Vegan Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

When pumpkins go on sale, I go a little crazy. You see, I can't buy just one. My head filled with the dreams of muffins, cakes, pies, enchiladas, soups, stews, curries...I just can't help but load the cart full of at least 4 or 5 sugar pumpkins. Some of it will end up in recipes right away, and some of it will end up in the freezer, but the first step is to roast the pumpkin.

 

First cut the stem off. This will allow you to slice the pumpkin in half much easier and without so much risk to life and limb. Pull the top off and set aside.

 

Then, using a large, sharp knife, cut down one side until you reach the bottom. It will probably not want to cut through the base, don't worry about that. Cut along the other side until you meet resistance.

 

 

Then, using your hands, pull the two sides apart. They should break right through that tricky bottom that wouldn't cut.

 

 

Scoop the seeds out and set aside for roasting later. (I am actually mildly allergic to pumpkin, when I touch the inside it makes my skin itchy and red, so Jordan is here to the rescue!)

 

 Place on an oiled cookie sheet, face down, and cook for 40-60 minutes, or until soft. Let cool.

  Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin, discarding the skin. From here you can puree it to be used in your recipe of choice.

For the soup, you will need:

2 cups of cooked black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1/2 Tbsp of cumin
1 Tbsp of chili powder (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
about 3 cups of broth
half of one roasted sugar pie pumpkin

In a large stockpot, heat a few tablespoons of oil. Over medium/high heat saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add in the spices and cook, stirring, another minute or so, until fragrant.  Stir in the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine your cooked pumpkin flesh and the broth. Puree until smooth. Stir into the chili and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the spices as necessary. Serve hot.

Coconut and Pumpkin Chai Cream Pies

Two pies, one variation. How easy could that be? The coconut milk reduces the calorie count, so now you can have your pie and eat it too.

As I have to transport these babies to mutiple households tomorrow, they are still naked on top, but you can top them with whipped cream just before serving.

Coconut Pie Indredients:

1 baked pie crust
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1.5 cups coconut milk
1.5 cups half and half
1/2 cup flour
1 cup toasted or raw coconut
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, eggs, coconut milk, sugar and flour. Whisk continuously over medium heat until thickened (about 10-20 minutes)

About the time you are ready to give up, sure that it isn't EVER going to thicken, it does. So hang in there.

Remove from heat and stir in coconut and vanilla. Pour into pie crust and chill until set, about 3 hours.

Top with whipped cream just before serving.



                                           **If you are making the pumpkin pie**
 
You will substitute 1 cup of pumpkin puree for the dried coconut, and add it to the milk base with 1 tsp each garam masala and cinnamon, and cook until thickened. Stir in vanilla after you remove from heat. Continue with directions as stated.

Curried Pumpkin Stew

I love, love, love fall. Pumpkins, squash, orange leaves, halloween costumes...is there anything better?? Capture the taste of autumn with this savory pumkin stew.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 tbsp. garam masala

1 tbsp. curry powder

2 whole pods of star anise

1 whole stick of cinnamon

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of veggie broth

2 russett potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

1 sugar pumpkin, peeled, cleaned and cubed

1 small bag of frozen corn

1 tbsp salt

1 cup of cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Saute the onion, celery, spices and garlic until soft and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add in broth, potatoes and pumpkin and simmer until soft. Puree 1/3 of the soup in a food processor until smooth and stir back in. Add in corn and heat through. Stir in salt. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro.

Vegan Pumpkin Paella

Are you tired of pumpkin recipes yet? I'm not!

I took a bit of leftover pumpkin sauce from my enchilada recipe and made a lovely vegan paella. (Actually, Mr. Garrett is credited with this little gem of an idea.) I suppose you could add in vegan chicken strips or seitan, but as we didn't have any on hand, we did without.

Vegan Pumpkin Paella

• 1 cup pumpkin enchilada sauce
• 1.5 to 2 cups veggie broth (I know this sounds like a lot of liquid, but the pumpkin thickens as it cooks, use more as needed)
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 each, onion and tomoto, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan, saute 2 tbsp olive oil, onion, celery, garlic and rice, until the rice starts to get toasted and the onion is soft. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook until liquid is absorbed, and rice is soft, about 20-30 minutes.

Savory Pumpkin Stew

So many pumpkins are thought to be "only for decoration." But did you know you can actually eat all those gorgeous varieties?

Two medium sized white pumpkins survived the Halloween carving carnage this year and were roasted up to make stew, cupcakes and pie filling. We certainly have more pumpkin than we could use all in one day, so some of it went into the freezer for future usage.

This savory pumpkin stew challenges the idea that pumpkins are only for sweet recipes.

To roast your pumpkins, simply gut them, slice in half and roast open side down at 375 until soft enough to puncture the skin with a fork. Use an ice cream scoop to get the "meat" out and discard the skin.

You will also need raw pumpkin chunks for the soup. Simply chop and cube a raw pumkin, discarding the skin.

Savory Pumpkin Stew

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 cup pureed pumpkin (you can use canned, as long as there are no added ingredients in it)

1 cup cubed raw pumpkin

1/2 cup mashed potatoes (optional-it makes the soup creamier in texture but is not necessary)

1 large carrot, sliced into disks

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup of chopped anise stalks (you can use an alternate herb, if desired)

Seasoning Blend, such as Trader Joe's "21 Seasoning Salute" or Mrs. Dash.

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Saute the onion, celery and bell pepper until soft. Add the broth, water and whisk in the mashed potatoes and the pumpkin puree. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin chunks are soft.