So tonight marks the first "real" dinner that I've made since becoming pregnant and not being able to think about food. I was inspired this afternoon.. and boy was the hubby happy to have someone else make dinner for once! I've got a pretty big sweet tooth this pregnancy (not so much with my first one), so I wanted something that had a sweetness to it, but was still full of good stuff. This stew was my answer... feel free to customize as you see fit - don't have any purple yams? Just add in sweet potatoes, or even regular potatoes... with stews, it all works!
Butternut Squash Stew
Yield: 12 ladle-sized scoops (about 6 servings)
Ingredients:
1 L vegan butternut squash pre-made soup*
1 small purple yam
1 large orange yam
1 very long carrot, or two regular sized ones
1 cup (250 ml) red lentils
1.5 cups (375 ml) water
1 cup (250 ml) frozen corn
*I used Pacific Foods brand - it's vegan and fairly tasty on its own.
Method:
1) Chop up the yams and carrots into small, bite-size pieces. Isn't that purple yam pretty? I'd planned on using more of it, but the other ones rotted. So sad! Interestingly, they smelled like guava when they began to rot. Note to self: do not store yams in a plastic bag in a cupboard near the dishwasher!
2) Put the soup, chopped veggies, red lentils, and water into a large pot.
3) Stir, cover, and bring to a boil.
4) Uncover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5) Add the frozen corn, then simmer for another 5 minutes.
6) Serve hot! I had some Persian bread on the side, which was very tasty.
The stew was not only appetizing to my still somewhat-nauseous tummy, but hubby liked it too. You could also try spicing it up a bit with some paprika! Or add a bit of curry powder for another flavour dimension. Soups and stews are a lot of fun since you can really add anything you want. Happy cooking!
I wasn't sure if I was going to blog about tonight's dinner, but the hubby thought it looked pretty so I decided I would share. It was really just an experimental night. I had some lasagna noodles that I wanted to use up (since we don't really do lasagna anymore - not a fan of the fake vegan cheeses), so I thought I'd try putting something together. Let's just call it...
Colourful "Lasagna"
Yield: 1 9x13 pan (about 6 servings)
Ingredients:
2 large yams (the orange-coloured kind)
1 large Japanese eggplant
3 cups (750 ml) cooked black beans
6 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
Nutritional yeast - a little or a lot
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 1 cup (250 ml) vegan pasta sauce
about 5 oz (142 g) fresh leafy greens (e.g., arugula, spinach, kale, etc.)
Method:
1) Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
2) Peel and chop yams into small-ish pieces - this makes them cook faster. Put them into a pot of water, bring to a boil, then lower heat slightly and cook until they are softened (about 20-30 minutes). Mash them when done.
3) Chop the eggplant into half-moons. Saute the eggplant and garlic together with a spray of oil. Add the pasta sauce and cook until everything is relatively broken up and saucy.
4) Once everything is cooked, it's time to assemble! Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with some oil to prevent sticking, then add the layers as follows:
- A single layer of lasagna noodles (3)
- Half the leafy greens
- Half the mashed yams
- A sprinkling of nutritional yeast
- All of the eggplant sauce
- Half the black beans
- The other three lasagna noodles
- The rest of the yams
- Another sprinkling of nutritional yeast
- The rest of the black beans
- The rest of the leafy greens
5) Cover the dish with aluminum foil, then bake at 425 F for about 10-15 minutes until the greens have wilted a little.
And here's what it looked like - lots of pretty colours! And it tasted pretty good too.
It's one of those recipes that you can really make your own. Don't like black beans - switch them out for some lentils, another kind of bean, or maybe some soft tofu. You could do more of the eggplant tomato sauce layers too if you'd like. Have fun experimenting - I know I did!
