Date Fudge

Date Fudge

Vegan and 0 added processed sugar!

You will need
1/2 cups raw almonds
1 cup raw cashews
8 pitted Majool dates
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t vanilla extract
2 t water
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Milk substitute of choice (I used coconut milk, which gave it a great flavor)

Rough chop almonds in a food processor and put aside
Pulse cashews until fine and add cocoa powder...pulse
Add dried cranberries and pitted dates... pulse
Add water and vanilla extract.. pulse
Add "milk" until everything starts to come together...
Lastly mix in your rough chopped almonds.
Put in a pan and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour... will be chocolaty, sticky goodness with no dairy, no gluten, and no added sugar!!!

THE BEST onion rings EVER!

The BEST onion rings EVER

Oh and yes they are VEGAN

Thanks to the Vegan Stoner for the inspiration behind these! 

http://theveganstoner.com/

-What you will need-
Yellow or white onion cut into rings
Corn starch
EVOO
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Non-dairy milk of choice
Salt
Whole wheat flour
Ground red peper
Black pepper
Cutting Board, 2 dishes, baking sheet

Lets get started!

Preheat oven to 450

-Prep work-
Cut onion into rings and leave on cutting board
In dish #1 mix 1/2cup flour, 2 spoonfuls of cornstarch, 1/2cup "milk"
In dish #2 mix 1 cup bread crumbs, dash of salt, dash of black pepper, red pepper to taste, and 2Tbsp EVOO
Oil up your baking sheet

Your set up

-Note- While dipping it is super helpful to have a "wet hand" and a "dry hand"
Left hand "wet hand" pick up onion, place container #1, cover with flour mix, take coated onion from container #1 and drop into container #2
Right hand "dry hand" coat onion with bread crumb mixture and place onto greased baking sheet
**This assures the avoidance of the dreaded "club hand"**

Repeat the above process with all of your onion rings

Place into oven for 8 minutes
Flip (tongues work GREAT here)
Back for another 8 minutes

Eat alone, dip, or add to the top of your favorite bean burger!

Summer Veggie Tian

Summer Veggie Tian

Man, just have to love this SUPER SIMPLE recipe

-What you will need-

EVOO

4 cloves of garlic

1 yellow or white onion

Any of your favorite in season veggies

     I used 1 sweat potatoe, 1 yellow squash, 1 green squash

Ground black pepper 

1 nice sharp knife (oooor if you are a little lazy a mandolin) 

Ramekin and tin foil 

This recipe is great because you can make it ahead of time, cover it with aluminum and place in the fridge, then when you are ready take it out of the fridge and out it into the oven

Start by taking all of your veggies and cutting them into equal slices (this is where the mandolin comes in handy if you have one)

Smash, peel, and dice your garlic also dice up your onions

Cover skillet with THIN layer of EVOOturn to medium low (3-5 on most stoves) 

Place garlic in pan and let heat

Place onions in with EVOO and garlic and allow to cook until translucent

Once cooked place into the bottom of your ramekin and spread out evenly 

Alternate veggies in the ramekin (on top of garlic onion mixture) into a beautiful pattern

Sweet potato, Squash, Zucchini.... repeat, repeat, repeat

Top with pepper or other fun flavors

Cover tightly with tin foil 

At this point you have 2 choices

1) I'm freaking hungry, I want to eat NOW... in this case heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, place the dish in and cook for 30-40 minutes (depends on how cooked you want your veggies) 

2) I am not hungry now... but this would be great to eat later... place in fridge ...wait... Okay, now I am hunger! Look back at choice 1 

Hope you all enjoy!!

Raw Carrot Cake and Cashew "Cream"

Raw Carrot Cake and Cashew "Cream"

So the next time that you juice some carrots be sure that you save the carrot pulp, this is so worth it! 

Once again, lets give credit where credit is due, thanks to the boho girl for giving the inspiration, http://thebohogirl.wordpress.com/, here is my recipe with a few little tweeks... 

What you will need Cashew "cream"

~NOTE~ MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME AS IT WILL NEED TO SIT FOR AN HOUR

2 cups raw cashews

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup apple juice

Place all ingredients into a food processor blend for 2-3 minutes and vuala! Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a hour before you serve!

