Let There Be Pumpkins!

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch on the weekend and loaded up with lots of orangey goodness. Here is Son #3 checking out the huge pile of pumpkins at the farm, scoping out the best one. So, while I figure out what to do with this year's batch, let's not forget about these great recipes from past years. First, start off your day with Hearty Autumn Muffins. For lunch, try my personal favourite: Pumpkin Soup. And, of course, what is soup without scones (or Rustic Pumpkin Bread)? For dinner, try Fresh Pumpkin Pasta with Sage Alfredo Sauce, or a stew with Savoury Pumpkin Biscuit Topping. If you have more time on your hands, the Roasted Pumpkin and Walnut Manicotti is superb. End it all with Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake, or Pumpkin Spice Sweet Rolls.

Fiery Red Thai Curry

If I were like my younger brother I would have titled this "Ring of Fire Thai Curry," but I have always been more couth than him. Back in my days in Kingston I used to frequent a Cambodian/Thai restaurant called Phnom Penh. I usually always got the #15, Pad Thai, but occasionally I would branch out and try different dishes. One night my housemate and I ordered a red curry with whole finger hot chiles in it (I really can't remember the name). He dared me to eat all of the chiles from both dishes, which I promptly did (and rather regretted later). This dish is based on the memory of that dish. The Thai chiles are from my own garden (see pic below)--the only peppers that actually grew in the garden this year. They provide the perfect burst of heat in the spicy sauce.

INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- stems from 1 bunch cilantro
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped ginger
- generous tbsp red curry paste (or to taste)
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp vegan oyster sauce (or veggie stir fry sauce)
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 6 green Thai finger chiles, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu, cubed (baked or fired, if desired)
- 2 tbsp plain soy milk
- 4 green onion, cut into 2" pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Place the first nine ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer to a wok or large pot and heat over med-hi heat. Cook for 10 mins, stirring regularly, until sauce has thickened and darkened in colour. Add broth, lime leaves, sugar, sauces, chiles, and tofu and bring to bubbling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 mins, allowing the chiles to cook and the curry to develop its flavour. Add more broth if too dry.
3. Add soy milk, green onions, and cilantro and cook for 5 mins, uncovered. Remove lime leaves, adjust seasoning to taste and serve over rice.

Italian Spinach

I know you are supposed enjoy your tomatoes in the hot and hazy days of late August, but up here in the North it takes until late September to finally get a good crop. It has been a long journey that started with planting seeds all the way back in February. I can't say that we are swimming in tomatoes since not that many ripen at one time. I had all sorts of dreams about canning my own pasta sauce this year but there is no way we have enough tomatoes to do that. Still, this year's crop is a vast improvement over last year's crop of exactly zero. So, with a few extra tomatoes on hand I whipped up this simple but tasty side dish. You could also easily turn this into a sauce to serve over pasta, as I have indicated below.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 small sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- about 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup dry vermouth
- 1 bunch spinach, washed and drained
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan/pot. Saute onion and garlic for 5-7 mins, until softened and golden. Add cherry tomatoes and vermouth and bring to bubbling. Let simmer for about 10 mins, until tomatoes have reduced into a sauce.
2. Add spinach, cover pan, and cook for a min or so. Once spinach begins to wilt, remove lid and cook, stirring constantly to coat spinach with sauce. Cook for a few mins, until spinach is tender but not overdone. Season to taste and serve, draining off excess liquid if needed.
3. If you want to make a pasta sauce, add about 1 tbsp of tomato paste to thicken, then toss with pasta.
Here is one of our beefstake tomatoes. Mmmmm.

Creamy Chunky Cauliflower Chowder

Say it! Say "chow-dah!" I don't think this is actually a chowder (when does soup become chowder, anyway?), but I wanted to go with an alliterative title. The temperature dipped down to 2 degrees the other night which suddenly put me in the mood for soup. Of course, now it's about 22 degrees, so that mood has passed. If it is still warm where you are, file this recipe away for later. It is creamy and chunky and perfectly satisfying. The boys loved it as well, which is great because they often balk at soups (or any dish where they can't identify the individual components or separate them out). The chowder has a slightly cheesy taste from the nooch and miso that is well-balanced by the leeks and roasted pepper.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 1 sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 leeks, white and light green part, thinly sliced
- 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 medium red potatoes, skins on, diced
- 4 cups water
- 1 roasted yellow pepper, skinned, seeded, chopped
- 1 recipe cashew cream
- generous tbsp yellow miso
- generous tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil and margarine in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and leeks and saute for 12-15 mins, or until reduced down and golden.
2. Add cauliflower and potatoes and water (salt the water if you want). Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15-20 mins, until cauliflower and is very tender.
3. Remove half of the veggies with a slotted spoon. Add the roasted yellow pepper to the remainder and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
4. Add removed veggies back to the pot along with the cashew cream. Add miso, mustard, and nutritional yeast and mix well. Season to taste, heat until just bubbling, and serve.

Baked Beans

You can tell that school has started again because the frequency of posts has dropped off dramatically. The boys (two of them, anyway) have already been back for two weeks and I did my first lecture today. I'll be grading essays before I know it! I don't have a real recipe tonight because I think baked beans is one of those dishes you just chuck stuff into. No two batches should ever be the same. I made a huge pot of beans and packed them away in the freezer for the boys' lunches over the next month (just reheat (add sliced veggie dogs if you want) and pack away in a thermos). The basic ingredients I play around with are:
1. Dried navy beans (or northern beans)
2. Tomato juice
3. Ketchup
4. Molasses
5. Brown Sugar
6. Maple Syrup
I soak a large bag of beans overnight, then cook for about 60 mins, until soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside. If you have time you can saute onions and garlic, otherwise you can use onion and garlic powder. I then heat a large can of tomato juice to bubbling along with a few cups of kethcup, about 1 cup each of molasses and brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Next, the spicing. I like to mess around with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and mustard. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper, and bring back to bubbling. Transfer to a roasting pan and bake at 350 for about 2 hrs, stirring every 30 mins. Add more tomato juice if they get too dry.