Vegan Pumpkin Pie (nut-free)

Fall is here, once again, and once again, it's time to consume our favourite seasonal yummies!

It's no secret that pumpkin pie is a craved thing in our household. I do, however, refuse to make it until it gets chilly out. So how perfect that the temperatures have finally dropped! To be honest though, as much as I love Autumn and everything about it, I was sad to see Summer go. Probably because Winter is ahead, and the last Winter was so long and unbearable that I have no heart left to face the upcoming one. But at least there is pie!

I always look forward to picking out my perfect pie pumpkin. If you ask my husband, I love small, round, and cute things, so it's naturally something I love to do. Even though making homemade pumpkin puree is a real chore sometimes, the difference in taste is worth the extra effort. Sure, it's a mess and opening a pumpkin is not as easy as opening a can, but you'll thank yourself when you taste the finished product. 

The best part? It freezes well, so you can use it all year round - if it lasts that long! Anyway, this year, I wanted to try making a pie that was nut-free. I know I use a lot of cashews in my recipes (I just love cashews!), so I wanted to try something new that was more allergy-friendly. Pumpkin pie seemed like a great place to start since it's that time of the year. 

While this pie takes a little longer to get firm than the cashew version, it is still crazy delicious. By the way, if you hop over to that recipe, I give a little rundown as to how to make your pumpkin puree the easy way :)  

Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie (Nut Free)

What you ned:

• 2 1/3 cups pumpkin puree

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup unsweetened plain non-dairy milk

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 3 TBSP arrowroot powder

• 1/4 tsp of each: cinnamon, ginger powder, nutmeg, & cardamon

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 pie crust (unbaked)

What to do:

1) Make pumpkin puree by cutting open and cleaning your pumpkin. Drizzle some olive oil on it and bake in the oven until tender. Remove from oven, scoop out the flesh into the food processor, and process until very smooth.

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3) Prep pie crust.

4) Mix all the ingredients for pie filling and whisk until perfectly blended.

5) Put filling into prepped pie crust and bake for 55-60 minutes.

6) Let cool completely - for a firmer pie filling, put in the fridge for a few hours.

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I like my pie cold and topped with coconut whipped cream. What about you?

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Almond Coconut Chocolate Granola

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and I love having a huge variety of things available every day. One of the things I have always loved to have in my pantry is granola. Not only is it so easy to make and customize, it's fairly easy on the wallet as well compared buying the natural granola in the grocery store. It only takes a few minutes to put together and bake, and even though it also takes only a few minutes for it to disappear as well, it is definitely worth it. 

Now that the weather has cooled off and I can no longer fully enjoy springing out of bed to eat a refreshing morning meal, I decided I'd better switch up my granola to be more Autumn-themed as well. I was working on making a gingerbread granola and decided that would have to wait until at least the end of November. Then this was born in a very good last minute decision. Adding cocoa to granola puts it on the edge - healthy, but with the subtle, flirtatious taste of chocolate. Okay, it may not be sooooo subtle...I added chocolate chips - which adds a whole other amazing dimension.

Does adding chocolate chips mean it is technically a dessert? Nah, though I wouldn't mind eating a bit after dinner. Or for dinner. I am adult, so that means I can do whatever I want, right? Sure.

Almond Coconut Chocolate Granola

What you need:

• 5 cups old fashioned oats

• 1 cup sliced almonds

• 1 cup dry shredded coconut

• 2 TBSP cocoa powder

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1/3 cup pure unrefined coconut oil

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (depending on your sweet tooth)

• 2 tsp pure almond extract

• 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a large baking sheet by putting parchment paper on it

2) Mix dry ingredients well in a large bowl

3) Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan and whisk in maple syrup and almond extracts

4) Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until oats and nuts are well coated

5) Spread granola evenly on the baking sheet (you may have to use two)

6) Bake for 15-20 minutes, being careful not to let it burn

7) Allow to completely cool and dry, then crumble the chunks and add the vegan chocolate chips

8) Store in an airtight container

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Do you make your own granola?

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Vegan Tofu Ricotta

What a sad thing: I have gone SO MANY YEARS without trying to make a tofu ricotta. Why has it never crossed my mind? Well, besides the fact that I hardly ever ate ricotta and didn’t know what it was or what it was used for...

Anyway, I finally got around to doing it, and I'm so glad I tried something new!

