Pumpkin Ravioli with Walnut Sage Pistou

It's fall! Pumpkin season! Best time of year!

I admit it. I watch the Food Network sometimes. This is loosely (very, very loosely) based on a Giada de Laurentiis recipe, but veganized & improved by like a million percent.  The pumpkin filling is creamy & has a tiny bit of sweetness from some maple syrup (you can use brown sugar or brown rice syrup in its place; I just like pumpkin & maple together).

I went with a pistou instead of a pesto because I like the texture way better.  Pistou is almost like pesto, except it doesn't have nuts in it.  Pesto is traditionally herbs, garlic, nuts & oil, whereas pistou is just the herbs, garlic & oil  I had some walnut oil in the fridge leftover from my maple walnut vinaigrette so I used that in my sauce, which provided it with a nice nutty flavor & a lot of richness.  If you don't have walnut oil, you can throw in a handful of walnuts & use all olive oil in your sauce.

I ended up serving my ravioli over a bed of baby spinach (which wilted from the heat of the ravioli) along with some toasted pepitas & dried cranberries.

On to the recipe!

Pumpkin Ravioli:

1 15-oz can pumpkin
3/4 tsp herbes de provence
1/2 c chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic
1/2-3/4 c ricotta (I used the cashew ricotta recipe from Veganomicon)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp maple syrup
salt to taste
1 pkg dumpling wrappers

Saute the shallots & garlic in oil until they are translucent, then add the herbes de provence, nutmeg, cayenne & maple syrup. Cook for one or two more minutes until the maple syrup has cooked off. Add the pumpkin & ricotta to the pan & stir to combine. Fill the dumpling wrappers with a scant teaspoon of filling. Seal the dumplings by wetting one side of the wrapper & folding the dry side of the wrapper onto it. Work out the extra air & press to seal.  Boil for 2-3 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce!


Sage Pistou

Combine the following in a food processor:
1 supermarket sized container or sage, leaves only
2 handfuls baby spinach
2 Tbsp walnut oil
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot
1/2 tsp lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
spoonful of ricotta (optional)

PB&J Oatmeal Cookies

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted.  I picked up a second job so now in addition to my full time office job I am working for a vegan caterer too!  It's all kinds of new & exciting & I will post about it later.  But for now here is my current favorite cookie recipe.  I apologize for the crappy picture. One of these days I'll get a real camera.

dry:

Pretty cute, huh?

2/3 c all purpose flour

2/3 c whole wheat flour
2 c rolled oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2-3/4 tsp salt (1/2 if you're using salted pb, 3/4 if you're using unsalted)

wet:
1 scant c turbinado sugar or brown sugar (you can cut this back. I thought they were too sweet)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp flax seed meal
1/2 c vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 c unsweetened pb
1/3 c nondairy milk (I use unsweetened plain almond milk for all of my recipes)

etc:
jelly! 1/4 tsp per cookie

Preheat the oven to 350
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl / liquid measuring cup / vessel of your choice, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and stir to combine.
Using a tablespoon measure (or a little scooper jawn), measure out your cookies. You should get around 36 total.
Flatten the little dudes out with your palm, then make a small indentation in the middle with your thumb.

Put 1/4 tsp of jelly in the middle of each cookie. I used grape but it'd be awesome with pretty much anything.

Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes

Mac & Cheese

Okay. I know that when Chrystina & I started this blog, we were going to keep the recipes simple & cheap.  This one's not the cheapest (Daiya is a major component), but it's croosh.  Seriously, try this.

1 1/2-2 c almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice), unsweetened (make sure it says unsweetened on it. Plain and unsweetened are two entirely different things)
1 bag Daiya, cheddar flavor
1 tsp mustard powder
3/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
2 tsp white miso
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp margarine
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lb package of macaroni (or pasta of your choice)
 S&P to taste

This is a pretty standard mac and cheese recipe.  Starts with a bechamel and then you melt the cheese into it.





Put a pot of water on to boil.  You want to cook the pasta until it's just about done, but not quite.  It will finish cooking in the sauce.

In a saucepan, melt your margarine.  Add the cornstarch and whisk.  This is called a roux, and it's the base of the bechamel.  After your roux has cooked for a minute or two, add the almond milk.  Whisk while you are adding it to ensure you don't get any lumps in your sauce.  You also want to add your miso, the spices and the nutritonal yeast at this point.  Allow your sauce to cook for a few minutes so it has a chance to thicken (that's why you made the roux--it's a thickener).  Once your sauce is lookin' good, add the Daiya.  Again, you're still whisking while you do this to ensure there are no clumps.

