The Veganic Verses

Corn crust pizza

2010-05-13T14:22:00.001-07:00

I guess you can always revive a blog, right? This pizza got me thinking about the olde Veganic Verses. I am feeling very inspired by the newest vegan cheese on the chopping block, Daiya. I used the mozzarella-style Daiya in this recipe, and we had gooey, melty, yummy pizza 20 minutes later. Yes, it really melts. No, it is not a lie. Plus, it tastes good--NO weird soy aftertaste. I used frozen gluten-free cornmeal pizza crusts, topped with arrabiata spaghetti sauce. Broiled some poatato slices for the top. Threw those on there with some basil, red peppers, sundried tomatoes, yellow squash fresh from the farm, and chopped garlic. The two pizzas didn't stand a chance.

Chai Tea Cupcakes

2009-12-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, this blog had been long-abandoned, but now that we're in cooking-mode again, we've reclaimed our little past-time.

I had never made cupcakes before, but have eaten plenty. My friend Carol suggested this recipe to me, out of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I don't have the cookbook (yet) but found a recipe here at the Post Punk Kitchen and adapted it. I used Rice Nog (already flavored) and instead of soy yogurt I used one mashed-up banana.

I first made a vegan cream cheese frosting for the top but it was too watery to pipe through a frosting tube, so I opted for the powdered sugar-and-cocoa mix seen here. They are AMAZING and this was much easier than I though it'd be. I see more cupcakes in our future.

Devil's Mess

2008-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

This is our favorite brunchy thing to make when we have the time. Got all the ingredients fresh at the farmer's market this morning--'cept the tortillas, black beans & hot sauce. Oh, a squirt of lime, to keep away the scurvy!

This one's:

sweet potatoes

black beans

onions

garlic

banana pepper

radish

dill

cilantro

Gimme Lean veggie "sausage"

Ethiopian Food

2008-11-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

I never thought we'd be able to pull this off. Living in a small town, we miss access to ethnic foods such as Ethiopian, so we decided to take the skillet into our own hands and make our own. The berbere (red pepper) spice was bought last time we were in Los Angeles--that big cup was just $5. The cookbook was bought from the same Ethiopian market there (Merkato). We didn't think ahead about the bread (injera) so just used wheat noodles instead. The lentil dish, potato dish and tomato salad were AWESOME!!! And tasted even better throughout the week. This was great, economically, too--we figured out that this got us about 6 meals for almost $1 each.

Spring Rolls

2008-07-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

soak the rice wraps individually in warm water

spread on a clean towel & fill with rice noodles & whatever else you like (we did tofu, carrots, cucumber, mint & basil)

get an assembly line of friends to fill & wrap (note home made peanut sauce for dipping)

Voila--spring rolls! Dip, eat, repeat.

I've heard these called spring and summer rolls...but whatever they're called, they're easy & AMAZING! Our friends Annie & Steve showed up with many of the fixins and showed us how to do it. We got a little assembly line going, disproving the "too many cooks spoils the broth" theory and demonstrating that group cooking is lots of fun! We made 2 big batches of these babies. Not the best photos but we were too busy to be artsy.

What the heck is Caponata?

2008-07-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

We had a gigantic eggplant from the farmer's market. We had some figs. What to do? After googling 'eggplant fig' we found this recipe and decided to try it. We followed it pretty precisely 'cept used red wine vinegar instead of white, and added a little banana pepper from our garden. Toasted some ciabatta and presto! Soooo sweet and savory and yummy. Seems like perfect party food and a good alternative to bruschetta.

Vegan Mac-n-Cheese

2008-06-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Baked version of the old favorite, using nutritional yeast, mustard, macaroni, Bragg's Amino Acids, paprika.

Thai Yellow Curry

2008-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Mae Ploy yellow curry paste is vegan (watch out for the other ones--they have shrimp paste!) We got the paste at the local Asian market, mixed with coconut milk according to directions, and used local sweet potato & basil with onions, regular potato, tofu and bok choy for our veggies. Served over jasmine rice. Nice.

