Rosemary Mushroom Pate with Homemade Cranberry Crackers

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     appetizers, crackers, delicious, mushrooms, pate, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

Pate:

1 yellow onion (finely chopped)

3 garlic cloves

1 cup crimini mushrooms (quartered)

1 cup white mushrooms (quartered)

2 portabella mushrooms (loosely chopped)

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes

2 TBSP fresh rosemary (chopped)

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Crackers:

3 cups flour

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 TBSP fresh rosemary

2 TSP sea salt

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup olive oil

Poor little vegans…They’re always overlooked in a holiday season full of buttery baking, roasts, turkeys and bacon-wrapped appetizers. Never fear, for I have got your back! This is an ideal dish for a holiday party whether or not your friends are vegan/vegetarian. Whenever I’m at a Christmas party, I tend to overindulge in any spreadable mixture that happens to be available on the table. And, besides, you’ve never really lived until you’ve tasted a delicious mushroom pate!

Start off by placing the chopped onion in a large pan. Drizzle with some olive oil and cook on medium-high heat until they start to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes. Next, add the garlic, three kinds of mushrooms and vinegar to the pan. Give the pan a good sprinkling of salt and pepper and let the mixture cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the time’s up, remove from heat to cool slightly.

Pour the mushroom mixture into a blender or food processor and add all remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste, then place in a covered container in the fridge to chill. (this can be made several days in advance)

Moving swiftly along to the crackers…Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the water and olive oil and mix with a spoon until a soft dough forms (Note: an electric mixer, i.e. KitchenAid, makes short work of this task!). Take the dough out of the bowl and place onto a floured surface, then knead it a few times. Cut into ten even sections and roll each out until they’re nice and thin.

Place on some prepared baking trays, brush with olive oil and let them bake for 15 minutes, or until the crackers are crisp, starting to brown on the edges. Feel free to make whichever size of cracker you please. I tend to err on the side of larger, as it looks more rustic to my guests, but less work for me! Now that’s a win/win!

Once the pate is nice and chilled, scoop some into a bowl and serve with your beautifully rustic crackers. Done and done!

Yields 4 cups of pate

Total cook time…45 min (not including chill time)

Coconut Lime Parsnip Bisque with Cilantro Drizzle

Dan    Recipes, Soups, Vegan     Asian-inspired, autumn, coconut, parsnips, recipes, root vegetables, soups, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

Soup:

2 yellow onions (chopped)

3 cloves garlic

2 TSP white sugar

1/4 cup pineapple juice

5 parsnips (peeled, 1″ chopped, approximately 3 cups)

1 13.5oz can coconut milk

1 lemon grass stalk (segmented)

1 3″ ginger root (halved)

2 cups chicken stock (or veggie to keep vegan)

1 TBSP white wine vinegar

1 lime (zest and juice)

salt and pepper

olive oil

Drizzle:

1 bunch cilantro (loosely chopped)

1 lemon (zest and juice)

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

As far as root vegetables go, parsnips are overlooked, underused and, let’s not beat around the bush here, forgotten. Well…similar Occupy Calgary protesters, I decided to let parsnips occupy my kitchen this week. However, instead of pitching tents, making signs and refusing to leave Olympic Plaza, err….my house…They decided to jump into a soup pot! Now, that was an easy fix!

Jokes aside, this soup puts parsnips in the much-deserved limelight. Next time you’re at the grocery store, I want you to look carrots in the eye and say: ‘Sorry carrots, I’m with parsnips now.’ Love hurts.

Place the chopped onions and garlic into a medium-sized pot. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle in the sugar, stir and let cook on medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Now, pour in the pineapple juice and let the mixture continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half, about another 5 minutes. Toss in (recklessly) the parsnips, stir and let cook for (you guessed it!) another five minutes.

Next, add the chicken stock, coconut milk, lemon grass, ginger, vinegar and lime to the pot. Reduce to medium heat and let simmer for 25 minutes. Be sure to leave the lemon grass and ginger in large chunks, as you will need to pull them out prior to pureeing the soup!

In the simmering interim, we can quickly make the ‘drizzle’ (doesn’t that sound so fancy?). Place ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. This is more for looks and also a bit of tang for the soup, but add some salt and pepper to taste, just to round things out. Pour the vibrant green liquid into a small bowl and set aside for now.

