Persimmon Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

'Tis the season everything is pumpkin flavored, even my favorite breakfast. I've been loving persimmons in my smoothies lately because of the texture and natural sweetness. Something about them just cried for pumpkin, so I went from there and came up with this winner.

Persimmon Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Serves 2

1/2 cup plain kefir (or your favorite yogurt)

1/2 cup milk, or milk substitute (I use homemade unsweetened almond milk)
1 cup pumpkin purée
1 persimmon
1 banana
Juice of half a lemon
Small strip of lemon zest
Small hunk of fresh ginger

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey
1/2 cup – 1 cup of ice (depending on your blender and whether any of the fruit is frozen)

Blend it all together and you have sweet, tart, fresh pie in a glass! For breakfast!!!

Arugula Nectarine Salad

I've been feeling summery. Walking up and down Sacramento St. in sandals and skirt during today's sidewalk sale, enjoying live jazz music, a roving magician, and friendly purveyors of goods - all I could think about was a salad, but a special salad. I'd procured a beautiful, local finishing olive oil from March Pantry during today's festivities, and then picked up a bottle of chilled Grgich Fumé Blanc from Wine Impressions. I let these purchases inform my choices at the market. Some baby arugula - I knew just the dressing to make! - and a nectarine; even if they're not quite perfect, yet, my mood insisted. And I built from there.

Now I know plenty of anti-arugula naysayers, who claim the leaf is too bitter for a salad. To them I say two things: 1. BABY arugula, and 2. Dress it right. I used what I remembered from a Cook's Illustrated recipe for an arugula salad with oranges and radishes. It's a simple dressing with a lime juice base. The light tartness compliments the arugula to mask any bitterness. Pair that with the sweetness of nectarine and chevre, toasty pine nuts, and grassy olive oil - well, that's summer right there.

Arugula Nectarine Salad

Serves 2 as an entrée, 4 as a side salad. Multiplies well for a larger group.

4 cups baby arugula
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbs pine nuts
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 small dollop dijon mustard
3T high quality extra virgin olive oil, separated
1 nectarine, sliced thin
2oz. chevre or other mild goat cheese
Cilantro (optional)

Toast coriander in a small, dry pan over medium high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add to lime juice. Wipe out pan and return to heat. Toast pine nuts in pan for a couple minutes until golden brown, stirring often. Set aside. Into the lime juice and coriander, whisk dijon, salt, and fresh ground pepper to taste. Slowly add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, whisking constantly.* Toss arugula with the dressing and divide evenly between individual plates. Top each mound of greens with a portion of nectarine slices, toasted pine nuts, and dots of chevre. Sprinkle with coarsely ground sea salt and pepper. Finish with a drizzle of the remaining olive oil and a few ripped up cilantro leaves.

*For me, the beauty of this combination is the tartness of the lime juice. If someone is overly sensitive to sour flavors (like the husband man), try whisking in a bit of honey to taste before adding the olive oil.

Welcome Spring with Asparagus Soup

The first produce of Spring is here: asparagus! I whipped up a quick soup to savor its arrival using a Williams Sonoma recipe for inspiration, but making it my own, of course.

Asparagus Soup

Serves 2-3 as an entree, 4-6 as a starter.

1 Tbs olive oil
1 leek, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp paprika
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends snapped off, spears chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, separated
1/4 cup buttermilk (optional)
juice of half a lemon
fresh ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in pan over medium. Add leek and sauté a few minutes until soft. Add garlic and paprika and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add asparagus and half a cup of the broth. Cover and steam until asparagus is tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer contents of the pan and the remaining broth to blender. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer to a pot on the stove and heat over medium low until hot, without letting it come to a boil. Stir in buttermilk, if using. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Salt to taste, if needed. Top with black pepper, paprika, and a drizzle of high quality olive oil.

Lemongrass Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Here's an easy one. I took the America's Test Kitchen's method of braising sweet potatoes before mashing and replaced the cream, butter, and sugar with slightly sweet light coconut milk and aromatic lemongrass.

