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Raisin Zucchini Ribbon Fusili
smokey butternut mac and cheese
Chili Garlic Pumpkin Hummus
Around my circle of friends and family, it’s no secret that I am a complete junkie for some chili garlic sauce. I put it on everything. Anything. Sometimes I eat it straight from a teeny tiny spoon. I have absolutely no shame when it comes to this addictive condiment.
Whatever I put chili garlic sauce on only becomes that much better. It’s sort of like salt… except spicy, and garlicky. Two of my favorite tastes. Works in this example too. Pumpkin, during Autumn months, pretty much makes everything–including hummus–better. So, it only makes sense that adding a little chili garlic sauce would have to make that already better hummus, even better. Ya know?
Plus, it’s orange, so serving with purple cauliflower makes for a show stopping Halloween party tray addition.
The key to making this dip’s texture smooth and creamy and not so much like pumpkin pie filling is to blend it in your food processor (or blender if you prefer) for a long time. At least 5 minutes, and I’d shoot for 7 to be safe. Also, be sure to start with just a little water and add as needed, since some varieties of canned pumpkin seem to have more liquid than others.
Cranberry Cooler, Cranberry Sauce & MAVEA Elemaris Review
Recently I was contacted by the fine folks at MAVEA to do a product review of the Elemaris water filter pitcher.
I eagerly agreed because I have the hardest time downing water, and any excuse to drink more is fine by me. Even though I run 2 miles every day and crave water quite often, I still get far less water intake than I should. The main reason? Taste. I always “taste” something when I drink water from the tap, so I tend to cover it up with lots of lemon or lime juice and crushed ice, which is a pain (I’m so lazy!). So I usually just drink coffee.
I know….
Pumpkin Alfredo
Out of my crazy cat lady-like obsession with pumpkin (and, who am I kidding? all things orange) during the Autumn months, came this gem of a simple dinner. This pasta/pumpkin combo may not sound too appealing for some folks , but each and every person I served this stuff to absolutely loved it.
Pumpkin. Alfredo.
It is utterly delicious.
Rice Dumplings with Sweet Banana Sauce
Checking out cookbooks from the library offers some fantastic inspiration. We are fortunate to have a wonderful library in the town close to where we recently moved. It is super jam packed with hundreds (thousands!) of cookbooks. I only pay attention to the books with beautiful color photos. I flip through them frantically… and I drool.
So, as I was browsing through my recently borrowed Cafe Vietnam* cookbook by Annabel Jackson, a beautiful trio of dumplings caught my eye.
They made me think of mochi, and how I have been DYING to make mochi since I was 16! Given that mochi often pops up all over vegan blogs, I should have made some by now…
but, I never had rice flour.
And then I thought to myself, “I have rice flour now (slap to the forehead). I always have rice flour now!”
So without any further hesitation I knew I had to make some little rice dumplings- of some sort. On my way to the kitchen I saw a perfectly ripe banana… which is a rarity at our house because they tend to get eaten up quite fast. So I wondered, “what would happen if I just combined everything that was going through my brain at this exact moment?”
Well, folks… this recipe happened.
And, it was good. Very. Very. Good.
Lasagna with Creamy Red Wine Sauce
So, this may not be the most glamorous food I have posted, but let me start with a word in it’s defense. This stuff is freaking incredible. I mean it. Sure, the sauce isn’t a brilliant bright red since it uses avocados and red wine (kinda pinkish orange), but once you taste it, you simply will not care how it looks. I promise.