sausage and butternut squash stew

  

Overview

Time: 45 minutes
Dishes: large pot, measuring cup

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I sit here totally stuffed! This stew is perfectly amazing - flavorful, with vegan sausage, cumin, fennel, smoked paprika, and topped with a horseradish crema. Really easy to make, too, but cutting that butternut squash has its own set of challenges, though there are tips and tricks to make it easier. 

For more info on how to cut your squash easily, check out my post HERE, or buy already cut squash, or go it the quick and dirty way: 

• use a sharp knife to cut the neck from the bulb, 
• peel the neck portion with the knife (as it sits on the cut end ; don't worry about how much rind you cut off - just cut!), and 
• worry about the bulb portion another time. 

I used Field Roast sausage in this vegan stew, but you are welcome to use whatever plant-based sausage you like. There is huge flavor punch from the cumin, fennel and smoked paprika to help out any mild-flavored sausage.

The butternut squash is a flavor affinity with horseradish, sausage and kale, therefore do not skip the easy to make crema; it will round off the flavors deliciously!  

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Gather your ingredients.
• Chop sausage while onion cooks.
• Chop potato while sausage cooks.
• Chop squash while broth comes to boil.
• Chop kale after squash is chopped.
• Make sauce while stew cooks.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekday

Serve with crusty bread.

1. Base: Add the oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and sausage. Cover and cook until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir as needed.        

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

4 links (about 13 ounces) vegan sausage, sliced 

2. Roux: Add the flour and the paprika to the Base (flour first, so the paprika doesn’t burn). Stir and cook for 30 seconds. 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

3. Liquid: Add the broth to the Roux. Mix well. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Add the potatoes, squash and kale as they are chopped. Salt as needed. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  

6 cups vegetable broth

1 pound red potatoes, chopped (peeled, optional) 

4 cups chopped butternut squash (about 1 pound) 

1/2 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons

4. Cream: Mix the sour cream, horseradish and sugar. Serve the stew in bowls, add a dollop of Cream and add fresh ground pepper.  

1/2 cup nondairy sour cream

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon sugar   

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

butternut squash and crispy kale noodle salad

Overview

Time: 35 minutes
Dishes: medium pot with lid, air-fryer, measuring cup, salad spinner

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

If the thought of peeling and chopping a butternut squash strikes fear in your heart, join the club. The winter squash is indeed intimidating, but with a few tips, maybe you can give it a chance:

1) Use a peeler to peel the squash - the first pass, just remove the outer skin and then make a second pass to peel until you see orange.

2) Treat the squash as two separate entitites - the neck portion is easy eanough, it is the seed portion that offers trouble. cut the squash in two - the neck portion and the seed portion. 

3) The neck: cut off the stem part and then cut into 1/2-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1/2-inch pieces and then into 1/2-inch  dice.

4) The seed portion: cut the bottom off and then cut off 1/2-inch slices from the bulb, going around the outside of the seed section. Do not cut it in half because then you have to deal with the seeds - instead, cut off slices from the bulb-seed portion and then discard the entire seed bulb when done.

Back to this meatless, vegetarian and vegan recipe: truth be told, this is for a confidant palate, but the flavors are awesome and the textures are unique. The dressing is slightly sweet and spicy (use 1/2 grated fresh garlic if avoiding any spice), but has no oil. The fresh ginger and roasted peanuts tie the whole thing together. It sounds like a lot is going on - but I had this on the table in 35 minutes, including chopping that squash from scratch.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Put the water on for the pasta before grabbing the ingredients.
• Use a lid while heating the water.
• Preheat the air-fryer.
• Peel and chop the squash into 1/2-inch pieces. Take the time here to avoid an extra 15 minutes of baking.
• Make the dressing while the squash and pasta cook.
• Add the beans to the pasta water, right before you drain it, to heat the beans to allow them to absorb some of the flavors of the dressing. 

 

Butternut Squash and Crispy Kale Noodle Salad

Makes 4 servings 

moderate

Preheat air-fryer to 400-F or oven to 450-F

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Add the beans right before draining the pasta. Add 1 tablespoon of Dressing to Pasta after draining.

