Fewer ingredients hit a popularity during a certain season like pumpkin does in fall. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin spice lattes all hit a high during this time of year. One of our favorite snacks to make involves a generous taste of sweet pumpkin. Pumpkin Pecan Dip is a quick munchie that can be made on a whim and will have even the meat eaters asking for more.

As with all of the recipes I post don’t skimp on the ingredients with a cheaper version of something thinking you’ll get the same flavor. It doesn’t work. I’ve tried this with different brands of pumpkin spread and vegan cream cheese and the flavors just aren’t there. You’ll find the Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter at Williams-Sonoma and Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Plain Cream Cheese is available at most Whole Foods stores. Again, don’t skimp if you want the best flavor. You’ve been warned.

Two of the main ingredients: Williams-Sonoma's Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter, Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Plain Cream Cheese and Lightlife Smoky Tempeh Strips (not pictured) are important ingredients in this recipe. Don't skimp on these as they lend the perfect flavor to this dip. I've tried others and they're just not as good.

Also, as with most of my recipes, they’re not really hardline recipes. For the most part, I don’t use recipes in my cooking and food preparation. I’m a little of this and little of that food creator. I have developed some of my “this and that creations” into traditional recipes to share and I plan on doing more of that in the future.  People keep asking me for recipes of the things I post pictures of on Twitter and I tell them there’s no recipe.  Some have said that I’m just not willing to share. No, I say that because I don’t have a recipe for the vegan cornbread that will destroy the milk and egg cornbread your grandmother makes, the vegan biscuits that make those from “that local joint, you know the one” seem like flavorless hockey pucks (they are) or the barbecue tempeh that’s full of perfect flavor all the way through that I like to have once a week. I say that because it’s true. I could write down general guidelines but it wouldn’t be in recipe form.  Some of the best things you’ll ever eat will come from a little of this/little of that approach. Damn the recipe!

With that said, here’s the….recipe.

Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Dip

1/2 tub (4 oz) Galaxy Nutritional Vegan Plain Cream Cheese

1/3 cup Williams-Sonoma Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter

2 strips Lightlife Smoky Tempeh Strips

1/2 cup Pecans

2 tbs chives or green onions, chopped fine

Toast the pecans until lightly and fry the tempeh strips until crisp. Finely chop both the toasted pecans and tempeh strips, set aside.  Spread the Vegan Cream Cheese evenly on a small plate about 1/2 inch thick. Spread the Pecan Pumpkin Butter evenly on top of the vegan cream cheese.  Sprinkle the toasted pecans and tempeh strips on top of the pecan pumpkin butter.  Top with chopped chives or green onions.

Serve with crackers such as wheat thins. I prefer Trader Joe’s Everything Crackers.

For the past few days there has been talk of Oprah Winfrey going vegan for 21 days on the advice of author and advisor Kathy Freston and her book Quantum Wellness which excludes sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs and cheese for a “21 Day Cleanse”.     Oprah is very influential over people, especially 40-60 year old women.   This could be good or bad, Oprah could end this at 21 days and make this the new Oprah fad diet.  She will choose the book by Freston as her book club book.  This will kick of the phase of every 40-something housewife thinking veganism is cool without looking at the longterm benefits only to stop at the 21 day mark.   Maybe I am wrong and Oprah will come to the end point only to realize how good this is for her and continue.   Either way it is good that veganism is getting the attention it needs.   Tofu will start flying off the shelves once Oprah gets started.  I have seen more than once the past day or so someone stating “Oprah goes Vegan!”, if you take vegan to mean absolutely no animal products then they are not making a true statement.  Oprah is still wearing leather.  She is wearing silk.   Nowhere has she stated she has gone vegan, just a vegan diet.  So those people should say “Oprah Eats Vegan!”, not that she consumes a vegan but, well, you understand and I am being picky.  So, to put it the proper way, “Oprah has decided to eat vegan for three weeks.”  Does this mean vegan chefs will appear for the next three weeks on Oprah?  Vegan guests?

Oprah’s blog has a link to recipes for “The 21-day Cleanse”.  One recipe, Artichoke and Oyster Mushroom Rockefeller, has alcohol listed as an ingredient.  Oversight?

Hopefully, Oprah will be able to educate people about the advantages of a vegan diet.  And maybe she’ll be able to stick with it beyond 21 days.

Also making the rounds for the last week is an article at Slate written by a vegetarian .  The writer talks of going vegetarian at 18 and announcing it to the cringes of friends and family.   While the article can be entertaining he has one glaring point that I am in disagreement with.  When mentioning bacon and whether he craves bacon he says:

“We’re not insane. We know meat tastes good; it’s why there’s a freezer case at your supermarket full of woefully inadequate meat substitutes.”

No, I don’t think or know meat tastes good, and I am not insane.  Don’t speak for all of us.  That is the most asinine  statement I have heard in some time.   If he thinks the substitutes are inadequate then why is he bothering with them?  Also, he needs to look a little harder as there are some great items that he apparently hasn’t found.  There are some good points in the rest of his little essay but that one rubs me wrong.

On the cooking front I haven’t made anything groundbreaking.  I did make stir-fry last night using whole wheat spaghetti in place of udon noodles.  It works quite well.   Just cook the spaghetti until still tough and uncooked in the middle, not quite al dente, drain and fry along with your veggies in sesame oil and the seasoning you prefer.  I used Chinese Five Spice sauce of which I bought about five jars of on my last trip to Trader Joe’s.   Five spice is overall my favorite Chinese sauce and I have made it myself but the Trader Joe’s version works well.   If you do decide to make your own you will need star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves and fennel.  Some variations alternate fennel for ginger.  The basic recipe I use:

2 Star Anise

1 TSP Cinnamon

1 TSP Fennel

2 TSP Szechuan Peppercorns

1 TSP Cloves

Heat the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry pan for about 3 minutes over medium-high heat until you can smell the aroma.  Place all of the spices in a grinder and grind to a fine powder.  This makes enough for one use usually.   You can make in bulk and store tightly covered.  To make a sauce from the spice mixture add 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari, 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1/2 cup of water in a pan along with the spice mixture and heat until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce thickens a bit.

Now off you go to Whole Foods for some Szechuan peppercorns and be sure to watch out for Oprah fans in the tofu aisle.

Looking for Blue Coast Burrito’s Pineapple Salsa Recipe?

Blue Coast Burrito … Pineapple Salsa … Want the recipe?

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I don’t have it. Sorry!

Great comfort food, and simple.

4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
1/2 cup flour
16 oz seitan torn into small pieces, seasoned works fine and this is also optional
1 small onion finely diced
2 medium carrots peeled and diced into small cubes
1 medium potato peeled and diced into small cubes
1 1/2 TSP salt
1/2 TSP black pepper

Melt Earth Balance in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and sute until tender. Add flour and create a roux. Add water and stock and stir until thick. Add all other ingredients and cooked covered over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

-Dumplings-
1 cup all purpose flour
2 TBS shortening (I use Smart Balance)
1/2 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1/2 cup soy milk with 1 TBS lemon juice OR 1 TSP apple cider vinegar added

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, using a fork cut in the shortening and mix until only small clumps remain. Add milk, you may not use it all so add it slowly, stir until a dough ball forms. Roll out dough on a floured mat or board until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut rolled dough into 1 inch wide strips and cut strips into smaller strips, about 2-3 inches long. Place dumplings on top of soup and let cook undisturbed for 10 minutes covered. After cooking stir dumplings into soup and cooked covered for 20 minutes on medium-low heat.