Kayleigh's Dinner

Pumpkin Curry

Its pumpkin season! AKA my favorite season. I have been making pumpkin baked goods and oatmeal for a few weeks now but tonight was the first time I made a pumpkin meal. It turned out quite delicious if I do say! Filling, balanced, and nutritious! Peeling and dicing the pumpkin was a lot of work but it was definitely worth it in the end. I decided to reward myself after a week of midterms and break proposals with a full day of grocery shopping and cooking! I paired this curry with some tandoori spiced salmon and a mango lassi! It was so delicious! 

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1 can coconut milk
• 3 T curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 T coconut oil (or canola or whatever)
• 1 small onion, diced

Cook the rice according to directions, either in a rice cooker or stovetop. Heat oil and spices until fragrant. Add diced onion and saute until translucent. Add pumpkin and chickpeas and stir until it is coated with curry mixture. Add coconut milk and cook until pumpkin is tender. Stir in the rice and serve warm.

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte

So I know in the picture it just looks like an ordinary cup of coffee, but I assure you this warm mug of fall flavors is extraordinary. I recently had a soy pumpkin spice latte from Peet’s and I was overwhelmed by how sweet it was! I realized part of the problem was that they use sweetened soy milk on top of the already over sweet sugar syrup. So this morning I set out to create my own, without an espresso machine, without all the sugar, and without the dairy. I must say, the results were quite tasty!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 1 Tbs agave nectar
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 heaping tsp pumpkin puree 

Combine agave nectar, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice in a small microwaveable bowl, microwave for 15 seconds and stir until pumpkin is evenly combined. Add in espresso powder and stir. Warm the almond milk and stir in the pumpkin agave syrup. Add coffee. Stir. Enjoy.

Easier, cheaper, tastier, and healthier than the Starbucks version! Its a win-win.

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

This week I was responsible for bringing snacks to my break leader training! So Omri and I decided to make it pumpkin themed to celebrate fall and all that is tasty. She is bringing some homemade pumpkin hummus and I made this delicious vegan pumpkin bread from Eat Drink Better! I ate a little tiny piece of it and man was it good! I think vegan baking might be something I do on the regular now. The recipe uses flax seed meal as an egg substitute, its pretty cool to watch it soak up all the water and get all goopy! Also, you can eat all the batter/dough you want because there are no raw eggs involved! Guilt free batter eating?!?!? OMG best thing ever!

Spicy Chinese Eggplant and Tofu

Nothing fuels a physics midterm like some chinese food! Warm, spicy, and comforting…the perfect food for learning about interference and diffraction! And although I cannot say the same for my actual midterm, I can tell you this turned out amazing. I just kind of created this recipe with what i had on hand so I apologize for its lack of authenticity but it stills tastes delicious! This is a delicious and quick dish that would be great with a side of white rice (I was waaaayy to impatient to wait for the rice cooker) Also, measurements are just estimates! Just add more of what you want as you go to adjust for the spicyness/sweetness you like! 

• 1/2 package of tofu, extra firm
• 1 chinese eggplant cut into 1.5 inch chunks
• handful of brown mushrooms, sliced
• 3 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1-2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• Dried Chile Pepper flakes (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (careful to look at the ingredients if you are vegetarian! it can contain anchovies)
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Cut tofu into one inch cubes and fry in the oil on medium heat until slightly crispy and golden brown. Add the eggplant and mushrooms. Add the spices and sauces and stir fry until eggplant is tender. Add the green onions and cook for another 30 seconds. Serve immediately.