Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Apricot Rosemary Popcorn Boats

Ahhh... October. The beginning of Fall. Oktoberfest. Pumpkin beer. Hearty soups. This brings me to my most recent recipe. I've got to thank Isa for putting together this Vegan Chopped challenge, and keeping me posting recipes on here. As soon as I heard butternut squash, all I could think of was soup. I love a smooth, rich and creamy soup. Enough talking though, I know I can't wait to tell you my recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash - peeled and cubed
1 white onion - chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary - chopped
1 Tbsp fresh ginger - minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp margarine
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coconut milk

My favorite part of this is how easy it is. In a large pot throw the squash, broth and water. Set to medium heat and cover. In a frying pan add the oil and melt the margarine. Once the margarine melts, add the onion, ginger and rosemary. Saute the onions until they're translucent and dump the contents of the entire frying pan into the squash pot. Add the rest of the spices, stir and cover. Allow to simmer for about 20-30 minutes and remove from heat. Pour everything into your blender. Don't leave anything behind, not even that little hard to retrieve bit of ginger. You want every ounce of flavor available. Add the coconut milk and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and heat your soup for a couple minutes to allow flavors to blend and you're ready to go.

Apricot Rosemary Popcorn Boats

5 cups popped popcorn
3 Tbsp apricot preserves
2 Tbsp margarine
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary - ground
pinch of salt

To start I'd like to describe my ground rosemary. I like to use an old coffee grinder to grind my fresh spices. They sell specific spice grinders but I think my $10 coffee grinder does a great job. But I digress... In a medium pot heat the margarine, preserves, rosemary, and salt. Heat the mixture until the preserves are fully melted and the liquid starts to bubble. Be very careful not to burn the mixture, don't walk away, don't try and do something else, this takes about 5-10 minutes. You can spare the time. Once the mixture starts to bubble remove it from heat and add the popcorn. Stir until the popcorn is well coated. Put the mixture into a small greased baking pan and place in the refrigerator to firm up for at least an hour. Once the mixture has set up, cut into squares to garnish your soup.

Black Eyed "Steak" with Blackberry Mole

So, I started this blog with the hopes of updating with new recipes and ponderings on a daily basis. Unfortunately I got lazy, busy, whatever. Then one day I'm browsing the posts on Facebook and low and behold I see Post Punk Kitchen's post about a Vegan Chopped! I love Chopped! I was inspired to make something new and post something on my blog! Thank you Isa! I must say with ingredients like blackberries, black eyed peas, fresh mint and bittersweet chocolate it was a challenge but I think it came out great. So here we go:

Ingredients:

     "Steak"

1 15 oz can black eyed peas - drained and mashed

1 medium onion - finely chopped

1 jalapeno - finely chopped

1 clove garlic - finely chopped

1/2 Roma tomato - broiled

2 Tbsp fresh mint

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 cups flour

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1 cup cornmeal

      Mole

2-1/2 Roma tomato - broiled

1 clove garlic

1 Chipolte - canned in Adobo

1 tsp Adobo - see above

1/2 cup fresh blackberries

2 Tbsp crushed walnuts

1 oz bittersweet chocolate

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable broth

Everything in this recipe comes together super easy which made the 40 minute time limit a piece of cake. First off, place 3 Roma tomatoes in the broiler for about 5 minutes. While you're waiting for them to char a little, in a bowl mix together all of the "steak" ingredients in a bowl except for the water, flour and corn meal. Next place all of the mole ingredients together in a blender except for the vegetable broth. By this point the tomatoes should be just about done. Cut one in half and chop up the half into smallish pieces and toss it in the bowl with the other steak ingredients. Take the rest of the tomatoes and put them in the blender and blend until thoroughly mixed. Pour your sauce into a skillet that has been very lightly oiled and allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes. Now that your enjoying the aromatic smells of your mole cooking, you can begin to make your steaks. Pour in the water and flour and mix the ingredients together. I start with 1 cup of flour and add more to get the right consistency. Your batter should be thick enough to form a patty, but not still sticky. Set your oven to 250 degrees and set up a frying pan on the stove with enough canola oil to cover the bottom. Right next to your pan set up a plate with the cup of cornmeal on it. Take about 1/6 of the steak mixture and form a rough patty with your hands. You will get messy - just embrace it. place the patty on the cornmeal and coat the exterior. Lay the patty in the frying pan being careful not to splash the oil. Now back to the mole - take your mole mixture off the stove and pour it back into the blender and add the vegetable broth and mix until smooth. Get back to the stove before your steaks start burning. Flip your steaks once the first sides are golden brown. When the second sides have finished cooking, place them on a baking sheet and toss them in the oven for about 10 minutes. When you've finished toss a steak on a plate, cover with some of your mole, grab an ice cold beer and enjoy.

First post

So here it is my first post. Honestly I never thought I had enough to say or cared enough to share the ramblings inside my head, but here I am. I've got to give credit to my wife for pushing me to do this. Mainly I'll be sharing recipes, but there may be the occasional rant or anecdote thrown in from time to time. Now, I don't claim to be a gourmet chef. I do know what I like to eat and seem to have a knack for making quick, easy and usually delicious meals. I've gotten plenty of inspiration for other vegans like Isa Chandra Moskowitz (I love www.theppk.com) and vegan dad (vegandad.blogspot.com), but I don't always have time to put together their recipes and need to find a faster form of sustenance. I'm going to start with a quick and easy baked tofu that I just threw together and ended up tasting fantastic. Hope you like it.


Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Braggs (I'm sure soy sauce will work)
1 tbsp mustard (your choice but I like one with a bit of bite)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp water
black pepper to taste


Preparation: 
Press the block of tofu as much or little as you desire. While the tofu is pressing mix the rest of the ingredients together in a small bowl. With the rest of the time it takes to press the tofu you can drink a beer, post to your choice of social networking site or leave a comment on my latest post... The choice is yours. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once the tofu is pressed to your liking you're going to slice it into 8 slices (make short rectangles not long ones), then cut each rectangle diagonally so you have 16 nice little triangles. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly oil it then spread the tofu out evenly. Now using a spoon spread about half of the "sauce" over the top of the tofu. Bake for about 15 minutes. Flip the tofu over and spoon the rest of the sauce over the tofu and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Done. Easy and simple.
 
A different "sauce" to try:
1/4 cup Braggs
1 tbsp sriracha sauce (any hot sauce you like will do)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp garlic powder