Lemongrass Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2lb sweet potatoes (2 large or 3 medium small), peeled, quarted lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4in slices
1/2 cup light coconut milk
3 pieces dried lemongrass, smashed under flat end of knife, or 3in piece of fresh
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Cover and simmer over low for 35-45 minutes until they fall apart when poked with a fork, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Remove and discard lemongrass pieces. Mash sweet potatoes in pan with potato masher, whip with hand or stand mixer, or use ricer or food mill. Serve hot.

Silky Sweet Potato Soup

Are you sick of soup, yet? Neither am I! Good thing, too, because I got a new toy. Way back in the day when my blog was a fresh little newborn, I discovered a trick that guaranteed a velvety vegetable soup. I cooked the vegetables, whipped them in the KitchenAid mixer, and then "strained" them by pressing them through a mesh sieve. It was time and work intensive. I knew the process would be greatly simplified by a ricer. Well, take a look at the America's Test Kitchen recommended tool my parents gave me as one of my holiday gifts! I couldn't wait to give it a spin and instantly had its inaugural soup in mind.

I've made simplistic sweet potato soup before - stew sweet potato chunks in milk/dairy substitute and butter/butter substitute, mash 'em up, and mix with more liquid to reach the desired consistency. Easy peasy! But I knew I could make it smoother and more delicious with a couple tweaks. The leek and turnip add richness and complexity to balance the slight sweetness. You don't need a ricer to make this soup, but if you can get your hands on one, you'll find that the texture goes beyond even velvety, all the way to silken.

Silky Sweet Potato Soup

Feel free to use milk and butter in place of my vegan non-dairy substitutions. Serves 4.

1 bulb leek, dark greens removed, diced
2 medium white/yellow sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into half-inch slices
1 medium turnip, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into half-inch slices
4 Tbsp butter substitute (I like Light Smart Balance Buttery Spread)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups light unsweetened soy milk, approximate

1. Spray large pot with Pam and heat to medium. Sautee leek until soft, 5-10 minutes. Add sweet potato, turnips, butter substitute, sugar, salt, and one cup of the milk. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until potatoes fall apart with a fork, about 35-45 minutes.

2. OPTIONAL: Strain and reserve cooking liquid. Press vegetables through ricer using medium-holed plate. Discard tough fibrous parts remaining in the ricer's bowl. Add reserved cooking liquid back to the vegetables.

"Riced" sweet potato mixture.

3. Add about a cup and a half more soy milk to the vegetables. Blend using your preferred method: in the blender (may require two batches), with a hand or stand mixer, or with an immersion blender. Return to stove and slowly add more soy milk until desired consistency is reached, approximately one and half more cups. Heat over medium until hot. Salt to taste if desired. Garnish with a sprinkle of brown or turbinado sugar.

Acorn Squash Soup with Yogurt

I first got the idea for this seasonal soup from Google. No, not a Google search, a Google menu. My husband often makes everyone he knows jealous by regaling them with magical culinary tales from this mystical campus in Mountain View. One day he sent me a menu that included a creamy vegetable soup that included yogurt in its ingredients instead of cream. As cream gives me a tummy ache, I got very excited by the prospect. Once Fall and my annual autumn soup cravings came around, I decided to see if yogurt in a squash soup was a winner.

Well, it took a lot of squashes (at least I like the seeds!) and a number of batches - some that went down the drain (even a little turmeric can be too much) - but I think I've finally conquered the squash and yogurt soup. Through trial and error I learned a few things:

1. Less is more when seasoning. Also, I found that warm, sweet flavors worked better than savory herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage.

2. Regular yogurt works better than Greek. Despite really, really wanting to use Greek yogurt, the results were tart in an off-putting way, and adding more sugar just threw off the balance of flavors. So, while Greek yogurt doesn't ruin the soup and will be fine in a pinch, regular yogurt is preferable.