What you will need Carrot cake

2 cups pulp of carrots (~6-8 carrots) 

2 cups oats (ground to flour)

2 cups dates

1 Tbs nutmeg

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tsp vanilla extract 

Splash of apple juice

Honey

Use the pulp left over from juicing carrots

Place 2 cups of oats into food processor and grind to a flour

Place 2 cups of date pieces into food processor and process

Add all ingredients into bowl (except honey and apple juice) and mix until evenly mixed

Add splash of apple juice

Add honey to taste and until all ingredients can be rolled into a ball.

Make "cake" into whatever shape you wish, I did mounds, I think that this would be really good as cake balls... whatever you want...

Top with your cashew cream and ENJOY! 

 

Quick and Easy Mac N Cheesy *vegan

Soooo I had this craving for cheese, but not real cheese because I know that would make me sick to my stomach (it kind of does just thinking about it now).


I got in my head that I would make the best mac n cheese vegan style.  I went online and looked up tons of recipes to get some ideas and advice....I liked some of the recipe ideas, but was a little surprised at the amount of oil and other items added that just did not seem necessary!


So I came up with my own concoction! 
ingredients:
1 cup of Cashews
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
salt, garlic powder, dry mustard and a touch of turmeric
1 cup soy (or other nondairy) milk
1 tbsp of lemon juice


First -- add your cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, dry mustard and turmeric to a ninja/food processor/blender/whatever you have and mix it all up.


Second-- throw in the milk and lemon juice and blend it together until you have a nice creamy texture.  You can make it thinner or thinker depending on the amount of milk product you add.


Third -- boil some water, when ready add your noodle (we used shells, yum)


Fourth-- move your creamy cheesy mixture to a pan and heat on low heat.  Stir every couple minutes, taste test and add anything else you think you would like to taste.  I just added about a tbsp of soy milk and a touch of chili powder for fun!

Fifth -- drain your cooked noodles and pour into bowl.  Pour your creamy cheesy mixture over the noodles and stir it up!

After I mixed it up, I let it sit for a few minutes while I cooked some corn on the cob so that my flavors could engulf the noodles!

Then just serve and ENJOY! and it is deceivingly filling, even Stephen didn't need much seconds, and Stephen said, I quote "This is better than the real thing"


Oh and did I mention, entirely healthy and wonderful for your body! Oh the wonderfulness of being vegan really shines through at moments like this :)

Samosa Pie

Samosa Pie

For anyone who didn't grow up with a strong East Indian influence in their life a samosa is a deliciously flavorful and subtly spicy pocket potato dish... This is not a 100% traditional version, but it is DELICIOUS!

...What you will need...

-For Crust-

      1/2 cup whole wheat flour

      1/4 tsp salt 

      1 Tbs EVOO

      3 Tbs cold water

-For Filling- 

      3 potatoes 

      1 tsp curry powder

      1/2 tsp ground cumin  

      1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

      1 tsp ginger (minced)

      1 clove garlic (minced)

      1/2 yellow onion (diced)

      1/4 red bell pepper (diced)

      1 stick celery

      1/2 cup vegetable broth

      **I forgot to add this when I made mine, but would have been super yummy and a little more      

      traditional with whole pepper corns mixed in too! 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit 

 

Clean potatoes cut potatoes into even pieces and place in a pot of boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain potatoes, place back into pot and hand mash potatoes over medium heat until they are somewhat smooth, but still with some chunks.    

 

For your crust combine your flour and salt in a bowl and mix together, add EVOO and whisk together until it forms clumps. Add 2 Tbs of cold water and mix together, if dough is too dry add another Tbs of water. Roll into a ball, place in the bowl, cover bowl with a damp cloth and set aside. 

 

Mix all of your spiced together in a bowl.

Mince your garlic and ginger and place into a skillet over medium heat.  Add all of your veggies and saute until al dente. Add 1/2 of your spice mixture, and coat veggies, let cook for ~3 mins. Add your vegetable broth, allow to cook for a few minutes. Fold vegetable mixture into potatoes, and add the other 1/2 of your spice mix. 

Roll out your dough so that it is just slightly larger than your cooking dish. Transfer veggie and potato mixture to cooking dish and top with your crust. Make 2 slits in your crust.

 

Place pie on cooking sheet and place in oven for 30 minutes. Once your awesome kitchen timer has gone off pull out your pie and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before your eat it... If you can! ITS SUPER YUMMY!!! 

 

 

      

     

       

CK Not so Famous "Bowl"

~Not so Famous "Bowl"~

 

I am not 100% sure what led me to make this amazing concoction, I think it was pure boredom...   

