Moroccan Pumpkin Soup (Shorabit Yatkeen)

After barreling through the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers (sniff sniff...bye bye mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy!), I wanted to make something low key and easy yet kinda sorta staying with a fall theme. This beautiful yellow-orange pumpkin soup was in order. It's from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks "Olive Trees and Honey". A few of the recipes in the book uses eggs and dairy and I was happy that this recipe was completely animal free. I checked online and found it posted here in case you want to try it.



It's a fairly thick and hearty, warm comforting soup with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg which melds well with the sweetness of the pumpkin (I used butternut squash). I added yellow split peas instead of chickpeas because I realized mid recipe that I ran out of chickpeas which is a far superior bean in my opinion. But the split peas are very nice too. I also added a bit of cumin which is not called for in the recipe because I wanted to add some earthiness to it. It was a good call. A bowl of this and a warm pita was a perfect dinner for me.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mouse!

Today is my husband's birthday and I made him his favorite cake: german chocolate. Along with this cake, he's getting a pizza lunch and gifts!

Before he had his cake (for breakfast), he spent a little quality time with Sparky, our lemon yellow budgie. I caught the action on video. Sorry there is no sound but the cuteness factor makes up for it!








You can find the recipe for this delicious cake and frosting at the fatfreevegan blog here. Don't worry! This cake is far from being fat free! It's very rich and decadent.

Vegan Thanksgiving No. 2

Well, it's done and I'm so full it's really ridiculous. I need to change out of these jeans and into some sweatpants stat! Things went very well. I did cook all day but I was able to keep it all under control and didn't stress out one bit.

I showed you yesterday what the pie and butternut gratin looked like. And now for the pics of the rest. Please excuse the poor lighting. They were all taken at different times of day.


The awesome tofu veg loaf. This was fantastic with orange herb gravy which you can see on the left. Gravy recipe is at the end of this post. Loaf recipe is here.


Dijon glazed carrots. This was a last minute addition and I wish I would have made a bigger dish of it. It was delicious. A hint of spice from the mustard and sweet from brown sugar melded beautifully in a "buttery" sauce. Recipe to be found here. (Replace the butter with Earth Balance margarine!)


Green Bean Casserole. Enough said. Recipe is here.


And my plate. Starting at top left: Loaf with gravy, butternut gratin and stuffing, mash and gravy, glazed carrots, green bean casserole and cranberry with mandarins.

Food, food glorious food! This was a great 2nd vegan Thanksgiving for me, Can't wait for next year!

Here's the recipe for the gravy. This year I made it a little better by adding a few TB of Earth Balance and a tsp. of miso paste to it. I swear I can't stay away from the miso! This is optional of course. If you don't have it, it's ok. The gravy will still taste great without it.

Orange Herb Gravy

2 cups vegetable broth
1 TB soy sauce (or more)
1/2 tsp fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp fresh snipped rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TB cornstarch mixed with 2 TB water
2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
2 TB (or more) frozen orange juice concentrate (like Minute Maid etc..)
2 TB Earth Balance * (new addition)
1 tsp miso paste * (new addition and optional)

Bring the veggie broth to a boil in a medium pot or skillet. Add the soy sauce and herbs. Reduce heat to simmer, then add the cornstarch/water mixture, stirring or whisking constantly to thicken. Allow to simmer for a few minutes until thick. Then add nutritional yeast and orange juice concentrate and stir until the concentrate melts. You may add more if you want a tangier, citrusy flavor. *Add the Earth Balance and miso and stir until both are dissolved into the gravy. Simmer a little longer until gravy is hot. Season with more salt or soy sauce if desired.

And...Begin!

The big feasting day is tomorrow. I'm so excited. This will be my second Thanksgiving with a table full of vegan food and I can't wait to eat all night tomorrow and into the weekend. I made the pie and the butternut gratin today to save up some time as the oven will be in use for several more dishes tomorrow. I had the house to myself today so it was nice to turn on some music and take my time prepping in the kitchen. Buster rested.


"Did someone say pie?"


"While you're busy, I'll take a nap. Wake me when you're done!"


Butternut Squash Gratin. This dish is so good. It's meltingly tender and flavored with garlic, parsley and sage. Recipe is in The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen cookbook.


Very easy pumpkin pie recipe from The Almost No Fat Cookbook. It's gorgeous and vegan! The recipe is also posted online here.

All that's left is the tofu loaf, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing and gravy!

I spent under $100 for Thanksgiving.

With such high prices for groceries these days I was surprised that I didn't break the bank getting everything I needed for a glorious feast on Thursday. I don't know about you but I love lists. Here's what I got to make the following menu.

