Tag Archives: squash

October 24, 2012

Spooky Sips and Dressed Up Dogs

 

This past weekend was pretty busy and had some awesome surprises; the main one being that my younger sister paid us a random visit by driving out from Phoenix (where she recently moved) and helping us put up Halloween decorations. She is, after all, queen of the fake spider webs (seriously). Not only that, we had a garage sale that went pretty well, considering the semi-drizzly weather and we may have put a couple of costumes on Duchess, the basset hound.

Not only that, I had an awesome guest post go up on the Vegan Woman! It’s all about recipes of great Spooky Sips for your next Halloween gathering. So, please, go check it out; especially the martini recipe (as picture below), doesn’t it look neat?

 And here is Bandit with his eyes set on something very intently, but what? I have no idea. Isn’t he the cutest?!

Then, there’s poor Duchess, whose legs just aren’t long enough for this awesome Batman costume; but, maybe I can fix that for her. To say she was a fan of being dress up would be a gross exaggeration. ha ha ;)

Lastly, I made a quick dinner last night with half of an acorn squash that was super simple, healthy and delicious. So, I’ll give you the rough recipe that serves two people.

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Simple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree, Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 2
 

Easy, healthy and delicious stuffed acorn squash with Mexican flair.
Ingredients
  • 1 large Acorn Squash, Sliced in half with seeds scooped out
  • Water
  • 1-15oz. Can Pinto Beans
  • 2 Tbsp. Red Onion, Diced
  • ¼ Cup Green Onion, Diced
  • 2 Small Roma Tomatoes, Diced
  • 1 Cup (packed) Spinach, Arugula or Kale, chopped
  • 1 tsp. Hot Sauce
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the acorn squash halves cutside-down in a large baking dish, poke a couple of holes in the rind with a fork and fill the baking dish ¼” high with water. Bake for 40 mins or until the squash softens.
  2. In the meantime, toss the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl and let sit until the squash is done baking.
  3. Once the squash is done, take it out of the oven and flip the halves over.
  4. Carefully, pour the filling mixture inside of the halves, and they may overflow just a little.
  5. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for an additional 10-15 mins. Serve warm, and if you like, with more hot sauce!

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What are some of your favorite parts about Halloween?

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March 9, 2012

Greenslove: Rustic Arugula Flatbread

Today is the official start of the 3-day trade show segment of Natural Products Expo West, and after the warm up yesterday, I am crazy anxious to get the ball rolling! I can’t wait to share a lot of the new, vegan products out there that are being offered by brands you know and love, and then some. I’m not even sure that I’ll be able to get everything organized right after Sunday is over; but sometime next week there will be a barrage of pictures and anecdotes flooding the homepage of Vegan Yack Attack! But, until the expo is over, I have another fantastic recipe for you.

As I was anticipating the arrival of my dear friend Amanda (whom I frequently cook for) on Sunday afternoon, I was thinking of different recipes to make and somehow a flatbread came to mind. I knew that I wanted to incorporate some greenery into the recipe, so I picked up some baby arugula and got to working out the details.

One of the great things about having a witness to your cooking, is that you can allow them to put you in front of the camera. Although, I can still decide what shows up on here, obviously. ;) So, I put together this recipe by using some others that I’ve made in the past, such as a variation of a delicious cashew spread and the crust which I made with more whole wheat flour in it.


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February 3, 2012

Super Bowl Snacktime: Squash Queso Dip!

Super bowl Sunday is coming up, so I have my first cooking video to show you a great appetizer! I took some inspiration from my smoky mac & cheeze, but added a little Mexican flair with cilantro and jalapeños, while making the smoky flavor more subtle. Serve this delicious dip with some crispy tortilla chips or raw vegetables like I did!

This dip isn’t particularly cheesy, per say, but it definitely has some great color and flavors. I substituted the cashews typically used with this type of sauce with some chickpeas, to keep it healthy and low-fat. Try it out for yourself, and let me know what you think! :)

Ingredients:

  • 3 Cups Kabocha Squash, Seeded & Baked
  • 3/4 Cup Cooked Chickpeas
  • 6 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast
  • 3 Tbsp. Smoked Sun-dried Tomatoes
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp. Turmeric
  • 1/2-1 tsp. Sea Salt, closer to 1 tsp. is better
  • 1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. Minced Jalapeño or other Pepper

Directions:

  1. Follow directions in video: Healthy Squash Queso Dip!

As for making my first cooking video, I was so nervous! I can’t even begin to tell you all how anxious even pressing the record button was. I hope that you all enjoy it, and if you have any pointers (constructive obviously) I’d love to hear them. So, thanks ahead of time, for the feedback! :)

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October 24, 2011

Spaghetti Squash with Marinara & Focaccia

Let me start off by saying that it’s quite obvious that I’m a squash lover. Most of my family and friends are aware of this and if you didn’t know it yet, you soon will! I love all types of squash; the light and crisp summer squashes, the hearty fall and winter squashes with their hard shells and squashes with unique textures that are great for substituting noodles in pasta dishes!

The post today is about how much I love spaghetti squash and a great marinara sauce for it. Spaghetti squash is great for casseroles as well as pseudo pasta dishes, and is so easy to prepare that you’ll wonder why you even bothered to boil some starchy store bought noodles for your awesome sauce (whichever one you like). I prefer to bake mine, but if I’m running out of time I use the microwave; so now you have no excuses NOT to use this wonderful specimen of a squash. ;)

I made this dish while in New York, so that my cousin could try out some of my cooking. It went terrifically with the Mediterranean Focaccia that I made, and the crisp romaine salad with yellow cherry tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. This dish would also be great with some garlic bread and putting black olives in the marinara would definitely take it up a notch!

Ingredients (Servings: 4)

  • 6 Medium-Sized Tomatoes, Roughly Chopped
  • 10 Pieces of Sun Dried Tomato
  • 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 3 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1/4 Cup White Onions, Diced
  • 4 Button Mushrooms, Chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
  • 1/4 tsp. Dried Parsley
  • 1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
  • Salt to Taste
  • 1 Medium-Sized Spaghetti Squash, Roughly 4 Cups Once Scraped Out

Directions:

  1. Wash off your spaghetti squash and slice it in half. Place face down on a baking dish and fill the bottom with water until it is about 1/4″ high and poke several holes in the rind with a fork. Bake at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes or until the rind is soft when you poke it.
  2. While that is baking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in oil until the onions are clear. In the meantime place the fresh and the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor or blender and puree until completely smooth, you may need to do this in two batches depending on how big your appliance is.
  3. Pour the tomato mixture into the pan along with the mushrooms and herbs/spices. Stir together and let simmer for 15 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
  4. When the spaghetti squash is done baking, what 5-10 minutes for it to cool slightly and scrape out the insides with a fork. Drain it in a colander if there is a lot of excess moisture, then mix it into the marinara sauce. Serve warm and top with a pinch of nutritional yeast if you want the same effect as Parmesan cheese.

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