This morning’s post is brought to you by the color ORANGE!

Pumpkin oatmeal + pumpkin smoothie = FALL!

I added about a 1/2 cup of pumpkin to my steel cut oats this morning.  First pumpkin of the season!

I have to be honest, I don’t understand what all the hype is about Libby’s pumpkin.  This was just plain old canned pumpkin from Trader Joe’s, and it seemed just fine to me!  Perhaps my pumpkin standards are not high enough?

Drizzled with a little coconut butter on top, and a glug of maple syrup. 

On the side, breakfast #2 – pumpkin smoothie!

Into the blender:  1/2 can pumpkin, a few pours of almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, rice protein powder, stevia, and a few ice cubes.

Sprinkled with a little extra cinnamon on top.  This was deeeelicious!

I spent the afternoon testing some experiments for a few recipe contests, and subsequently ruined my appetite for any sort of real dinner.  As my official recipe taste tester, Casey agreed that he was pretty full too.  So as we sat down to watch The Biggest Loser, we decided to have an appetizer night instead of a full fledged dinner. 

Casey made the dips, while I got the easy job of preparing the dipping platter.

Fresh veggies – snap peas, bell peppers, and carrots (more orange!).

And a few pitas that I cut into wedges.

The first dip was homemade hummus – so creamy and delicious.  Nothing crazy here – chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil.  Might as well not mess with a good thing!

Perfect for DIPPING!  Dips are my favorite food group.  :) 

The second dip was a homemade baba ganoush spread.  We had a leftover half of an eggplant that we roasted for about an hour.  Once it was super soft, we scooped out the flesh, and tossed it in the food processor with more tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Not sure if it was because of how long we roasted it, but this was hands down the best baba ganoush I’ve ever had.  Not surprising that I loved it, since eggpl
ant is my favorite vegetable, but I am already planning future eggplant purchases so that we can make this again.

Sometimes it’s fun to do something a little bit different for dinner.  I love appetizer nights!

The dogs are really enjoying our side by side coffee tables, and they have each claimed their side.  They like to sit there and dive after every little crumb that falls.  I’m just waiting for the day that one of them makes too big of a move and turns the table upside down.  I will not be a happy camper.

Sometimes the best dinners don’t have to include fancy cocktails and table linens.  It really just comes down to good food and good company. 

And we definitely had plenty of both!

Now that fall vegetables have begun to pile up around the grocery stores and produce stands, I am wasting no time to be re-introduced to all of my favorites.  Last week I knocked out acorn squash, so this week I moved on to spaghetti squash – one of my absolute favorites.

I wanted to do something other than the usual spaghetti squash with marinara and vegetables.  My goal was to make something more decadent and rich tasting – like real pasta – but without the excess calories of traditional alfredos and cream sauces.  One hour later, a recipe was born…

Spaghetti Squash & Vegan Mushroom Cream Sauce

Let’s begin with the squash, since that will take the longest.  Last night’s victim…

Back in earlier blogging days, I did a tutorial on how to cook spaghetti squash.  While the info is all great, and I still use the exact same method, the pictures are tiny and terrible – please don’t laugh. 

I followed my favorite method, slicing in half, and scooping out the gooey insides before cooking. 

Then I used my garlic press to mince 3 cloves of garlic, and this time I added 2 medium shallots for a little extra flavor.  (Please ignore my 80’s hot pants.)

Apparently you CAN press shallots through a garlic press – success!

I coated both halves in a mixture of the shallots and garlic, along with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

And then baked it in a 375 degree oven for a little over one hour. 

While my squash was busy cooking in the oven, I took advantage of the long cooking time and took my pups for a nice walk around the neighborhood.  Without about 15 minutes of cooking time left, I got started on my delicious sauce.  Get ready, because this one is going to knock your socks off.

Vegan Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups Almond Milk
• 2 tbsp non-dairy creamer
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

To Prepare:  Start with 1 full package of mushrooms, and sauté in a little bit of oil or Earth Balance.  Let these cook about ten minutes, stirring frequently , so that they are nice and soft and starting to brown.

Next up, add the almond milk.  I have recently fallen in love with this Whole Foods brand almond milk – hands down my favorite.

Only add 1 cup of the almond milk to start.  Bring it up to a simmer and let it cook down a bit, concentrating the flavor and preparing a good base for the sauce. 

Next add the 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast, to give the sauce a protein boost and a delicious cheesy flavor.  YUM!

Add 2 tbsp of non-dairy creamer, and the other cup of almond milk and stir. 

The sauce should have a good flavor, but it will be a little runny at this point.  Continue to let it simmer, and prepare a slurry using 2 tsp arrowroot (or cornstarch).  Do NOT add the cornstarch straight to the sauce!

Combine the arrowroot/cornstarch with 2 tsp water in a separate dish, and once it is well combined, add the mixture to your sauce, stirring immediately.  You should see the sauce instantly thicken – make sure you keep stirring!  Adjust your final seasoning with salt and pepper, and BAM – totally amazing vegan cheesy cream sauce. 

At this point the squash should be ready for serving.  Mmmmm, looks good!

Using a fork, test to see if the flesh pulls away easily into spaghetti like strands.  If it looks like this, you’re ready to go!

Scoop both halves into a large bowl and do a final season with salt and pepper.

The end result?  A truly decadent “spaghetti and cream sauce” meal with a fraction of the calories and fat, and ALL the taste of a rich dinner.

I’m gonna say it – this is one of my favorite things I’ve made to date.

It’s hard to believe that this sauce is vegan since it really tastes and looks like it was made with heavy cream. 

The nutritional yeast brings in a tangy, cheesy flavor that reminds me of traditional alfredo sauce, mmmm.

And of course, who can resist the earthy smell and taste of slow-cooked mushrooms?  The perfect sauce to compliment this healthy pasta substitute.

Enjoy!

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