This year my fiance and I will be spending Thanksgiving at his parents house on the East Coast of Florida. His mom has quite the task ahead of her. Dave's brother and sister-in-law are gluten free eaters (not to mention his brother is quite picky!), and I am a Vegan. We were joking that she must have quite the menu lined up to please us all.
I never assume anyone is going to go out of their way to accommodate my way of eating, so I always like to bring food to the party. I will be making my famous roasted garlic, apple, and butternut squash soup and a chocolate vegan pie! Both are to die for. I will also bring some sweet potatoes to roast in the oven and a big salad. That will be enough for me and to share!
I will post recipes and pictures while I am making the soup and chocolate pie in the next few days. I the mean time, I'll leave you with the salad recipe I'll be making and an easy breakfast oatmeal recipe.
3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oi
fine grain sea salt
12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice*
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 375.
Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.
In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.
In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.
Serves 4.
* To cook wild rice: Rinse 1 1/2 cups wild rice. In a medium sauce pan bring the rice and 4 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and splitting open, stirring occasionally. You'll have enough for this recipe and some leftover.
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ingredient list
Serves 4
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup plain soymilk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients with 1 1/2 cups water in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
Per SERVING:
| Calories | 203 |
| Protein | 5g |
| Total fat | 2g |
| Saturated fat | g |
| Carbs | 44g |
| Cholesterol | mg |
| Sodium | 10mg |
| Fiber | 3g |
| Sugars | 25g |
