Thursday, December 28, 2017

Laos Style (Cheater) Pumpkin Coconut Soup, Veggie Based Vegan Cheese Sauce, Cashew Sun Dried Tomato Topped Veggie Ravioli, & Tribute to Buffalo Broadcasting Legend!

It was 3 below zero when I left the house this morning on my last 'day off' of the year.  It's beyond cold - it's damn frigid!   I've said it before and I will say it again and again - I hate winter!  The only thing it's good for is SOUP!

This was inspired by Vegan Street Food by Jackie Kearney that I obtained a while back.  It's loosely based on her Laos-Style Roasted Pumpkin, Coconut, and Chili Soup.  But I changed it so much that I thought it would be ok to share my recipe and take on it with you!  I have 2 photos here - one in a bowl and one in a mug!  The one you see here has an added nutmeg sprinkle on top!


My take on the ingredients:

1 Can Pumpkin Puree
1 Can Lite Coconut Milk
1 T Vegan Broth/Powder
1/2 t Minced Garlic
1/2 t Minced Onion
1 T Grapeseed Oil
Sea Salt to taste*
Pinch Cayenne

As many of you know I don't add much sea salt to my foods and when I do it's not even a pinch.  But here I used about 1/2 t or so and it was tasty!


Yet another Vegan Cheese Sauce on this spiral!  Here's what I threw in my blender for this...
2 C Potatoes
1/2 C Water
1/4 C Grapeseed Oil
1 T Lemon Juice
2 Carrots
1 C Corn
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
Handful of Cashews
1/4 t each of: Onion, Garlic, Turmeric, Paprika, Vegan Stock/Powder, Yellow Mustard, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt (or to taste)


Check out this super creamy Cashew & Sun Dried Tomato Sauce I made to top the Engine 2 Diet Roasted Veggie Ravioli I found at the Buffalo Whole Foods the last time I went!  I did a basic Cashew Sauce with Cashews, Water, and Lemon Juice.  I added in about 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes and blended.  On top of that you will see that I sprinkled Smoked Paprika and Parsley on it, too!  YUM!  A closer look - see below!



I know I'm jamming a lot in to one post here but I have a lot of catching up to do!  Sorry about that!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Engine 2's Roasted Veggie Ravioli.  There was a slight kick to the veggie mixture inside the Rav's which was neat!  This creamy, smoky, tangy sauce accompanied it well, too!

I wasn't able to find a good pic of the packaging but here's a visual for you...


This is the first product I have been able to find other than a package of the wraps which I wasn't thrilled with.  This Roasted Vegetable Whole Wheat Ravioli - on the other hand - was pretty tasty!  Yes...it did have the stereotypical whole wheat ravioli pasta texture but the veggie mixture inside greatly made up for it.  And the sauce was a nice finishing touch - if I do say so myself!

Before I end this post I wanted to insert a video from the other day.  It's about 9 minutes but worth it especially if you are in radio, TV, or from the Buffalo area.  It's a tribute to Irv Weinstein - a Buffalo Broadcasting LEGEND would passed away the day after Christmas from complications of ALS (AKA Lou Gehrig's Disease).  I grew up with this guy!  He was a staple in the Western New York Community and a life-long radio and TV guy!  He had a heart of gold and touched the lives of many.  When he retired back in '98 he was hardly able to make it thru his final broadcast before retiring.  Have 9 minutes?  I would love you to check it out!

20 comments:

  1. Pumpkin coconut? Gee!!! Pumpkin is rich enough but with the coconut milk, the richness would surely take it to a whole new level. I did that before in my pancakes, substituted the milk with coconut milk. Nice!

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    1. I probably could have done with half the amount of coconut milk but it was good this way, too! I needed it a bit more savory so the addition of black sea salt really helped out in that regard.

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  2. Pumpkin and coconut - two of my favourite ingredients.

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    1. I'll have to thumb thu your recipe posts and see what kind of pumpkin ideas I can get from ya!

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  3. Looks like you've been up to some fun cooking; thanks for sharing the recipes! Your sauce for the ravioli sounds great!

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    1. Thanks so much! I've been so bored with the lack of options I can get at my local restaurants and pair that with hella cold weather/temps I just want to be a hermit.

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  4. Ugh, so sorry about the cold! But everything looks great, especially the soup! I like that you're conservative with salt and I try to be good about that too at home to counter eating out. Happy New Year!

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    1. When I do use it - it's ALWAYS Pink Himalayan or Black Himalayan Sea Salt :)

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  5. Everything looks so yummy! Especially those raviollis! I have had any in years!

    It has been super cold this week! I know it is colder near you but yikes! So cold!

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    1. It's been a while since I have had Raviolis, too! What's the low been near you this week!?

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    2. I haven't been paying attention. Highs are around 20-26-ish, and my phone is giving lows of 5-10 for the week. Sadly my in-laws had their power go out all last night! Yikes! It got as low as 54 in the house.

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    3. Funny we are in the same state but sooooo different in weather! I don't think the temps have topped 10-12 degrees in about 2 weeks here! Sorry to hear about the power outage at your in-laws - hope they are back up to par soon! NOT a fun time to be without power that is for sure! YIKES!

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  6. It's not cold where I am (we are sweltering at 30C and it's 7am right now) but I really want to eat everything you posted. That cheese sauce and the creamy cashew sauce have me practically salivating on my screen... thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks so much for the feedback! LOVE your blog, too! I will link you and visit often!

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  7. Pumpkin coconut soup is so good, love it! And your raviolis look so good too:) Happy New Year 2018 to you Jennifer:)

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    1. Happy New Year to you, too! Thanks for the feedback on the soup!

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  8. Whoa, everything looks amazing! It all looks like perfect, creamy cold weather comfort food. That mac n cheese and the sun dried tomato cashew cream sauce looks AMAZING!

    Happy New Year!!

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    1. Awwww thanks! Let me know if you try any of them! Happy New Year to you, too!

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  9. I look forward to seeing what else you make or are inspired to make from that book!
    The ravioli sound interesting, yet another brand that we don't get here. I think the only ravioli I have seen are the Tofutti ones, which are average.

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