Once the soup has simmered for the appropriate length of time, remove the chunks of ginger and the lemon grass stalks. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it has a velvety smooth texture. Barring the immersion blender, pour the soup into a blender or food processor to get the job done. Return the smooth soup to the pot, have a taste, salt and pepper it as needed, then let it sit on low heat until you’re ready to serve.

When it’s time to dish it out, ladle out the soup and top with some of the cilantro drizzle. I feel as though some simple seared scalloped would go well with this soup, so maybe give that a whirl if you’re feeling ambitious.

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…45 min

Acorn Squash And Pink Peppercorn Vinaigrette

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     acorn squash, autumn, recipes, salad, squash, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

Dressing:

1/2 acorn squash (gutted, reserve seeds)

3 cloves garlic

2 TSP pink peppercorns

1 orange (zest and juice)

1/2 cup of orange juice

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cups olive oil

salt and pepper

Salad:

Whatever you’d like, really, but here’s what I used…

remaining 1/2 acorn squash (chopped 1″ pieces, skin on)

1 package spring mix

2 tomatoes (sliced)

1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)

1 small zucchini (halved, 1/2″ sliced, approximately 1 1/2 )

remaining 1/2 acorn squash (chopped 1″ pieces)

1 cup garlic and fine herb boursin cheese (gently crumbled)

There are so many things to do with some many different types of squash and very enough time. True. Story. Since I think most of us are knee deep in squash soups right now, figuratively of course (what an odd sensation that would be if literal), I thought it might be need to try throwing a squash into a salad dressing. Blending the roasted squash in with the usual suspects of vinaigrette ingredients, with some sweetness of the maple and orange, resulted in an interesting autumn-appropriate salad. I tested out this concoction just this past week at my Thanksgiving dinner and although I was too busy drinking wine and socializing, I’m going to just assume that everyone enjoyed it!

As mentioned above, save the squash seeds, then roast them until crispy. Toss with some salt and pepper and sprinkle on top of or salad. Or, do what I did, and just eat all of the seeds by the handful and do not share with anyone.

Roasting a squash of any type is ridiculously simple. Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Place the half squash on a prepared baking sheet, brush with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and let roast, flesh side up, for about 35-40 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once cool, spoon out flesh into a blender, followed by the next six dressing ingredients. Puree until smooth. Next, while pulsing, gradually pour in the olive oil. Once everything is combined, have a quick taste, and season with some salt and pepper if needed. Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate. Can be stored for up to one week.

**Note: I did notice that after a few days, the maple flavour of the vinaigrette became more and more prominent. If you’re making this in advance, add a bit more oil and vinegar to avoid this. Unless you really like maple, then just sit with it!

When you’re ready to serve, combine the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the crumbled boursin cheese (and squash seeds if you didn’t eat them all!) on top, finish with some freshly ground black pepper and you’re good to go!

Yields 4 cups salad dressing

Total cook time…55 minutes (including roasting)

Masala Chickpea & Eggplant Soup

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     autumn, curry, delicious, Indian-inspired, quick and easy, recipes, soup, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

2 yellow onions (chopped)

3 clove garlic (minced)

1 eggplant (1/2″ cubed)

2 13.5oz cans chick peas (drained, reserve liquid of one can)

1 TSP masala tandoori powder

1 TSP garam masala powder

1 TSP yellow curry powder

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth (or veggie to keep vegan)

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

1 TBSP lemon juice

salt and pepper

olive oil

I start refining my hearty soup skills a month or two before autumn is about to rear it’s ugly head. Well, I don’t actually mean ugly, I really do like fall, the changing of the leaves, being able to wear knits again, pumpkin bowling, all of those things are great. It’s just that I’m always sad to watch the warm weather slip away, and with it, my tan. But, I digress…this soup embodies fall. It is meant to warm you up on a chilly evening. This soup can be served pureed or left chunky. I prefer somewhere in the middle, pureeing half, leaving it a bit chunky! I love eggplant and cook with it often. For any eggplant haters out there, this soup will help convert you, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you would I? #teameggplant

Start things off by tossing the onion and garlic in a medium-sized pot. Drizzle with some olive oil, and cook down on medium-high heat until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggplant, chickpeas, as well as the masala tandoori, garam masala, and curry powder. Stir mixture until the spices have evenly coated the vegetables. Stirring occasionally, continue to let cook for 8-10 minutes, until the eggplant pieces start to soften.

