Gallo Pinto: Costa Rican Beans n Rice

Vegan

I followed this recipe

This is one of those dishes I had wanted to make for ... years! It turned out to be so easy, I don't know what took me so long. As it was, I inaugurated the huge new non-scratch wok Rich got for us. Yay!

BTW, beans + rice = complete protein.

Pumpkin Pie (mostly) from scratch

crust: vegan
filling: ovo-lacto veg
DIY ingredient: pumpkin puree

I combined two recipes for this creation:

Sweet & Salty Spiced Pecan Crust from Oh She Glows

Easy Pumpkin Pie Filling that's floating around on the web

(I just made the pumpkin puree by cooking chopped pumpkin in as little water as possible, straining and processing it)

The result actually won the pumpkin pie contest at a Thanksgiving potluck! People really enjoyed the sweet and salty combo, despite it sticking hopelessly to my pan... I think my oven was having issues and the pan could probably use more greasing up. 

I had extra filling, so baked it in little cups for wee desserts for the days to come after Feast o' Giving Thanks.

Easy Veggie-Scraps Stock and Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Vegan

I'm finally in the groove of stashing veggie scraps in the freezer and then using them to make a stock - a few extra herbs from our garden (thyme, rosemary, basil), a bay leaf and you can always add another carrot or onion if you're keen, top up with water, simmer for 45 minutes, strain - voila!

The stock then went on to evolve into a Black Bean Pumpkin Soup loosely based on this recipe. Cumin is key :)

Zucchini-Crust Pizza

Ovo-lacto veg
From the garden: fresh thyme, basil

Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-crust-pizza

Be sure to squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini before baking the crust.
It has a nice frittata-like eggy flavor and I love having extra veggies all throughout the dish.

Impromptu Coleslaw
Shredded kohlrabi and carrot, diced celery, blanched broccoli and pea shoots, sliced cucumbers

Dressing (lacto-veg)
fresh cilantro, parsley and ginger; plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar, S&P