Cauliflower + Eggplant Mash, Two Ways

If you’d rather skip the traditional mashed potatoes this year in favor of a more veggie-filled side -- this recipe is for you. Not only that, you can transform any leftovers into a delicious veggie burger! Actually, you can do the veggie burger with any mash you might have on hand, but first I’ll cover making the roasted mashed veggies.

Chop.
Season.
Roast.
Blend.
Enjoy!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER + EGGPLANT MASH

Makes around 4 cups total.

What you’ll need . . . 

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, skin peeled + chopped
• Handful nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• Water
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place veggies on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast for around 1 hour -- stirring every 20 minutes until everything is browned and soft.
4. Transfer to a food processor and add water 1/4 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I used around 1-1/4 cups water total.
5. Mix in the Earth Balance and serve in a large baking dish.

LEFTOVER MASH BURGERS

A wonderful way to use the rest!

What you’ll need . . .

• 2 cups Cauliflower + Eggplant Mash (cold)***
• 1 cup texturized soy protein
• 1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
• 1/2 cup sunflower kernels 
• 1/4 cup flax meal

Method . . . 

1. In a large bowl, simply mix all the ingredients together by hand until well incorporated.
2. You can add any extra seasonings you might want, but I found the original mix to be quite flavorful on its own.
3. Then shape into patties -- about 8 in all. 
4. *** Alternatively, if you didn’t quite have 2 cups of mash, you can use just one cup and half the other ingredients for 4 burgers.
5. Then cook in a fry pan with some olive oil over medium-high heat until browned on both sides.
6. I even froze my burgers using these instructions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING -- and don’t forget dessert!

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Thanksgiving + Moosewood, etc.

If you don’t follow on Facebook, I shared last night that we finally figured out our Thanksgiving menu in full! I’m incredibly excited to start cooking. I had to run out for a few things at the store last night (bananas, milk, etc.) and cannot believe the crowds. Did you guys do your holiday meal shopping yet?

Hopefully our vegetarian fare won’t be gobbled up before we stock it.

MENU

Local cheese plate

Pumpkin Pesto Rolls

Vegan Mushroom Stuffing

Walnut + Lentil Loaf

Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts

Best-Ever Kale Chips

Garlicky Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Chocolate Pie (Coconut Milk or Tofu Base)

And now that we’re in the gift-giving season, I thought I’d highlight some of my favorite cookbooks you might want to add to your lists. Or give to your foodie friends. Though I read lots of blogs and write my own recipes, there’s still nothing quite like paging through a cookbook for a hearty meal, especially in winter.

MOOSEWOOD

Any of the Moosebook Cookbooks are good in my opinion. I have a few favorites, including Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home, Cooking for Health, and Simple Suppers. I like that there’s a broad range of vegetarian, vegan, and even pescetarian recipes to mix stuff up.

ISA CHANDRA MOSKOWITZ

You can’t go wrong with anything Isa Chandra Moskowitz produces. I’m partial to the Vegan Brunch book because it’s my favorite meal of the day. Over the years, I’ve also made a number of recipes from both the Vegan Cupcakes and Vegan Cookie books.

OH SHE GLOWS

Angela did a great job with The Oh She Glows cookbook. (Here’s my review, in case you missed it.) I find myself consistently paging through to find good recipes, but I think my favorite part is the homemade pantry section in the back. I linked to her walnut + lentil loaf above, but the one I’m using for Thanksgiving actually comes from the cookbook.

FOREST FEAST

The book (and blog) -- The Forest Feast -- is actually new to me, and I put it on my Christmas list this year. What I like is how simple the recipe are. Each requires only a few ingredients, which I think makes this book perfect for busy weeknights. And it may sound silly, but I also like all the watercolor illustrations.

MARK BITTMAN

I don’t think a cookbook list is complete without something from Mark Bittman, right? His straightforwardly titled How To Cook Everything Vegetarian is surely a classic for new and old veggies alike. Plus, it’s quite comprehensive with over 2,000 recipes!


What cookbooks are on your holiday lists this year?

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Thanksgiving 2014

This year we’re celebrating Thanksgiving on our own, so I’m currently planning the menu of what we’ll make and eat and eat again over the long weekend. Though I’m sure I’ll try some new recipes this year, I haven’t yet worked it all out. From experience, I like to use the holiday as an excuse make-again some favorite recipes from the past year or years.

I’m still toying with the main course, but here’s what’s made the cut so far otherwise:

PUMPKIN PESTO ROLLS

APPLE + BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

BEST-EVER KALE CHIPS

ROASTED ARTICHOKES

VEGAN CRANBERRY STUFFING

PUMPKIN HOT CHOCOLATE

CHANGE-YOUR-LIFE VEGAN BROWNIES

Have you come across any particularly compelling recipes in your search for this year’s menu? I would love to try some new dishes -- and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what will appear on our table. For example, I saw this delicious Vegan Lentil Loaf on Pinterest the other day. And then this Sweet Potato Gnocchi got me thinking about brown butter and sage.

Yum!

Past Holiday Roundups

Imaginary Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving Roundup 2012
Thanksgiving Brunch 2013

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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