Wintry Squash Soup

It's been unseasonably cold here in So Cal.  There's snow to 3,000 feet.  Which means, when the rains stop and the clouds clear, we'll see lots of snow on all the mountaintops around here.  I might actually know, visually, that it's winter here!

Tonight, we had the perfect winter fare, a hearty soup that Jane concocted, and brown bread from our old standby Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites (veganized, of course).  The soup was so good and filling I almost didn't have room for my salad!

Anyway, here's Jane's recipe for Kabocha Squash Soup

• One Kabocha Squash
• 2 Acorn Squash
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 6 Cups vegetable broth
• salt to taste
• 3-4 vegan sausages cut into slices

1. Wash the squash.  Cut into quarters.  Remove seeds.  Then place on roasting pan (lined with Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat and place in 450°F oven for 30-45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and allow squash to cool to room temperature.
2. Once squash has cooled, scrape flesh from rind.  Add olive oil to stock pot.  When oil is heated through and bottom of pot coated, add onion and sautee until soft and just beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes.  Add squash to stock pot, and mash with potato masher. Slowly add vegetable stock, making sure to mix thoroughly. Heat through.
3. You can leave the soup "lumpy" which is more reminiscent of a stew to me. Or you can puree the soup with an Immersion Blender. (If you don't have one of these and you make soups, you should really consider getting one. It's so much easier than trying to divide the soup into batches and run it through the food processor!)
4. Follow the directions to prepare your sausage.  Once "cooked" (some products won't need to be cooked, they can simply be added directly to the soup), slice sausage.  Add to soup.  Heat through.

Jane used Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage.  Personally, I find them way too spicy, even added to this thick soup.  I think their smoked apple sage variety would work very well here.

Bok Choy and Tofu

Here's a recipe I've been asking Jane to make often in the last few weeks.  This was the first thing I asked for when the Thanksgiving leftovers ran out. (How sad, it's back to regular food!)

Jane's Tofu and Bok Choy

• 1 package tofu
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 green onions, sliced, OR 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 10 heads of Bok Choy, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 2" pieces
• 3 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbs Rice Whine Vinegar
• 1 tsp ground ginger

Drain tofu and cut into cubes.  (Jane's note: I generally put the tofu in a colander for a few minutes after I've cut it to drain it further.) Coat pan with olive oil.  Add tofu and sprinkle with ginger.  Sautée tofu until it browns on all sides.  Add onion and sautée until onions are soft. (If using green onion, reserve some of the green tips for garnish.)  Add bok choy and cook for 3-4 minutes until leaves wilt.  Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.  Stir lightly until everything is coated.  Add green onion garnish, if using.  Serve with brown rice, or grain of your choice.

Lane's note:  I prefer this dish with green onions.

After all the last few posts on Proposition 2, I thought it might be time for something a little lighter.  It's still a little early, but Jane is starting to think about our Thanksgiving menu.  Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays and last year was our first Thanksgiving as vegans.  We will very likely have an almost identical meal to last year, but Jane wasn't thrilled with the Tofurky or the gravy she made.  We've since tried a number of recipes for gravy some based on nutritional yeast, some on mushrooms, and others are just a concoction of ingredients.  While none of them have been downright awful, Jane still haven't landed on one that we both "love."  That is until last night.  And it's so easy!

Jane made some zucchini.  While it was cooking, one of our cats needed a bunch of assistance.  When she came back to the zucchini, it had overcooked a bit.  We're not big on soggy vegetables, nor do we want to throw food away.  So, she decided to disguise the mess, by making a sauce.  She used equal parts of yellow miso and vegetable stock.  YUMMY!  We still have to try this over "meat" - but we're both hopeful.

Before Jane and I were married, the only time I ever willingly ate red cabbage was when there were a few pieces in a salad I ordered at some restaurant. I'd never found it worthy of eating, there were always other options that were much better. But Jane loves the stuff. Typically she doesn't make things I don't like, but fair is fair, and if she loves something, I'll try it.

Jane makes two versions of red cabbage that are old family hand me down recipes which she has modified and made her own. I love both, which is saying a lot as I never really cared for the stuff before. One is a hot red cabbage dish with sliced apples which we have in the fall and winter (a Thanksgiving standard), and the spring/summer version is a cold red cabbage salad. We get our red cabbage at the farmers market -- one head, $1. Some of these heads are so large we get two salads out of them.

Anyway, here's her recipe for the Red Cabbage Salad. It's fairly easy and really good. You may want to give this a try!

4 C finely shredded cabbage
1 Tbs sliced onion (optional)
2/3 C canola oil
3 Tbs white vinegar
1 tsp salt

Toss cabbage with onion (if using) and salt. Mix vinegar and oil, and pour over cabbage. Toss until well coated. Chill 4 hours or overnight.

Serves 6