4 ounces spaghetti

1 cup white beans

2. Squash: Peel and chop the squash. Spray with oil and season with salt, add to air-fryer. Cook for 13 minutes or until almost tender.

1 medium butternut squash (4 cups, 1/2-inch cubed)

3. Dressing: mix the dressing in a measuring cup. Stir until sugar dissolves: 

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon tamari

1 teaspoon sambal oelek

1 tablespoon sugar

1-inch ginger, grated

4. Kale: add the kale to the Squash. Spray with oil and season with salt. Cook for 7 more minutes:

1 bunch kale, tough stem removed and chopped

5. Peanuts: add the peanuts and garlic to the Squash (remove any kale that is getting too dark). Cook for 3 more minutes. 

1/2 cup peanuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

6. Salad: Remove the large crispy Kale pieces to the side. Add the Squash mixture to the Pasta. Mix with a tablespoon of Dressing. Serve the Squash-Pasta mixture over the greens, sprinkle with the green onions and the reserved crispy Kale. Serve with the rest of the Dressing.

6 cups chopped lettuce

2 green onions, minced

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

holiday sandwich

I'm a sucker for complete meal type of sandwiches, as demonstrated by my Thanksgiving Burger, a recipe from 2014. Since the holidays are around the corner, what better way to start the celebration than with this easy to make Holiday Sandwich:

It might look a bit much, but it really is easy to put together. The patty is made of mushrooms and chickpeas as the base. It doesn't include any binding, but it stays together relatively well. It dries out and because the acorn squash is very moist, together, they work in harmony.

A few spices and dark miso help to keep this burger from falafel-ville. It is decidedly not a falafel.

You process all the ingredients in a food processor, form into patties and bake them with the acorn squash. The timing is about the same and because you don't peel the squash, the process is easy.

There is nothing more on the squash than salt and pepper because the flavor is in the patties.

This sandwich needs some crunch, so I tossed thin onion slices with cornstarch/arrowroot and air-fried it until crisp. I did add a few sprays of oil to help it brown, but it is nothing like deep frying them.

The sauce. It is so simple and so delicious! It is Cranberry Aioli and it is the bomb. Just mix together cranberry sauce and vegan mayonnaise or vegan yogurt and liberally add to the sandwich. It is tangy and sweet but creamy and rich. Don't skip it.

And because no holiday is complete without something green, this sandwich features steamed kale. A crusty bread or roll and you are in business, my friend.

Photo by Caitlin Galer-Unti from The Vegan Word.com

Speaking of holidays, gift-giving season is almost here and it is time to start planning. Caitlin from The Vegan Word has amassed an amazingly thorough list of vegan gift ideas. I truly am impressed! Take a look for yourself.

Holiday Sandwich
Makes 4 servings

Patties:
1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
3 ounces of trimmed shiitake mushrooms (trimmed of stems)
1 tablespoon dark miso
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage

Onions:
1 medium onion, sliced very thin
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
Oil spray, as needed

Sauce:
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise or plain nondairy yogurt

Other:
Sea salt and black pepper
1 medium acorn squash, cut into 4 sections
1 bunch kale, tough stems removed and finely chopped
4 crusty rolls, split


1. Patties: Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Combine the chickpeas, mushrooms, miso, yeast, onion, garlic, thyme and sage in a food processor. Process until finely ground. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form into patties about the size of your rolls. Transfer to a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Add the squash quarters to the pan and season with salt and black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the patties and the squash and bake for another 20 minutes. If the squash is tender remove it from the pan. Continue to bake the patties for another 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and hold together fairly well. 
2. Onions: Combine the onion, starch and spray with oil. Transfer to the basket of an air-fryer and cook until semi-crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Shake the basket after every 5 minutes and make sure not to burn. The onions will become crispy after they sit for a minute off the heat.
3. Sauce: Combine the cranberry sauce and mayo. Mix well. Set aside. 
4. Steam the kale until very tender and toast the rolls. Season the kale with salt and pepper.
5. Assemble the sandwich by spreading the bottom and top with the aioli. Add kale, a patty. Scoop out the squash from the shells and add one to the sandwich. Top with onions and serve. 


© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

dinner to bento: vegetable au gratin casserole

Before I get into today's post, I have to announce the winner of Superfoods 24/7 (Amazon, B&N)! The winner is: Sue Hegle! Congratulations! Contact me at zsusveganpantry dot com so I can get your mailing address.

Today's post features another Dinner to Bento meal. That makes 2, so it means that I'm on a roll. If you had seen my first Dinner to Bento meal HERE, you might have noticed that I changed it from Dinner to Lunchbox to Diner to Bento. Why? Because I like it better. I love the term bento, which means meals packed in a lunch container, meant to be taken to school or work. 

While it might seem that is all there is to it, bento also means that the meal is healthy, balanced, thoughtful and appetizing. It means more than just throwing a few things into a container and calling it a bento. It is the art of thoughtfully organizing a lunchbox. Now, don't you like Dinner to Bento better, as well?

This dinner is vegetable-centered and is an easy vegetable casserole in a bechamel sauce. After sauteing some garlic and oregano and cooking the flour, you mix in some non-dairy milk and bring to a simmer.

Thinly slice your vegetables (use a mandolin for the fastest, most accurate way) and layer the veggies in the bechamel sauce, starting with the potatoes. Cook the potatoes in the sauce for about 5 minutes to give them a jump-start.

Then stir in the spinach until it wilts (this happens fast as the sauce is hot), add the onions and then the squash. Press down on the squash until some of the sauce bubbles up. Don't add more liquid, otherwise you'll wind up with soup.

Cover and bake until tender. Add some optional fresh bread crumbs (leave 1/6 of the dish uncovered with bread crumbs; this will be transformed into your bento later), bake until the bread is crisp and serve with a green salad. Here I served it with Creamy Garlic Tahini Dressing.

For the bento portion, you will be creating a Oregano Bean Puree Crostini. Sautee fresh oregano, garlic and lima beans until the beans are fragrant with the herb, about 5 minutes. You can do this while the casserole is baking.

Blend the beans with 1/6 of the vegetable casserole (scrape the bread crumbs off, if you added it) and season to taste. Chill before packing. 

Let's talk bento. 

Above I wrote of the thoughtfulness of packing a bento vs. packing a lunchbox. There are a few things to keep in mind that will make the lunch be healthy, nutritious, balanced and appetizing.

The traditional bento relies on proportions:

4 parts carbohydrates
3 parts protein
2 parts vegetables
1 part treat

As vegans, you will find that your carbs and proteins might fall into the same categories: beans are both carbs and protein. Same with nuts and seeds. There are a few high-protein exceptions: soy and seitan, but typically don't go crazy adhering to the above traditional proportions. 

Instead, especially if you are using whole grains as your carbs, your proportions will more likely look like:

6 parts carbohydrates (whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts)
2 parts protein (whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, soy, seitan)
2 parts vegetables
1 part treat (sweets, fruit)

Bentos also require color. As we now know, color doesn't just make food look appealing, but it is a great way to ensure you get your proper balance of nutrients; if you eat the color of the rainbow, you are maximizing variety, and therefore gaining your nutrition from a variety of plants. 

Rule of thumb for color? Make sure you have one of each of the following categories covered:

Red/Yellow/Orange
Green
White
Brown/Black/Purple

A note on the White color: if it is typically a white grain you are thinking of (such as rice), consider using whole grain instead. In the example, use brown rice instead of white rice and call it a win. 

There you have it: cover the proportions and the color spectrum and you will have built a bento.

My bento for today is:

Oregano Bean Puree [yellow, carb, protein] served with 
Pickles [the beans need the acid - use pickled onions or jalapenos instead, if you like (green, vegetable)]
Crostini [thin slices of toasted bread (white/brown, carb)]
Salad [green, vegetable]
Carrot curls [orange, vegetable]
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Bite [from Everyday Vegan Eats (brown, treat)]

A tip before we get to the recipe: pack your box tightly to avoid shifting of the food. Nothing worse than lovingly and carefully packing the container only to have everything mix up and mash together when the box is moved. Use containers to separate ingredients or vegetable or grain pieces to hold the sections separate. More tips next time!