Chocolate Mousse Pie, Part 3

2008-06-12T15:17:00.002-07:00

Yup, another version of our chocolate pie. You can never get enough chocolate pie. Notice the fresh chocolate mint, from our yard.

Mexican Lasagna

2008-06-12T05:19:00.001-07:00

Aw yeah...a tasty casserole topped with trashy Fritos. The base is cornbread. From there we layered with refried beans, peppers, onions, and "taco filling" made by Fantastic Foods. The layers were separated by corn tortillas used like lasagna noodles. Topped it all off with a can of diced tomatoes, and added Fritos just before it was done baking (20 minutes at 350). After removing from oven and plating, of course each portion had to be smothered in home made garlicky guacamole. This is very hearty and we'll be eating it all week.

Mango Strawberry Smoothie

2008-06-09T11:23:00.001-07:00

1 Fresh Mango

7 Fresh Strawberries

1.5 Frozen Bananas

Soymilk

Blender

Asparagus Risotto

2008-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

This was made for a vegan pot luck dinner we went to Sunday night. 'Twas a hit. Shawna cooked the pasta just like I did with a previous risotto dish we posted earlier. I blended up EVOO with basil, spinach, flax seed oil, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, and pine nuts for the sauce. Then we stir-fried the asparagus until tender.

Chocolate Mint Peanut Butter Smoothie

2008-06-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

The picture is not nearly as exciting as the taste was. Rich is famous for his smoothies. This one had:

frozen bananas

soymilk

peanut butter

chocolate syrup

chocolate mint (fresh from the yard!)

Baby Pies

2008-05-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

No, not pies of babies! Just little versions of the big ol' chocolate tofu pie we always make. Aren't they just cute enough to eat?

Kale and Potato Salad

2008-05-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

It may not be the most gorgeous dish, but we did gorge on it. Kale from our friend Annie's garden was steamed and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Potatoes, sweet and regular, were roasted with a touch of olive oil, garlic, fresh oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary. Mix it all together, splash a bit of soy sauce, and there you have a healthy lunch.

Beet Juice

2008-05-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Beets, carrots, lime, ginger. Ain't it beautiful? Tasted good, too.

Whole Enchiladas

2008-05-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, these were heavily inspired by all of the good-looking Mexican food over at Veg*n Musings.
I'd never made enchiladas before, though I've loved many. Her recipes made me believe I could try to make my own. I forgot to add sauce on the bottom of the pan, so they were a bit dry, but I'll remember that for next time. Still, muy delicioso.

For the sauce, I roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, Anaheim peppers, and garlic before throwing them in a pot to simmer with tomato sauce, cinammon, and maple syrup. The insides of the enchiladas are black beans, onions, and bell peppers. Topped with pumpkin seeds. Saved leftover sauce. Threw a side-salad of lettuce, mango, and avocado together. And then we made the nut cheese.

Ew. I know. "Nut cheese" is not the best-sounding food item, but it serves as a cheesy/sour creamy substitute sometimes. There are tons of versions of this on the 'net and in raw foods restaurants, but ours is:

1/2 cup of cashew pieces (unsalted)
dash of Bragg's Amino Acids
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of agar-agar (vegan thickening agent)

Whip it up in a food processor and ole! Que rico!

Indian food: fresh and pre-packaged

2008-05-11T04:39:00.000-07:00

We may not have a good Indian restaurant here, but we have a good Asian market and fresh veggies. Pappadoms (the big peppery cracker-like things) came from the Asian market. Jalfrezi sauce came from a jar bought at Harris Teeter. Channa Masala is from a package from Tidal Creek Co-Op. Samosas--lovely samosas--made at Tidal Creek. Lettuce from our friends Matt & Alison's yard. Lentils from our stash...can't remember where we bought 'em. Kale also from Tidal Creek--and it's locally grown, too. Everything turned out pretty good & we have tons of leftovers for lunches. Rode bikes to a movie after eating all of this...