A few weeks ago I wanted to try my hand at a new vegan lasagna. I’ve been making them for years, but wanted to try something different. I decided to put the tofu into the food processor to make it more ricotta-like instead of just crumbling it finely like I usually do. The result? Well, let’s just say that my cheese-loving husband told me that he never wanted the real stuff ever again. That’s pretty strong. Of course, all the other elements of the lasagna were playing a part, but this ricotta was one of the VIPs.

Turns out this is great for a lot of things - spreading on crackers or bread, and stuffing manicotti noodles with. I’m going to be trying it in some meatballs, so stay tuned for that experiment as well.

Easy Tofu Ricotta

What you need:

• 16 ounces super firm tofu

• 2 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 TBSP lemon juice

• 1 TBSP basil (dried)

• 2 small cloves garlic (or one large)

What to do:

1) Drain the tofu, getting as much moisture out as possible
2) Add all ingredients to food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as you go.

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What do you use ricotta for?

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Vegan Corn Chowder

The best thing about Autumn (besides fireplaces, candles, fuzzy blankets and cuddling, that is) is soup. I love soup. All sorts of soup. I could eat soup year-round to be completely honest. I have been holding on to this recipe, just waiting for the perfect moment to share it with you all, and I decided that instead of waiting until it was cold out, I would share it now so that you can brace yourselves for it!

Autumn is indeed coming.

So my mom and brother came to visit and just left after two weeks. I hadn't seen the two of them in two years, so I was so excited and was literally bouncing off things I couldn't wait! Two weeks went by way too quickly, and even though we did a ton of fun stuff, I felt bad because they came just as I was prepping my life and classroom for the school year to start. It was a total bummer, but we are hoping to visit them for a few days at Christmas. They allegedly had a good time despite helping me haul desks and label books, so that is good I suppose. 

Anyway, back to the soup: Growing up, corn chowder was seriously my favourite. I actually loved (and still love) soup in general, but I could down bowls of this if I was in the mood. Even today, I love enjoying a hot bowl of this on a chilly day. Since we just concluded a lovely visit with my family, I thought it would be appropriate to [finally] share this recipe. It's a bit different than the original but still tastes delicious.

By the way, this soup has cashews in it. If I get enough nut-free requests, I'll share that version too ;-)

Vegan Corn Chowder

What you need:

• 3 small potatoes

• 1 medium onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp basil

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 stalk celery

• 3/4 cup cashews

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup cooked brown rice

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1 TBSP dried)

• 4 cups corn

• 2 cups water

• 4 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

What to do:

1. Dice onion, pepper and potatoes and put in a large pot with 4 cups of vegetable broth.

2. Bring to a boil, and then a simmer. Add salt, seasoning, and garlic powder.

3. Blend the cashews, celery, 2 cups water and rice until smooth. Add the parsley and blend for a few more seconds and add cashew mixture to the pot.

4. Put 2 cups of corn and 2 cups of water in blender. Blend and then add to the soup.

5. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn to the pot and bring to simmer.

6. Add salt to taste.
    

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What's your favourite soup when the weather starts getting chilly?

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DIY Vegan Chicken-Style Seasoning

Growing up, we would have McKay's Chicken-Style Seasoning on occasion (especially since I was mostly vegetarian). However, the stuff is crazy expensive, in my humble opinion, and it contains ingredients not suitable for our current lifestyle such as MSG and lactose. Lactose!! I was honestly shocked when I picked up a jar to read the ingredients! 

The only solution was to make some myself. It took a few months before I got something I like, but I have finally done it. I felt that sharing it was almost a duty. I was so excited about this I could hardly wait!

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It's not as salty as the original, which I actually prefer (you can always add more), and the flavour is out of this world - well, actually it's out of my pantry, but that just makes it that much easier for YOU to make too!

I use it in pretty much everything - soups, sauces, gravies, you name it!

Vegan No Chicken-Style Seasoning

What you need:

• 1/2 C Nutritional Yeast Flakes

• 2 TBSP Sea Salt

• 4 tsp Garlic Powder

• 2 tsp Onion Powder

• 4 tsp Celery Salt

• 4 tsp Turmeric

• 4 tsp Parsley

• 1 tsp Basil

What to do:

1) Combine all ingredients and mix well - either in a mortar and pestle or food processor.

2) Store in airtight container for up to 4 months.