock and lentils and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about 35 minutes, or until tender. Be careful not to overcook. Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop off the carrot greens, leaving about 1 inch, and wash very well. Place the greens (discard most of the stems) in a food processer. Wash the carrots and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Lightly brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. Bake at 400 F for 30-45 minutes, until tender. Add the pesto ingredients into the food processor with the greens, 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and three garlic cloves. Process until smooth and creamy. The pesto should be a little more liquid than regular pesto, so add additional water as needed.Serve the cooked lentils with a few roasted carrots on top and dressed with the pesto.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 6-8

Dutch Word of The Day

Happy --> Blij (blay)

Good Deed of The Day

Today, make an effort celebrate yourself. Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or just trying to reduce your animal consumption. And be sure to give an animal and planet loving friend a hug, too! Happy World Vegetarian Day!