Tae's Avocado Spaghetti Squash

This recipe was a result of a challenge from Tae to make an avocado pasta dish. Since I have a half dozen spaghetti squash to use up, I came up with this recipe with the squash instead of pasta. Hopefully, she will approve...


Tae's Avocado Spaghetti Squash

Servings: 4

6 cup(s) spaghetti squash (one large)
1 onion, finely diced
4 chili pepper, Anaheim, roasted, peeled, seeded (or 2 problano)
1 Tbs Turmeric - Fresh, grated, optional
1 Tbs ginger root, grated
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Earth Balance Original Buttery
1 tsp sea salt
1 c black beans, canned
1 c corn, frozen
2 tomato , seeds removed then diced
1 avocado
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Roast and peel chiles. Dice them and set aside
Finely dice one onion; grate turmeric if using and ginger.
Heat skillet.
Seed and dice tomatoes. Chop avocado into small chunks. Toss tomato and avocado with 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside
Add olive oil and Earth Balance to the skillet.
When the butter substitute is melted, add the chiles and onion and salt. While cooking, start squash.

Cut squash in half lengthways. Remove seeds. Place cut side down in a glass dish. Add 1/4 c of water. Cover with plastic wrap and poke several holes in it.
Microwave squash for about 10 minutes or until soft

When onions are soft, add the black beans and corn and saute 3-4 minutes until heated through.
Scrape the spaghetti squash into the pan and toss to mix and heat.

Pour the squash mixture onto a seving plate and top with the avocado-tomato mixture. Add vegan parmesan cheese if desired.



Nutritional Percentages
Calories 380
Percentage Fat 38.5
Total Fat (g) 16.25
Percentage Carbohydrates 52

Saturated Fat (g) 2.9
Percentage Protein 10.2
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Sodium (mg) 736
Total Carbohydrates (g) 49.36
Sugars (g) 0
Fiber (g) 7.13
Protein (g) 9.67

Kate's Methi Curry

Day after day, Tae raved about an Indian curry that her roommate, Kate, was making for them. She called it 'Kate's Methi Curry'. I had never heard of methi and had no clue what it was. Tae said is was a fresh green herb and the recipe called for 2 bunches of it. They are living in an area with a diverse ethnic mix, and have access to an array of fresh produce that makes a snowbound Midwesterner like me drool...

After a few days, Tae emailed the recipe to me and I went in search of 'methi'. Any dish that makes Tae rave like that really has to be spectacular. I had no luck finding any source for fresh methi leaves, even online. Finding dried leaves turned out to be pretty easy. One email to the online Indian store I use, Indian Blend , and they sent me the links to various versions of methi, which turned out to be fenugreek leaves. A few days later, India Blend had dried fenugreek leaves, fresh ginger, fresh turmeric and tons of garlic sitting on my doorstep.

If you want your potatoes to hold their shape, choose yukon gold or red ones. White potatoes are fine (and what I use) but they tend to fall apart if you stir them too much.

The traditional recipe uses potatoes as the vegetable. With this recipe, I have added optional vegetables. When I last made it, I had lovely fresh Brussels Sprouts, so added those. I also had some cauliflower that needed using up, so I used the florets of half a head. You might also consider broccoli, several types of potatoes, baby onions, green beans, or whatever you like. If you aren't interested in a traditional dish, the sky is the limit.

I use fresh turmeric in this, and if you can get it, strongly advise that you use it. Be careful, because it will stain anything instantly, but is well worth the trouble. It has a totally different flavor and texture than the powdered yellow stuff in a jar. Would you make a tomato sandwich with a re-hydrated dried tomato powder instead of a ripe fresh tomato, if you had the fresh available? Fresh and dried turmeric are that different.

I cut the salt in the original recipe from 3 teaspoons to 2 teaspoons in this version. When I make it for myself, I only use a single teaspoon. There is so much flavor in this mixture, you really won't miss the salt.

There is nutritional information from Menu Magic for this recipe at the bottom but it should be used only for general guidance, and does not include the extra vegetables or the brown jasmine rice I strongly suggest you serve this over.

