I came up with this recipe while on the bus back from NYC. It was a Bonanza bus, hence the name. My memory of what was in my kitchen was accurate except that there turned out not to be a can of corn. Oh well.
I might suggest using a little less curry powder than I did, but I'm keeping the recipe as is to reflect what I actually ate for dinner. Discretion is always advised when taking my culinary advice.
makes approx. 3-4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 acorn squash
1/2 c. cashews
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. tofu, cubed
1 1/2 c. edamame, shelled
1 c. broth
2 c. water
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (sort of)
oil
Earth Balance
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Fill the center of half an acorn squash with cashews. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Heat a pad of Earth Balance margarine with some canola oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and tofu. Let the tofu brown on the bottom, then scrape with a spatula.
3. Remove the squash from the oven. Empty the cashews into a blender. Cut off the rind of the squash and slice into chunks. Place in the blender along with broth and water. Puree until relatively smooth.
4. Add the edamame to the soup pot and cook for a few minutes. Pour the pureed cashews and squash into the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
5. Add the seasoning and let the soup cook for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with sun-dried tomatoes.
"I don't think of love as — in this context — as emotion bosh. I don't think of it as a weak force, but I think of love as something strong, and that organizes itself into powerful direct action."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I know, my spelling of "cheeze" is horrible and offensive, but I feel that it needs an idiosyncratic spelling to make it obvious that no dairy is involved, even though this is a vegan space. I'll use "mylk" if I'm not qualifying "milk," too, but if I'm saying "almond milk" or "cashew milk" then I'll go ahead and use the standard spelling. But "nondairy cheese" is a mouthful, so "cheeze" it is.
I got a big box of pea greens from the farmers market last weekend. The box makes all kinds of promising claims about the wonderful micronutrients in pea greens. Whatever. The mac and cheeze turned out pretty much as I'd hoped, but the sweet potatoes and squash was a bit lacking. If it weren't for the sweetness of the potatoes I might even call it a failure. It's nice to have something simple to go with the tangy cheeze dish, but maybe I could have sprinkled something other than salt and pepper into the oil. ANYWAY... makes approx. 3 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. macaroni
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 acorn squash, cubed
box of pea greens (2 c.? 3 c.?)
1 c. yeast flakes
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. water
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 spoonful mustard
2 spoonfuls tahini
4 tsp. capers
1/4 tsp. salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Cube the sweet potatoes and acorn squash half. If you haven't dealt with hard squash before, you'll probably need more time and patience than you anticipate to cut off the rind. The skin? I bet you could find a magical time-efficient method on the internet, though.
3. Coat the bottom of an oven-safe pan with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss the potato and squash cubes until coated. Stick in the oven for 45-40 minutes. If you remember, it's a good idea to check up on it once or twice and toss.
4. Heat oil in a small pan on low-medium heat. Mince the garlic cloves and cook for a minute or so. Add the broth and 2/3 of the pea greens. Let the greens cook down a little bit, then add the yeast flakes and water. Crank the heat to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. After the cheeze starts to thicken, go ahead and stir in the seasonings, followed by the mustard and tahini, the capers, and finally the remaining pea greens. I spaced those additions a few minutes apart. You can turn the heat real low and add some more water if the cheeze gets too thick.
6. Bring water to a boil. I heeded the instructions on my package of macaroni, which was a mistake. Never listen to the pasta company! It called for 2.5 quarts of water for 1/2 lb. pasta, which took forever to boil and was totally unnecessary and a waste of water. I'd use like 1 q. (= 4 c.) water next time. I don't make pasta a whole lot.
7. Once the macaroni is al dente and drained, pour the cheeze sauce into the pot and incorporate.
Instant comfort! Okay, not instant, but also not too much work.
