Check out our quick video showing how to process your pie pumpkin into puree.

Pumpkin sage white sauce lasagna
by Kim Marsin

This recipe is inspired by Emeril Lagasi’s roasted pumpkin with sage butter dish. When I’m working with fresh pumpkins I tend to use some of the roasted “meat” for lasagna and some for a sweet treat. This lasagna freezes well and tastes even better the second time it’s heated, as the flavors meld more.

Ingredients:

• Roasted pumpkin (one pie pumpkin* or up to 2 cups roasted meat)
• Butter (either dairy or vegan)
• Milk (1-2 cups)
• Veggie broth (1-2 cups)
• Mascarpone or ricotta cheese (8-16 oz)
• Romano or parmesan cheese (1/2 – 1 ½ cups)
• Flour (2-4 tablespoons)
• No-bake lasagna noodles
• Garlic (1-4 cloves)
• Sage (10-30 leaves)
• Salt and pepper
  * You can use any type of roasted winter squash for this dish.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Start with a white or blonde butter roux (a butter/flour combo that thickens sauces). Add 1 cup of milk to your roux. (I’ve used soy, half & half, or whole milk with success.) Stir continuously to avoid clumps over low-medium heat. Add chopped or finely diced garlic, chopped sage leaves, and pepper. From there build with either milk or veggie broth. (Veggie broth keeps the dish lighter.) Finish the sauce with about ¼ cup of either romano or parmesan cheese. (I’m a fan of romano here, but either works well.) I tend to make more sauce and store extra sauce in the fridge (for up to 3 days) for a second lasagna.
3. In a separate bowl, stir mascarpone and roasted pumpkin meat. Season with a pepper if you like.
4. Begin building the lasagna. Start with a ladle of sauce, next the no-bake lasagna noodles, half your mascarpone and pumpkin mixture, another noodle layer, a thin layer of sauce, noodles, remaining mascarpone pumpkin mixture, noodles and finally the remainder of the sauce. The magic of lasagna-making is the layer-creation options. Make sure to begin and end with sauce.
5. Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, then serve. Or, cool completely and freeze for another day.

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Pumpkin Oat Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg or ½ mashed banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• ½ – 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg or banana, vanilla and pumpkin.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, salt, raisins and flour. Stir into pumpkin mixture.
3. Drop cookies by the heaping teaspoonful onto cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until slightly browned around edges.
4. Remove from oven and place on cooling racks. Frost with your favorite powdered sugar glaze or leave plain.

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Pumpkin Spice Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter heavy large baking sheets. Beat first 5 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Add pumpkin, orange peel, maple extract, cinnamon and allspice.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture until just combined. Mix in raisins.
3. Drop batter onto baking sheets. Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and centers are firm to touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool.
4. Drizzle Orange Glaze (see below) over cookies. Let stand until glaze sets, about 30 minutes.

Orange Glaze
Mix the following ingredients for an orange glaze perfect for Pumpkin Spice Cookies or angel food cake.

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon orange peel

Aside from slicing the tomatoes for a panini or fresh salad, we’re big fans of roasting tomatoes to pull out the flavors and lycopene! Below are two samples of roasting tomatoes.

Roasted tomato, warm/hot pepper, and faux-sausage
1. Start by adding 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a baking dish. Add large chunks of onion and diced garlic. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Clean and remove any damaged areas of your tomatoes. Cut into large chucks and add to baking dish. For a warm spice element, add chunked heated pepper(s). If desired, these peppers can be removed after cooking, but they do a nice job of adding a layer of flavor.
3. Season with coarse (sea) salt and fresh ground black pepper. If you like, add chunked faux* or real sausage. Add more olive oil and stir together.
4. Cook for 30-45 minutes at 425 degrees or until the tomatoes have cooked down considerably. Enjoy over rice, add the mixture to a roll as sandwich innards, or eat it straight up as a thick soup. Yum!

Pre-roasted tomatoes and peppers

Roasted tomatoes, peppers and faux sausages

Roasted Juliet Tomatoes
Practically identical to the above recipe, these roasted tomatoes are a great addition to a pasta dish or simply as a flavorful snack.
1. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a baking dish. Add large chunks of onion and diced garlic. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Clean and slice the Juliet tomatoes in half. Add them to baking dish and season with coarse (sea) salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add more olive oil to lightly coat the tomatoes.
3. Bake for 15-30 minutes or until they reach the desired consistency.

