Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Vegan Mofo day 7: get your orange on.

It's getting to be that time of year when I get super excited about all things orange and sweet and fabulous. Pumpkins and winter squash, my friends. This past weekend I attended the Pumpkin Festival in Milton, WV with Michael and our friends Becca and Max. If you remember from last year, we mostly go in order to buy locally made foodstuffs like cornmeal and pumpkin butter and salad dressings and whatnot. This year there were pumpkin milkshakes...everywhere. Michael and I got a little sad that we couldn't have one, so a couple days ago I got the fixings to make them ourselves!
punkin.

Also showcased is some lovely pumpkin butter from the festival. The milkshakes were super easy to make...I didn't measure (of course), but it's just vanilla soy ice cream, pumpkin puree, some soymilk, and a little bit of pumpkin pie spice. Yum! They were especially yummy paired with some vegan gingersnaps we found at the store. Next time I want to make a blizzard-style thing with a thicker mixture and some crumbled gingersnaps added to the whole shebang. This was a perfect treat on an evening where my throat was feeling crappy and sore. And probably healthy too - I mean you never know.
punkin's favorite cousin, butternut squash

I am a huge butternut squash fan. The eating of them, that is. I really hate dealing with the preparation, but luckily, Michael made this dinner for me on the first evening that I was feeling sick. He roasted the squash with some olive oil and just a pinch of cinnamon sprinkled on top. It was perfectly cooked...tender and sweet. Mmmm! He also whipped up the lemony roasted potatoes from Veganomicon and a felafel loaf from a box mix to which he added some chickpeas, peppers, onions, and tomatillos. Luckily, my cold is mostly in my chest (luckily?) so that I can still taste stuff. This was an excellent and filling meal. Those potatoes are spectacular. If you haven't tried them yet, you should!
super sick meal

Another night when I was still feeling icky and Michael wasn't feeling too hot either, we just had a simple supper of storeboughts. That's butternut squash soup from Imagine, some roasted pine nut hummus, and Triscuits. Super easy to make and to eat. Sometimes we just don't feel like cooking. It happens, people.
almost as good as winter squash - sweet potatoes

This is something I made before we got sick, but it is completely worth mentioning and also falls under the category of wonderful orange foods. This is the cumin-lime tofu from VegNews. You guys should totally sign up for their newsletters and join the recipe club, because they send you all these awesome recipes straight to your inbox and they rule! This tofu was out of this world delicious. They suggested pairing it with sweet potatoes, so I made a mash of sweet potatoes and a regular potato or two. That's lightly steamed broccoli with lemon zest in the back. I can't wait to make this one again. So good! I can't link to the recipe because it's only in my email and not on their site, but that's just another reason why you should sign up yourself!

Feel like making something orange for dinner? What are some of your favorite ways to cook these squashes? I need suggestions, so I don't get sick of them by January!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have captured the season so well Jessica!!! Now all I want is soup...

Leslie Richman said...

A pumpkin blizzard/shake thing sounds sooo good!

Debra said...

It all looks sooo good!

The Voracious Vegan said...

AWESOME post! I love that milkshake, sounds good right about now.

nora said...

pupmkin, sweet potatoes, and butternut! 3 of my favorite foods :)

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oooh, pumpkin butter, sweet potatoes, & squash! Autumn food rules!

VeganCowGirl said...

pumpkin butter!!! omg.

Jes said...

I'm hardcore craving a pumpkin milkshake now. Oh my.

miss v said...

i haven't made the cumin lime tofu yet, but i so want to! i always seem to run out of tofu at the wrong time. grrr... looks so good.

jessy said...

i’m excitedfaced for fall and all things orange, too – hooray! i do remember your trip last year – especially those wacky decorated pumpkins – ah ha ha! sweet awesomeness on making your own deeeelicious pumpkin shake. i can’t believe i’ve never thought to do something so delicious. mmmm! did you say gingersnaps, too? zomg! gingersnaps always bring back fond memories of my grandmother – she made the best cookies, and her gingersnaps (and date cookies) were my absolute favorite. too nice on Michael making you some roasted butternut – i had some the other evening, and i’ve gotta agree that the prep can be a pain. i like to peel mine & cut it into cubes – and i always end up peeling parts of my fingers – ouch! i’m gonna have to try some cinnamon on mine the next go around. i’m gonna try the lemony taters too. that’s awesome that you can still taste, Jessica. i abhor having the kind of sick that has you not being able to enjoy food. i hate the most! the other night dan & i had frozen veggie & tots – nothing wrong with not feeling like cooking – we all need a tasty break, fo ‘sho!

Liz said...

That has to be the most beautiful bowl of hummus I've ever seen.

Susan said...

Mmm... I love pumpkin! Sadly we don't have quite the range over here than seems to abound in my vegan cookbooks from the US. I love the idea of a pumpkin milkshake!

the twins said...

mmm pumpkin milkshakes sound so good! i've never seen them before...definitely need to try this as soon as i get a blender =)