3. Stir in the yogurt at the end, off heat. The instant the yogurt melts into the soup, the color softens and the texture becomes creamier - exactly the results we're looking for. Let it heat in the soup for even a short time and the yogurt separates into white specks, throwing off the color and texture. Stir the yogurt into hot soup just before serving, or divide the yogurt between bowls as a garnish and let people stir it in themselves so they can fully relish the beauty of the experience. I know that sounds cheesy, but it really is pretty.


The final result is sweet, but not cloying, and incredibly smooth and velvety while maintaining the full squash flavor instead of masking it the way cream might. I call success! So here's yet another recipe that lets you make a dish creamy without actually using any cream.

Acorn Squash Soup with Yogurt

Serves 4. This recipe halves well as a way to use squash leftover from a previous meal.

Flesh of one cooked acorn squash, about three cups
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup plain, nonfat yogurt

In blender, puree squash with 2 cups of the broth until smooth. Remove to pot and stir in remaining half cup of broth as needed for desired consistency. Stir in sugar and spices. Heat until just hot without letting it come to a full simmer. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt until fully incorporated, or divide between four bowls and add a 1 Tbsp dollop of yogurt to each bowl, allowing your guests to stir it together themselves. Garnish with a swirl of maple syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar.

A Lighter Creamy Pasta Sauce

Paaaastaaaaa. *drool* If you have the same Pavlovian response that I do to even the mention of creamy pastas, then you might also share my remorse in the carbo fat bomb nature of the dish. I've found a lighter way to create my favorite creamy pasta sauces without sacrificing on flavor or creaminess. In fact, what would you say to a plate of creamy pasta with 12 grams of fiber, 19 grams protein, and 2-3 servings of vegetables, all while staying under 500 calories and 10 grams of fat? I would think you would say, "Yes, please!"

This is my big one people. I use this trick to make creamy clam sauce, creamy garlic "alfredo" sauce, creamy tomato "rose" sauce, and creamy white wine sauces. I've shared this secret with very few people, and now I'm sending it out to my loyal readers (all three of you). To introduce you to my favorite trick, here are a couple versions of creamy, yet much lighter, vegetable farfalle. The unexpected twist: low fat cream cheese. Neither cream nor butter required.

Squash and Vegetable Farfalle in Creamy White Wine Sauce

Do not substitute the non-dairy milk alternatives with regular dairy milk. Milk will curdle when mixed with the wine. Serves 2-3.

6oz Whole Wheat Farfalle (I like Mara's Pasta because it has a lot of fiber and protein and stays under 200 calories per serving, but many brands, such as Barilla and Ronzoni, have their own healthier whole grain lines)
1 cob corn, kernels removed
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 Tbsp shallot, minced
1/2 medium acorn squash, cooked, peeled, and chunked
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup unsweetened original flavor almond milk or unsweetened original flavor light soy milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat pan sprayed generously with Pam over medium-high. Sauté carrots and corn for 6 minutes, or until carrots are nearly tender-crisp. Add shallots and sauté another three minutes, or until shallots start turning translucent and carrots are tender-crisp. Add spinach and squash and continue sautéing another couple minutes until the spinach wilts, salting to taste as you stir. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low and respray empty pan. Add almond milk and wine; bring to an almost simmer. Add cream cheese and heat until melted and fully incorporated, stirring often and salting to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of the parmesan and stir gently and minimally to prevent the cheese from clumping as it melts. Add vegetables and mix thoroughly, yet gently. The squash will melt into the sauce as you stir. Take this final opportunity to add any additional salt or pepper to taste. Toss in pasta and remove from heat to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan to garnish.


Vegetable Medley Farfalle in Creamy White Wine Sauce

You can grill vegetables on the George Foreman instead of sautéing, if you prefer. Do not substitute the non-dairy milk alternatives with regular dairy milk. Milk will curdle when mixed with the wine. Serves 2-3.

