Just in Time

I think the holidays came just in time this year .. just in time to save me from jumping over the edge of a never-ending pile of marking and never looking back. In plain language? It saved me from actually taking a sick day, not because I'm sick, but because I'm sick. I don't have a fever, sore throat or hacking cough. I'm not bogged down by a migraine or nausea. This sick comes from a never-ending fatigue, too much florescent light entering my brain, and hearing negative things said about my profession all day long on the news.

The holidays came just in time to save me from being overwhelmed and bringing that negativity into the classroom -- something the children never deserve to see.  It also came just in time to give me that little bit of extra time to catch up on all the various tasks that need to be done, just so I can probably fall behind again come February.

So in the spirit of things happening just in time, I'm offering you this delicious squash pie, just in time for the holidays. It has a flavourful, easy press-in crust, and a sweet, smooth, spicy filling. And it's vegan! It's also almost healthy, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it, especially if you love squash. Although I love pumpkin anything, this fall, I discovered the a whole new squash world. Hubbards, kobochas, buttecups and ambercups -- all delicious, nutty, and impossibly buttery and sweet. That's the real secret to this pie -- a flavourful squash.  They're all over the markets now, so don't be scared. Just halve it, scoop out the seeds, chunk it up and roast at 350 in an inch of water. About an or so later, you'll have perfect squash, ready to be pureed and baked into something delicious.

The pie comes from two different sources; the crust is from have cake will travel --  always a good source for tasty vegan baked treats -- and the beautiful filling is from post punk kitchen. The inspiration came from a good friend of mine at school whose mom used to use hubbard squash to make squash pie (in the old fashioned way of course, with lots of cream and sugar and a buttery crust). The squash was so beautifully sweetened that it didn't need too much help -- a few spoonfuls of apple butter and a big splash of maple syrup did the trick. The real secret is the teaspoon of agar powder to give it a custardy texture without the use of eggs. A teaspoon is all you need to make this beautiful filling set up like a dream.

This pie would make a beautiful dessert to a wholesome holiday meal, and you don't even have to feel bad eating a piece in the morning for breakfast.

Vegan Squash Pie with Spelt Crust
adapted from have cake will travel and post punk kitchen

Crust:
1/14 cups of spelt flour


2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 teaspoons (or more if needed) of almond milk

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon until well combined. Add the oil and start mixing with a rubber spatula. Add the milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing well in between, until the dough comes together.

2. Press the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. Make the edges fancy if you like. Go for it!

3. Place the dough in the freezer while you make the filling.

Filling:
3 cups of pureed squash
2 tablespoons of apple butter (you could totally skip this if you don't have it)
1/2 cup of almond milk
1/4 cup of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of agar powder
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
a pinch of allspice

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl with a whisk. Keep going! Get it smooth and well-combined.

2. Pour the squash filling into your crust and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour, or until the edges get nice and golden brown, and the middle of the pie is set but still a bit jiggly.

3. Cool, slice and serve.

Noodly Goodness

It's time for some supper. I've made post after post of baked goods and treats -- indulgent and healthy breakfast worthy treats -- but now I think it's time for some supper.  Yes, supper. Some winter-comfort-in-a-bowl supper.

Where I live, winter is a bit wonky. It's warm and balmy one day, sunny and icy-cold the next, and then rainy and dreary for a week after that. It snowed a tiny bit, but nothing that lingered, and right now, there's a freezing rain alert out there. It's definitely not a picture perfect winter with bright sunny skies and fluffy snow on the ground, although I remember a time when there was. Last winter was rainy and mild, and I'm not yet sure what winter has in store for us this year, but whatever it may be, I know I'll definitely need quick, comforting suppers to drive away the overcast blues.

It's definitely stew and soup season, and I've got a few that I'll post soon, but today, it's all about the noodles. For awhile, I avoided pasta, partly because of the bad reputation that carbs were getting, and partly because pasta was beginning to not sit right in my stomach. Since discovering brown rice pasta, those days are over. And this dish is the perfect celebration of pasta. Spirally noodles mingle with toothsome black beluga lentils and velvety ribbons of spinach, all held together in a creamy sauce made from pureed squash and plenty of garlic. It's so totally simple, with fresh, natural flavours -- no overwhelming spices, just the beautiful, fresh, sweetness of vegetables hanging out with the mellow, woodsy lentils and pasta. It reminds me of macaroni and cheese because of the creamy squash, but it's totally vegan, heart-healthy and more than delicious.

