Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon-Herb Rice

One of my favorite ways to cook winter squash is to roast it simply with lemon, salt, and pepper. So when I brought home these beautiful sweet dumpling squash and started thinking about how to use them, my first impulse was toward the simple lemon treatment. But these little cuties are just the perfect size for stuffing, and it would have been a shame not to take advantage of that. I decided to combine the two impulses and stuff them with a old favorite—lemon-herb rice.

The absence of a high-protein ingredient makes these stuffed squash a side rather than an main dish, perfect for serving alongside tofu or seitan. But if you'd like to make them the centerpiece of a meal, try sautéing cubes of lemon-marinated tempeh along with the onion and increase the amount of soy sauce and herbs a little. If you're preparing them for your holiday meal, they can be made ahead of time: After you fill the cooked squash with the rice mixture, cover them tightly and refrigerate. Put them into the oven about a half hour before serving.



Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon-Herb Rice
(printer-friendly version)

If you want to make the rice look more lemony, add a little turmeric with the lemon juice.

3 Sweet Dumpling or other small winter squash
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup water
juice of 1/2 large lemon (such as Meyer)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/8 cup minced fresh parsley
1/8 cup minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced)
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the squash in half and remove seeds and strings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place face-down on an oiled baking sheet (I used a silicone sheet liner). Bake for 30 minutes, or until tender. (Different types of squash will take different lengths of time. Test by piercing with a fork in thickest areas.) Remove from oven but keep oven turned on.

While the squash are cooking, prepare the lemon-herbed rice. Spray a non-stick pan with olive oil, heat, and sauté the onion until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the rice, 1/4 cup water, lemon juice and zest, soy sauce, and herbs. Stir well, cover, and cook on low heat just until warm. Add the toasted pine nuts and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Stuff the rice into the cavities of the squash. Place them upright in a baking dish and drizzle about a teaspoon of water over each. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until hot throughout. Serve warm, garnished with additional fresh herbs, if desired.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 161 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (13% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 177mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. Weight Watchers: Core / 3 Points.

Apple-Pumpkin Delight

What if you love pie but don't like crust? Strange as it sounds to me, I have a daughter who doesn't like crust--on bread, on pizza, or on pie. Her aversion is not a big deal because she can always eat around it, but since I have my own reasons for avoiding pie crust, I like to make desserts that taste like pie but don't have a crust...at least not a traditional crust. So here's a dessert that makes use of the apples and winter squash that are in season now and tastes like a crustless apple pie.

Every year at this time, I go kind of crazy buying lots of different types of pumpkins and squash, often more than I can actually use. I just like winter squash. Here's a shot of E posing with a portion of this year's bounty:

The pumpkin she's snuggling up to is the one I used for this recipe. Actually, it's a 10+ pound cushaw, rather than a pumpkin, and though it's milder and sweeter in taste, the main difference between it and your traditional orange pumpkin is that it is much easier to peel because it's smooth rather than ridged. You probably won't be able to find cushaws outside of the South, but if you do, be sure to grab one, or if you're into gardening, think about buying some cushaw seeds online and growing some in your area. It's a shame that they're available almost exclusively in roadside stands and private gardens in the South.

Since this cushaw was so huge, I used only half of the neck section for this dessert. I have a feeling I'm in for a pumpkin butter-making session later this week. Don't tell my extended family, but they will probably be getting jars of homemade pumpkin butter for Christmas.

After cutting off the "neck," I halved it, stood the halves upright, and peeled them with a sharp chef's knife. The skin is very tough, so it's much easier to peel with a knife than with a peeler. I then cut the halves in half and sliced the squash very thinly. No matter what kind of squash you use, you'll find that the thinner you cut it, the better.

Next, I peeled some Granny Smith apples, sliced them a little thicker than the pumpkin, and layered them and the pumpkin in a casserole dish with spiced sugar in between. If you make the mistake I did and use a dish that's too small, you'll have to heap the apples up a bit. But don't worry...

...it reduces as it cooks, so it doesn't overflow the dish. It will leave your dish looking pretty messy, though, so plan to transfer it to some nice dessert dishes before serving.

Apple-Pumpkin Delight
(printer-friendly version)

1 pound pumpkin, cushaw, or any sweet winter squash
2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 3 large apples)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Peel the pumpkin or squash and slice it thinly into pieces about 1-inch square (the size matters less than the thinness). Peel the apples and cut into slices, a little thicker than the pumpkin.