 

-What you will need-

For Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes of choice

Plain almond milk

Garlic Salt

Pepper

For "gravy"

Vegetables of choice- I used fresh corn, celery, onions, and bell peppers (basically what was in z fridge) 

3/4 cup of vegetable broth

1 Tbls Whole Wheat flour

1 Tbls soy sauce 

For "bowl" 

Fresh portabella mushroom

2 cloves fresh garlic

~ Tbls EVOO

I am not sure what made me think if the KFC famous bowl today, but something did and I am glad about it because it lead me to this and was WONDERFUL!

Okay so lets get started crush and chop your garlic cloves, add a little bit of salt to it on the cutting board and use the edge of your knife to make paste. Put the garlic, EVOO, and a little bit of pepper into a bowl and let it sit for a little while so that the garlic infuses into the oil. 

~Just so you know, this isn't exactly a one pot/pan meal~

Each component is broken down individually below, but I like to multitask so I made them all at the same time...

Mashed Potatoes

If you have a favorite way to make mashed potatoes make them that way, but here is how I made them for anyone who doesn't have a favorite...

Clean and chop your potatoes. I like to leave the skin on... some don't... whatever fits your fancy.

Roughly cut your potatoes into somewhat even pieces and place them into boiling water, cover and let sit for ~30 mins or until they are fork tender. Drain the potatoes, return the potatoes to the original pot and place over low heat (this keeps potatoes from tasting watered down) use your hand masher and have at 'em. I added PLAIN almond milk and mashed until they were the perfect consistency, add garlic salt and pepper to taste. (Note to the wise these will not taste like your typical overly creamy and buttery mashed "potatoes", you will actually be able to taste the potato in these which are mashed)

  

"Gravy"

Clean and chop all of your vegetables. Place a little EVOO into your skillet and cook over medium-high heat until veggies are al dente (please do not cook all the crunchy goodness and nutrition out of them.) Next add 1 Tbls whole wheat flour and coat veggies, allow to cook for about 2 mins to get the "raw flour" taste out of it. Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and coat veggies. Add vegetable broth and mix together. Bring to a boil for ~3 mins, and then remove from heat and let thicken. 

"Bowl"

Remove stem and clean portabella... If you are not sure how to clean a portabella grab a damp paper towel and gently scrub cap... use as little water as possible on mushrooms in general as they will absorb  a lot of water and release it during cooking, making it taste watery. Next get a basting brush and brush on your EVOO/ garlic mix covering both the 

 ventral and dorsal side of the mushroom. Grab a pan with a tight fitting lid and place over medium to medium high heat, depending on stove. Cook mushroom on both sides for 2-3 minutes each, then 

place a teeny-tiny bit of vegetable broth into the bottom of the pan and cover with lid to steam the cap. Time depends on size of cap, but once again be sure that you don't over cook it... PLEASE! 

Finally put it all together!!! Mushroom gill side up, mash potatoes, top with "gravy" and plenty of the veggies that go with it.... SOOOOOO GOOD! Give it a try! MISS YOU ALL!!

 

Acorn Squash Stuffed w/ Creative Quinoa *vegan

Okay....so I love me some squash (all squash) and at our market was HUGE organic acorn squash so I figured I could come up with some sort of wonderfully unique and tasty dish!


First I cut the squash in half and put them face down in the oven for 40 min at 425ish degrees!

Then I began with a base of quinoa..yummmm! when the quinoa has soaked up most of the water, add a bit of cumin and chili powder for a nice spice.

While that was cooking I began to chop up some delicious veggies, such as: carrots, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, ginger root and anything else you want (that is what we had in the house)!
I then saute those in water....putting in the onion, carrot and bell pepper first. 
Once those are softer, then add the garlic and ginger root!

When everything has had a chance to soften just a bit.....add a small dose of Apple Cider Vinegar (bare with me...I don't measure anything really).  Then throw in some cinnamon (maybe like 1/2 tbs) and finally a healthy portion of crushed red pepper if you like the spice!!


Let those wonderful flavors simmer together for a few minutes!
By this time your squash and quinoa should be finished.
You can just toss your quinoa into your mix of veggie goodness.
Mix up all these flavors - I added a bit more chili powder and some sea salt to taste!
And--A really nice touch, was that I threw in some craisins to add a POP of flavor (could use raisins also)

When your flavors have all blended out to perfection.....scoop out portions and use your acorn squash as bowls (the best tasting bowls in the world....unless your counting sourdough bread bowls YUM)
We threw a little dab of nutritional yeast on top of each to add a cheesy touch.