Asian Collard Rolls

2008-05-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

The American south meets the far east here. These turned out way better than I thought they would. These were inspired by the Collard Green Rolls we had once in New York at Red Bamboo but those were fried in a spring roll wrapper. We also just bought some daikon radishes at the farmer's market & didn't know what to do with them, so this helped the dilemma.

Here's what we used:

fresh collard leaves

onion

firm tofu, sliced into thin strips

daikon radish

carrot

sweet potato, chopped really small

sesame seeds

soy sauce

peanut oil

white pepper

Here's what we did:

Washed collards really well. Boiled the collard leaves for a few minutes while frying the sweet potato, onions, & pepper in peanut oil. Also fried the tofu in soy sauce and white pepper. Thinly sliced the radish & carrot, and set aside.

Removed collard leaves from water. Cut out bottom of stem. Scooped potato, onion, and tofu into center, placed carrot & radish stick in center, and rolled up like a mini-burrito. Place seam-side down in pan. Repeated until we ran out of stuff. Sprinkled w/sesame seeds. Baked at 350 for 10 minutes.

While that was baking, we made the peanut sauce:

peanut butter

dash of flax oil

hunk of ginger

lemon juice

lime juice

garlic clove

soy sauce

cayenne pepper

Put it all in a food processor, add water as needed, and blend to taste.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Crisp

2008-05-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

There was a dinner party! We had to bring something! Fresh strawberries from Black River Organic Farm inspired this dish.

First we cut the rhubarb into little pieces, put it in a saucepan with some brown sugar & lemon juice, and carmelized the heck out of it. Added the strawberries, some cinammon, a teeny bit of grated fresh ginger, 3 drops of rosewater, and stirred until it was a batch of gooey goodness. Poured into a glass baking pan, and topped with crumble mixture made of: oatmeal, flour, Smart Balance margarine, brown sugar. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Cooled on windowsill so neighbors could follow the sweet smell, lifted by their noses, like in the cartoons.

Art-to-Choke Garlic "Cheese" Dip

2008-05-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Most vegan cheeses suck. We don't ever eat them. But I read somewhere that the new "Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative" by Follow Your Heart actually melts, plus we love the Follow Your Heart store & restaurant, so decided to test it out. The results were so delicious, we barely had time to take these pics. The "cheese" itself is kind of bland and tofu-like, and it doesn't have any of that weird soy after-taste many of these products have. And it did, indeed, melt; the dip was bubbling as I pulled it from the oven!

Here's what we used:
1 big marinated artichoke heart leftover from a salad bar
red cherry peppers
1 banana pepper
2 slices of green bell pepper
1 quarter of a clove of garlic
2 quarter-inch thick slices of Follow Your Heart Cheese Alternative, mozarella-flavored
tablespoon of olive oil
tablespoon of water
oregano & basil leaves from our garden
bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything except the breadcrumbs together in food processor. Pour into Pyrex or other baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes. Top with breadcrumbs and bake a few minutes more. Remove from oven. Eat with someone you love.

Sweet sweet potato soup

2008-04-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the farmer's market this past weekend, we had lovely soup, which was awesome on this rainy rainy evening.

2 sweet potatoes, quartered & baked
1 apple, cored, peeled and baked
garlic cloves, peeled and roasted
olive oil
onion
celery
carrots
lemon
garam masala
cumin
vegetable broth
mint (courtesy of our yard)

Roast potatoes, apple, and garlic at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool & remove skins. Simmer veg broth, onions, olive oil, celery, and carrots in a big pot. Blend potatoes, apple, garlic, and a bit of broth in a food processor. Add to soup pot. Add spices. Bring to boil. Add lemon zest. Add sprig of mint for garnish.

Sag Dal

2008-04-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

Or Dal Sag? This was inspired by the recipe here
using Toor Dal and spinach instead of amaranth. Didn't have any chili peppers around so threw in some tomatoes and curried cashews.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

2008-04-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Between baking cookies for my students and making this pie for a Belle Brunch over the weekend, there has been a lot of chocolate in our house lately. Who said there's no such thing as a fat vegan?