I made a few changes in the recipe to reflect what I had or what I had access to, so if you love the recipe, all the credit goes to Kate; if you hate it, it's my fault. This recipe is superb, and a great change from a lot of our ordinary American dinner food. I haven't met Kate, but thanks for the recipe!

Kate's Methi Curry
Servings: 6

1 onion diced
3 garlic clove minced
2 tablespoon(s) ginger root, grated
2 tablespoon(s) canola oil
3 tablespoon(s) Turmeric - Fresh grated or 2 tsp dried
1 1/2 pound(s) red potato diced
2 jalapeno finely diced
2-3 c chopped vegetables (optional: cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, green beans, etc)
1 teaspoon(s) chili powder
1 teaspoon(s) cumin powder
1 teaspoon(s) coriander seeds, ground
2 teaspoon(s) salt
4 tablespoon(s) Fenugreek Leaves Dried - Methi

In a large non-stick pot, heat oil
Add onion and garlic and saute several minutes.
Add turmeric and potato and saute 2-3 minutes
Add all other ingredients EXCEPT the methi/ fenugreek leaves
Add 1/4 c water
Cook the curry over low medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.
Add water 2 Tbs at a time if it starts to stick. The potatoes should NOT brown, just cook .
When paotaoes are done, add methi and another 1/4 cup of water.
Mix well and cook another 5 minutes
Serve over jasmine brown rice

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Nutrition Facts
per serving Nutritional Percentages
Calories 225 Percentage Fat 22.8
Total Fat (g) 5.69 Percentage Carbohydrates 68.6
Saturated Fat (g) 0.36 Percentage Protein 7.9
Cholesterol (mg) 0 Sodium (mg) 978
Total Carbohydrates (g) 38.61

Sarson Saag

Most summers, I can't wait until Saturday to hit the local Farmers Market. This year, though, we've been going to the Amish produce auctions ourselves and by Saturday, the last thing I want to see is more produce... But this week everyone is away, it's miserably hot, and I had nothing else to do, so off I went.

Although there was nothing there I really needed, I was talking to the organic farmer there and felt a bit guilty. Normally I buy a fair bit from him and this year I've likely spent less than $2 total, so I went ahead and bought some mustard greens and a cucumber from guilt.

It was 96F today and not cooling off by dinner, so I wanted to make a pressure cooker dish with the greens. I looked up the times online and saw a recipe for something called Sarson ka Sag, which is an Indian dish. Before I was vegan, I loved saag paneer made with spinach and paneer, but had never heard of 'sarson'. As I looked at more and more sarson saag recipes, it became clear that every Indian mother and grandmother had their own version of this dish, so I figured I'd do my own variation with what I had in the house and using all the other recipes as inspiration. Many of the recipes supplement the mustard greens with another green, so I thought it would be a good time to use up some frozen spinach in the freezer as well.

Amazingly enough, it was excellent, and was the first dish I've had in months where I've actually allowed myself to have a small second serving. It is meant to be eaten with naan bread, but I had already pressure cooked some brown rice for part of the dog's dinner, and decided to eat it on that instead. Next time I make it, I'll brown some cubes of tofu to add more texture to it, and give me a visual replacement for the old paneer I used to eat.

My pressure cooker requires at least 1 c of liquid to pressurize, so my cooked greens ended up with more liquid than I wanted, After I blended it up. it was tossed into a skillet on low heat to simmer a while to reduce the liquid.

Using fresh turmeric and fresh ginger makes a big difference in the quality of the flavors. Fresh turmeric might be difficult to find but it is totally unlike dried turmeric. I order my fresh turmeric online here and keep it frozen until I need some. Then, I scrape the skin off with a knife and use a microplane to grate it while still frozen. Turmeric stains everything, though, so use gloves.