Gently place back in oven for 5 minutes or so!
Then remove and enjoy!

SERIOUSLY SO AWESOME! definitely a MUST TRY!!!!! mmmmmm i love craisins!

Raw.  Kale.  Avocado.  Salad.

I know these are not complete sentences so the periods are unnecessary, but I think that after each of these words you should ponder them independently and then put them together as a whole unit.  So the periods stay.  And now you need to ponder them.






Alright that should be enough time.  This delicious salad came about by being inspired by a few different things.  The first was a few weeks ago I was out and about with my mom and we found out that there was a little food fair.  One of the booths was a completely raw bakery and one of their samples was a raw seaweed kale salad.  I ate some of that salad and it was a flavor explosion in my mouth.  I had never had kale raw before so it was a new sensation.  The crunchy and bitterness really grabbed my goat (obviously not literally).  Not only was the flavor superb, but it gave me a burst of energy.  I have found the more raw my food, the more energy I seem to take from it.  I feel more alive and exuberant.  Alright, so after this salad I wanted to replicate some sort of a kale salad.  My second inspiration was from Whole Foods.  I was going through and looking at their Grab and Go salad area and saw an avocado and kale salad.  I got a little to try, but I thought it was missing some key flavors.  It literally was just avocado, kale, and olive oil.

So I was shopping the other day and saw some kale, so I picked it up.  And avocado's because when they are cheap enough they will always be a staple in my diet.  As I was going home and unloading my groceries I saw the avocados next to the kale and thought: this is my moment to make something GREAT!  I started thinking about what I had and what would be good with avocado and kale.  I had some lime, hemp hearts, salt, pepper and olive oil.  So I looked online and found some dressings that had a variety of these things plus or minus some other ingredients.  I tried making my own and it turned out del-is-E-Oh-so.

1 bag kale
2 avocados
Dressing:
2 Tbls olive oil (cold pressed obvs)
1/2 squeezed lemon OR 1 whole squeezed lime
1/2 tsp salt (or if you are NaCl crazy you can make it 3/4)
1-2 chopped garlic cloves
some pepper
and then sprinkle some hemp hearts on top.

I made the dressing first and then massaged it into the kale.  Then I cut up the avocado and mixed it in.  Then I put the hemp hearts on top.  Dude, this was so good.  However the garlic did make my breath dragon fire bad.  I made this a second time and substituted crushed red pepper flakes for the garlic.  It was just as tasty.



UPDATE:  Apparently your body absorbs more nutrients available in kale when it is slightly steamed.  I read from multiple sources, but I will provide this link if you want to check this out yourself:  http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38
You can read about it within the first paragraph.  I did try steaming the kale but it lost some of that satisfying crunch, so I added a bit of raw kale to the steamed and got my desired consistency :)

VARIATION:  If you vegans are craving a cheesey taste, then add nutritional yeast to this and it pairs nicely with the other flavors.  The contrast of the earthy hemp with the nutritional yeast makes the cheesiness really pop!

Flavorful Black Bean N Rice Burgers *vegan

Today felt like a black bean burger day.  I have one of these days at least once a fortnight.


So, the first thing you need to do is soak your beans.  Let them sit for a couple hours if you can... the longer they soak the less time you'll need to boil them.


I can't have black bean burgers without some roasted red potatoes, so I diced up some of these bad boys, put them in a big bowl with: olive oil (tablespoon or so), chili powder, salt, garlic powder.  Get your hands dirty and mix up the oil and spice and throw these in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour.  If you have a toaster oven, use it instead since we don't need to heat an entire oven for just a couple potatoes.


Throw a cup of rice in your rice cooker.  If you don't have a rice cooker, stop reading this blog and go to eBay or Amazon and buy one.  Get your life together.

Ok, so what will make our BBB's (black bean burgers) unique is a little veg/spice mixture.  While we're cooking the BB's, throw some onion, garlic (3 cloves OK) and bell pepper into your Ninja.  If you don't have a Ninja food processor, see the last sentence of the previous paragraph.  Add some chili powder and a good amount of ground cumin to the diced concoction your Ninja has produced.  We like spice out here in AZ so I'd add a touch of Franks Red Hot at this point as well.