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cornstarch. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish. Arrange half of the pumpkin slices in the dish, and sprinkle with about 1/4 of the sugar mixture; arrange half of the apple slices over the pumpkin and sprinkle with a quarter of the sugar mixture. Repeat pumpkin and sugar and arrange the final layer of apples on top, heaping slightly in the center if necessary; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about another 15 minutes. Use a knife to lift up some of the apples and check to see that the pumpkin slices in the middle are completely done; if not, return to the oven until pumpkin is tender. Serve warm or cold.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 152 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (1% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 4mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 3 Points.

---

Stop the presses! Just a few minutes ago I made another one of these, a 2-serving size without sugar. Honestly, I was prepared for it to be not that good, but it came out surprisingly delicious. I used KAL-brand stevia for sweetening, but it should work with any sweetener that can be cooked. It is a little dry on top, however, so if you're not averse to a little sugar, try drizzling some agave nectar over the top after cooking.



Sugar-Free Apple-Pumpkin Delight
(printer-friendly version)

4 ounces pumpkin
1 Granny Smith apple
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pinch cloves, ground
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup apple juice
no-calorie sweetener of your choice

Peel the pumpkin or squash and slice it thinly into pieces about 1-inch square (the size matters less than the thinness). Peel the apple and cut into slices, a little thicker than the pumpkin.

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix together the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cornstarch. Add the apple juice and sweetener and mix until well-blended. (Aim for the equivalent of 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. Taste the mixture--it should be sweeter than you'd want to drink.)

Oil a small casserole dish. Arrange half of the pumpkin slices in the dish, and arrange half of the apple slices over the pumpkin. Repeat layers, heaping slightly in the center if necessary. Pour the apple juice mixture over all.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about another 15 minutes. Use a knife to lift up some of the apples and check to see that the pumpkin slices in the middle are completely done; if not, return to the oven until pumpkin is tender. Serve warm or cold.

Makes 2 servings. Per serving: 72 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 3mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 1 Point.

White Bean Chili

No, this photo wasn't torn out of an old newspaper, though that was the effect I was going for. Sometimes when I don't like the way a photo comes out, I imagine how it would look in some different era, such as the 70's. Dark, washed out colors and a grainy texture can hide a multitude of photographic sins. Or maybe not. (Click on that link, take the tour, and come back here when you've finished laughing. I'll wait for you....Okay, you're back? Good. See, my photo's not so bad after all!)

I've been playing around with this chili recipe for a couple of weeks now, trying it in two old-fashioned appliances that are becoming popular all over again, the crockpot and the pressure cooker. My crockpot had been sitting unused on my shelf for at least a year, so I decided to give it one more try... and that's when I remembered why I'd much rather use a pressure cooker than a slow cooker.

Certainly there are some dishes that taste better with long, slow cooking, but most of the time I find that drawing out the time it takes to cook something doesn't improve the flavor and actually hurts in recipes where ingredients should be added at different stages of the cooking process. Plus, I'm never completely sure when the beans that I start in the crockpot in the morning will be done. Every time I've used my crockpot, I've wound up adding more time or increasing the heat in an effort to make sure my beans are well-cooked. The pressure cooker, on the other hand, cooks time-consuming foods like dried beans so quickly that there's time to spare for adding ingredients in stages and allowing them to blend together. And if more cooking is needed to soften up tough beans, it's as easy as replacing the lid and bringing the cooker back up to pressure for a minute.

But I know there are people who love their slow cookers, so I've included crockpot instructions just for you--as well as stove top directions for those of you who use neither appliance. However you cook it, this white bean chili is truly delicious, if I do say so. Mildly seasoned (unless you opt to add more pepper), its flavor is made richer and deeper by caramelized onions, while masa harina added near the end thickens it and adds mellowness. Read the recipe carefully to learn my amazing, patented (not really) secret for speeding up the browning of onions.