For this beautiful noodle dinner, I would definitely take the time to roast and puree your own squash. It's simple and so much better than the canned stuff. Plus, if you can get your hands on an ambercup squash or kabocha squash, the flavour is out of this world -- sweet, nutty, buttery .. perfect in this pasta dish, but also in pies and sweet baked goods. All you do split the squash, and after scooping out the seedy slimy bits, cut them into chunks and roast them cut-side down in an inch of water for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until their they're super soft and tender. Let them cool down a bit, then the skins come off easily. Throw all the flesh into a pot, add a bit of water and then blend using a hand-blender. I stored my leftover squash in a sealed glass container, and it kept fine for a week.

Happy Winter!

Pasta and Lentils with Squash and Spinach
inspired by Everybody Likes Sandwiches
serves 2-3

2 cups of dried spirally pasta (rotini or fusili)
1/2 cup of dried beluga lentils

1 large clove of garlic
olive oil
1 cup of pureed squash
1 small bunch of spinach, washed and chopped
1/2 cup of water or stock
1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the lentils in water for about 15 minutes, or until they are tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

3. While the pasta and lentils are cooking, prepare the sauce. Saute the garlic in olive oil over low heat until things get soft and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper and herbes de Provence.

4. Add the spinach and stock. Stir well and turn up the heat to medium. Cook until the liquid comes up to a boil. Add the squash and stir well.  Add the lentil and pasta and give it a good mix.

5. Let the mixture hang out together for a few more minutes over low heat, adding a bit of stock if things start to get too dry.

6. Serve immediately.

Warm and Spicy

I've taken a break that's more than a little one. It feels like it's been a long time. I went from sunny, still-warm weekend afternoons to frosty Monday mornings, hectic marking on Fridays and bone-chilling Sundays that, although expected this time of the year, leave us feeling more than a little under the weather.

While I haven't been cooking too much during my time away from the blog world, I have discovered a few new-to-me and delicious things: the winter squash world beyond pie pumpkins and butternut, quinoa's little sister, amaranth, a re-kindled love for pasta, stunningly black beluga lentils and a brief introduction to tempeh.  I confess that, although the thought crossed my mind, I did not photograph all of these discoveries. However, each and everyone of them is worthy of a repeat in the kitchen, and so those recipes will follow (hopefully) soon enough.

This is the first time in about a month and a half that I've felt more or less caught up with marking and planning, that I've not brought home a pile of folders and books only to leave them in the bag near the door untouched again until Monday, that I've not woken up and instantly planned out the hours that I would need to catch up on work and feel ok again when the work week starts in two short days.

What a year. And the action has just started. But I think I'm on way back to my usual grove, on my way back to looking forward to Mondays just as much as Fridays, and back to just feeling ok. But before I delve back into the work week, I'll leave you with a quick little cookie recipe that uses two of my new found favourite ingredients: winter squash and amaranth. I know these ingredients don't sound very cookie-like, but they definitely produce a unique cookie. It's great for using up that tiny bit of pumpkin puree you have left after making a pie, and it's got the warmth and comfort of spiciness and molasses: almost a holiday-type flavour if you ignore the fact that it's low-fat. What you don't want to skip is the amaranth; it gives these cookies a unique crunch, especially if you toast them first. But be careful! If your pan is too hot (like mine was!) you'll end up with popped amaranth-- totally cool, like tiny little popcorns! -- which is better eaten as is, or with a splash of milk, like cereal. So just toast the amaranth lightly and add it to the batter and when it makes, you'll get a interesting crunch, like no other crunch you've experienced.

I'm on my way back to routines and schedules and deadlines and marking, but I think it will be ok.  I think I feel ok.  And I'm hoping that regular blogging will resume. Hoping.  Thanks for your patience.