Oh, since vegetables are the key to an awesome life.  Go to your local farmers market and pick up something grown in your area. Preferably organic, if you can swing paying an extra few bucks.  Throw it together in a steamer pot and steam for 2.5  to 3 minutes.  Do not overcook your vegetables.  You should really be eating them raw but lightly steaming is a nice compromise.








When your BB's are done cooking (soft), add them to the mix that you made and mash 'em up!  If you're finding that they are still a bit tough, you can throw them into your Ninja to help you out.  Add your rice to this mix as well.  Now lightly oil a skillet and throw a couple on in patty form.  Don't worry about making them perfect since they may/will fall apart.  This is fun.














DING. Your potatoes are done.  Take them out.
















Recommended toppings/condiments: salsa, avacado, jalepenos, jalepeno mustard, tomatoes, cucumbers, extra hot sauce and lettuce.


Now, desperately try to create a presentation half as good as the one below.  Enjoy.

Steam Me Happy -- OKRA!!!

Ok so why people insist on frying to many naturally wonderful foods is beyond me!
But, we decided to break the "paula dean now has diabetes" mold and eat HEALTHY! What a brilliant idea.


Well Okra was on sale at our local market so we figured we would give it a go!
We used our handy dandy steamer.  just add some water to the bottom of a pot and drop in your steaming device and heat up the water.
Place the Okra in for anywhere from 4-6 minutes depending on how much and the size of your okra.  If you have a few pieces larger than the others, place those in a minute or so before the rest!
Remove the okra, and we sprinkled with lemon juice and a touch of sea salt and chili powder.


Let me tell you it was mouth watering goodness! 
I have no idea why people waste such a delicious food as Okra when they fry it to an unrecognizable state of artery clogging nastiness!


So please enjoy!!!!!!!

Egg-celent Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

Egg-celent Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

What you will need...

1 eggplant (male... more to come on this in a minute)

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

2 cloves garlic -minced-

1 medium yellow onion -diced-

1/2 Red bell pepper -diced-

1 Tsp ground cumin

1/2 Tsp turmeric

1 Tsp garam masala

2 Tsp ginger paste

1/2 Tsp ground red pepper

1 can (14 oz) organic diced tomatoes

1 can (15oz) cooked chickpeas

Skillet with a tight fitting lid

     I was at the farmers market the other day and one of my favorite stalls had eggplant, which they had never had before. I had never bought, eaten... let alone cooked an eggplant before, so I decided to give it a try. I asked the lady who ran the stall how to pick out a good eggplant and she gave me some really interesting advice!

     ** An awesome fact for the biologically impaired... all plants (including fruits) have male and female blooms.** If you look at the base of an eggplant there is a brown spot at the bottom, the female eggplants will have a round spot and the male eggplants will have a oval shaped spot. Apparently eggplants are freaks of the natural world because the male eggplants will be sweater and the female eggplants will have a more bitter taste, so when cooking you want to make sure that you get a male eggplant. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 

Stab holes into your eggplant with a fork

Cover your cooking sheet with tin foil (you will be glad that you did this later)

Place eggplant on sheet and bake for 40mins (eggplant will start to look withered)--------->

Pull out eggplant and set aside to cool

While your eggplant is cooling begin to heat EVOO and garlic in your skillet.

Dice onion and cook with oil and garlic until it begins to caramelize, add bell pepper and spices. Allow to cook until peppers just begin to soften. 

Peel, dice, and add eggplant to skillet 

Drain and add diced tomatoes.

Allow to cook over medium heat for about 10 mins

(Right about here I wish I could upload a smell because you all would be licking the computer screen!)

Drain chickpeas water into cup, add chickpeas to skillet.

Add equal parts chickpea water and vegetable stock to mixture, cover with lid and allow to simmer for a minimum of 15 mins, stirring once or twice... Let all those lovely tastes come together!!! Salt to taste...

And that's it... I threw mine over some quinoa and thoroughly enjoyed it... all by myself... MISS YOU ALL...Wish you were here!   

Beet/Carrot salad w/ squash n beans! *vegan

Ok so we just had a mish mash of food tonight and here is what we came up with!!!
First, a beet/carrot salad, we used:
2 beets, 2 carrots, handful of sunflower seeds, celery, ground flaxseed -- 
we put beets, carrots in celery in food chopper, then added the seeds!  Then top the mixture with a blend of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice.  I was short on lemon juice, so I threw in some carrot juice as well!


