Pumpkin Spiced Sweet Potato Puree

Oh comfort food. Since I get home from Baja today (though I’m writing this the night before I leave because I’m up all nervous and jittery anyways), I figure I’ll be about ready for some homemade macaroni or some other comfort food like that. Therefore, I’m giving you a recipe for one of my favorites: Sweet Potatoes. You can do so much with them: baking, boiling, broiling, grilling, etc. And they’re so versatile: going from sweet to savory so easily. This recipe, however, is seriously one of the best. I recommend it for a dessert even because of how sweet it is (and a healthy dessert at that!)

Feeds 1 as a Meal, 2 as a Side

• 1 Sweet Potato
• Dash of Salt
• A couple shakes each of: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger
• 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp. Grapeseed Oil

Bake the sweet potato for ~45 minutes at 400 or until you can easily pierce through the potato with a fork. When it is no longer too hot to handle, take off the skin, place in the food processor with all other ingredients and blend until smooth. If you don’t like any chunks, you can push it through a wire mesh strainer. If you like it chunkier, just use a potato masher or a fork to mash it up. (I topped mine with vanilla greek yogurt more for the photographic quality than the flavor though it was very good).

ECO-BENEFITS

1. You can bake these at the same time you’re baking something else. If the other thing is baking at a different temperature, just change the cooking time accordingly. Yay for cutting back on energy use!
2. Organic sweet potatoes and local can decrease transportation and pesticides!

Applesauce Oat Muffins

Nom nom nom for sure. I really wanted to have something to take while I was in the bus on the way down to our campsite in Baja so I came up with these little suckers. They’re vegan (again I know) but they’re really moist and delicious. I recommend not using instant oats (which was my problem) because they cook a little too much. But they were great anyways so tis’ up to you.

Makes 12 Muffins

• 3/4 cup Soy Milk
• 1/2 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 3 tbsp. Canola Oil
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 3/4 cup Oats
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• Pinch of Salt
• optional: Dried Fruit of some sort (I’m not really into it but I know some people are)

Oven to 350. Whisk together soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Wait a minute (to let it curdle). Add the applesauce, canola oil, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. (If using dried fruit fold in now). Scoop the mix into muffin cups. Bake for ~30 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.

ECO-BENEFITS

1. Whole wheat flour instead of white flour has less processing involved.
2. Vegan (although I know I said I’d do something different for awhile… I can’t help it! I’d already made them!)
3. Organic, local applesauce is easy to find! At the very least, most supermarkets now carry organic applesauce.

Vegan Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

My favorite desserts of all-time are cheesecake, red velvet cake, and homemade ice cream. There’s really nothing like the deliciousness you get with ice cream of the homemade variety. If you’ve never tried it, you absolutely have to! I’ve been the life-changer for many a person in this regard. Since it is summer and peaches are in season (and they are so juicy and delicious at this time of year), I decided to give a nod to their deliciousness while giving you a yummy treat that will help cool you off in the heat. You can make just the vanilla base of this ice cream, or you can mix in your own flavors to the base such as Oreo cookies (for cookies n’ cream) or cookie dough. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can use this handy method to make some homemade ice cream too! It’s a little more difficult but just as effective to get that yummy creamy cold goodness.

• 1/2 cup Cream of Coconut Milk (if you don’t shake the coconut milk before you open the can it’ll separate and the top part is the cream)
• 1 cup Soy Milk
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 6 ounces Silken Tofu
• 1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• 1 cup Brandy
• 4 Peaches
• 3 tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Vegan Margarine
• 1/4 cup Oats
• 3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp. Vegan Margarine

Mix the cream of coconut milk, soy milk, sugar, tofu, and some cinnamon and nutmeg together until very smooth. Refrigerate. Meanwhile, pour the brandy into a pan and bring to a boil. Add the peaches, sugar, brown sugar, more cinnamon and nutmeg, and vegan margarine and saute’ for awhile and then cover to let steam. In another pan, melt the second amount of vegan margarine with the brown sugar (watch it really closely!!!). When it starts to melt, add the oats and stir until covered. Place the peaches and the oats into the original ice cream mix and put it back into the fridge until cold. Then follow your ice cream machine’s directions for a yummy treat!

ECO-BENEFITS

1. Vegan
2. Seasonal, local, organic peaches!!
3. Although homemade ice cream is best straight out of the ice-cream machine, you can keep it forever before it goes bad!

Almond Pumpkin Muffins

I have no idea how this has happened, but I am once again baking. These muffins turned out so well that I had to put them up here. They’re absolutely delicious AND eco-friendly. WOO!

(Adapted from Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf-Go Green Get Lean)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• A good dash of cinnamon
• A dash of salt
• 1 cup Unrefined Sugar
• 1 cup Canned Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Soymilk
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened–> (use Earth Balance for a vegan-friendly version)
• 1/4 cup Orange Juice
• 1 large Egg –> (add a mushed banana for the vegan version)
• A handful of Almonds, chopped
• Almonds, not chopped to top muffins

Makes ~12 Big Muffins

Preheat oven to 350. Place muffin cups in a muffin tin.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and 1/2 of the sugar. In a separate bowl, combine rest of sugar, pumpkin, soymilk, butter, orange juice, and egg. Add to the flour mixture and combine. Then fold in chopped almonds.

Pour into the muffin cups and top with the not chopped almonds. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.