Spicy Squash Cookies with Toasted Amaranth
makes about 20 smallish cookies


inspired by Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1/4 cup of amaranth seeds (toasted for about 1 minute on a dry pan)
1/3 cup of pureed squash (I used kobacha squash .. it's so tasty!)
2 tablespoons of apple butter
2 tablespoons of molasses
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 teaspoon of garam masala spice blend
a few good grinds of black pepper (yes, black pepper!!)
1 cup of spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
a pinch of salt
a few slices of candied ginger, chopped fine

1. Heat a small pan over medium heat.  Add the amaranth seeds and toast for about 1-2 minutes, or until the seeds get toasty brown or a few of them start to pop!  Remove from the heat and cool.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the squash, apple butter, molasses and canola oil until smooth. Add in the spice powder, pepper, flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until a thick batter forms.

3. Add in the cooled, toasted amaranth and candied ginger and mix until thoroughly combined.

4. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a prepared cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your fingers, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

5. Enjoy with a chai tea latte!

Trying my hand at Pie

I almost made a pie once.  But then I didn't.  I turned it into a maple oat crumble and ate it on the day before labour day while watching In the Name of the Father and lamenting about school beginning again. Bummer.

This summer I tried making a pie again. What, you don't believe me?  Here's the proof.

This was a strawberry, rhubarb crumble pie. The filling was delicious, but that's never the hard part. The hard part is always the crust, which I always want to make vegan. In this particular case, the edges of the crust were perfect, but that bottom fell apart, turned soggy and in some spots, didn't even cook properly.

So I tried again this long weekend, on the dreary Sunday that got a little wet and chilly later on in the day, when making pie seemed like the perfect excuse to not to work that I brought home with me. I was totally inspired by the lovely vegan baking goddess over at have cake will travel. Her plum and almond tarts looked so delicious, but I wanted something with apples. While browsing foodgawker, I stumbled upon this dutch apple pie over at Beyond Sweet and Savory. The almond press-in crust totally sold me. It was decided from there.  Apple pie it was.

I made mine with a almond spelt crust, using canola oil and almond milk to bind it instead of butter, and a nice spelt flake crumble on top. To keep the crust from turning soggy, I stuck it in the freezer for a bit, and then pre-baked it for 20 minutes before adding the apples and crumble topping. That totally did the trick. No soggy, uncooked pie bottom. The crust held together nicely and was crispy and flavourful from the ground almonds. If you're expecting a buttery, flaky crust, this isn't the place to look, but it was still delicious enough to merit a mound of cinnamony lemon-kissed apples being piled on top.

A note about the apples: the original recipe calls for 1 cup of brown sugar! If you like your pie super super sweet, go for it, but I put in about 1/4 cup and found it plenty sweet. But then, I had just found perfect Jonagold apples at the market that didn't need much help in the sweet department.

This has been the most successful vegan pie-making experiment to date. Do you think I could pull of vegan pumpkin pie, with a vegan pumpkin custard filling?  Whoa... that's a tricky one.  Stay tuned!

Vegan Apple Crumble Pie with Spelt Almond Crust
inspired by have cake will travel, and Beyond Sweet and Savory

For the Crust:
1 cup of spelt flour
1 cup of almond meal
1/4 cup of natural cane sugar
1/4 cup of canola oil
3-4 tablespoons of almond milk, as needed

For the Filling:
3 large to medium apples (I used one Matsu and 2 Jonagolds)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
juice of half a lemon

For the Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup of spelt flakes
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of canola oil

1. Make the pie crust. Blend the flour, sugar, and almond meal together. Add the canola oil and stir gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Slowly, a little at a time, at the almond milk, stirring between additions, until the dough stays together when pinched. You can do this in a food processor too, and pulse until you get the right texture.

2. Bring the dough together with your hands, just enough so that it chunks off, and then press it into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, making sure that you're going up the sides evenly.  There's a perfect pie crust. No rolling!  Woo hoo!  Place your pie crust in a freezer for about 15 minutes.

3. Make your filling. Peel and core your apples and slice them thinly (the original recipe suggest 1/4 inch thick .. I'm not sure how thick mine were..). Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Toss with together and set aside.

4. Your pie crust is ready for the oven now! Bake it for about 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, or until it just starts to firm up and get some colour.

5. In the meantime, make your crumble topping. Place the spelt flour and flakes in a bowl. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and canola oil and mix to form a crumble.

6. Take the pie crust out of the oven. Pile your apples on top and sprinkle over the crumble. Throw it all back in the oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until the apple juices start bubbling up, and the crumble topping is a deep golden brown.

