Poor Man's Lentil Soup

It was one of those months where we needed to get creative with what was in our pantry. It happens a few times a year where what we have needs to stretch out as long as possible - not necessarily always because we're short on cash, but especially when we have a new goal (like a trip or a larger purchase) that we want to aim toward. There are also times where we feel it a good idea to "clean out" our pantry by making sure we eat what we have to avoid spoil.

Usually, we purpose to not spend a penny during these times, relying on canned and frozen vegetables to accompany our other staples, but this time around, we splurged and were able to score some inexpensive, and fresh produce at the farmer's market!

I love soup and have never associated it with not having money, so it's always a welcome dish to me. However, it is also one of those things my husband does not anticipate to fill him long enough, so I always purpose to make it hearty. I, however, enjoy more brothy soups, so this was a great in-between. The lentils fill us, but the broth is so yummy, and perfect for some bread to soak up. 

The fresh kale makes it even more enjoyable - I love the texture and colour that this soup has; the bright oranges and greens! 

This soup is not only extremely inexpensive to make - it is also flexible (use beans or potaoes or whatever you have in the pantry/fridge instead of lentils) and amazingly easy to make. 

Poor Man's Lentil Soup

What you need:

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 stalk celery roughly chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 3 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• sea salt to taste

• 1/2 cup dried lentils

• 4 cups water

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

• 1/2 bunch of kale, roughly chopped

• Your favourite vegan sausage (optional)

What to do:

1. Cook carrot, celery and onion with 2 tsp salt in olive oil in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven

2. Add vegetable stock, water, garlic, seasoning and lentils

3. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are cooked

4. Add kale and allow to turn a deep green and wilt a bit before stirring into the soup.

5. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve hot!

(good in the fridge for 4 days)

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What are some of your go-to meals when cleaning out your pantry? 

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Apple Pumpkin Crisp (vegan)

I was a really poor student when I was in university. I struggled most months paying rent and making sure I had food to eat because no matter how many job applications I sent out no one ever bit. That year was a year of amazing miracles, and I never went hungry or homeless but I'll never forget one lightbulb moment I had one day. I seriously had no produce in my tiny city apartment but some apples that were already on the edge of becoming dehydrated snacks, and not much in my fridge but almond milk (that was actually half water because I had to make it stretch) and ketchup. I managed to scrounge up the ingredients for an apple crisp and let me tell you: that evening, I felt rich. Since then, I've especially appreciated a good apple crisp - especially when the weather is cool!

After making some pumpkin treats the other day, I found that not only did I have a basket full of apples to consume, I also had some leftover pumpkin puree. What?! Dream-come-true much. I decided to try something new, and what came out was this delicious apple pumpkin crisp. Why not?

It turned out to taste a lot better than I thought it was going to, so I decided to share it with you today - in honour of all things pumpkin anyway. I added some walnuts to the topping, and it just added a level of deliciousness that is out of this world! I also topped it with some coconut cream, and oh boy!

Apple Pumpkin Crisp

What you need:

Filling

• 6 medium-large apples (I used granny smith), peeled and chopped

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 TBSP lemon juice

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3 TBSP arrowroot starch

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Topping

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour

• 1/3 cup organic cane sugar

• 1/2 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup olive oil 

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Add all the ingredients for the filling to a large bowl and mix well until combined

3) Put mixture into a small baking dish and set aside

4) Rinse and dry out the bowl you used for the apples and mix together the oats, flour, sugar, walnuts, salt and cinnamon. 

5) Add the olive oil to your dry ingredients and mix well, until completely coated.

6) Pour the topping onto the apples in the baking dish, coating completely.

7) Bake for 30 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown.

8) Best fresh, but refrigerate up to 3 days.

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Have you ever added pumpkin to your apple crisp before?

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Pumpkin Donuts (vegan)

I don't know about you, but I love donuts. Something about that cute little hole in the middle (and when there's no hole in the middle, there's tasty stuff like jelly or cream!). Well, in the fall, with pumpkin everything coming out and little donuts everywhere, I thought it would only be appropriate to try and make my own! I mean, why not?

They were a little denser than your traditional donuts from Mr. Horton but still delicious. I love pumpkin pie, so this was right up my alley - with the right spices and pumpkin taste.  In true fall fashion, they are dipped in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Yum!

These are even husband-approved, which is a pretty big deal when he doesn't usually prefer donuts. These babies are best fresh, but you can store them overnight if you need to.

Vegan Pumpkin Donuts

What you need:

For the donuts:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

• 1 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 TBSP melted vegan butter or coconut oil

For the (optional) topping:

• 1/4 cup fine cane sugar

• 1 TBSP cinnamon

• 1 TBSP vegan butter or coconut oil

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, spices, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients.

3) Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick, not pourable.

4) Put the batter in a plastic bag, cut the corner, and squeeze evenly into all donut pan cavities.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the donuts pass the toothpick test (come out clean).

6) Cool on a wire rack. While the donuts are cooling, mix the cane sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, and the vegan butter or coconut oil in the other.

7) Once cool, dip the donuts into the butter and then into the sugar mixture. You can flip the donut and repeat the process on the other side, but one side is sufficient.

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What's your favourite Autumn donut? Are you on the pumpkin bandwagon?

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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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