Pre-Roasted Juliet Tomatoes

Roasted Juliet Tomatoes, yum!

Grilled zucchini/summer squash:
Using our stove-top grill pan, we’ve been enjoying grilled summer squash and zucchini coins. With their skins still on, slice the squash at a diagonal to give you a larger chunk. If you like, marinate in oil and other flavors for as little as 5 minutes. We like oil, balsamic and Liquid Brags or soy sauce, along with garlic, freshly ground pepper, and diced onions. After grilling, we join the squash with a cooked grain. We’re especially fond of barley, but any grain will do. Quinoa is great because it cooks so fast. The final step is to place the grilled squash and grains over a bed of cooked kale. Yum!
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Here’s another grilled zuke option:
Leaving the skins on, slice the zucchini/summer squash lengthwise and add to your favorite marinade. Or make your own marinade with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Any oil-based salad dressing can serve as a marinade as well. Make it Asian-style with sesame oil and soy sauce. Sliced zucchini/summer squash can marinate for anywhere between 5 minutes and overnight.

Marinating zucchini and summer squash

Put the zucchini/summer squash on the hottest part of your grill, as they are best when cooked fast on high heat.

Grilling zucchini and summer squash

Return the grilled zucchini and summer squash to the marinade until you’re ready to enjoy them. These grilled slices are great on a sandwich or cut up in a pasta or any other type of salad.

Storage:
Beet roots can last a very long time (at least one year) in your refrigerator crisper. The key is to separate the beet greens from the roots. Otherwise the greens will try to keep living by pulling liquid from the root, causing  it to loose its firmness. Beet greens will store best in a loose plastic bag in your crisper.

Beet root preparation:
Boiling beet roots allow you to skip the peeling the skins step. Remove the top and bottom portion of the beet and add to boiling water. Use the fork trick to test when the beets are ready. If the fork slides easily into the beet, they’re ready. Let the beets cool and watch how the skins release from the root. The beets can be pureed for Beet Chocolate Cake and Golden Beet Carrot Cake (see veglib.com or below for written recipe), added to applesauce for a fun twist, or topped with some cinnamon for a sweet side to any meal.

Beet green preparation:
See our beet green video.

More beet recipes:
Beet Carrot Burgers
Beet Chips (holy Toledo are these amazing!!)
Roasted Beet Gratin with Shallots and Walnuts
Various Beet Au Gratin recipes (additional recipe below)

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Beet and Beet Green Gratin
This gratin is beautiful if you pair golden beets with red beets. It is good hot or cold.

• 2 bunches (six to eight) beets (preferably half red and half golden), with the greens (about 2 pounds beets and 3/4 pound greens)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped chives (1 bunch)
• 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

1. Roast the beets. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then cut the ends off, slip off the skins and slice across the equator.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem and wash the greens in two changes of water. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the pot of water comes to a boil, salt generously and blanch the greens for about one minute. (You can also steam the greens until they wilt, one to two minutes). Transfer the greens to the ice water, then drain and squeeze out the water. Chop coarsely.

3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet, and add the garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in the greens. Stir together for a minute, season the greens with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Beat together eggs, salt (about 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, milk, chives and the Gruyère. Gently stir in the greens and beets. Scrape into the gratin dish. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until set and lightly browned on the top. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Yield: Serves six.

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Golden Beet Carrot Cake
by Kim Marsin

• 1 1/2 cups golden beet puree
• 4-5 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 more cup brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup soy yogurt (OR 2 overripe bananas, OR 4 egg equivalent)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins (golden if you’ve got them)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Chop off the top and bottom ¼ inch of cleaned beets. Place beets in boiling water until a fork will remove easily from the beet (similar to boiling a potato).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and start grating your carrots. No need to peel them if they are organic, just clean them well.
3. In a large bowl combine grated carrots and 1 cup of brown sugar. Set aside.
4. By now the beets should be ready. When they have cooled a bit slide the beet through your fingers to remove the outer beet skin. Place de-skinned beets into food processor and puree. Mix beet puree, vanilla, remaining cup of sugar, yogurt and oil into your carrot mixture.
5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix. Gradually stir this into your wet mixture. Add raisins and nuts. Pour evenly into a 9 x 13 pan.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (until cake passes the toothpick test). Let cake completely cool and frost with vegan cream cheese frosting. EAT!