7. Yay!  Vegan apple pie!

New Berry!

Check out these little babies.  These are cape gooseberries, or ground cherries.  I first saw them being used by Chuck when watching foodtv at the gym (yeah .. don't ask!). He was making a compote to go with one of his dishes. Then, I saw them on sale at No Frills, but I resisted buying them because I had no idea what they tasted like, and even though I should have probably taken Chuck's word for it that they're delicious, I hesitated -- there were still local strawberries and blueberries abound, no to mention watermelon. So I skipped the ground cherries.

Then, in late August, when the winds were about to change, we took a short trip to Ottawa, and during one of our walks around the market, we bought a mixed fruit bowl to snack on. Low and behold, sitting on top of the blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, was one lone ground cherry. We shared it -- each bit half of it -- and it really was delicious. I didn't think much about it, until this weekend, when I saw them on sale at our local farmer's market, and I decided that I couldn't pass them up this time. While walking home, we peeled away the little paper-like jackets and bit into the juicy fruit. What does it taste like, besides delicious? Well, to me, they taste like an impossibly sweet and fruity cherry tomato. A trustworthy second opinion said they tasted like pineapple (which, when I thought about it.. was true). Wikipedia describes them as tasting like a cross between .. you guessed it .. a tomato and a pineapple. Go figure.

In any rate they are impossible to stop eating, highly addictive, but totally worthy of being baked into something more delicious. I wanted to bring out the pineapple flavour, so I paired it with orange zest and honey in a simple, fruit-topped, sugar crusted cake. I used spelt flour for this cake, which made the texture very unique -- airy and light, almost like a sponge. The ground cherries get sliced and scattered on top of the cake, where some of them sink to the bottom during baking, and some of them stay on top. The berries on top caramelize with the help of a sprinkling of raw sugar, and ones that sink get lovely, sweet and jammy. The orange really worked well to bring out the pineapple fruitiness of these berries. I considered adding a spice -- maybe cinnamon or cardamom -- but on second thought, I wondered if it might take away from the unique flavour of the ground cherries, and so left it out in the end. I also had some leftover coconut milk hanging around, so I threw that in. Because coconut milk is so rich, there was no need to add any oil. If you don't want to open a whole can just for this recipe, I would suggest using two tablespoons of plain milk, and two tablespoons of canola oil or melted butter.

Although I chose to go the cake route (hey .. who doesn't like cake?), I saw lots of lovely recipes on the web for ground cherry salsas, salads, compotes and jellies. You totally need to try them for yourself. Hurry to the market before they're gone -- you won't regret it!

Sugar-Topped Ground Cherry Cake
makes one small loaf

1 egg
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of plain yogurt
1/4 cup of coconut milk
2 tablespoons of orange juice
1 cup of spelt flour
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of ground cherries, sliced in half
1 tablespoon of raw sugar (for sprinkling)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, honey, yogurt, coconut milk and orange juice until smooth and well-combined.

2. Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and soda and mix gently until just combined. Pour into a prepared loaf pan.

3. Add the ground cherries on top of the cake batter, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the top gets a nice golden brown crust, and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

This Soup ...

This soup .. yes, this soup. This soup reminds me of my very first experience cooking for real in my parents' kitchen, with my sister beside me and my grandma watching. This soup has old familiar flavours and wraps itself around me like a warm knitted scarf on the first breezy, chilly day of fall. This soup isn't by any means a gooey chocolate cake, a wholesome banana bread or a zippy, lemony treat. But this soup welcomed me back into the school year and eased the pain of summer holidays ending and work beginning.

This soup begins with humble ingredients.. ginger, garlic, lentils, greens... and is finished with a whisper of summer -- a big squeeze of lemon juice and a many sprigs of fresh thyme from my balcony garden. Although I could have began this soup in a classic way -- chopped onions, celery carrots -- I didn't, simply because I was tired and I wanted as much reward for as little work as possible.

This soup is the answer to your weeknight dinner problems, and is also the good idea of staying in on Saturday night and curling up with dinner on the sofa. This soup is zingy from the spices and lemon and creamy from the red lentils, cooked until almost completely dissolved. I chose rainbow chard -- stems and leaves -- to put into this soup; the stems add nice bulk and the leaves turn velvety in the broth.

