Vegan Recipe - Squash Bread

Spinach and Artichoke Dip ... S'mores Cheesecake ... Stromboli
Are you drooling yet? These are just a few of the delicious, vegan recipes one will find at My Naturally Frugal Family.

Rachel, the head chef and author of My Naturally Frugal Family, is a wife and mother. In 2011, she and her family began a journey towards better health via better food. To that end, they planted 10 raised gardens, a ton of fruit trees (like cherry, plum, and peach), several pecan trees, and an assortment of berry bushes. They also gave up meat. Rachel even went a step further and adopted a vegan diet (her family is vegetarian).

Changing their diet rewarded everyone in the family with better health. In Rachel's words, "... everyone feels better and doesn't get sick nearly as often."

Rachel is passionate about food and creates the most delicious recipes which she shares on her blog. To me, visiting My Naturally Frugal Family is like entering a neighborhood delicatessen where yummy offerings are on display. I salivate ... my tummy growls ... and I can't wait to dig in!

Rachel has very graciously allowed me to share one of her recipes with you. Enjoy ...

Squash Bread

Ingredients

• 1 C butternut squash roasted and squished (technical term)
• 2 ener-G egg replacers
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C water
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 3/4 C all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (Rachel used kosher)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

Method

• Mix all of this together and pour into a greased bread pan. Rachel topped it with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar to give it a little crunch (plus who doesn't like fat sugar crystals).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

You can find the original recipe HERE.


If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please contact me HERE. And for all the recipes we've shared so far, be sure to visit our recipe page using the tabs at the top of this blog ... or by clicking HERE.


Sneak Peek: Are you concerned about plastic? That's just one of the interesting topics we'll discuss next week. See you then!

Recipe and photo courtesy of My Naturally Frugal Family

Vegan Recipe - Three Course Dinner

It started out as a dare. Small Footprints challenged Argentum Vulgaris (AV), a devout carnivore, to create a vegan dish. AV said he'd think it over. Time went by. Small wasn't holding her breath. And then, an amazing thing happened ... AV put on his chef's hat and created not one vegan dish but a multi-course meal. And what a mouth-watering meal it is! He proves that good food is simply good food ... no matter what we call it!

A huge "thank you" to AV for accepting my dare. Now, please enjoy his meal:


I am not a vegan, much less a vege, I am a carnivore; but I am also a cook.

Having been asked, tongue in cheek, by Small (knowing me to be a confirmed carnivore) to prepare a vegan dish, I have gone one better and given you a three course dinner. I cheated on the principle of the main dish and dessert, sending you off into the blogosphere for those recipes.

You’ll notice that I have not given you quantities; chefs don’t use quantities, they know how much to add.

Enjoy!


1. Entree

Mushroom soup

Sliced mushrooms sauté with a sprinkle soya sauce. Chopped carrots, celery, quartered onion, thyme, bay leaf, add the drippings from mushrooms, boil until veges are cooked. Chuck the veges (or add them to your main dish plate). Add the mushrooms to the broth add firm tofu and blend. Serve with chives or spring onion green and a squeeze of lemon juice.

2. Main course

Stuffed potatoes - Hollow out medium size potatoes, don’t peel. Fill with a mixture of tofu, spinach and onion soup, top with a thick round of tomato into the oven to roast.

Asparagus with Honey dressing – Honey dressing, vegan mayonnaise, half cup dry red wine, honey, Dijon mustard, dash of Tabasco sauce and salt and pepper. Pour over cold asparagus.

NB: This dressing can also be used over meat subs or vegan kebabs, or pasta.

Pita (or Syrian) bread, add hummus, and anything salady, olive oil & vinegar; roll and pin with toothpick.

Quinoa Burgers – recipe on Queen of Quinoa - http://www.queenofquinoa.me/2011/10/vegan-quinoa-burgers/.

3. Dessert

Pumpkin parfait – recipe on Sweelty Raw – http://www.sweetlyraw.com/2012/10/vegan-thanksgiving-dessert-roundup.html.


If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please contact me HERE. And for all the recipes we've shared so far, be sure to visit our recipe page using the tabs at the top of this blog ... or by clicking HERE.

Vegan Recipe - Big Honkin' Chopped Salad

One of my favorite features on Reduce Footprints is our monthly vegan recipe. Meatless meals are good for the planet and good for our health. And ... it's a terrific opportunity to meet talented chefs who whip up delicious dishes to tempt our taste buds. This month's Guest Chef is, indeed, very talented!

