I thought it would be fun to make pumpkin pies during the holidays using fresh pumpkin. But plans changed and dessert was no longer needed. That meant trying out a few pumpkin recipes since I meant to have enough to make two pies it made about five different dishes, 1) a bread from the Decadent Gluten Free Vegan baking cookbook by Cara Reed (I also really enjoyed trying the scones, herbed biscuits-mine didn't rise though, and the chocolate-cinnamon snickerdoodles) 2) an Afghan stew 3) a pumpkin-chickpea stew from Better Homes and Gardens and 4) another recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden's Cheesey Bean and Rice Bites with Pumpkin-Sage Sauce and 5) pumpkin pie filling-for whatever reason it tasted too salty to me, maybe using coconut milk or coconut sugar, or using fresh pumpkin didn't fit the bill.
I was a fan of the BHG dish (#4). I made some changes based on what I had on hand:
(if fresh pumpkin is not available, butternut squash should be!)
Ingredients-
1 cup cooked lentils
2 cups cooked quinoa
1.25 cups of nutritional yeast
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tbsp fresh herbs chopped (I used thyme, sage and rosemary)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp olive oil
15 oz of cooked pumpkin (I sliced pumpkin into 3-4" wedges after de-seeding, covered in a baking dish with foil, baking at 400 F for 45min-1 hour or until flesh can be pierced easily with a fork. remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes until you can handle it and scoop out the flesh)
1 1/3 cup veggie stock or broth
1/4 tsp salt
1. In a large bowl mix together the lentils, quinoa, 1 tbsp herbs, nutritional yeast, coconut flakes and the egg. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. After about 40 minutes of the hour, preheat the oven to 450 (or however much time your oven needs to preheat). After 1 hour of refrigeration, roll the mixture into about 16 balls.
3. Place on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until browned.
4. While the quinoa-coconut balls are baking, make the pumpkin sauce. Heat a medium saucepan on medium heat with 1 tsp of olive oil.
5. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes until the onion is tender. Add the pumpkin (if using fresh pumpkin may need to mash it to make it smoother or place in a blender with 1/4 cup of water), broth, salt and the remaining herbs.
6. Heat until bubbling, then laddle into bowls to serve with the quinoa-coconut balls.
***************BONUS Easy recipe with Quinoa and Butternut squash-held up great when I had no fridge during jury duty last week! Allow 30 minutes for roasting, plus about 10 minutes of prep time if the squash is whole.****************************************************************
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 butternut squash (remove seeds and cut into 1 inch cubes)-or use pre-bought I'd say it's about 3 cubs for one squash
4 tbsp pre-made or homemade pesto (scroll to the bottom of the entry, and leave off the last two ingredients-the pasta and tomatoes...or try this other recipe using carrot top greens)-both are vegan
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. If using the whole squash, cut in half and remove the seeds (can spread out to dry and toast for a few minutes at 300F with a touch of olive oil or coconut oil to eat as a snack later-waste not my friends!) Cut the squash into the 1" pieces.
2. Toss the squash with 2 tsp olive oil. Spread onto a baking dish, roast for 30 minutes
3. While the squash cooks, Heat half a medium pot of water to boil for the quinoa. Add the quinoa when boiling, then reduce heat to medium. Let cook 10 minutes or until quinoa has the little curls come off and are tender.
4. Drain the water from the quinoa and add pesto to the quinoa, mixing evenly. Once the butternut squash is done, add to the quinoa and mix.
5. From experience, eating it cold or room temperature is fine. Tell me if you try it hot.
What did you do when you last bought too much of an ingredient or in bulk?
Non-food question: What is something you'd like to start doing everyday in February?