Your pasta should be par-cooked by now.  Drain it and add it to the pan with the sauce.  If you like baked mac & cheese, this would be the time to add some more almond milk, stir everything around, pour it into a greased 9x9 pan, add some seasoned breadcrumbs to the top (I'd go with a mixture of panko, nutritonal yeast, garlic powder and melted margarine) and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.  If you like your mac & cheese right off the stove, let it cook for 1-2 more minutes (to finish cooking the pasta) and then you're good to go.  I like to add a few handfuls of frozen peas and a pinch of salt to mine during the last few minutes of cooking.  Et voila, mac & cheese that actually tastes like mac & cheese, not nutritional yeast & cheese

Tofu Scramble

Ah, tofu scramble.  The backbone of any vegan breakfast or brunch. Ever.  There are approximately 23432523425245324322 recipes for tofu scramble.  This one is very plain and basic.  You can feel free to add or subtract whatever you'd like.

1 lb firm or extra firm tofu, cubed or broken into small bits (it's more punk rock that way... and you don't have to wash a cutting board or a knife)
1 Tbsp veg oil
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
(If you're too cheap to get mustard powder and turmeric, throw in 1 tsp of prepared yellow mustard. That's one of those little take-out packets, cheapskate.)
3/4 tsp salt (+ salt and pepper to taste)
3-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast 

Heat a skillet with 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add crumbled tofu and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.  The tofu should get a little bit browned.  Add in your spices and cook for another minute or two.  If it gets too dry, add a little bit of water.  Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast.  Ta-da! Now you have an awesome breakfast to impress that vegan who stayed over last night. ;)

Variations!
Scrambled Tofu Italiano: Add a handful of frozen spinach, a few Tbsp of sliced roasted red peppers, maybe some sliced olives. And some extra salt and garlic.

Tofu Rancheros: During the last minute or two of your cooking, add some salsa (prepared or fresh would work for this.  If you're using prepared salsa, be sure to use less salt in your scramble).  To serve all fancy-like, lightly heat a corn tortilla (I do this over the flame on my stove but if you have an electric stove, you can heat a skillet on medium-high heat and cook the tortilla for 30 seconds-1 minute per side).  Put some vegan cheese on top of the tortilla if it strikes your fancy (Daiya works wonderfully for this), add 2 big spoonfuls of scramble, then top with more salsa.  You can also put on a dollop of guacamole, if that's how you roll.

Have any other stellar scramble suggestions? Leave comments!

Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Nothing says fall like the combination of maple and walnut. This salad dressing combines those with other elements of fall to create the perfect fusion of fall flavors. It's super simple and comes together in seconds.

1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c maple syrup (use the real stuff, not pancake syrup)
1/2 c walnut oil (this is available at stores like Whole Foods, as well as specialty kitchen stores. It's a little pricey, but worth it. If you aren't a huge fan of walnuts, do half walnut oil and half canola or safflower oil.)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
Salt & pepper

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, syrup and mustard. While whisking (or stirring with a fork if that's your steez), slowly pour in the oil. Doing it this way helps the dressing emulsify, which means it'll be less likely to separate later. Once all of the oil is incorporated, stir in the shallot and add salt & pepper.

This dressing will keep in the fridge for a month or so, but you probably won't have it around that long.

I like this dressing served over a salad with: spring mix, dried cranberries, diced apples and toasted walnuts. Seriously. Your tastebuds are moshing.

Traditional Sage Stuffing

1 loaf of bread, cubed
2 ribs celery
1 large onion
1 carrot (or 1 c baby carrots)
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 c fresh parsley
1/4 c olive oil
3 c vegetable stock (I used store-bought because I'm lazy. You can make your own if you're feeling inspired. The recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance is great.)
Salt & pepper to taste

Chop the onion, celery and carrot into a small dice. Grate or press the garlic.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

While the aromatics are in the pan, put your cubed breadcrumbs on 2 cookie sheets and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is the same texture as croutons.

Once your veggies are cooked add the sage, rosemary and thyme to the skillet. Heat for another minute or so, just until the herbs are fragrant. Your house will smell like Thanksgiving at this point. Then, add the stock to the veggies and stir to get everything mixed together.

Spray a 13"x9" pan with nonstick cooking spray (or butter or margarine, if that's how you roll). Add your bread cubes to the pan, then pour the stock and give it a stir to make sure everything is evenly coated. If you're feeling really decadent, drizzle a little olive oil or dab a little margarine on top of the stuffing at this point to keep it moist. Otherwise, cover loosely with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Throw some parsley on top to add a little freshness and serve!

Welcome to Dine My Darling!

Once upon a time, Chrystina and Diana met. They discovered they had a mutual love of vegan cooking and baking, and a desire to share this love with the masses. In a matter of weeks, they created and produced an all vegan cooking show on YouTube.

Dine My Darling is based in Philadelphia, PA. Our goal is to create delicious, but easy, vegan food to share with you. Most of our recipes serve 4 or more people, and cost less than $10 to make. In each episode, we try to plan a balanced meal that appeals to vegans and omnivores alike. Between us, we have 20 years' experience creating vegetarian and vegan food for our friends and families.

Our goal is to share our love of food and cooking with you, and hopefully inspire you to get into the kitchen and get creative. Never stop playing with your food!