Pumpkin Ziti, and the Irritated Vegan

Happy Halloween!

(my little sugar pumpkin)

I definitely meant to post last night, but time got away from me. 

I tried to run my 7 miles on Sunday, but it was rough. One of those runs where it feels like you’re running through sand. Then my ankle started to give me a little trouble towards the end, so I walked the rest.

Then today we had a fire drill, and we had to walk down 15 flights of stairs! I’m the fire warden for our floor, so it was my responsibility to make sure everyone got out, and shut the doors behind them.

Then at lunch, one of my coworkers had us all try these ‘kiwi berries’. They were like grapes, but if you sliced it open, they looked like kiwi inside. Tasted just like kiwi, too! Very interesting!

I made something amazing for dinner last night. It’s from the Veganomicon. It’s called:

Pumpkin Ziti with Carmelized Onions and Sage Bread Crumb Topping.

So good! Creamy, pumpkiny.. mmmm. I think it's pretty much what I'll be eating from now on.

Cashew Ricotta (make this first)

½ cup cashews

¼ cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic

1lb Firm tofu, drained and crumbled

1 ½ tsp basil

1 ½ tsp salt

-In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic until a thick, creamy paste forms. Add tofu to the processor, little by little. Blend in the basil and salt. Put in Large bowl.

Pumpkin Ziti

¾ lb uncooked penne pasta

2 onions, sliced thin

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 recipe Cashew Ricotta

1 Tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp nutmeg

1- 15oz can pureed pumpkin

¼ cup veggie broth

-Add the pumpkin, broth, sugar, nutmeg, and cooked pasta to the ricotta.

-Heat up 3 Tbsp olive oil (med high heat)and add sliced onions to the pan. Sautee onion for about 10 minutes.  Stirring around every 3 min. or so. When onions are nicely browned, they’re done. Add to the ricotta bowl.

Sage Bread Crumbs

2 ½ cups bread crumbs (I put 1/4 stale baguette in the food processor)

1/3 cup walnut pieces (chopped in food processor until they resemble crumbs)

2 tsp dried sage

1 tsp oregano leaves

½ tsp paprika (I used cayenne pepper. Need to remember to get more paprika!)

¼ cup margarine

-Melt margarine in sautee pan. Pour in the crumbs, and stir constantly for about 3-4 min. Til crumbs look toasty.

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cooking spray a 9x11 pan, and pour the ricotta pasta mix in it. Spread evenly with spatula. Sprinkle bread crumbs over it. Bake for 30 min. Wait 10 min. (Torture!) Then dig in! It's frustrating that it looks like a pile of breadcrumbs. Trust me, it will blow your mind.

Also, I wanted a treat for Halloween so I bought a bag of dark chocolate Reese’s pumpkins for the trick or treaters and looked for a candy bar for me. Sadly, I couldn’t find any without milk in it. Fascists.

 Chocolate by itself doesn’t have milk in it. But we tend to add milk to it, because it makes it creamy, delicious and cheaper!

Fortunately most semi-sweet chocolate chips do not have milk in them. So it’s some extra effort, but I’ll get a treat! I figured on the last day of Vegan MOFO, I should make the extra effort not to slip up.

Tonight, I’m going to hand out candy, watch The Walking Dead and Ghost Adventures.

Ha! Okay, so this is what happens when you irritate a Vegan.

That’s right, a peanut butter cup blown WAY out of proportion. It’s more like a peanut butter litre, am I right?

It was very easy! I lined my ramekin with foil, sprayed it with cooking spray. Melted chocolate chips in the microwave in 45 sec. intervals. Spread it on the bottom. Melted peanut butter in the micro, and added the layer. Then more chocolate chips..  Chill in the fridge.   Take that Reese’s!

I am convinced that some of the best food in the world has been created by a vegan with their nose bent out of joint.