My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

Even if you’re vegetarian or have vegetarian guests, you’re still going to want dessert, right? In theory, I love pecan pie. But I’ve never found a recipe made without corn syrup, which I don’t eat. These Pecan bars should really make a good stand in. The recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa. Because this is a bar recipe, it should also work in the warmer months as a picnic food.

Pecan Bars

Crust:
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup good honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

You may be asking yourself— is this really a THANKSGIVING vegetarian recipe? Well, you could certainly use it for other times of the year, but I think it would make a great side on a Thanksgiving table. I bet even the non-vegetarians would like it. It reminds me of the squash casserole with cream of mushroom soup and water chestnuts— only a little healthier, I think, and with a little kick. You could also serve this as a main dish, and if you’re going for a fancy Thanksgiving dish, you could use this as a stuffing for zucchini (you’d want to chop the squash, instead of slice— or maybe even puree). Just put it into hollowed out zucchini, instead of a casserole, put a bit of the cheese on top and cook as directed.

Mexican Squash Casserole

2 yellow squash, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
1 medium onions, sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons oil
4 ounces green chile, chopped
2 cups red corn or yellow corn sliced off the cob (or frozen if fresh is unavailable)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated
1/2 cup Monterey Jack Chesse grated
1 teaspoon cumin

Lightly sauté the squash, zucchini, onion, and garlic until just soft. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Place in a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Well, it’s getting to be that time of year— Thanksgiving. So, what do vegetarians do with a major holiday that centers around eating a bird? There is actually no reason a vegetarian can’t have a delicious Thanksgiving meal. So, whether you’re a new vegetarian, just looking for some new ideas to add to your vegetarian Thanksgiving table, or a meat-eater with vegetarian guests coming, stop by in the upcoming weeks to see lots of recipes for a yummy vegetarian Thanksgiving.

It’s actually acting like it may become fall this year in South Texas. This is the time of year I always begin to doubt it and then, what do you know, it gets down in the 50s one night and, just like that, summer is gone. When that happens, I can retire my salads and start making soups, stews and chilis. This recipe is an adaptation (not mine) of a recipe from Alex Jamieson’s “The Great American Detox Diet”. It’s perfect for cool autumn evenings. It also freezes well, so you can put some in the freezer for another night. And vegetarian chili is a breeze to make, if you use canned or made ahead beans. You can literally have dinner on the table in 30 minutes, or less.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 28-can diced tomatoes
4 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 6 cups freshly cooked)
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves, washed and dried

Warm the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the sweet potato and lime zest, and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, continuing to stir occasionally. Add the tomatoes, black beans, jalapeno, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cocoa, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Serve over brown rice, if desired, with lime wedges and cilantro, or with corn bread, biscuits, or taco chips alongside.

Even my children, who can be a bit suspicious of unfamiliar food, liked this recipe. It’s a savory dish, but it almost has a dessert feel to it. I had never eaten carnival squash before preparing this recipe, but I’ll definitely be trying it again. I think this would be excellent prepared in small individual pie crusts for breakfast, brunch or dinner— or even as an appetizer. Prepared without the crust, it could even be a low carb addition to a meal. I think I roasted the squash because it was easier. And I made mine in a pie crust in a pie pan— it will fit in a pie pan, by the way. And I skipped the nuts— but other than that I followed the recipe exactly as written

Carnival squash quiche

2 cups Carnival Squash (or any other variety of Winter Squash) peel and cube
1 cup Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 cup Nuts chopped

In a pan with a small amount of water, cook the squash for about 10 minutes or until very tender. Drain. In a blender, mix together cottage cheese and eggs till smooth. Add squash, milk, and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Pat cooked rice on the bottom of a 10×6 x 2 inch casserole dish. Pour squash mixture on top. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes or until set. Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

These were so delicious. Like a sugar cookie, but with a hint of maple. If you have any, you could use maple sugar to dust the top of these, instead of regular sugar. Also, we had maple leaf cookie cutters, which made a cute cookie. My kids loved them.

Maple Syrup Cookies

3/4 cup sugar + extra for dusting
1 cup (8oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I used a light whole wheat— Prairie Gold)
1/4 teaspoon salt

The day before you plan to make the cookies, make the dough:
Beat together the sugar and butter with an electric beater on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the maple syrup, vanilla and egg yolk and mix for 1 minute. Sift the flour and salt directly into the butter/sugar mixture. Beat at medium speed until combined – about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.

I did find that these were incredibly hard when they came out of the refrigerator and that it really needed to sit out for probably an hour or more before it was a good consistency for rolling out.

Preheat oven to 350°F. To make the cookies:
Butter two baking sheets. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and place on prepared cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Gather scraps, reroll and cut out as many additional cookies as possible. Repeat with second dough portion. Dust the cookies with granulated sugar. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until they are lightly golden. Remove and cool on racks. If you let these sit too long, they will become cemented to the cookie sheet. If that happens, pop them back in the oven for about a minute, just long enough to remelt the butter, and they’ll slide right off.

Storage:
May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 4 days. May be frozen up to 1 month.

A butternut squash arrived in my CSA box recently, and I thought “Hmmm. What am I supposed to do with this thing?” So, I cut it in half and roasted it, scooped out the insides, put them in the refrigerator and then waited for a week to find a recipe. I found this one and, honestly, the hardest part of the recipe was cutting the squash in half. (I’ve since read that you can use an ice pick or a skewer to poke holes in the butternut squash and then just roast it whole, which I’m going to try next time.)

Butternut Squash Casserole

1 butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon brown sugar (I think I left this out)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crushed crackers (I used whole wheat Ritz)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cut squash in half and discard seeds. Roast or boil squash until soft. Scoop out soft insides. In a large bowl, mash the softened squash. Mix in the mayonnaise, onion, egg, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a 2 quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together crackers, Parmesan and butter. Sprinkle over the squash mixture. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the topping is lightly brown.