Vegetable Au Gratin Casserole/ Oregano Bean Puree
Prep time: 30 minutes    Cook time: 60 minutes
Serves 4 to 5


Casserole:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2  teaspoons sea salt
1/2  teaspoon black pepper
4 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
Fresh ground nutmeg
2 pounds Russet potatoes, thinly sliced (⅛-inch)
8 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
4 slices whole grain bread

Dressing:
4 tablespoons vegan sour cream
4 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons tahini
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2  teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Oregano Bean Puree:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup lima beans
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 sprigs fresh oregano
1/6 vegetable casserole (without bread crumb topping)


1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet. Add the flour garlic, bay, oregano, salt and black pepper. Cook until fragrant. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add about 8 grates of fresh nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and add the potatoes. Stir the potatoes around in the sauce to ensure all slices of potatoes are coated. Simmer the potatoes for about 4 minutes.
2. Add the spinach and stir to wilt. Add the onions in a single layer. Add the squash slices as the last layer. Gently press on the squash to bubble up the sauce over the slices. Cover the skillet tightly with a lid or foil and bake for 40 minutes.
3. Add the bread to a food processor and process into crumbs. Add to the casserole, spray with oil and continue to bake, uncovered, until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes. Serve, reserving ⅙ of the casserole.
4. For the Dressing: While the casserole is baking, combine the sour cream broth, vinegar, tahini, garlic, paprika and salt in a small blender. Process until smooth. Serve with green salad.
5. For the puree: Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the beans, garlic and oregano. Saute until the beans are fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bean mixture to a food processor. Add the casserole mixture and process until as smooth as you like. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with crostini (toasted slices of French or Italian bread.

 © 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

"the good karma diet" + giveaway

What goes around, comes around. We've all heard the old motto, but many of us have yet to apply it to something as daily as eating. Too many people only consider this old adage on massive scales or only human-to-human contact, but the truth runs much deeper and affects many more beings than the homo sapien kind.

Victoria Moran addresses this correlation between who/what we eat with how we feel and what we reap. In her yet-to-be released book, The Good Karma Diet: Eat Gently, Feel Amazing, Age in Slow Motion, (Amazon, B&N, Penguin Publishers), Victoria breaches and approaches this topic with her typical good sense and good sense of humor. The book is a complete guide to eating karmically that benefits you, the world you live in and the animals that inhabit it with you.

She shows us how we can choice food that sustains energy, extends youthfulness, reduces weight and how enlightenment can affect our outlook. The book is divided into 25 chapters, full of advice, inspiration, tips and stories of experiences from folks on the karmic path. As Victoria puts it, the book is a living book and alnough not necessarily a cookbook, it does include a section of recipes.

Victoria Moran has been writing books for more than 20 years, is the author of Main Street Vegan (Amazon, B&N) and is the founder of the Main Street Vegan Academy.

If you have ever read any of Victoria's books, you will know that she is charming and very down to earth. I thoroughly loved the book, evidenced that I received the book, sat down and read it overnight. It was as addictive as the topic. Not only is the book informative, but it is fun to read!

If you purchase a book before the publish date of May 19, you get a few perks: an exclusive telecast with Victoria and you will be entered in a contest to win $$ for your favorite charity. Victoria makes sure that the karma keeps moving fluidly: you get the book, the telecast, charity gets donations and the animals are spared. Win, win all around.

Victoria shares one of the recipes in the book and below she is giving away a copy of The Good Karma Diet, open to both US and Canadian residents. Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Contest ends Monday, May 18.

Creamy Golden Squash Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups boiling water


1 medium white onion whole and unpeeled


1 medium butternut or walnut squash, cubed


1 small zucchini, cubed


1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped


2 tablespoons olive oil


1 medium red onion, sliced


1 medium stalk celery, chopped


1/2 teaspoon turmeric


2 teaspoons cumin


1-2 cloves garlic, chopped


1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)


1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted (If toasting your own chopped raw walnuts, toast in a dry skillet at medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted. Remove from heat immediately.)

