VeganMoFo: Pumpkin Harvest Curry

A few days left for the Banned Book Giveaway!

Last night I met up with an awesome group of vegans, vegetarians and anyone else interested! We have a group set up on Facebook for anyone in the area to join. This was our first meet-up and around 15 people showed up! Next month we're going to have a vegan Thanksgiving potluck and I'm psyched!

Over the past year I've become very intrigued by mail art and mail correspondence in general. I've mentioned the bookmark exchanges on goodreads before and these have really added to my interest. A week or so ago I signed up for swap-bot. If you like receiving and sending mail you should definitely check it out! Feel free to look me up and give a shout ;)

Here's a package I sent out this morning (my first bit of mail art; before postage):

There's an awesome crew of vegan bloggers in the Vegan Cooking and Cookbooks group on goodreads. In honor of Vegan MoFo we decided to hold a cooking challenge! Each of will make a pumpkin dish and post about it on our blogs. I will list links to each of their entries at the end!

For this challenge I decided to use fresh pumpkin. I've only cooked with the canned stuff and pumpkin seeds in the past, so I thought this would be interesting :) I picked out a leaning medium pumpkin that I took fancy to at a local produce stand, but from what I've read since you might want a smaller pumpkin. Evidently, smaller pumpkins are ideal for cooking as they will have more flavor. In the end, we were pleased with the results, so no complaints from this house!

Pumpkin Harvest Curry 

I just threw in spices that appealed to me in the process so please adjust and experiment to suit your tastes!

The Goods:
1/2 med. pumpkin
1 pkg tempeh
1 zucchini
2 sm. or 1 lrg. red pepper
1/2 red onion
1 can coconut milk
1 c. water (add more as needed)
sesame oil
tamari or other soy sauce
curry spice mix
cinnamon
coriander (freshly ground)
garam masala spice mix
ginger
lemon juice
pinch of salt (if needed)

Pumpkin:
Divide the pumpkin into eighths and roast at 350 F for 30-45 min. Set aside.

Zucchini, pepper, and onion:
Slice and fry at medium-high heat in a dry skillet (I use cast-iron) for 1-3 minutes. You want these to stay crisp to add a little variety to the textures in the dish.

Tempeh:
Add a little sesame oil to the skillet. The skillet should already be warm from the veggies. Toss in tempeh and splash a little tamari or soy sauce on top. Once brown, set to the side. 

Curry Sauce:
Add sesame oil to the skillet. Add all spices and stir around for 30 seconds or so. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and mix with spices. Let this sit for a minute or so. This is the base of your sauce, like using a curry paste. Add the coconut milk and cup of water and mix thoroughly. Then let the sauce simmer over medium low or medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Putting it all together:
Mix everything into the sauce, add a splash of lemon juice, and let simmer for a few minutes. You want everything to absorb a little of the flavor of the sauce without losing the crispness of the veggies.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Cooking Challenge!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Squares ~ Plenty Sweet Enough

Pumpkin Curry with Lentils ~ A Cowhugger's Life
Vegan Baked Pumpkin-Bourbon French Toast with Pepita Caramel Syrup ~ The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Lasagna ~ Carrot Top Vegan