What’s in the cupboard granola

Having a bit of a lazy day around the house today. I’m kicking a cold and Jon’s taking his one day off in the past couple weeks. It’s also our last day off for a while with the craziness of school holidays arriving this week. The house was a bit cold so Jon recommended I bake something. We went with granola. How American of us!

I scanned through quite a few recipes and combined their ideas along with keeping in mind what we had in the cupboard and a bit of my own creativity. Here’s the final recipe we ended up with. You could also add some nuts or other dried fruit. Let me know what other things you try!  Enjoy!

Erin’s Vegan Granola

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole grain oats (don’t use quick oats – you’ll really sacrifice the texture and LOVE of this granola)
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp allspice
• 1 tsp himalayan pink salt (any salt will do really)
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or vegan butter, or real butter if you don’t swing vegan)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tsp REAL vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 F
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper
• Combine oats, coconut, cinnamon, allspice, salt and flax seed in a large bowl
• Melt the honey to a very pour-able consistency and combine with brown sugar and oil
• Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients until thoroughly coated and combined. Chunks are okay and even a good thing!
• Place in oven and keep an eye on it. Give it a good stir every 10 minutes, until crispy. Ours took about 40 minutes.
• Pull from oven. Sprinkle with raisins and allow to cool.
• Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Risotto

I've been continually experimenting with new things to do with pumpkin since there's a lot of it lately. I've been getting it locally from a place called Freeway Orchard and it's been so fresh and delicious! This recipe is easy, and the result is a delicious, rich, creamy comfort food without the need for milk or cheese.

Roasted Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1/2 a pumpking
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves
• 4-6 cups vegetable stock
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cut the half of the pumpkin in half so you now have 2 quarters. Place the cleaned pumpkin in a baking dish, open side down. 

Roast the pumpkin for about 45 minutes, until it has a nice texture, not too firm, not too mushy. 

Pull one half out of the oven and leave the other to continue to bake another 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, heat the stock in a large saucepan and leave on a low temp burner to keep it hot.

In a large pot, heat the oil over lo-med/medium heat and saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the rice and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Add a ladleful of stock to the rice and cook until fully absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Continue this process ladleful by ladleful until the rice is cooked thoroughly. 

During this time, you can cube the first quarter of the pumpkin and once the other half is cooked thoroughly, remove from oven and mash (without the skin)

Stir the rosemary, salt, pepper and mashed pumpkin into the risotto.

Serve hot topped with the cubed pumpkin.

Enjoy!

Vegan Pumpkin Ginger Apple Soup

Here's another easy soup recipe to keep you warm on a cold fall or winter night.

Vegan Pumpkin Ginger Apple Soup

Ingredients

1 TBSP EVOO

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 apples (gala, jazz, your choice)

2 cups pureed pumpkin (see Pumpkin Puree recipe)

3 cups vegetable broth (I use bouillon cubes + water)

1 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a stockpot over med/med hi heat

Saute onion, garlic and olive oil until onion is transluscent

Add apple, pumpkin and broth

Bring to a boil

Simmer for 20 minutes or so or until apples are very tender

Add in the grated ginger

Mash with potato masher or blend to desired consistency - I like some "chewable" chunks to remain – rustic soup, if you will

Add salt and pepper needed to taste.

Enjoy!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

If you saw my Pumpkin Puree Recipe, you'll see the seeds were set aside for later use.


Pumpkin seeds are one of my favorite little energy and nutrient packed snacks, however, they are often ungodly expensive. Also, if you've already gutted a pumpkin, you may as well bake the seeds.


The easiest way to separate the 'guts' from the seeds is to fill the kitchen sink with cold water. The 'guts' sink and the seeds float which aids in the tedious separation process. 

Directions

Spread seeds out on a cookie sheet to dry overnight. 

Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. 

Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil. Sprinkle with your choice of seasonings. I often just use sea salt and black pepper to season, but sometimes add some chili powder for a bit of a kick as well.

Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. 

Cool pumpkin seeds before eating. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 1 year.

Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkins are $2 in New Zealand. $2. Best bang for your buck if you ask me. Pumpkin meat and seeds for $2!

I typically make the most of the pumpkin by making a puree that I can later use in baking, cooking and in my oatmeal. [That's right, I add 2 TBSP of pureed pumpkin to my oats in the morning to add vitamins and to create that delicious pumpkin pie flavor along with cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar...you get the point. I eat oats every day and I'm all about making my oats more exciting that just oats.] 


Moving on. Pumpkin puree is super easy. Follow these directions and you'll never buy the canned version again!



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Cut the pumpkin in half, stem to base. Remove seeds and pulp. Set seeds aside in a bowl to bake into a crunchy, iron packed snack. Cover each half with foil.
3. Bake in the preheated oven, foil side up, 1 hour, or until tender.
4. Scrape pumpkin meat from shell halves and puree in a blender. Strain to remove any remaining stringy pieces. Store in the freezer in freezer safe bags.

Vegan Potato Leek Soup (that’s actually creamy!)

I tend to make a ton of soups in New Zealand. I think it's the freezing temperatures, the veggie availability and the comfort that a homemade soup can bring. What I also love about soups is that it's not an exact science. I have provided some quantities, and by all means, feel free to follow it to a T. However, also feel free to change it up a bit or if you don't have an exact amount of something, no worries!

