vegan

Homemade Curry Ketchup

October 28, 2013 by Erica

Homemade Curry Ketchup

If you had told me last Monday that I would spend the weekend with a spoon in a jar of ketchup, I would have thought you were nuts. But if you had told me that come Saturday afternoon, I would have known you were telling the truth.

It’s pretty embarrassing, really, especially because I don’t consider myself a condiment person. I’m fine with ketchup and mustard, but I’ve never gotten too excited about them (before this)… and I’ve definitely never eaten them with a spoon (again, before this).

Homemade Curry Ketchup

If you think it’s gross to eat ketchup with a spoon, yes. I agree. When we’re talking about ketchup with high-fructose corn syrup that comes out of a squeeze bottle. And for the record, never have I ever eaten that with a spoon. Gives me the chills just thinking about it.

This ketchup, though, is different. First of all, it’s homemade. With onions, spices, vinegar, and canned tomatoes. Real food! Second of all, it’s not just regular ketchup – it’s curry ketchup.

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No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

October 21, 2013 by Erica

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

Well, we’re back from Moab! And all four of us survived the half marathon. I’ll have a race recap for you in the next few days, but for now, let’s just say it went better than last year! And that at the moment, I’d rather talk about cookies.

I don’t know about you all, but I absolutely love classic no-bake cookies. I ate them for the first time in our college dining hall, and I didn’t stop for four years straight. Those things are so good; they were seriously my downfall. They had them for dessert maybe once a week or every two weeks, and I had to get several every time. I would enter the dining hall planning to eat no dessert that night, but as soon as I saw those no-bake cookies, my sugar-free intentions fell by the wayside. That was the problem with dining hall desserts. There were some I had no interest in, and some I loved. God forbid they put out two of my favorites on the same night… because I had to have one of each. Never mind the fact that you knew it would be there again in a few weeks. At that moment it always seemed like you would be missing your last chance on earth for a no-bake cookie if you didn’t get one right that instant. That, my friends, is what we call the freshman 15.

My freshman 15 was made up almost exclusively of no-bake cookies, Twisted Smirnoffs, and discovering I loved cream in my coffee instead of milk. But let’s stick to the no-bakes for now.

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Spicy Honey-Roasted Squash Seeds

October 16, 2013 by Erica

Spicy Honey-Roasted Squash Seeds

Stop! You with the stringy, goopy squash gook halfway to the trash can. Don’t throw it out!

Save that stuff. Save it in a bowl in your fridge all fall so you can procrastinate making this recipe until a lazy Saturday afternoon when you finally work up the courage to submerge your hands in a cold bowl of squash gook.

On second thought, maybe just clean the seeds right up front and save a bowl of clean squash seeds in your fridge for when you want a snack on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Do as I say, not as I do.

Spicy Honey-Roasted Squash Seeds

But let’s back up for a second. Many people are familiar with roasting pumpkin seeds, especially after carving a pumpkin this time of year. But did you know you can do the same thing with the seeds of any other squash? If you’re like me, you cook with other types of squash much more often than pumpkin. And I love the seeds. Other than cleaning them, they are possibly the best part!

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Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

October 14, 2013 by Erica

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

Hello, and happy Monday to you!

Some recipes I have a lot to say about; others, not so much. This is one of the latter. The big story about this recipe is that a version of it has been on my idea list for quite some time – about a year – and when I got a massive amount of green peppers in my CSA box, I decided to finally try it out. It would have been almost irresponsible not to, you know? So… I made it.

The end?

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

No, of course that’s not the end. That would leave you with far too many pictures of peppers and far too little of my sass for one day.

Although maybe it’s the peppers, not the sass, that you’re after.

Lucky for you, I’m not sure I have anything too sassy to say today. More pictures of peppers it is!

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Mashed Butternut Squash

October 9, 2013 by Erica

Mashed squash may not be the most romantic-sounding dish. This I know. But trust me, it is up there with the tastiest!

Each week for my CSA, I get an email containing a few recipes for this week’s ingredients. This was one such recipe, and I knew immediately I had to try it. It sounded quite similar to the spiced butternut squash soup I made last winter – one of my favorites. Butternut squash, onions, apples and spices in yet another spoonable form? Yes please!

These are the squashy version of mashed potatoes. And if you like mashed potatoes, let me tell you how you will feel about mashed squash: you will FREAK OUT. Unlike potatoes, with butternut squash there’s no need to add cream (just a little bit of butter!), because it already has plenty of moisture. Instead, the focus is on flavor. Apples and onions and maple syrup, oh my! Plus a hint of warm spices to round out the dish and make it absolutely heavenly. Seriously. I swoon every time I reheat a serving of these. They are just THAT good.

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