Then for the squash and sweet potatos.....
dice into 1 inch cubes.  
pour some oil onto pan....add squash/sweet potato mix and rub them around in the oil.
season however you please...we used crushed red pepper, sea salt and a touch of garlic powder! yummm!


For some extra protein, we added a bean mix to our plate that we season with cumin and crushed red pepper!


BEET/CARROT SALAD
-we poured mixture over a bed of fresh lettuce and DID NOT need any dressing...could add more balsamic vinegar if you please!

SQUASH SWEET POTATOES
-place in oven at 400 degrees and bake for approx 30 min....you want them tender, but not mushy....I like a slight caramelized effect, it adds flavor!

And finally, just throw it all on a plate and enjoy!!!!!!!

B-E-A-Utiful Beet Burgers

                          B-E-A-Utiful Beet Burgers

These "burgers" are semi sweet and delicious, these will not taste anything like a classic burger, but if you are looking for something yummy, healthy, and different this is the recipe for you! 

    2 cups cooked brown rice and lintels of choice (combined)
    2 cups chopped FRESH beets
    1 cup onion of choice
    2 tsp dry mustard
    2 cloves garlic- minced
    3 Tbsp organic almond butter
    4 slices of bread crushed into crumbs
    1 tsp thyme
    1 tsp cumin
    Sea salt and pepper to taste

      Okay so first off lets give credit where credit is due this recipe was made with great guidance from the M-azing people from a great web site called Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com/) If you are new to vegan cooking/ baking like I am this is a great place to get some yummy recipes.
     Okay so next lets talk about beets... I thought for a very long time that I didn't like beets, heads up everyone those nasty sugary-mushy things that you get on the salad bar, while they may have at some point in time been a beet, they no longer are. I bought some beets on a whim at my local farmers market because they looked SO freaking beautiful and let me tell you, I LOVE THEM!
     So now onto the burgers that I made with the help of my awesome (If sometimes a little extreme besties) These burgers take a little bit of pre-planning so be sure that you give yourself enough time before hand... we didn't!
     First make 2 cups brown rice and lintels of choice (combined), once these are cooked they need to go into the refrigerator until they are completely cool. While those are cooling toast 4 pieces of whatever bread you have and crumbles those up. Also use a paring knife to cut the top and bottom off of your beets then peel them (BE CAREFUL THEY WILL STAIN ANY AND ALL CLOTHING THAT THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH) stick them into the food processor and chop them up. We used 2 beets but they where really big beets your goal should be to have about 2 cups of beets. Peel and cut into chunk one onion of choice (about the size of one of your beets) and toss that into the food processor along with the beets. As with all good cooking you need a little bit of fresh garlic so peel and mince 3-4 cloves.
     Take the beet and onion combo out of the food processor and put it in a nice big bowl add the brown rice and lintels, almond butter, dry mustard, and other seasonings... here comes the fun part... get your hands a little dirty stick them in the bowl and mix all ingredients together until it has become a homogenous mixture. 

    Grab a handful of your mixture and shape them into a patty form...
<----See they look creepily like ground beef burgers.
     Place your burgers on a per-heated, non oiled skillet, over medium heat. cook for about 10 mins on both sides until the burgers get a little bit of a char on both sides

 

 Stick them on a bun and top with whatever you want... My suggestion, a little bit of hot salsa and home made guacamole!!! ENJOY

Bountiful Butternut Squash and Scrumptious Sweet Potato Soup (vegan)

For the soup...you can use as many squash and sweet taters as you want! We used 3 small squash and 3 sweet taters.  
First step- peel the squash, remove seeds and dice (pics below)
              - peel and dice sweet potatos
Place all pieces into a large pot.  Fill pot with a mix of water/veg broth (low sodium).  Just barely cover all the diced pieces with water.  Let that boil on medium/high heat until diced pieces are tender.
     -can add some spices now, such as: chili powder, crushed red pepper, garlic, curry, etc. We used        crushed red pepper.
     -After about 15 min of boiling, add diced onion and garlic if you wish.
Once tender (maybe 30 min or so), mash up with water.  When pieces are mashed, place in blender.  Blend until smooth-ish.


Poor back into pot and you have some wonderful soup!

As a topping you could make a red pepper puree with red bell pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and water.  Blend together and place a spoonful on soup.  We did not have any bell peppers in the house to do this. bummer!