I hope everyone had a wonderful winter holiday and a fantastic start to the new year. I fell short of completing VeganMofo last year but it was fun trying. I loved reading everyone's feedback and finding new inspiration. I've also learned to appreciate all the work it takes to maintain a regular blog. Whew! How do you guys do it?!
After seeing Laloofah's comment on New Year's Eve, I decided to make her suggested dishes at last! I had a butternut squash from Thanksgiving that I hadn't used so it seemed perfect for the mac recipe. I cut it in half and baked it to make the purée the recipe called for.
Here's the Smoky-Freaky-Mac-N-Cheesy with butternut squash as the "cheese". It's a tasty alternative to the cashew and avocado based "cheese" I've made before. I served the mac with Quinoa and
I had lots of squash puree left so I used it up in a tator tot casserole, subbing the original cashew gravy with the squash puree instead. It made enough for me to freeze two portions for dinner for another day. Yum!
It's been quite cold here but nothing compared to the snowpocalypse the NorthEast experienced. It makes for lots more warm cuddle time with the guinea pigs!
Albert Zzzzzzz
Have you made any New Year resolutions? I shall try budget and meal planning to reduce food wastage as my first resolution. That includes eating up everything in the pantry before buying new stuff. So that's going to make for some interesting meals!
I've also not renewed any of the magazines I subscribed to last year (VegNews, Vegetarian Times, Real Simple, Whole Living). I realized I don't have the time to read them and most of the news/info/interviews they print can already be found online. Instead I love reading vegan blogs, which is more up-to-date and interactive, and there are lots more recipes to choose from. (I still haven't made a dent in the VeganMofo posts in my reader!)
Are any of you planning your spring garden already? I stumbled upon this vegan gardening website Anarchy in the Garden and look forward to perusing all the info to help with our spring garden. Let me know what you're growing!
Happy 2011!
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I simply adore your precious little guinea pig! I wish Bunbun could visit!!! Happy New Year & best of luck with everything you want to achieve in 2011!! xo
ReplyDeleteHey, VW!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you finally tried the Smoky-Freaky with the butternut squash and that you enjoyed it! I need to make that again soon. We've been eating butternut squash a lot, but never have any left over for mac-n-cheese. (I need to get to the pressure cooker first and squirrel some away!)
That was a clever use of your leftover squash, too! Looks really tasty!
And aren't those cutlets delicious? I'm glad the green lentils only changed the color, leaving the yum factor undiminished. :-)
Good luck on your New Year's Resolutions! I've set several goals - continue downsizing and organizing (already made a good dent in that when I got our storage room all ship-shape and we hauled a whole Jeep load of stuff to Salvation Army Saturday, and I have gathered several boxes of stuff to sell at a yard sale in June. I need to get my butt on ebay and learn how to sell stuff there, too!) And as usual, we have lots of projects lined up on the house, though none TOO huge. And I really want to try at least two new recipes a month from my cookbooks and vegan blogs. (That doesn't sound very ambitious, but BW and I only get to eat meals together on weekends, and I eat leftovers or very simple fare when I'm by myself).
Oh, and one last goal - we are really hoping to get out to Oregon early this summer! Portland and Eugene for sure, as well as the coast. Can't wait! It depends how busy all the above keeps us whether we put in a garden this year. We may just keep it simple with some greens and herbs, and maybe some zucchini.
I hope 2011 is a great year for you and the Wheekers! Bert seems to be facing it with ease and tranquility! :-)
I fell off the Vegan MoFo wagon too! It's hard to write that frequently. 2011 is our year :)
ReplyDeleteThat mac and cheese looks like it would hit the spot perfectly next time it snows. Thanks!