Week 44: Flavors of Fall

I may have overdone it a bit this past week.  All told I ended up with six new recipes!  I’ll kick things off with the one not quite fall recipe.

I had bought a package of extra firm tofu for Week 43 but only used one slice of it in the BBQ preparation.  I didn’t want to waste the whole package so I thought I would give a completely different preparation a try and see if I liked the texture any better.  Thai Salad with Slow-Cooked Tofu in Pineapple BBQ sauce caught my eye because I saw in the comments that freezing and thawing the tofu alters the texture.  However, when it came time to do my food prep I was more in the mood for a stir-fry so I made Thai Black Pepper and Garlic Tofu.   I already had freeze/thawed the tofu but prepared the recipe as written otherwise.  The sauce of this dish is nice and light but packed with flavor from the pepper and garlic.  The texture of the tofu did seem improved from my last attempt and I ate a whole serving of the dish.  That said, I picked the tofu out of the leftovers and have conceded that I simply do not like tofu in general.  If you do like tofu Susan has a bunch of yummy looking recipes up on her blog.

On to the Flavors of Fall!  You’ll be impressed that it’s not just pumpkin this week (though of course there will be pumpkin).  Enticed by the beautiful picture on Pinterest, I made Autumn Arugula Salad with Caramelized Squash, Spiced Pecans and Pomegranate Ginger Vinaigrette for lunches.  I buy a pomegranate about once a year because it only takes one to remind myself that I’m too impatient for pomegranate.  This salad was a good use of my annual pom though!  There is a lot going on with creaminess from the squash and avocado, crunch from the pecans and cucumbers and a lovely sweet burst from the pomegranate (like natural pop rocks – yes, I am a dork).

I was getting a bit bored of salad after a day or two but didn’t want to waste food so decided to reinvent the lunches by adding a soup.  I took what was left of the acorn squash and made Chipotle Acorn Squash Soup.  I had about enough squash for half the recipe.  I used vegetable broth, subbed chipotle peppers for the hot sauce and sriracha and Fresh Cream Sauce from Let Them Eat Vegan for the cream.  I sprinkled a few toasted pine nuts on top with some fresh ground pepper to finish.  It’s a lovely soup that tastes much richer than it is and the chipotle was a nice addition.  A much more satisfying lunch as a combo.

I had actually made the Fresh Cream Sauce for another recipe, Pumpkin Chickpea Cauliflower Curry with Fresh Cream Sauce.  This is also from Let Them Eat Vegan but Dreena Burton has posted the recipe online as well (linked in the recipe title).  Instead of the recommended zucchini I decided to use bell peppers and peas to add some color and texture to the dish.  I also added a potato diced small because I had one that needed to be used and this seemed the kind of dish forgivable to substitutions.  This was a great one-pot meal.  The pumpkin creates a lovely sauce and the addition of  a little bit of the cream sauce really makes it rich and satisfying.  I served mine over brown rice.

Finally, a sweet treat for Halloween.  It was bound to happen eventually, I have found a pumpkin recipe I do not like.  I was perusing recipes and was intrigued by Happy Herbivore Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies.   I like pumpkin (in case you haven’t noticed).  I like chocolate.  Why not put them together?  No, this one was not for me.  The two flavors together just seemed odd and competing.  I will have to stick to enjoying my pumpkin and my chocolate separately from here on out.

New Recipes Made This Week: 6

New Recipe Tally 2013: 124