Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

I’m still loving my weekly organic box deliveries. Summer provided plenty of zucchini and tomatoes, but as we ease into autumn, the box has also changed to reflect the new season.

Last week, that meant carrots and pumpkin amongst other autumn fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday was cold and damp, the perfect day for a smooth, warm, comforting soup.

Adapted from Eatliverun

Ingredients:
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup pumpkin puree (mashed roasted pumpkin)

2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 shallot, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 Tablespoons olive oil

Croutons, pumpkin seeds and flax oil to garnish

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the minced shallot and sauté until tender, about five minutes.

Add the ginger and sauté for another three-four minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, pumpkin puree, broth, coriander, garam masala and salt, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until carrots are tender.

Carefully transfer to a blender and puree. Serve with croutons, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of flax oil.

Simple and scrumptious!

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It’s a Wrap

Looking for another use for my Vegan Walnut and Mushroom Pate?

It makes a great spread in wraps.

For lunch last week, I spread the pate on two nori sheets and wrapped up fresh arugula, red pepper slices, julienned carrots, avocado wedges and sliced tomatoes.

Delicious!

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Vegan Carrot Cake

Last Saturday, I made a healthy vegan carrot cake for my friend Melanie’s birthday.

For my first attempt at a new approach to a classic, I turned to Mama Pea. Her vegan carrot cake has been on my recipe wish list for ages.

As usual, her recipe was divine! I made very few alterations to the cake recipe but created my own frosting since vegan cheese replacements haven’t made their way to Germany yet.

Steamed carrots waiting to be pureed.

Cream together the carrots, sugars, margarine and vanilla.

  Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the wet.

Fold in the raisins.

Spread the batter into a prepared cake pan.

Bake and set aside to cool.

   For the frosting, I removed as much liquid as possible from vanilla soy yogurt.

 The yogurt eventually became much thicker.

Unfortunately, at that point, I realized how late I was and stopped taking pictures. The cake was actually delivered to Melanie’s house in two parts: cooling cake and ready frosting.

After a few more hours, I frosted the cake, stuck in some candles and sang happy birthday.

The cake was so moist and delicious. It was eaten with delight by vegans and non-vegans alike. Everyone raved.

Thank you, Mama Pea!

Vegan Carrot Cake with ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting

Ingredients

• 10 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1/3 c. vegan margarine, room temperature
• 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 c. unsweetened almond or soy milk (vanilla or plain)
• 1/2 c. packed organic brown sugar
• 2/3 c. organic raw sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour (pastry flour is best but regular worked for me)
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger
• 1/2 t. nutmeg

Frosting

• 3 T. vegan margarine
• 2 cups vanilla soy yogurt, well drained
• 2 c. powdered sugar

Method

1. Begin to dehydrate the yogurt by straining it for several hours using a mesh strainer and paper towels.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a round cake pan with vegan margarine and dust with flour. Steam the carrots until tender then puree in a food processor until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, cream together pureed carrots, margarine, brown sugar, raw sugar, vanilla, applesauce and milk. Stir in the ground flaxseed and set aside.
4. In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, adding a little at a time until incorporated. Fold in the raisins.
5. Spread into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Cool completely.
6. Once the yogurt has dripped off the excess liquid, create a bed of paper towels, about 6 towels thick and spread the yogurt on top. Place another pile of paper towels on top and allow to dehydrate even more. The yogurt will become quite thick and ‘cream cheese’ in consistency. Whip together the yogurt, margarine and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Spread over the cooled cake.

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Haiku for Food

You may recall an earlier poetry post. This week, my students are learning how to write Haikus. A haiku follows a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. In true teacher fashion, I present to you my Food Haikus.

Breakfast

Peanut butter toast

Layered German whole grain bread

Strawberry jam drips

Mother Nature’s juice

grapefruit, orange, apple

carrot, ginger too

Lunch

Glorious lettuce

A bed for veggies and fruit

Summer’s nearly here

After School Snack

A slice of plain bread

Sliced gouda cheese quickly tops

No time for photos

Snack #2

My mom’s special treat

Peanut butter chocolate

Unhealthy but good

Dinner

Potatoes baked soft

Creamy tuna salad stuffs

Baked beans like frosting

A small side salad

No dressing, only veggies

Too full to eat all

I hope you all have a poetic day!

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