Curried Autumn Squash Lentil Stew

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Hello! And welcome to week three of Vegan Tuesdays! I am thrilled that you’ve stopped by. I have an extremely yummy fall stew to share with you today. 

When I was younger, my mom made a lot of stews during the fall. Her stews were hearty, filling and warm – perfect after a long day of school. I used to really look forward to fall, because mom also began baking again. She would often take the summers off from baking, but then would make up for lost time in the fall. Cinnamon buns, apple pies, fresh baked bread, cookies…Mmm! Mom had a goal of making a new dish every week for Sunday Supper. And we were more than pleased to be her guinea pigs! Frankly, I’m still more than pleased to be her guinea pig! I still look forward to Sunday Supper every week. It’s my favourite!

When I began thinking of debuting my Vegan Tuesdays feature in the fall, I immediately thought that I needed to include a delicious, hearty stew in honour of my mom’s annual tradition. And this recipe fit the bill perfectly. I adore butternut squash (I’m sure you’ve noticed). And lentils seemed like the perfect addition to add some heartiness (and fibre) to the dish. The curry adds a really nice spice and warmth to the stew – where the apple adds a hint of sweetness. I loved the texture of the stew as well. All of the components kind of meld together in a stick-to-your-ribs kind of way. I can honestly say that this recipe is in my top 5 of recipes I’ve tried in 2012. That’s a pretty good endorsement! 

If you missed out on the first two weeks of Vegan Tuesdays, please be sure to check out the posts for Fresh Corn Farrotto and Butternut Squash Nut Burgers with Roasted Garlic Aioli.

I hope to be back on Thursday with another new post. We’ll see how the week goes. I’ve fallen ill with the flu for the second time this month and am NOT a happy camper. *hah* Hopefully it passes quickly, so I can get into the kitchen ASAP. I have a huge list of recipes I want to try over the coming weeks leading up to Canadian Thanksgiving :)

Wishing you all a wonderful week! xo
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger)
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon of good quality curry powder
  • 1/2 cup of dried red lentils; rinsed and drained
  • 2 and 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
  • 3 cups of peeled butternut squash, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 large apple, peeled and diced
  • 5 ounces of baby spinach, washed (optional)

Method

1. In a large pot, heat the oil oven medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and carrots until almost soft. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and salt. Allow the spices to cook a minute or two until nice and fragrant.

2. Add the vegetable broth to the pot and stir in the dried lentils. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cubed butternut squash and diced apple. Cover again and simmer stew for another 25 minutes, or until the vegetables and lentils are nice and tender. Note: Stew should be nice and thick at this point.

3. Uncover the stew and stir in the spinach until wilted. Add salt to taste and serve.

Yield: serves 6

Source: Chloe’s Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli

Canadian Maple Baked Beans

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As I have mentioned before, I was an incredibly picky eater as a kid. My poor mom had to contend with me not only avoiding most meat products, but also with me avoiding a lot of fruits and vegetables. She was always worried about me not getting enough protein. She would often feed me yummy peanut butter sandwiches, which I loved – unless she tried to be sneaky and put the peanut butter on whole wheat bread. *hah* I used to HATE whole grains. Thank goodness time has changed that. Another way mom would ensure I was getting enough protein was to serve me baked beans with dinner. I love them and I still do. There’s really nothing special about them, but they are hearty and remind me of being a kid. 

A few weeks back, my family and I decided to have a picnic/BBQ at our favourite local park. I decided it would be fun to bring a pot of delicious homemade baked beans to serve along side our veggie dogs/burgers. I went out and bought all of the ingredients to make the baked beans and thought I would make them an hour or so before the BBQ. This way they’d still be pipping hot! The recipe said to cook the beans for 45 minutes. Or…so I thought!!! While reading the recipe, I neglected to notice that after cooking the beans for 45 minutes…you BAKE them for 3 hours at a low temperature in the oven. Oops!!! Clearly I do not understand the concept of BAKED beans. *HAH* When I showed up at the BBQ, everyone was so disappointed that I did not bring these delicious maple baked beans. But they all had a good laugh at my expense :) I’ll have to make it up to them and make them for our next family function.

I finally got around to making these maple baked beans last week and they were awesome! So much better than the canned baked beans I had as a kid – although, I will always love those too. I realize the photo is not the prettiest. I mean, how does one dress up a plate of baked beans!? But they were extremely delicious, hearty and had wonderful flavours. They are truly perfect for fall. The fresh apples from the farmer’s market combined with the delicious Canadian Maple makes for one awesome plate of beans. I really wanted to share this recipe with you, as Jesse and I really enjoyed these as a side dish. We served them with veggie dogs and a nice side salad. Plus, making baked beans at home means you can choose how sweet you’d like them and how much sodium you consume. As usual, homemade is better and so worth the effort! :) This is the perfect dish to bring to a late summer BBQ or potluck.

Ingredients
  • 4-19 oz. cans of pinto beans; drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon of dry mustard
  • 2 teaspoons of chill powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper (or regular black pepper)
  • 2 cups of bottled tomato purée
  • 1/3 cup of pure maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons of cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of fancy molasses
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of water (or vegetable stock)

Note: You can use dried beans instead of canned if you prefer. If you choose to use dried beans, use 3 cups of dried pinto or navy beans. Soak them overnight in three times their volume of water. (Or, you can bring them to a boil, let them boil gently for 2 minutes, remove them from the heat and allow them to sit uncovered for an hour.) Then, before baking the soaked beans, simmer them at a low heat for 45 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300’F. In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook the onion, apple and garlic until the onion is softened (about 8 minutes). Add the mustard powder, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir.