Sarson Saag

1 bunch of fresh mustard greens, cleaned and torn into pieces
1 10 oz box of frozen spinach
2 Tbs canola oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 pinch of asafoetida (optional, see not below)
1 tsp ground yellow mustard (or black mustard seeds)
1 Tbs cumin seed
1 Tbs coriander seed
1/2 Tbs red pepper flakes (like you put on pizza)
1 finger fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp dried ground turmeric)
1 finger fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c water with a vegetable boullion cube dissolved in it
1 tsp sea salt
1 medium tomato, diced

Get all the ingredients ready before starting.

Put the pressure cooker on 'brown' and wait until it is hot.

Add the oil and onion and cook for a minute until the onion starts turning clear.

Add the dry spices and cook for one minute.

Add the 3 fresh spices and cook for another minute.

Add the water and all the greens. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.

Release pressure according to your manufacturers recommendations.

Dump the mixture into a large blender, add salt, and blend until well blended but not a soup. Note- blending hot liquids can cause the top of the blender to blow off violently. Either allow the mixture to cool, or, if you know how, remove the middle cap in the lid, cover it with at least 4 layers of dish cloth, and carefully blend with your hand on top.

If the mixture is very liquid, add to a skillet and simmer for 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced.

Mix in the diced tomato and serve.


Note: asafoetida is a resiny, stinky spice used in Indian cooking. It smells terrible raw, but adds a subtle flavor when it's cooked that cannot be replicated with anything else. You can find it in good spice store and online but its not likely your local supermarket will have it. When you use it, use it sparingly and keep it wrapped in several levels of plastic bags to avoid smelling up the other spices you have. One small container will probably last you for decades.

African Stew (Vegan)

Today's recipe is a product of our cooking for 'the freezer club'. In the freezer club, a number of people each cook one dish for 4-5 different families and freeze it. Then, on a given day, they all get together and swap their packets of frozen meals for 5 other packs of frozen meals. So, every one gets to try different things and basically cooks one day a month to receive 5 days of dinners.

I like to cook and like having people test recipes, so I also make 5 meals, but give my share of the proceeds to my oldest daughter. So, she gets to cook one day and gets 10 meals in return. A sweet deal for her and I get guinea pigs.

Well, this month, Tae is home, so she and I cooked up a vegan dish. We found a recipe for African Peanut-Potato Stew that seemed interesting.

We started cooking it, and both of us started having second thoughts. The smells just didn't seem to be coming together which is a worry when you are making 20-25 servings of something.

We did a little tweaking with quantities and spices, carried on and eventually it all worked out wonderfully. It was so good, in fact, that we ended up confiscating some for our own dinner before ladling out the portions.

The original recipe is oil-free except for the peanut butter, and has a fair bit of heat to it. Since Tae cannot handle any heat, we revised the recipe, adding grains of paradise and then carrots for more texture, and leaving out the hot parts.

The lack of oil in the original recipe when cooking the onions let the onion flavor disappear, so we felt the oil was worth using.

We added some yukon gold potato. The sweet potatoes will disintegrate completely, especially upon reheating, and we wanted some chunks remaining. The sturdier white potatoes and carrots, along with the chickpeas, give it all a bit more tooth.

We strongly recommend good fire roasted organic diced tomatoes for this recipe. The tomato is a big contributor to the dish, and the best is called for. Also, the char from the roasting adds to the visual appeal of the dish. The tomato juice, water and peanut butter ends up giving you a gorgeous sauce which almost looks like a cream sauce.


African Stew


1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium dice
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 Tbs minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 Tbs ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground grains of paradise (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 lb yukon gold (or red) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 in cubes
6 -8 baby carrots, or 2 large carrots, cut into coins
2 15 oz cans Muir Glen Fire Roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lb green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
3 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter


In a 6 qt pot over low-medium heat, heat olive oil, and then add onions. Sprinkle salt over onions and cook until the onions are starting to turn translucent.

Add garlic, ginger and spices and cook 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring gently every few minutes until the potatoes are cooked, around 20 minutes. Add water if the stew starts looking too thick to the point it might stick to the bottom and burn.

The stew is ready when the potatoes are cooked through. Taste for salt, and serve hot over brown rice.

Note: couscous is an excellent accompaniment in place of brown rice.