This pie is our standard party hit. It takes:
1 block of silky soft tofu
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (check ingredients to make sure there's no whey in them)
1 dollop of maple syrup
1 graham cracker crust (if buying a pre-made one, check to make sure it's without honey)

This recipe's all in the timing. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave while blending the soft tofu 'til smooth in a blender. Quickly add melted chips to blender and blend before they cool (otherwise they'll harden and you'll get lumpy pie...or a broken blender). Add a dollop of maple syrup (Grade B for higher nutritional value) and blend some more. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 5 minutes at 325. Put in the 'fridge or freezer to cool for hours before serving. It should have a chocolate mousse or cheesecake consistency when done. Add your favorite fruit or nuts to the top. Amaze your friends and family. Don't tell them there's tofu in it until they ask you for the recipe--many people are prejudiced against tofu & have no idea it can taste this good.

brownies

2008-04-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Duncan Hines Chocolate Lovers' Walnut brownie mix is vegan! It calls for egg and milk to be added, but we used Egg Replacer & soymilk. The frosting is vegan, too. (Most frosting is just sugar & oil).

Lentil Salad

2008-04-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Trying to eat a salad each day. Black beluga lentils from Trader Joe's. (They're warm.) Produce from various places. Dried wasabi peas from the Asian market. Cute tile bowls from the Pampered Chef, courtesy of Maggie.

south Indian in the South

2008-04-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Woodlands Pure Vegetarian Indian Restaurant in Charlotte this past weekend. The buffet & masala dosas can't be beat.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

2008-03-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Too tired to post the recipe, but damn, they're good. Want one?

smashed garlic potatoes, garlic asparagus, & strawberry spinach salad

2008-03-23T17:49:00.001-07:00

Vegan mashed potatoes with garlic & a dash of flax oil (make the way you like best) + fresh asparagus braised in olive oil, chopped garlic, and lemon + spinach, tomato, red pepper, & strawberry salad topped with Organic Ville Sesame Goddess dressing = delicious spring dinner!

Mango Sticky Rice

2008-03-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is the home-made version of my favorite Asian dessert that I've had at many Thai restaurants. I bought a package of Orchids Sweet Rice at a local Asian market. Sweet rice is a speciality variety of California rice that is glutinous. I loosely followed this recipe.

Start boiling 1 cup rice with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup coconut milk. While sticky rice is boiling, mix together 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool. Immediately after sticky rice is cooked, put it into the coconut sauce and stir together well. While keeping an eye on it, simmer until thick, sticky and kind of mushy. You may need to keep adding water if it gets too starchy or dry. For the topping, mix 1/4 cup coconut milk with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil.

Put the sticky rice and mangoes on a serving dish. Pour the topping sauce over the sticky rice.

2008 Garden Stage 1

2008-03-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of our 2008 summer garden. We're going bigger and better that any we've done before. We just tilled it by hand this weekend. More photo are to come as the garden progresses. There's nothing like growing your own food.

Popeye Pesto Risotto

2008-03-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe. We added basil and used Nutritional Yeast instead of parm. We substituted sun-dried tomatoes for the mushrooms. But we used mushroom stock. Our breath still smells like garlic. But it was worth it.

Persian Rice

2008-02-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

Brought this to an oyster bake (since we weren't gonna eat any oysters) and everyone loved it! It's a made-up version of something we had a few times at an Iranian restaurant in California.

rice
lentils (French green ones cook quickly & have a pepper-y flavor)
onions
garlic
dried dates (or raisins)
dried cherries
almonds
tumeric
paprika
garlic
salt
pepper

Cook lentils and rice (as much as you want). On the side, fry onions, garlic, and spices together...then thrown in the fruits and carmelize. Mix all with the lentils and rice, add more fruit and nuts. The dates or raisins will get mushy and sweet and sort of melt into the dish. Sweet-n-savory. Yummmmmm.

Club Med

2008-02-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

Our Mediterranean feast (most from the olive bar at Harris Teeter).