Please meet Sam, author (and head chef) of The Quantum Vegan. The Quantum Vegan is a wonderful blog with a variety of interesting posts ... interviews with authors and chefs, product and restaurant reviews and even discussions on eating disorders. And then there are recipes ... lots of recipes ... lots of delicious recipes ... things like “Cheesy” Sweet Potato Hash Browns for breakfast, Toasted Zucchini-Cabbage Sandwiches for lunch and, one of my personal favorites, Millet Salsa Bowls for dinner. Looking for a desert recipe? How does a Mocha Brownie Torte sound? Or maybe “Dandy” Chocolate Chip Walnut Bars? Maybe you're just in the mood for a snack and would find Tangy Shredded Salad to your taste ... or Garlic-Dill White Bean Hummus. Is your mouth watering? Mine is! Each recipe is clear and concise and includes ingredients which most of us have in our kitchens. More importantly, each recipe (at least the ones I've tried) are fabulous ... they meet my main criteria: 1) they are easy to put together and 2) they taste great. The Quantum Vegan is for anyone who loves good food. I hope you'll check it out!

Sam has graciously agreed to share a recipe with us. It looks delicious!

Big Honkin' Chopped Salad

After seeing Forks Over Knives, I was inspired to start swapping out the vegan convenience foods in my diet with more whole foods. Without frozen burritos or ready-in-4-minutes organic ramen to rely on, I had to start being more creative about lunch. It was time to seek out new recipes!

Inspired by the "Hugh Jass Salad" in the Peas & Thank You cookbook (we won't mention how long it took me to work out that joke), I started making big salads with lots of add-ins, which evolved into big chopped salads with crunchy toppings and improvised "dressings." Chopped salad is a great way to get in a lot of vegetables at once, plus the chopping mixes everything together so you get a little bit of each flavor in every bite. Add some grains and beans, and you've got a whole meal in one bowl! Another bonus is that it's extremely portable, so if you're in need of a healthy lunch on the go, you can't go wrong with a big honkin' salad.

This is my basic recipe, but you can mix and match depending on what you have on hand. Sometimes I swap out some of the summer squashes for a few brussels sprouts or throw in some pea shoots. Quinoa and chickpeas is my favorite grain/bean combo, but I've used red rice and pinto beans, millet and white beans and bulgur and kidney beans in the past. Uncle Sam cereal is my favorite topping since it's just wheat flakes and flax seeds, but you can use anything healthy and crunchy. Chopped walnuts come to mind!

Ingredients

2 cups mixed greens (I use spring mix)
1 cup kale, roughly chopped
1 cup red cabbage, roughly chopped
1 cup zucchini, summer squash, or a mix, sliced
1/2 cup bell peppers, diced large
1/4 cup carrots, sliced
1/4 cup cucumbers, sliced
1/2 serving cold cooked grains (usually about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup beans of your choice
2Tbsp. Uncle Sam cereal
2Tbsp hummus, homemade or store bought, thinned with water to desired consistency
pepper to taste (optional)

1) Dump the greens, kale, cabbage, squashes, peppers, carrots and cucumbers into a food processor. Pulse until chopped but not mushy. Transfer to a big salad bowl.

2) Add the grains and beans. Drizzle on the hummus "dressing" and mix until well combined.

3) Sprinkle on the pepper and Uncle Sam cereal, grab a fork, and enjoy!

Sam, a.k.a. the Quantum Vegan, has been vegan for three years and has spent that time experimenting with recipes in a quest to discover as much delicious vegan food as possible. She loves sharing pictures and comments via the Quantum Vegan blog and finding new recipes from other amazing vegan bloggers around the web!

MMM ... I can't wait to try out that recipe! Thanks, so much, to Sam for stopping by today and sharing this dish with us!

If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please send it to me HERE. And for all the recipes we've shared so far, be sure to visit our recipe page using the tabs at the top of this blog ... or by clicking HERE.

Vegan Recipe - Curried Lentils

Several years ago, we discovered Udipi cuisine which is vegetarian food from the Udipi (or Udupi) District in the Indian state of Karnataka. The food is spicy and delicious. Inspired by the exotic flavors, I created this lentil dish which is wonderful on cool fall evenings. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do.



Curried Lentils


Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, diced
2 Large Garlic Cloves, diced
1/2 Jalapeno Pepper, diced (remove seeds for less heat)
1/4 Green Pepper, diced
2 teaspoons Curry Powder
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1 cup Brown Lentils (rinsed)
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
1 can diced Tomatoes
3 cups Water
Salt & Pepper (to taste)


Method

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, Jalapeno and green pepper in the olive oil until vegetables are translucent (about 10 minutes).
   
   
2. Add the curry and ginger and cook for another minute (to bring out the flavors).
   
   
3. Add all remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper, and simmer (covered) for 30-45 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
   
   
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• To create a lentil soup, just add more water.
• Fresh mint works as a wonderful garnish on this dish.
• Serve with fresh Naan Bread

As always ... I would love to hear from you!