Butternut Squash Filling is Why Ravioli Was Invented, Right?

The first time I had butternut squash ravioli it was thanks to a Lean Cuisine a few years ago. Now, before you question my tastes, just know it was actually really, really good. Lately I have been meaning to make ravioli the kind of homemade/kind of lazy way, using wonton wrappers, but when I found frozen butternut squash ravioli sans cheese in the freezer section for under $4, I figured that would be way better- and way easier. I did, however, go ahead and make a sauce from scratch and fancy it up with lots of veggies to compensate.


So, here's dinner. On the floor. In front of our sliding glass door. Here in Colorado-Land it's about to start getting dark around 4:30, and anything that is even remotely sauce-y looks super gross and slimy under our dining room lights, so I have to work to get any kind of natural light. This photo doesn't do this yummy pile of deliciousness justice though. Despite being pre-made, the ravioli was really good and well seasoned. I made a creamy garlic sauce with about 5 cloves of fresh garlic, half a cup of unsweetened coconut milk, some olive oil, and various spices of paprika, thyme, basil, rubbed sage, and a sprinkle of flour and some vegan butter to thicken it up. I cubed a large 'bella mushroom and thinly chopped three big rainbow chard leaves, sauteed them in light oil, and then tossed them in the sauce. When the ravioli was done cooking it too was tossed in, and chopped roma tomatoes were added at the very end, just so they were warmed through but not cooked down. Everything except the 'bellas came from our CSA, and you could really tell with the tomatoes- they had such a good flavor.


Because the main dish was pretty decadent thanks to the creamy sauce I wanted to keep things light on the side. Broccoli, squash, carrot, and chopped rainbow chard were tossed in a very light coating of rosemary balsamic dressing, then topped with chia seeds and a handful of trail mix- pistachios, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, brown and golden raisins. Everything except the chia seeds/trail mix came from our CSA. I'm going to miss my weekly dose of local, fresh picked, organic food once winter rolls around. There are a few winter farmers' markets, but it's not *quite* the same. While I don't miss living Texas I have to say to those of you that have a year round growing season- you're very lucky.

Check out www.localharvest.org to see what CSA's and farmers' markets are available near you. Usually they're somewhere around $30 a week, and you get a ton of food. Plus you're cutting down on emissions from eating locally, the food is fresh and better for you, and it's often organic as well. You'd be surprised what's out there- Dallas is far, far, away from being remotely "green and crunchy" and yet there is a CSA with drop off points in 3 different areas of the metroplex. You might discover an entire underground of local food advocates right under your nose!

CSA filled Tacos

Last night, after we ate this dinner, we headed off to a party. My internship director invited me, and all he said was "they have a treehouse, they hired a DJ, and they're roasting an entire goat". We did time it to show up when the goat *wasn't* being roasted, and had already been taken down and divvied up. We both had a great time, and the party was wonderful. The DJ even jumped over the side of the treehouse in the rock climbing harness they keep for that purpose. Oh, and there was a keg. Let me just say, having lots of drunk people crawling up into a two story + tree house, and then jumping over the edge, seemed like it was full of YouTube potential. As a non-drinker, I always get to enjoy the antics of those around me who *are* partaking. But, on to what you come here for- the food!



Lately I've been trying to use up the random things I have in the pantry before buying more groceries, since between said random things and our CSA I have a lot of options. This was a pantry + CSA = dinner creation last night. Blue corn organic taco shells that had been hiding on the top shelf were stuffed with sauteed squash, zucchini, green bell peppers, and white onions, topped with the avocado sauce from the other night, chipotle salsa, red onions, and chopped rainbow swiss chard. Everything except the salsa and avocado sauce is from our CSA. We've been getting so many different things the last few weeks and it's been awesome. I served it with black beans and rice from a box, to which I added two cups of some more chopped rainbow swiss chard. This was super good and very easy. It might not be gourmet, but that's not really my aim :) I like healthy, simple, and relatively quick when it comes to day to day dinners. I'm much more likely to cook, and enjoy cooking, without having to make everything a big production.

Sunshine Burgers at Sunset

After a week in Chicago with our mutual friend Jo, Bobby flew out to join us on Friday night. The three of us spent the weekend in the city, and then Bobby and I hopped on the Amtrak Labor Day afternoon and headed back to Colorado. It's a pretty painless train ride- we got on at 2 p.m. on Monday, and arrived in Denver at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. We got a sleeper car, which was very much like staying in a Transformers Hotel room. Everything in it served at least two functions, and could be folded and turned into something else. Plus it's much more comfortable than sleeping in the coach car seats- I've done the 36 hour Los Angeles to Seattle train ride, and it's hard to sleep when someone keeps waking you up to offer you vodka. But anyway, on to the food...


It was pretty painful to have to toss out so much CSA produce, but Bobby simply couldn't eat it fast enough on his own, and then both of us were gone for those three days. So, after cleaning out the fridge today, I threw together a meal- yes, this sounds just like my post before last, I know, but we've been doing tons of traveling lately! We had BBQ sunshine burgers topped with a sauce I threw together in the food processor: avocado, red onion, fresh garlic, garlic salt, pepper, a splash of raspberry lime dressing, a handful of cashews, and a dash of Frank's Red Hot. Tomatoes from the CSA were chopped and sprinkled on top.

The burgers were served with pickled beets purchased from our local farmer's market, as well as roasted veggies spiced with cumin, salt, and pepper: green bells and squash from our CSA, and organic red onion. I topped them with more of the spicy avocado spicy cream sauce because it was really, really good.

Right as I was finishing up my last bite, I noticed a streak of pink from the sliding doors. I got up to investigate, and found this awesome sunset filling up the sky. Literally 5 minutes later it was gone. I loved Chicago and I already miss Jo, but it is so good to be back home.

Chicago Diner

I spent a week in Chicago with our mutual friend Jo, and then Bobby flew out on Friday night to join us for his birthday weekend- his birthday is today actually, I'm glad he was born to say the least ;)

He flew in late Friday night, so Saturday we decided to hit up Chicago diner for lunch. It was AWESOME. Please go if you're ever in the area, it is very worth it and is pretty accessible from the L- we walked about a mile, which is really nothing in the grand scheme of city walking.





When the waitress asked for our drink order, I went first and ordered a cola. Then Bobby and Jo ordered shakes, so I decided that sounded good. Bobby got cookie dough, I got vanilla chai. Mine tasted like a pumpkin pie shake and it was really, really good. The restaurant is all vegetarian but most things are vegan, like the shakes.

I got the "Pork" Tacos, and they were a very, very good choice. The seitan (wheat meat) is marinated in a pineapple sauce, then grilled, and it was piled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, avocado slices, and vegan sour cream- this was my favorite sour cream, as it was light and creamy, almost fluffy.

I ordered a side of biscuits and gravy with "sausage"- also seitan. I was a bit disappointed, if only because every vegan/veg restaurant I've gone to makes brown gravy and biscuits, not white gravy. I'm a Southern girl from Texas, brown gravy doesn't make sense to me on biscuits. On stuffing, yes. Biscuits.. where's that creamy white gravy? I've had vegan white gravy before, and I've made it myself, so I guess I'll just have to keep cooking it at home. But the search continues.

All in all, this place rocked. Great service, and although it was packed there was a quick turnover and we were seated immediately. Plus, it wasn't pretentiously expensive like a lot of vegan/veg places can be. I would definitely go back the next time I'm in Chicago, and I highly recommend it!