More Wraps

2008-02-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

We were on a wrap roll. This time we added some bananas & soyrizo (vegan version of chorizo, a Mexican sausage).

Mexisouthern Wraps

2008-02-07T16:14:00.001-08:00

A little bit of Mexico, a little bit of the southern US, a little bit of weirdness. Que rico! Muy bueno! You know it was good! Here's what we used:

fried sweet potatoes
fried potatoes
yellow bell pepper
onion
cooked kale
avocado
lettuce
tomato
Tapatio hot sauce
sea salt
pepper

Greens-n-Squash

2008-01-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Peanut sauce and greens recipe came from Ann Jackson's book, Heart of the Home. Mm-mm-mm.

Birfday Cake

2008-01-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

Rich's mom made him a birthday cake yesterday! It was moist-n-delicious. Here's her recipe. And don't forget the love!

Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water (I used 1 cup juice from canned cherries and 1 cup water)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pan (I used a bundt pan).

Mix dry ingredients first. Once the mixture is even, well mixed, mix in wet ingredients. Continue mixing until you obtain an even batter (no lumps). Pour into a cake pan and bake for approximately 55 minutes.

Drizzle:

1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon Hershey's cocoa
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Microwave margarine in small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50%) 20 to 30 seconds until melted. Stir in cocoa and water. Microwave at MEDIUM 15 to 30 seconds or just until mixture is hot, slightly thickened and smooth when stirred. Do no boil.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating with whisk until smooth. If necessary, add additional water, a few drops at a time, until of desired consistency or add more sugar if needed. Be sure to whisk until smooth. About 1/4 cup glaze.

Devil's Mess Tacos

2008-01-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Named after a dish at LA diner, Millie's. But this version's vegan, of course. It's black refried beans, potatoes, jalapenos, cabbage, hot sauce, and avocados all on grilled corn tortillas. Muy bueno!

Leftover Sammiches

2008-01-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Whaddya do when you have eggplant one night? Make sandwiches outta the leftovers the next!

Eggplant Farmer Shawna-Richiano

2008-01-13T18:17:00.001-08:00

Get it? Like eggplant parmesana-reggiano? Haahahhaa. I can't resist a bad pun. Anyway, here's our vegan version of a classic. It's derived from our friend Sicilian Sue in NJ, who makes the meanest eggplant ever. Everyone loves this dish. Everyone. Or else. Bon giorno!

1 big eggplant
jar or two of spaghetti sauce
EnerG Egg Replacer
breadcrumbs (we made our own with toast, spices, and nutritional yeast flakes)
olive oil
garlic
onions
bell peppers
sea salt
lemon
basil

Slice eggplant into thin rounds. Soak it in a bowl of water and sea salt for at least an hour, placing a plate on top to squeeze out any bitterness. Mix up a few cups of the egg replacer in a bowl. Add some juice from the lemon. Lay out plate with breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in an electric skillet. (What? You don't have an electric skillet? Our friend and cookbook author Ann Jackson showed us the importance of owning this handy-dandy item. A regular frying pan will do in a pinch). Dip each eggplant slice in the lemon/egg replacer mixture, drag each side of the slice through the breadcrumbs, and fry 'til lcrispy in the oil.

Layer slices on top of each other in a glass baking pan. add onions, peppers, and garlic around edges of eggplant. Pur jar/jar-and-a-half of sauce over all veggies. Bake at 400 for about 45 mins.

Sprinkle remaining breadcrumb mixture on top just before it's finished baking.

We served this over whole wheat pasta, with bread and a salad friends Matt & Alison brought over.

Everything in the Fridge Lentil Soup

2008-01-12T20:09:00.000-08:00

We make this a lot. Tonight we had friends over so it tasted even better than usual. The recipe varies, according to what's laying around in the 'fridge, but the split red lentils (masoordal) and coconut milk are constants. Sometimes a sweet potato makes it in. Sometimes whole cherry tomatoes. Red lentils cook quickly and are extra-good. The trick is to "toast" the lentils in a wee bit of olive oil alone in the pan for a few minutes before adding any liquid. Then add everything and simmer away...
Squeeze lime juice on top just before serving.