White Bean Chili
(printer-friendly version)

2 cups dried great northern beans
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 seeded jalapeno pepper, finely minced (optional)
2 ribs celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oregano (Mexican, if available)
1/4 teaspoon white or red pepper (add more if you like it hot)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons mild chili powder (such as ancho)
2 onions, diced
1-2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted taste best)
1-2 tablespoons masa harina (optional)

Soak the beans overnight or use a quick-soak method*. Drain the beans and put them into a pressure cooker, crockpot, or large chili pot. Add the vegetable broth (5 cups for pressure cooking, 6 for crockpot and stove) and all ingredients through chili powder. Begin heating over high heat.

Spray a non-stick skillet with canola oil and heat it. Once it's hot, add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet, until onion is golden brown. (Tip: Add a couple of pinches of baking soda to speed up the caramelization.) Add the onion to the beans.

For pressure cooking: Seal the cooker and bring to high pressure. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally. Check to make sure beans are soft, and if they aren't, return to high pressure for another minute. Once the beans are soft, add the salt and tomatoes and taste for seasoning. If necessary, add more cumin, pepper, and chili powder. Simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes. Just before serving, add masa harina; stir well and simmer for at least 5 minutes to thicken.

For crockpot: Cook until beans are completely soft, on high for at least 6 hours or on low for at least 8 hours (crockpots vary, so adjust times as necessary). Add the salt and tomatoes, check seasonings, and cook for at least another hour. Add the masa and cook another 10 minutes.

For stovetop: Cover and cook on low heat until beans are completely tender, about 1 1/2 hours, adding water as necessary. Add the salt and tomatoes, check the seasonings, and cook for at least 20 minutes. Just before serving, add masa harina, if necessary to thicken; stir well and simmer for at least 5 minutes.

*To quick-soak beans in the pressure cooker, cover with two inches of water and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 1 minute, remove from heat, and allow pressure to come down naturally before draining and using beans. To quick-soak without a pressure cooker, cover beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Cover and let stand for 1 hour before draining and using beans.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 259 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 748mg Sodium; 15g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core / 4 Points.

---

My other crockpot recipes:

Chinese Barbequed Tofu and Vegetables
Crockpot Eggplant and Tomato Stew with Garbanzo Beans

A few of my pressure cooker recipes:

Quick and Delicious Collards
Thick and Hearty Split Pea Soup
Creole Black-eyed Peas
Yellow Split-Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale
Dal Bhaji
Collard Greens and White Bean Soup

Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms

Scrambled tofu is one of my family's favorite breakfasts, but I think we enjoy it even more for dinner. There's something comforting about coming home at the end of a long Autumn day to a plate piled high with scrambled tofu, toast, and possibly some creamy grits and vegan sausage. It's the kind of soothing meal I like to fortify myself with before a nerve-wracking night watching election returns.

My scrambled tofu tends to contain about as much vegetables as tofu, making it a great way to get my daughter to eat her veggies without complaint. Everyone in the family has a favorite ingredient: my daughter insists that I add frozen peas to her portion, and my husband often requests artichoke hearts and tomatoes. But we all agree that it isn't scrambled tofu without mushrooms. Recently, when we were all in a scrambled tofu mood but there were no mushrooms in the house, I got the bright idea to add some rehydrated porcini mushrooms and balance out the woodsy taste with some fresh basil. I wasn't trying to be all fancy-schmancy, just get a comfort-meal on the table, but those ingredients, along with a few drops of truffle oil, really take scrambled bean curd to gourmet heights.



Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms
(printer-friendly version)

If you'd like to use fresh mushrooms instead of dried, add about 4-8 ounces of sliced mushrooms when you add the zucchini. You can also substitute other vegetables for the zucchini and add a half cup of frozen peas along with the tofu. On nights when I'm running short on time, I've been known to skip the chopping and add a 1-pound bag of frozen vegetables to my tofu (Italian blend with broccoli, zucchini, and peppers is our favorite).

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 bell pepper (red, green, or combination)
2 medium zucchini
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 ounces extra-firm tofu (water-packed, not silken)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, packed (or add 1 tsp. dried to seasoning mix)
3-4 drops truffle oil mixed with two tbsp. water OR 2 tbsp. water

Seasoning mix:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon chipotle or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch black salt (optional; adds an eggy taste but use sparingly)

Put the dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Allow them to soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Pour soaking liquid through a coffee filter and save it for another use. Remove mushrooms from filter, rinse, and chop into bite-sized pieces.

While the mushrooms are soaking, chop the bell pepper and cut the zucchini into cubes. Mix the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Mash the tofu with a potato masher.