I think if you wanted to add to this soup, a cup of cooked chickpeas would do the trick, or even a few cubes of tofu sprinkled on top when serving. If you're the type, some crusty bread would probably be nice with this soup ... if you're the type, but I'm not really. I enjoyed this soup straight up, piping hot, curled up on the couch on a Saturday night when I should have been out dancing the night away, or enjoying a movie and popcorn. But dancing and movies aren't what I need in September when the winds are trying to change but the seasons won't let go, when that sneaky feeling of something ending and responsibility sinking in makes its way from my mind to the pit of my stomach; what I needed was this soup. And now, I can enjoy my September.



Lentil Soup with Greens
serves 2

olive oil
a chunk of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minces
juice and zest of half a lemon
a bunch of swiss chard -- stems diced, leaves chopped into ribbons (spinach, kale would be great too)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed
3 cups of water or vegetable stock (I used a combination of both)
salt and pepper to taste
a splash of light soy sauce (if desired)
a few sprigs of thyme, leaves removed

1. In a soup pot, cook the ginger and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about a minute, or until things start getting really fragrant. Careful not to burn the garlic!

2. Add the lemon zest and spices and cook for a minute to let the spices toast. Add in the chard stems, lentils and vegetable stock and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the chard leaves and cook, covered, for another 10-12 minutes, or until the greens are tender, the lentils and cooked and almost dissolving, and the broth is slightly thickened.

4. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and fresh thyme. Stir well. Taste and add a splash of soy sauce if desired. Serve!

One last Picnic

 Pssssssssssssst!  Hey, you!  Let's go on a picnic .. a secret supper picnic while the sun still sets after 6pm and the wind is warm and not frosty cold.  Let's pick a park, pack some food, strap on our bike helmets and go. After all, it is the unofficial end of summer, and who wants to spend labour day moping about that?  Certainly not me!  So let's do it!

We can have this warm coucous salad to use up all our summer veggies, or maybe this perfect summer pasta salad with fresh dill? Oh, we definitely have to have potato salad -- so why not try this one, with tons of fresh herbs, a lemony vinaigrette and French twist?

If you want to get more elaborate, we could make this spicy oven fried chicken to have with all of our salads, or maybe something a little more fancy and delicate, likes these vegan cucumber and avocado tea sandwiches.

And what should we have to drink? While I'm partial to coffee all day any day, maybe it's better if we stick to something that won't keep us up all night .. after all, it's back to work tomorrow. How about this blackberry limeade. It would be perfect -- I just a saw blackberries at the market! And dessert? That's too hard! There are just too many picnic perfect desserts. But let's go with something simple, like a cookie .. My lavender on the balcony is thriving, so let's bring these lemon lavender cookies and maybe this chocolate cake, since chocolate is always necessary.

Yay, let's do it!  Let's have a last-day-of-summer picnic ...

Who am I kidding? This is so not happening. I still have 6 seating plans to figure out, a batch of granola to bake, and lunch to figure out for the next 4 days. But we can dream can't we?  If you're like me, and dream of being the care-free picnic type, but are pulled in by the too-many-things to do before work begins again, then let's talk for real.  For real, I'll settle for a piece of this impossibly healthy blueberry banana bread and a cup of jasmine tea. For real, I'll be perfectly happy enjoying it while I make up my seating plans, stir granola and get psyched up for tomorrow. For real, I'll be more than happy to enjoy a slice of this guiltless treat on the streetcar ride home tomorrow. And for real, yes for real, I'm super excited about the new school year, especially if it starts off with bananas, blueberries, oats and feeling awesome.

Vegan Banana Blueberry Bread
adapted from A Cozy Kitchen and Love and Lemons
makes one loaf

2 medium super ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of almond milk + a squeeze of lemon juice (or 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar)
a splash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 pint of fresh blueberries

1. In large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Add the oats and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

2. Sift in the flour, baking powder and soda and mix until just combine. Carefully fold in the blueberries.

3. Pour the batter in a greased loaf tin and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, or until the top gets nice and brown, and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

4. Cool well before slicing .. if you don't, you'll get a slice that's goopy -- delicious, but goopy.