2 cups of lentils
1 can of coconut milk
1 can of water
1 can of tomato paste
1 onion, chopped
1 bulb of garlic
1 carrot, chopped
a bunch of baby bok choy
1 whole green pepper, chopped
1/2 of a jalapeno
white pepper
black pepper
paprika
tumeric
nutmeg
cardamom
1 bulb of lemongrass, peeled and chopped
1 lime

Schnax

2008-01-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Nori-Maki, pistachios, & trail mix

Thai Mee Up

2008-01-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

Lunch today came from Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. They make burritos the size of a small country. Or your head (whichever visualization works best for you). It's the Thai Mee Up burrito with grilled tofu, add avocado. Yum.

Trail Mix Slaw

2008-01-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

So, tonight while Shawna was grilling up the Faux Chik'n and Boca Patties, I was mixin' up a little Trail Mix Slaw for the side. The sandwiches were our normal ol' recipe (refer to previous posting). The slaw was a basic slaw mix in a bag. I mixed in the following:

Veganaise: enough to to moisten

Paprika: enough to color

Celery Salt

Pepper

Curry Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Celery: 1 stick chopped up into small pieces

Bell Pepper: about 1/4 of one

Avocado: about 1/2 of one chopped

Trail Mix: a handful of your favorite mix, our had sunflower nuts, dates, walnuts, etc.

The slaw was amazing. And then I added a handful of BBQ Fritos for fun.

Snausage-n-Toast

2008-01-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

It's breakfast for dinner, kids! Your favorite. Actually it was lunch. Gimme Lean "sausage" is what's featured, w/toast and li'l bit of everything salad. Enjoy!

Faux Chickie Sammich

2008-01-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hot, fast, cheap and easy. Tonight we had veggie chicken sandwiches.

Boca Meatless Chik'n Patties

Vegenaise

Mustard

Avocado

Tomato

Lettuce

Fancy Bread

The Oldest Trick in the Book

2008-01-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

We make this dish quite a bit for ourselves and our friends. It comes out great every time, hence the name. To start we use the Harris Teeter brand Arrabiatta sauce over wheat pasta. We added grilled onions and green peppers this time around. We used a faux chicken product called DELIGHT SOY NUGGETS out of North Carolina. We like to fry the faux chicken in peanut oil first for crispiness. Then add to sauce as served. (Soy does not have the same properties as meat. Soy products tend to get soggy when cooked in liquids too long.) One of the salad dressings is simply olive oil and lemon juice. The white one is Brianna's Poppy Seed dressing. Tonight we threw blueberries and sunflower seeds on the salad to mix it up a bit. And now we'll leave you with the first two words we learned in Italy: Prego. Gratzi.

Soup of the Day

2008-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

So we were sitting around the other night, wanting to recreate a carrot-ginger soup we used to enjoy at Erewhon, a health food store in Los Angeles. We were also drooling over a butternut squash/curry/green bean recipe displayed in the new issue of Yoga Journal. We couldn't decide on what to make, and didn't have all the ingredients for either, so we sorta combined the two.

Here's the recipe and evidence of the yumminess that ensued.

1 can of coconut milk

1 cup of water

1 butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1 onion

3 carrots, chopped

1 clove of garlic

1-2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

a handful of broccoli

olive oil

salt-n-pepa (not the hip hop group, but the spices!)

Start with a big pot. Add olive oil, chopped onion, cubed squash, and chunks-o-carrots. Simmer and stir until onions are see-through. Add can of coconut milk. Add water. Add garlic and ginger and salt and pepper. Put on the lid and let boil for about 20 mins, or until veggies are soft. Pour 3/4 of mixture into a blender and blend 'til smooth. Pour back into pot. Add broccoli. Cook a little longer 'til the broc turns bright green. Pour into pretty bowls. Squirt a dash of lemon on top just before serving. Eat. Triscuits optional.