Butternut, Blue Cheese and Apple Casserole

Casseroles are hearty and satifying. They are great for both families and singles . Make one a little bigger than you need and later when someone needs a quick bite they can heat up one serving at a time instead of getting the whole kitchen dirty. Singles can make this in a loaf pan and use only 1/2 a sqaush. I'll show you what to do with the other half in my next post. This recipe is very nice and easy to make and will be even better when we tweak it. I will slice the apples with a mandoline and use less fake blue cheese. I've also thought about adding rosemary and cherries or grapes. The old man can't get enough of this one. Everytime I open the fridge he's swipped another piece.
You will need:

1 big Butternut Sqaush

3 tablespoons of fake butter

1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, cardomom, allspice and salt

1 apple

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1/4 cup almonds, walnuts or pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 squares of Fermented Tofu Cheese









1. Slice your butternut squash in half lenthwise and put face down on a cookie sheet. We use wax paper sheets in my house or we just spray the pan with a little oil. Put these in the oven on 350 until they are soft throughout.





2. Dig the meat out of the squash and mash it together with the spices. It doesn't have to be perfect.

3. Throw all of this in

your oil sprayed casserole dish and smooth it down.

4. Now add your Soy Bean Cheese that you got at the Asian grocery store. This one has chilis but yours doesn't have to. Spread this stuff around the top. Holly go lightly because this stuff packs a whollup. It's like a stinky gorganzola. A little dab'll do ya.

5. Slice the apple, dipping each slice lemon or lime juice on both sides to keep it from browning. (This is a good way to use less than perfect looking organic apples). Use a mandoline if you can or just try to get some nice even slices, not like I did here.

6. Place the apples on top in a pretty pattern.

7. Sprinkle nuts and brown sugar liberally.

8. Bake it untill bubbly and hot in the middle.

Raw Tostada

Just a little raw snack I was hungry and happened to have some raw onion bread laying around. (Sunflower seeds, flax, onions and spice ground up and dehydrated) and some cashew cheese (The simple version just has salt,oil, lemon, water and cashews). The yellow tomatoes were grown at the Emile Street Community Farm and the variegated basil sprig is from my garden.


That's Joe at the farm. He's our hero!
A word about Joe and the farm. The farm sits inside the Houston city limits in a very poor part of town. Joe, who also has a full time job, spends all of his money, heart and soul on this project. He finds land, plops awesome magical mushroom dirt mix on top of the land (sometimes on top of concrete) and then he and the community farm the land. He's gotten the whole community out and involved, based mostly on his good looks and laid back charm. Make it happen Joe. And for all you style watchers out there; farming is the new punk rock!

vegan raw lasagna

Here is my version of a vegan raw lasagna. It's got a cashew and pine nut cheese, a fresh basil pesto, a sundried tomato sauce, zucchini, crook neck squash and fresh organic heirloom tomatoes.

And here it is in all of it's uncut beauty. The recipe is a doozy.


Cashew Cheez:

1 cup soaked cashews
1 cup soaked pine nuts
1 small handful of onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Process all together in a good blender until creamy. You will have to stop and start it and push down the edges a lot because the cheese is so thick but that's how you want it.

Tomato sauce:

1 cup soaked Sun-dried tomatoes
1 small tomato
1 small handful chopped onion
1 small sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Process this in the same way as the cheese. Again, this should be very thick.

Pesto:

2 large handfuls of basil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine-nuts
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Process in a blender or a food processor

Thin slices of fresh zucchini and heirloom tomatoes.

If you don't have a good mandolin, use a potato peeler to get extra thin zucchini slices and then use a couple of layers in each layer (if that makes sense). Cut the tomatoes by hand.

Line a plastic container with plastic wrap.

Sprinkle the bottom layer with a little pesto and a little cheez. This will end up being the top so this is for garnish. Arrange the prettiest tomatoes you have on the next level. Next, layer the zucchini and then the tomato sauce, then more tomatoes, then pesto, then zucchini, then cheez, then pesto, then more zucchini, then tomato sauce, then more zucchini, then more pesto and finish with a layer of tomatoes.

Cover with the plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool. When cooled place a plate over the whole thing and invert. Remove the wrap. Cut with a serrated knife.