Vegan Potato Leek Soup (that’s actually creamy!)

Gorgeous NZ Leeks

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP EVOO
• 2 leeks (only 1 in NZ as they are MASSIVE), white and light green parts washed and sliced into 1/8 to 1/4-inch slices

• 2 cups chopped yellow onion

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 large yellow potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch cubes
[note peeling is optional. I often leave the peels on for a more rustic soup]
• 4 cups vegetable stock (I use water and bouillon cubes, as I always have them on hand)
• 2-3 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves (luckily, every other home on the way home and public park has rosemary bushes growing on my walk home ;) )

 Directions

1. Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.

2. Add the leeks, onion, and sea salt and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to turn translucent.

3. Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.

4. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes.

5. Blending the soup: You have 3 options depending on appliances available to you. In New Zealand, most of my soups are a hand mashed creation (think potato masher)

a. Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup in the pot.

b. Ladle the soup into a blender, 1 cup at a time. Blend the soup leaves until smooth and free of chunks. Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all of the soup has been blended.

c. Mash the soup to a nice consistency with all your might and elbow grease with a potato masher in the pot. No need to transfer.

6. Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through.

7. Sprinkle each bowl with finely chopped rosemary. Serve hot.

8. Enjoy the creaminess and richness of such a simple soup!

Quinoa & Kumara (Sweet Potato) Burgers

Living in an endless winter also means endless root vegetables. Always trying to get creative and making the most of what there is to offer.


Kumara is a delicious veggie here in NZ, most similar to what we know in the states as a sweet potato. There are red and orange ones. This recipe uses the orange ones. What I love about this is that there is a certain "summerness" of veggie burgers to me, so this helps break up the roasted veggie redundancy. 


I borrowed and adapted this recipe from another blogger, mainly because of what is available in stores here. 

Quinoa & Kumara (Sweet Potato) Burgers

Pre-Baked Burgers

Ingredients

2-3 Kumara or Sweet Potatoes (depending on global location)

1 cup of cooked quinoa (I cook my quinoa with 1 veggie bouillon cube)

2-3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 can of sweet corn (or equivalent of frozen or fresh)

1/3 cup of flour (I used whole wheat)

2 TBSP sunflower seeds

1 large shallot (or ¼ small onion), diced

1 can of beans (black, pinto, kidney, what’s your flavor? No canned black beans here)

1 jalapeño chopped up (none of these in NZ as of now, very sad)

1 red bell pepper, diced

Spices as desired (I used Himalayan Pink Salt, fresh ground black pepper, cumin and chili powder)

Directions

1. Peel sweet potatoes/kumara. Either cube and boil or keep whole and microwave until a mashable tenderness.

2. Mash the kumara/sweet potatoes and mash in a large bowl

3. Add flour and quinoa and mix.

4. Mix all other ingredients

5. Toss it in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes

6. Preheat oven to 450 F

7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray lightly with cooking spray.

8. Take your bowl of deliciousness out of the fridge and form the mixture into balls, then flatten them on the cookie sheet. (I used a ½ cup measuring cup to measure each patty to make them consistent for even cooking)

9. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the patties and cook on the other side for 10-15 minutes

Now you’re done!

This makes quite a few patties, so I froze a bunch to use at a later date. I also decided they’ll make a great sandwich for lunches, rather than lunch meat, so quite a few are in the fridge for a quick-build sammy. Delicious with your choice of condiments. Sriracha or Cholula anybody?

Enjoy!

Sesame-Agave Massaged Kale & Udon Noodle Salad

Sesame-Agave Massaged Kale & Udon Noodle Salad

I love kale. It's delicious raw. It's delicious cooked. It's an amazing superfood. It's packed with Vitamins K, A, C and E. It also has calcium, iron, manganese, copper, calcium, fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and even Omega 3 Fatty acids. It's full of antioxidant properties as well, perfect for warding off nasty ailments.

I recently created this new salad and have found an even bigger place in my heart for kale. You can tweak the recipe below to be stronger on any flavor you desire. The trick to this salad and making the kale tender enough to chew and enjoy raw (assuming you're not a dinosaur and you may not be able to chew through a tree) is massaging the leaves with the acidic ingredients to break it down.

Ingredients

• 1 Bunch Kale (I prefer curly leaf green or purple) - rinsed and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 tsp Agave Nectar (or honey if you don't have agave)
• 1 cup cooked and rinsed Udon Noodles (cook to package directions breaking noodles into bite size pieces, rinse under cold water and drain)
• 1/8 cup finely diced red onion or 1 finely diced shallot
• 1 TBSP Sesame Seeds
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the kale, lemon juice and rice vinegar in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, massage all ingredients together for about 3 minutes. The kale will become noticeably more tender. Don't be afraid to really get in there and give the kale a good rub down.
2. Add the olive oil, sesame oil and agave nectar. Give it another 30 seconds or so of massaging and mixing until it has all come together nicely.
3. Toss in the noodles, onion (or shallot), & sesame seeds.
4. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste
5. Let stand 5-10 minutes (or longer if desired), toss and serve

Hope you enjoy this as much as we've been!