2. Stir in the tomato purée, maple syrup, cider vinegar and molasses. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in the water or vegetable stock. 

3. In a large 16 cup (4L) casserole, combine the beans and the sauce. Cover and bake in 300’F oven for 2 hours. Uncover and bake for another hour, or until the sauce has thickened and the beans are well coated and soft. 

Perfect for a cozy fall dinner.

Source: Canadian Living Magazine Vegetarian Cookbook

Butternut Squash Nut Burgers with Roasted Garlic Aioli

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Welcome to week two of Vegan Tuesdays! So glad you stopped by again this week to see what I have to share. I definitely think you’ll love this recipe! :) It’s perfect to bridge the gap between summer and fall.

And so my quest for the perfect homemade veggie burger continues. Next up, this delicious vegan fall-inspired butternut squash nut burger. These burgers were fantastic and included a number of my favourite things – namely butternut squash, quinoa and pumpkin seeds. Yum! A few years back, I tried this burger for the first time at a great local restaurant called Fresh Café. I was smitten and went back a number of times over the past few years to curb my yummy-veggie-burger cravings.

 Recently, I was flipping through a local food magazine called Ciao! and I noticed my beloved veggie burger recipe was included in the magazine! With this awesome recipe in mind, I headed to the local Farmer’s Market this past weekend to load up on butternut squash. Side Note: I very much went overboard at the Farmer’s Market this past weekend and now have a ton of fresh produce to cook with this week! Weeee! :) Anyhoo, after the Farmer’s Market, I headed home to test out the recipe with very high expectations. And, thankfully, the recipe did not disappoint! The burgers tasted just like the ones I love from Fresh Café. And they were really easy to put together. The burgers are soft without being too mushy. And I loved all of the yummy seeds and nuts in the burger. Unlike some veggie burgers, these stayed together very well. And the roasted garlic aioli was delicious and the perfect topping for these burgers. I also topped the burgers off with some fresh tomato slices. Jesse added a bit of dijon mustard to his burger. He said it was extra delicious! 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was quite nice! Friday, we celebrated our friend Michelle’s birthday at a local South American Steak House called Hermanos. I know, I know…vegetarians at a steak house makes no sense! But they offered delicious vegetarian empanadas :) So I was a happy camper! Saturday, I met a friend at a local pub for some lunch and a nice chat. Saturday, Jesse and I met his family for an amazing meal at La Fiesta – an El Salvadorian restaurant. I tried pupusas for the first time and now I’m obsessed. Wow! Incredibly tasty. If you live in Winnipeg, I highly recommend La Fiesta. Just make sure to make a reservation. It’s one busy place! Awesome food and fantastic service. Sunday, Jesse, my friend Paul, my dad and I attended a football game…and my team lost again. Thankfully, the final score was a lot better than last week’s 0-52 blow out! *phew*

I’ll be back on Thursday with another yummy vegan post :) Have a fantastic Tuesday! And Wednesday for that matter. xo
Ingredients
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1-540 ml can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup of uncooked quinoa; rinsed
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup of pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup of chopped walnuts
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs (or gluten free bread crumbs)
  • 12 whole wheat burger buns (or gluten free burger buns)
  • Roasted Garlic Vegan Aioli (recipe to follow)

Garnish: sprouts, finely sliced red onion, dijon mustard, tomato slices

Roasted Garlic Vegan Aioli
  • 1 block of soft tofu, drained of excess water
  • 1 head of garlic, roasted
  • 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar (or 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method: Prep

1. Roast the Garlic: Preheat oven to 350’F. Slice the top off of the head of garlic. Place garlic in a pocket of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt. Pinch the tinfoil around the garlic leaving a little bit of room for steam. Place garlic in oven and allow it to roast for about 35 minutes, or until soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2. Cook the Butternut Squash: In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the butternut squash and reduce to low. Cook the squash until it is tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and set aside. 

3. Cook the Quinoa: While the squash is cooking, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Method: The Burgers

1. In a mixing bowl, smash the cooked butternut squash, white kidney beans and quinoa together using a potato masher. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the shallots, garlic, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. 

2. Add bread crumbs as necessary until the mix holds together well. Mould bits of the mixture into patties about the size of a hockey puck (can you tell I’m Canadian? *hehe*). You will get about 12 patties from this recipe.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Make sure to spread the oil around the entire pan to ensure even cooking. Place patties onto the skillet and pan-fry the burgers for about 4 minutes per side (or until the sides are crispy and the burgers are cooked through). Note: I added a bit more oil between each batch to ensure even browning.

Method: The Aioli

1. Remove the roasted garlic cloves from the skin. Mash well with a fork.

2. Using a blender or food processor, mix the mashed roasted garlic, tofu, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper until smooth.

Serve each butternut nut burger on a toasted whole wheat bun. Slather on some of the delicious roasted garlic aioli. Top with some fresh tomato slices and some sprouts. Add dill pickles for good measure.

Yield: 12 veggie burgers

Source: Fresh Café in Winnipeg, Manitoba