Tofu Vegetable Loaf with Orange Herb Gravy (I'm having this. My omni family is having meat.)
All vegan side dishes and desserts:
Mashed Potatoes (made with soymilk and Earth Balance margarine)
Green Bean Casserole (homemade from scratch)
Butternut Squash Gratin
Herb Stuffing
Cranberry sauce with mandarins
Pumpkin Pie
German Chocolate Cake (for husband's bday on Friday)


My shopping list:

5lb. green beans $6.00
5lb. potatoes $2.00
2lb. carrots $1.29
2lb. broccoli crowns $2.00
1 bunch celery $1.00
1 bunch parsley $0.50
1 large package mushrooms $3.00
2 butternut squash $3.00
fresh rosemary $2.00
2 containers firm tofu $3.40
2 cartons plain unsweetened soymilk $5.40
1 carton Vitasoy chocolate peppermint soymilk $2.29 (I've never had this!)
2 cans cranberry sauce $2.50
1 can mandarin oranges $1.00
2 cans pumpkin $3.00
ground cinnamon $1.00
cornstarch $1.49
3 boxes stuffing mix $4.60 (yes I used boxed but I add my own veg!)
1 bag pecans $4.50
2 bags flaked coconut $3.00
2 bags brown sugar $1.60
1 4lb. bag unrefined sugar $1.79
2 deep dish pie crusts $3.00
1 tub Earth Balance $4.00
3 jars gravy (meat based for omni family) $6.00
meat (for the omnis. It's already cooked so I don't have to prepare it.) $14.00

TOTAL: $83.36

You Are What You Eat

I don't know how many of you watch this show or have seen this show but it's highly entertaining. In the US it airs on BBC America and each episode focuses on a person or couple who have been going years and years on the worst diet you can imagine: take aways, junk food, foods high in fat, cholestorol, salt and sugar. Gillian McKeith is a nutritionist who comes into their home and gives their diet a complete overhaul with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts and seeds. The couple have to follow her plan for 8 weeks including exercise and usually by the end of it they look healthier, pounds thinner and full of energy. I always feel really virtuous and not so guilty for eating cupcakes when I see what these people eat in an entire week. Because I know for sure that I don't eat half as bad as they do. A segment of the show features the person's entire week's worth of food all laid out on a giant table. It's astounding to see so many burgers, fries, fried foods, take away pizzas, sweets and other stuff all in one place! Usually the person who has eaten all that food looks at it in disgust hardly believing that they consumed such vast quantities of food in only 7 days.

Here's a video I found online. The quality is not great but gives you an idea on what the show is like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvHZ70mwhFY


Anyway, after watching these episodes, I always wonder "What do I eat in an entire week?" I know most of it is sorta healthy but I was curious to see it all in a list so I decided to keep track for a whole 7 days. This is what the list looks like:


1 bowl cheerios w/ 1 cup soymilk
2 shortbread cookies
6 dates
4 apples
2 TB peanut butter
1 wedge veggie pot pie
3 portions pesto spaghetti with veggies
2 bowls oatmeal and raisins and agave syrup
1 banana
1/2 cup Lays chips
2 bulgur pilaf stuffed peppers
1 1/2 portion salad with 1 avocado and poppyseed dressing
2 scoops coconut ice cream
2 whole grain toasts with peanut butter and agave syrup
2 cups green tea
handful of chocolate chips
4 oz. diced pears in syrup
2 pieces tofu fish w/ tartar sauce
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup canned peas
1 tofu fish sandwich on white bread with tartar sauce, vegenaise and soy cheese
1 cup salad with sesame dressing
1 1/2 bean and rice burritos with hot salsa
handful tortilla chips with salsa
8 oz. coke
1 cup bulgur pilaf
1 tofu fish wrap w. flour tortilla, vegenaise and lettuce
4 baby carrots
2 pieces ginger candy
2 cups cranberry orange juice
3 handfuls Fritos
3 cups rice and indian curry
2 handfuls of grapes
2 tangerines
6 small pancakes w. earth balance margarine and maple syrup
2 gimme lean soy sausage pattys
1 portion kale/chard slaw with peanut sauce
1 small baked sweet potato
1 orange vodka cocktail
5 chili lime wheat puffs
2 cups spaghetti and "meat" sauce
3 slices molasses bread and EB
4 squares Ritter Sport with marzipan

After looking at this list, I'd like to include more fruits and fresh vegetables as opposed to cooked. I don't eat enough salads. Also more whole grains would be nice. There's a lot more white bread, white rice and white flour tortillas in there than I wanted. Lots and lots of carbs!!! Too many.

More cooking with Gimme Lean "Sausage".

After being impressed with this meat alternative with last night's pancakes, I decided to use it in the spaghetti sauce I was making for dinner tonight. I really liked the texture. It's nice and firm with great sausage like flavor. It added a good body to the sauce and made it quite flavorful along with mushrooms and red wine. If you are interested in buying this meatless sausage, you can find it at most chain grocery stores in the same refrigerated case where they keep the tofu and other vegetarian products. I bought mine at Vons supermarket.


I sprinkled a little 'Parmezano Sprinkles' (almond/miso/nutritional yeast mixture) on top.


'Sausage' Mushroom and Red Wine Spaghetti Sauce

2 TB olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tube of Gimme Lean Sausage Style, crumbled
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp oregano
1 veggie bouillon cube or 2 tsp. veggie broth powder
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes (or whole peeled tomatoes, blended in blender)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms and saute until onion is translucent. Add the sausage crumbles and cook on med-high heat until nice and browned. Add the wine, oregano and veggie cube. Stir until wine cooks out. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low and simmer for 1 hour. If it seems too thick you can add a little water and let it simmer longer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.