Loving Preparation:

1. In a medium pot, add the water, whole white onion, and squash. Bring to a boil again; then simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add the zucchini and carrots and simmer for 10 minutes more.

3. Meanwhile, sauté the sliced red onions in oil on medium heat until golden brown. Set aside.

4. Drain the soup into a large bowl and set the liquid aside.

5. Discard the onion peel and add peeled white onion, along with the drained soup ingredients, to a heatproof food processor or blender. Add celery, salt, and all seasonings, and puree until smooth and creamy. (Be very careful when blending hot liquids as the sudden release of steam has a tendency to blow the lid off of blenders. Be sure the lid is firmly in place and cover the lid with a towel for extra safety. Start the blender at its lowest speed, increasing it slowly.)

6. Pour the blender contents back into the pot and add the drained stock and sautéed onions.

7. Adjust the flavor if needed, with more salt, pepper, or any of the spices.

8. Serve hot or chilled, in bowls or mugs. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and decorate with a sprig of parsley or cilantro.

9. Soup will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Or freeze in a plastic container or sealed BPA- free zipper bag.

Serves 4 to 6

"Meaty" Variation:

If you love mushrooms and want a bit of a meaty texture, sauté 1 cup of fresh or 10 soaked and sliced shiitake mushrooms with the sliced red onion.

Excerpted from THE GOOD KARMA DIET: Eat Gently, Feel Amazing, Age in Slow Motion by Victoria Moran, with the permission of Tarcher/Penguin, a division of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2015.

Photo and recipe by Doris Fin, CCHP, AADP.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

dump dinner: ginger butternut and fennel wild rice

This is a dish that I will term a 2-Step DD (Dump Dinner) because it needs two kinds of cooking techniques.

While the recipe is still easy, as in prep time being around 10 minutes, it does require the wild rice to be cooked on the stove top and the vegetables to be roasted in the oven. The dish is ready in 40 minutes, including roasting time because the wild rice has an overnight soak.

I would say that the most difficult part of this recipe is tackling the butternut squash. My method for preparing this often imagined difficult-to-handle winter squash is to cut off the top stem-end and divide the squash into two pieces, right where the bulb meets the long neck.

Next, I peel the neck-end of the squash using a vegetable peeler and chop as needed. That leaves the time-consuming part of the squash to deal with: the bulb, seeded-end. This I reserve for another dish or another time.

I cut it in half, seed, place cut side down and bake until tender. Then I season and either scoop out the orange flesh or serve as is with a spoon. To peel, seed, and chop the curved bulb end takes a lot of time and effort and is best left as its own separate meal.

So, preheat your oven and by the time it's ready, your squash will be, too.

GINGER BUTTERNUT AND FENNEL WILD RICE PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Ginger Butternut and Fennel Wild Rice

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes of chopping, 10 minutes pre-heat, overnight soak

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Vegetables:

4 cups shaved fennel

3 cups ½-inch dice butternut squash

½-inch piece ginger, minced

½ cup vegetable broth

Sea salt and black pepper

Rice:

1 ½ cups brown and wild rice blend, soaked overnight and drained

1 cup vegetable broth

½-inch piece ginger, minced

½ teaspoon sea salt

Water, as needed

2 cups cooked cannellini beans

4 scallions, minced

1. Vegetables: Preheat oven to 450-degrees F. Combine the fennel, squash, ginger and broth on a baking sheet. Season with salt and black pepper and bake until tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Rice: Combine the drained rice, broth, ginger, salt and enough water as needed to cover the rice by 1-inch in a medium pot. Cook the rice until tender, about 15 minutes over a strong simmer. Drain the rice, return to the pot. Drape a kitchen towel over the rice and steam for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the beans, scallions and roasted vegetables and season with salt and black pepper, as needed.

Quick Tip: Preheat oven while you chop the vegetables.

© 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.