I Can't Follow Recipes: Vegan, Not-vegan Butternut Squash Enchiladas

For some random reason, I decided to abandon meat this week.  Well, not entirely, I did have two pieces of general Tso's chicken that Matt gave because I was really craving protein.  Or meat.  But that's just me trying to  listen to my body and what it wants.

However, this recipe I found on the internet when looking for things to do with squash and pumpkins.  And oh man, y'all are in for a treat.  Why can't I follow recipes?  I did not feel like buying canned tomatoes pumpkin if I had most of a butternut squash lying around.  Since it wasn't enough for the recipe, I also added a sweet potato.

The colors go, it's okay.

The rest of the filling, I kept the same. Wait, that's a lie.  I have a pecan allergy, so I added almonds because I think those are similar in texture.  I also don't have spinach in the house right now, so I skipped those.

Almonds are the best

Sixteen tortillas went into this meal.  Six were Trader Jose's and ten were La Banderita.  The La Banderita tortillas help up a lot better after filling and wrapping, so I might exclusively buy those from now on.  Layering was creative because those 16 did not neatly fit in a row.

GUESS WHICH ONES ARE LA BANDERITA

Since I also could not come up with a pounds of salsa verde, I mixed it with some hot goya salsa to make the 16-ounces of salsa.  It tasted so good though, highly recommended.  Before popping these into the oven, I sprinkled some non-vegan shredded cheddar.  Hence the non-vegan part of the meal, but honestly, those could have been omitted all together.

Look at my food, my food is amazing.

Put a dollop of sour cream.

And now for the outfit.  I always associate vegans with edgy-dressed girls who may or may not like other girls, I tried to emulate that look with some cargo pants and combat boots.  I thought this look was awesome.  Except for the people who asked about my cleavage.  Screw you guys.

Shirt (American Eagle), red shirt (Abercrombie), pants (uniqlo), and boots (doc marten's)

On Sunday, I might not get around to blogging because I'll be out of town (Ithaca-town), but regardless, the entry will be about navigating cuisines that are inherently not gluten-free (I'll be at a Ukrainian restaurant for brunch and those meals are typically sandwich and flour-heavy).

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Late Night Tom-Foodery: Chocolate Almond Spread

Happy Halloween, everyone!

My parents came up to visit on Sunday and, prior to visiting, they usually ask for a list of groceries or foodstuffs that I want.  Unfortunately, my life sucks, and most spreads have soy lecithin as an emulsifier (I will do a post next week on a chocolate cake mix that unfortunately got recalled because of the presence of soy lecithin that wasn't previously labeled.  Boo).  Since these products have more than 2% soy lecithin per volume, my parents did not want to risk buying it and making me sick.  So, I had to come up with something new.

The lovely Nicole Hunn at Gluten-Free on a Shoestring provided a recipe for bittersweet chocolate almond spread.  It seemed so easy, I just HAD to try it.  Being that I am a broke-ass college student, I had to modify the recipe a bit.  And by a bit, I mean, I just used cocoa powder and a blender because the food processor might as well had been created by this little pony:

Not just muffins, but also food processors. (Source: My Little  Brony Wikia)

The should-probably-start-paying-rent-at-my-house-but-not-really-because-he's-adorable Matt came over to do some studying and what better study-break than making yummy food that can easily be spread on toast.

Ingredients (clockwise): Raw almonds, canola oil, powdered sugar, Hershey's cocao

Toasted almonds.  YUM!

Me chopping up some almonds because the food processor is made by Derpy.

 Given the fact that we were late-night cooking, glamour was not something I really focused on.  Hence why I am in a tee shirt I got at my neighbor's art show, American Eagle pajama pants, and my hair is all disheveled.  I guess I could be one of those girls who dresses like a princess before bed, but to me that is just silly.

Blend, my almonds, BLEEEENNNNDDDDDD.

All the other ingredients added and then you wait for it to become paste.

My boyfriend being cute and mixing.  He's in his pink IFC shirt.

SPEAKING OF TOAST, my parents also bought me spelt bread to try.  According to BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery, spelt is a product that for some indiscernible reason is totally fine for people like me to consume, so I decided to give this bread a whirl.

On the left, we have the spelt bread.  On the right, we have regular white toast.   Both have been through the toaster.

Though soy flour and soy lecithin are present, it falls towards the end of the "less than two percent of the following" category of the ingredients list, and my allergy has never been that strong, so I have been eating it and so far so good.

More horrendously attractive pictures of me eating things.

So that's my foray into home-made nut butters.  Also, since it is Halloween, here is a picture of me and Matt in our couple's costume.  Enjoy!

Matt's Little Red Riding Hood and I'm the Big Bad (Were)Wolf.  I'm wearing a SpiritHood, my ripped white shirt, and Lululemon sports bra. Glamour life.

Keep it yummy (and spooky!),
Jo

P.S.: I am going to try to post something every Wednesday and Sunday.  I usually don't have much work those days and have made something at some point by then.