Now, place all remaining ingredients into the pot, including the reserved chickpea liquid. Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and let simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper, puree if you wish, but, above all else, enjoy!

Best served with warm bread…naan if you’ve got it and maybe a dollop of sour cream if you’re feeling extra crazy!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…45 min

This week, this recipe is featured on the site There & Here as part of their guest blug series to compare different parts of the world! Check it out here! You’ll love it!

Roasted Zucchini ‘Tartar’ With Leek Buttered Crostini

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Vegan     appetizer, recipes, squash, summer, unique, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

Tartar:

2 zucchini (ends trimmed, quartered)

1 1/2 cups soft tofu

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP dijon mustard

2 TSP horse radish

1 shallot (minced)

1/4 cup capers (finely chopped)

1/4 cup gerkins (finely chopped)

salt and pepper

Crostini:

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

2 leeks

2 TBSP margarine

2 TSP dried basil

salt and pepper

olive oil

1 baguette (sliced, 1/2″ pieces)

Don’t you wish you could whip up a vegan appetizer that wasn’t just an…umm…just a vegetable tray? Well, now you can. This dish is easier than a six piece Bob The Builder puzzle to put together, and even easier to impress with. Carnivorous cravings aside, only a cold-hearted, meat-loving T-Rex would not admit to loving this one. And, if you do, in fact, have a T-Rex over for dinner I both fear for you and am impressed with your ability to bring dinosaurs back from the dead…

Start off by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Place the zucchini pieces in a medium-sized bowl, add some olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, then toss until coated. Place on a prepared baking tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, uncovered, turning once or twice. In the meantime, combine the soft tofu, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and horse radish in a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Once the 20 minutes are up, pull the zucchini out of the oven and let cool. When the squash is cool enough to handle, chop into tiny cubes, 1/4″ or so. In a a medium-sized bowl, mix together the chopped zucchini, tofu mixture, shallot, capers, and gerkins. Stir until evenly combined. Salt and pepper to taste, then place in the refrigerator to chill. (note: can be made a day in advance!)

Now for the crostini…Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (disregard if you have just made the zucchini portion, then just leave the oven on!) Place the onion and garlic into a large pan. Drizzle with some olive oil, add some salt and pepper, then cook down on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Once the onions soften, add-in the leeks, and continue to let cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the margarine and basil to the pan. Stir until the margarine has melted and everything is evenly combined. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place contents of pan into a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside until you’re ready to butter the crostini.

Pop the baguette pieces onto a large baking sheet, brush the tops with some olive oil and bake until they start to turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Serve them warm with a generous slathering of the leek butter, then top with some of the chilled zucchini ‘tartar’ or just serve it on the side.

What do you think, T-Rex?

Serves 4

Total cook time…1 hour (not including ‘tartar’ chill time)

Cranberry Walnut Pesto

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     cranberries, pesto, preserve, quick and easy, sauce, spring, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup fresh basil (firmly packed)

3 cloves garlic

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

olive oil (2/3 cup approx.)

Finally! I’ve had some time to post a recipe, even if it’s just a super simple one. These past couple months have been ridiculously busy, having a lot of different things going on, especially with Kick The KD, but I see more free time (and sanity!) on the horizon. I made this pesto to go as a garnish for a vegan caprese salad I made a couple weeks back. Just something to spice things up a bit. I definitely would not put this on a hot pasta dish, but it is great on crackers, in a pasta salad, or with a cheese like brie. Definitely a nice addition an at-home charcuterie board, if you’re planning a get-together any time soon! Send me an invite!

Place the first five ingredients in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, and a good helping of ground black pepper. Slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor while pureeing. Stop once the mixture turns to a paste. Have a taste, add a bit more salt and pepper if needed. Then process a final time.

Remove from processor and store in the refrigerator in a covered container.

Yields 2 cups pesto

Total prep time…10 min