Spray a large skillet lightly with canola or olive oil. Heat it over medium-high, and add the green peppers. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and garlic and sauté for another minute. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and cook until the zucchini is softened, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, tofu, and seasoning mix and stir well. Add the truffle oil/water mixture or plain water. Stir well, turn heat to low, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Test seasonings, adding more salt if necessary. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 176 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; (28% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 472mg Sodium; 6g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core / 3 Points.

Pumpkin Cookies

What I love most about sharing recipes online is the conversation that follows, when readers share their tips and variations. I'm constantly getting ideas from you: ingredients I haven't tried, short-cuts that make a recipe faster, substitutions I've never thought of. Case in point, this email I received earlier this week from Emily Findley in Michigan:

So i am OBSESSED with your okara cookies! When I first read the recipe I couldn't help drooling but then I realized I didn't have any coconut! So what did I decide to do? Use pumpkin puree! Yup, I've made pumpkin okara cookies, substituting pumpkin puree for the coconut flakes and using more vanilla extract rather than any coconut extract....I also add a handful of oatmeal for a little extra crunch.

I was immediately intrigued. I've been in a pumpkin-cookin' mood lately, but pumpkin cookies hadn't even occurred to me. I had to check them out. As it turns out, I wound up making two versions of these delicious cookies!

Following Emily's lead, I substituted pumpkin for the coconut and added a little oatmeal for texture. Emily had used honey instead of sugar, so I decided to use agave nectar for sweetening. She also prescribed adding lots of spices, which add a pumpkin pie-taste to these fabulous treats. To make them a little sweeter and more kid-friendly, I iced half of the cookies with pumpkin-colored frosting. It worked! My daughter immediately claimed all of the frosted cookies as "hers." She liked them so much that she would have eaten all of them in one sitting if I'd let her.



Fat-Free Pumpkin Cookies
(printer-friendly version)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2/3 cup okara (or 8 ounces firm tofu, blended in a food processor until smooth)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar -- or icing, below

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix the flours, oats, baking soda, spices, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix the agave nectar, pumpkin, okara (tofu), and vanilla in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until well-blended. Do not over-stir.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop rounded tablespoons of dough at least two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake for 10-16 minutes or until edges are golden and middles seem done. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring each cookie to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Optional icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or other extract (I used pecan)
food coloring (optional)

In a small mixing bowl, add the agave nectar, milk, and extract to the confectioners' sugar. Add additional milk a half-teaspoon at a time, stirring constantly, until the icing is smooth and spreadable but not so thin that it runs off. If you add too much milk, add a little more sugar to balance it out. Add food coloring a drop at a time until the right color is achieved. Spread over cooled cookies and allow to dry.

Makes about 15 cookies. Per cookie (with sugar, no icing) : 76 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 78mg Sodium; 1g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 1 Point.

With icing: 110 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 78mg Sodium; 1g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 2 Points.

---

Fat-free cookies are all well and good for here at home, but I think they're a little too rubbery to serve to guests. When I'm entertaining or bringing food to a party, I like to avoid serving anything that tastes too "healthy" because people will get the (wrong) idea that it tastes that way because it's vegan when, in fact, it's the lack of fat that makes it heavier and chewier. So while I had the oven hot and my counters all covered with flour and pumpkin, I made a second, not fat-free version using 1/3 cup of Earth Balance margarine instead of half of the okara. The results were amazing--light, tender cookies that melt in your mouth. And since I added extra sugar to the batter, they don't need any icing or sugar on top, though a little orange icing would make them perfect at any Halloween party.



Pumpkin Cookies
(printer-friendly version)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Earth Balance Margarine, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup okara (or 4 ounces firm tofu, blended in a food processor until smooth)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar. Beat in the okara, pumpkin, and vanilla extract, until well-blended.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the wet ingredients, stirring well after each addition. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop rounded tablespoons of dough at least two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 15 cookies. Per cookie: 109 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (35% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 122mg Sodium; 1g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 2 Points.

---

Thanks, Emily, for the great idea and for allowing me to share it with everyone. Now, could someone get me away from all these cookies?!

Before I forget:

Cathleen at Vegan Nutritionista recently asked me to answer a few questions about my experience as a vegan. You can check out the interview here.