Kale’s been known to make it on pizza: (http://happyvalleylocavore.blogspot.com/2009/02/pizza-with-kale-rosemary-and-feta.html and http://www.365daysofkale.com/2009/01/kale-on-pizza-yes-we-can.html), as its own snack (kale chips), or as a healthy side dish (see below and the Kale get-to-know-your-veggie videos). Another great option is to enjoy kale raw in this yummy raw kale avocado salad.

Sautéed Kale
Olive Oil
½ an onion (red is preferred)
1-2 cloves of garlic
Chopped kale
1-2 tablespoon tamari, liquid braggs, or soy sauce
½ cup broth (or water will do just fine)
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Start by sautéing the onion and garlic on high heat in olive oil. As the onion is beginning to caramelize, add the chopped kale. Moving the kale around and add tamari and cook for a minute or two. If you’re a fan of spicy heat, add crushed red pepper to taste. Add the broth or water and cover for a few minutes. Depending on your taste, you can cook the kale for as little as 2 min. or as long as 15 min. The longer it cooks, the softer the leaves will become.

Variation 1:
Add summer squash and/or zucchini. Add the sliced or diced squash to the onion and garlic.

Variation 2:
For a little Asian flare, add toasted sesame oil at the end. (Note: toasted sesame oil cooks off fast.)

Video recipe:
Swiss Chard, Fennel and Fresh Oregano-enhanced pasta sauce

Ingredients:
½ Chopped Onion
Chopped Garlic
Olive Oil
Chopped Swiss Chard
1-2 Chopped Fennel
Chopped fresh oregano
Fresh cracked Pepper
Crushed red pepper (to taste, optional)
Can of tomato sauce

1. In large skillet sauté onion, garlic, chopped garlic, 1/3 fresh oregano, and cracked pepper.  Cook for 3 minutes on a high heat.
2. Add chopped swiss chard and wilt/cook for 2-4 minutes.  Watch the color and texture of the chard.  You’re looking for the chard to turn dark green and wilt slightly.  Add tomato sauce to the cooked chard and veggies.
3. Pour over pasta and enjoy!

Other Swiss Chard recipes:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/swiss-chard-with-garbanzo-beans-and-fresh-tomatoes/Detail.aspx
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1228
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lentil-and-swiss-chard-soup

Bok Choy Stir fry (as prepared in the video)
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1-2 cups Veggie or Chicken broth
1/2 chopped onion
garlic (to taste)
Washed, chopped Bok Choy
1-3 chopped carrots
bunch cilantro (optional)
bunch green onions (optional)
1/2 cup roasted cashews

1. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil for 2-4 minutes.
2. Add chopped carrots, bok choy, tamari or soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and broth.  (If you’d like to increase the protein amount, add chopped tofu or meat strips.) Cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes.
3. Serve over rice or rice noodles and top with cashews, chopped cilantro and green onions.

Another option is adding store-bought stir fry sauce to bok choy and other veggies. You may want to cut the bok choy pieces into small bites. Here are some photos illustrating prep steps.

Washing leaves

Stir fry with cooked bok choy, assorted veggies, and simmer sauce.

Sweet and Sour Bok Choy – try adding a few other veggies like carrots and broccoli.

Bok Choy and Chickpeas with Cashews (from Clean Food by Terry Walters)
1 tbls olive oil
1 tbls grated fresh ginger
1 tbls Bragg Liquid Aminos (or substitute with Tamari or Soy soy)
1 tbls mirin (rice wine vinegar)
1 cup cooked chick peas
1-2 cups chopped bok choy
1/2 cup toasted cashews

In large skillet over medium heat, saute ginger in olive oil 1 minute. Add liquid aminos and mirin and chickpeas and saute 2 minutes.  Add bok choy and saute 2-3 minutes or until greens are tender. Remove from heat and top with toasted cashews and serve.

Note: Other veggies such as broccoli and/or mushrooms would be a tasty addition.