Saturday, October 23, 2010

pumpkin pie season

I modified this recipe from the great great magazine Living Without's Thanksgiving menu:

(g-f flour in it makes its own crust! gluten-y flour won't work, sorry :)

Pumpkin Pie

1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 c rice milk
2 T melted butter or soy-free Earth Balance
1 T tapioca starch
1 T white rice flour
1/2 c honey
2 eggs
1/2 t sea salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice

preheat oven to 425 degrees. grease your pie pan.
mix all liquids, and whisk your dry ingred in another bowl. pour dry into liquid, stirring to combine.

pour batter into prepped pie pan (leave a 1/2 inch between batter and rim) - pour any extra into greased ramekins.

place pie in oven and bake for 15 mins. reduce heat to 375 and bake for 30 more mins til a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I could eat this every day~

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Autumnal Feast: Squash and Lentil Lasagna

OK, fall allergies. You can go away now...! But even you can't stand in the way of my enjoyment of this time of the year. Sheep and wool festivals, pumpkin patches and pies, Halloween, and all kinds of feasting by the fire...brushing off the layers of summer dullness and re-awakening -- autumn is an amazing transformative time.

This fall, I have been looking for a way to make lasagna without nightshades, so here is my solution: roasted butternut squash pasta sauce!

My plan is to layer the sauce with Tinkyada rice lasagna noodles, cooked sprouted lentils and kale. Here is the sauce recipe:

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

* 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 5 cloves garlic, peel on
* 1 cup broth

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds; discard.
2. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove and discard skin from garlic.
3. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add broth through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.

On to the lasagna:

Boil the lasagna noodles as per cooking instructions, leaving them al dente.
I used a 9 x 13 baking pan, and started with a little olive oil and 1-2 cups of sauce in the bottom of the pan.
3 lasagna strips next
then 1/2 of the cooked sprouted lentil/kale mixture:
started with 1 cup dried lentils and followed cooking directions - fast and easy cause they're sprouted! - on the bag [truRoot]. Drain and add: 1/2 c olive oil, sauteed kale, onions and garlic and season with basil, sea salt and pepper to taste.

then 1/3 of remaining sauce
3 more noodles
rest of lentil mixture
1/2 of remaining sauce
top with rest of noodles
and the rest of the sauce!

top with a couple of pinches of nutmeg. cover with parchment, then wrap in tin foil.
bake at 350 for 25-30 mins, til bubbling.

enjoy~