6oz Whole Wheat Farfalle (I like Mara's Pasta because it has a lot of fiber and protein and stays under 200 calories per serving, but many brands, such as Barilla and Ronzoni, have their own healthier whole grain lines)
1 small bunch asparagus, tough ends removed, chopped on the bias
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup unsweetened original flavor almond milk or unsweetened original flavor light soy milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup cashews
Lemon wedges

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat pan sprayed generously with Pam over medium-high. Sauté asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion until tender. Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté another 30 seconds to one minute until garlic becomes fragrant, salting to taste as you stir. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low and respray empty pan. Add almond milk and wine; bring to an almost simmer. Add cream cheese and heat until melted and fully incorporated, stirring often and salting to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of the parmesan and stir gently and minimally to prevent the cheese from clumping as it melts. Add vegetables and cashews and mix thoroughly, yet gently. Take this final opportunity to add any additional salt or pepper to taste. Toss in pasta and remove from heat to serving dish. Drizzle with juice squeezed from the lemon wedges and sprinkle with remaining parmesan to garnish.

Harvest Tomato Soup

I have been CRAVING autumn vegetable soups like CRAZY, but San Francisco's Indian Summer weather has just not been cooperating. Temps in the 80s put a damper on hovering over the stove or crock-pot or roasting vegetables in the oven. We'll occasionally get a break in the heat, just enough to get my hopes up and start planning a grocery list, but every time it turns out it's just teasing me. Well, yesterday did not get nearly as hot as forecasted, and it even cooled off after the sun went down, so I decided to wait no longer and pounced, making a quick, simple vegetable soup to take advantage of this window of opportunity, however brief. I dare to hope that Fall is really here, because now my head is swimming with all the soups I want to make and I don't want to stop now I've started.

I took the inspiration for this soup from the nerdiest of places, which makes me even happier about it. Wil Wheaton of Star Trek and Internet fame recently posted the recipe for a soup he made to combat a nasty case of sinusitis. It fit all the qualifications I desired for last night's meal: quick, full of whatever vegetables looked good in the market and that I had in the crisper, and with something different from my usual recipes to inspire me. The difference that caught my eye: he used tomato juice as the base. Of course I tweaked the recipe and made it my own, and I encourage you to do the same. This soup can be extremely versatile. I already have big plans for other ways I can use V8 (which I used instead of tomato juice for added flavor and nutrition) to pump up other soups.

The husband man said it was probably the healthiest thing he's eaten in 5 years, yet he still enjoyed it. Of course, he said it would be better with barley (his response to any barley-less soup) and pork (his response to any porkless dish of any sort). I do think some ham, pancetta, or bacon would be great in this, but I was in the mood for a veggie-only soup. I also have an idea brewing for a slightly less tomatoey beef barley version I'm sure will please him. Big plans, my friends, big plans.


Harvest Tomato Soup

Wil's version was completely vegan. Omit broth and replace with water or vegetable broth to take it back to vegan status. Serves 4 as an entree, 6 as a starter.

1 Tbsp oil
1 med onion, chopped
4 stalks celery hearts, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
2 cups small broccoli florets
2 cobs corn, kernels removed
3 packed cups prepared* kale
1 can tomatoes, with liquid
1 can kidney beans, with liquid
3 cups V8
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onions, celery, and carrots for 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. 

Bring to a boil. Reduce to a strong simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. 

*To prep a head of kale, remove and discard the toughest stems and ribs and coarsely chop remaining leaves into bite-sized pieces.

Mushroom Tacos

Only three weeks left in the 500 Taco Summer. Here's another delicious way to up your numbers.*

Mushroom Tacos

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 Tbsp oil
1 8oz package sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp salsa, drained of excess liquid
2 cloves garlic, pressed
6 corn tortillas
Cotija cheese and salsa to top

Heat 1 Tbsp oil. Add carrot and celery and saute a few minutes on medium high until tender. Set aside. Heat second Tbsp of oil and add mushrooms. Saute a few minutes until just moist and tender, using a wooden spoon to break up large pieces into smaller pieces. Add soy sauce and 1 Tbsp salsa (I used Casa Chica's medium roasted salsa). Saute/simmer for a few more minutes. Add carrots and celery to mushrooms and continue to saute until combined. Add pressed garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. For a drier filling, drain excess liquid (I happen to like all that flavorful drippiness). Warm  tortillas in a dry pan and top with mushroom mixture, salsa, and crumbled cotija. You can also use crispy taco shells, if you prefer.  Makes 6 tacos.

