Lentil Soup 2

I made Erin’s Lentil Soup with a couple of minor adjustments to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand at the time. I added a few cloves of garlic, used less onion, and utilized vegan bullion and diced tomatoes. Overall, a definite success and just as easy as she described it.

Apple Pie Oatmeal

I had been thinking about all of the wonderful things I like to do with steel cut oats and realized I haven’t shared hardly any of them! This one is super easy when done in your rice cooker overnight. A crock pot will work too.

The Players
1 cup steel cut oats
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more!)
2 medium to large apples, cubed
Water

The Fun
Add all ingredients in order listed above.
Set rice cooker for desired finish time.
Go to bed.
Wake up to hot steel cut oats.

Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce

This past fall, we received some spaghetti squash in our CSA basket. I honestly was not sure what to do with it, though I figured I could bake it. Right? Fortunately, about the same time, Emily posted about how to cook it.  I was very relieved and jumped right in. I went a little light on the garlic for TB’s sake, but if I were making it for myself, I would have loaded up. I topped ours off with some pasta sauce I had canned.

Seasonal Vegetable and Quinoa: Eggplant, Tomato, Zuccini

When I switched to a “menu formula,” I wrote that on Thursdays we would have a stir fry or saute.   While generally, I am sure this sounds boring, I assure you, it can be quite the treat.  I also thought I should share some of our combinations in order to help spark some ideas for you.

I made this version about a month ago by sauteing eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes (all came with our CSA) and then adding edamame.  I kept the seasoning VERY simple in order to allow the fresh from the garden (ok, CSA) taste shine through. In other words, I used salt and pepper. I dished it up over quinoa. Unfortunately, I failed to get a pretty photo of that, so the one of it mixed up for my son will have to do.

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

A while back, Dulce posted a gluten free vegan chocolate cake. I was looking for a vegan cake to make for my son, and remembered her post, so I thought I would give it a try with wheat flour. The end result (pictured above) was divine.  We are in the process of trying to eliminate gluten to see if TB is also sensitive to that, so I gave it a whirl with Bob’s Red Mill GF flour, which also turned out well (pictured below still in the pan).

Dulce graciously allowing me to repost her recipe with the modifications I made.

The Players

3 c Bob’s Red Mill GF Flour

2 c turbinado sugar

1/2 c cocoa powder

1 c vegan mini chocolate chips

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 tsp vinager

2 Starbucks via packs

2 cups coconut milk (or almond, I like coconut better when baking)

2/3 c olive oil

The Fun

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray 2 8″ round cake pans or one 9″ square pan with olive oil or other baking spray.

2. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.

3. Mix wet ingredients and then add to dry ingredients, being sure to mix thoroughly. Pour in to the pan(s).

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

I try to allow it to cool before diving in, but it’s hard. Our favorite topping is to put a scoop of So so Delicious coconut milk ice cream on top.