tofugazi

Savory Pumpkin Stew
Heat some vegetable oil in a stock pot.
Sautee 3 medium onions, diced, sprinkled with salt, until softened over medium heat. Add 2 tsp cumin and cook another few minutes until fragrant.
Add 4 cups roasted pumpkin, cut into 1 inch cubes, and 2 large or 4 medium potatoes, half waxy and half floury, cubed. (I used 1 large and 2 small, each a different kind and kept the skins on for color), 1 garlic clove, minced, and 1/2 tsp coriander.
Sprinkle with salt and add vegetable broth until everything is just covered.
Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
Stir in 1/2-1 tsp chile paste, according to taste. 
De-stem 4 collard green leaves and mince. Reduce heat to very low and add collards, cook for about 5 minutes or until greens reach your preferred softness. 
Salt & pepper to taste. 

Caramelized Coconut Milk Pumpkin Pie
with Maple Crust, topped with Coconut Whipped Cream
This takes a really long time to make, but the techniques are simple and it is divine. And you can make it a lot more beautiful than this by dolloping the coconut topping on and then swirling it gently with the back of a spoon. This slice was the sole survivor of a potluck last night.

Caramelized Coconut Milk
Pour two cans of coconut milk, regular fat NOT light, in a pan or skillet over medium heat.
When warm, stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar to dissolve. Reduce heat.
Stir gently over low heat, scraping down the sides of the pan occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to about 1 1/3 cups and is a thick syrupy consistency. This will take around 2 hours. Do NOT let it boil, a very gentle simmer or foamy bubbles is acceptable but faint steam will produce the best results.

Maple Pat in the Pan Crust
This is a crispier, chewier crust. If you prefer traditional flakey crust try halving this recipe for cardamom crust, replacing 1 tbsp of butter with maple syrup.
 In a medium bowl stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In a separate bowl combine 1/4 cup oil, I used walnut but sunflower or another fairly neutral cooking oil would work, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 2 tablespoons milk substitute, whisked until frothy, I used unsweetened almond milk. Stir together.
Pour over flour and stir with a fork to combine.
Pat into pie pan, prick bottom and sides with a fork and fill with dried beans or weights. Bake 5-10 minutes at 350 until slightly golden with darkened edges. 

Filling
Melt 3 teaspoons “butter” (I used coconut earth balance) in a skillet over medium heat. Add 3 1/2 cups fresh or 2 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree, I like using fresh pumpkin that I’ve roasted while caramelizing the coconut milk.
Stir in 1/3 cup white sugar.
Cook until thickened and reduced to 2 cups.
Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.
Whisk together 2 egg substitutes until creamy/frothy. I used ener-g egg replacer substituting water with some of the coconut milk reserved mid way through the caramelization process so it was thick but not syrupy. Arrowroot or cornstarch would also suffice. Add to pumpkin.
Pour caramelized coconut milk over the pumpkin.
Stir in 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cloves.
Stir all of these together. 

Pour filling into warm crust and bake at 350 for 45 minutes - 1 hour. A fork should come out moist but fairly clean. Let cool to room temperature then transfer to fridge to set fully.

It will most likely come out of the oven with a little bit of a bubble, which will turn into a wrinkly skin when cooled. It will taste fine, but to make it beautiful top with vegan dad’s coconut cream topping.

Roasted Curry Pumpkin Seeds
Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
Brush baking sheet with olive oil. 
Rinse fresh pumpkin seeds and remove all pulp/stringy parts.
Toss seeds in 1 tsp curry and 1/2 tsp paprika.
Spread seeds in even layer on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In your largest bowl cream 1/2 cup coconut oil and 2 cups sugar together. Add 2 tsp molasses and beat well. Add 1.5 cups pumpkin and whip.

In a separate bowl combine 4 cups flour, 1 ener-g egg replacer, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Mix well.
Add dry to wet until incorporated. Should be a stiff batter.

With wet hands flatten tablespoon balls of batter and place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Whip together 4oz tofutti cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tbsp earth balance, 1 tbsp maple syrup. Keep refrigerated until needed.

Spread maple whip or pipe from plastic bag with a corner cut off onto the bottom side of one cookie and top with a second.

caramelized pumpkin with rosemary, kale, garlic and onions over hulled barley
made with catsluck