*By the way, I'm at 111!

Autumn Pilafs

Well, it turns out the inability to cook saps my desire to write about cooking. But I'm pretty much back on my feet enough to prepare simple dishes and make short trips to the nearest market, so my interest is once again piqued. So it's about time I shared those Autumn dishes I promised so long ago! Just in time for winter. Oops.

I just reread my last post, Vegan Refried Black Beans, and thought I'd get back into the swing by showing my successful experiments using French Onion soup in place of vegetable broth in cooking grains.

Vegetable broths are often tinny with off flavors, and lack that umami flavor I love so much in chicken and beef broths. In my search for a satisfactory alternative, I first made some weird attempts with mushroom broth, since mushrooms are packed with umami. But everything just came out tasting like musty mushrooms. But then I saw onions in a list of foods that contain the molecule or whatever that has that delicious meaty umaminess and had an epiphany that has delivered many successful vegetarian dishes. French onion soup, available in most grocers' soup and broth aisles, makes a great vegetarian substitute for beef and chicken broth. It has become the standard vegan base for my favorite grain, Kashi 7 Whole Grain and Sesame Pilaf, as in these three recipes. Feel free to substitute your favorite whole grain or whole grain blend.


Veronica's Kashi Pilaf

The simple starting point from which my pilaf dishes grew, this is a super easy and delicious way to add whole grains to any meal.

1 packet (1 cup) Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
2 cups beef or onion broth
1-2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 dashes garlic powder
2-3 dashes onion powder (omit if using onion broth)

Cook according to package directions using the above ingredients in place of water.


Kashi Stuffed Acorn Squash

I found this recipe in the comment section of Kashi's website. Yes, I'm that big a fan of Kashi Pilaf, as well as a number of their other products, that I have been on their site and even read the comments of other fans.

Of course, the day I finally made this, I did my shopping at a market that sacrilegiously did not carry Kashi Pilaf, so I used a blend of red & brown rice with rye and barley instead. I cooked one cup of the rice blend according to package directions, substituting onion soup for water. I omitted the diced onion since I figured the broth would add plenty of oniony flavor. Also, always remember to add garlic only for the last 30-60 seconds of sauteeing, just enough time to become fragrant. It really should never be sauteed as long as other vegetables. I added pressed garlic cloves at the end of the cooking time with the carrot, almonds, and spices/salt. I skipped sprinkling with grated cheese before serving because the thought of curry and cheese together weirded me out. Instead, I served the squash with raw brown sugar on the side for copious sprinkling by the spoonful. The extra sweetness was perfect to balance out the super strong spices and saltiness. This was just the final touch this fragrant autumn dish needed to reach true culinary heights.


Delicata Kashi Pilaf
  

I developed this dish as a faster, simpler alternate to the stuffed squash I love so much. Delicata makes  a great substitute for the cook in a hurry. Since the skin is edible, you can bake thin slices much faster than preparing other varieties, and you can then toss everything together and skip the second baking post-stuffing. The removal of spices, omitted to recover the extra time it takes to bloom the spices on the stove, also makes this version more versatile and easier to pair as a side dish with a larger variety of entrees.

The tiny delicata squash has a thin, edible skin that reduces prep time.

1 packet (1 cup) Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
2 cups onion broth
2-3 dashes garlic powder
2 Tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.)
1 delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices

1 Tablespoon olive oil 

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup toasted almond slivers (these are just so handy to have around)

Cook pilaf according to package directions using onion broth, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce instead of water. Add raisins or other dried fruit during final 15 minutes of cooking. In the version pictured above I used freeze dried Just Apricots to add tang and sweetness.

Meanwhile, toss squash slices with oil, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Spread in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Roast in upper third of a 475º oven 15 minutes, or until squash is just tender. I even use the toaster oven to avoid preheating time.

Combine rice, squash, and toasted almond slivers.