Winter Squash, Beet, and Avocado Toast

I don’t know about you but this weekend I just want to keep things simple. And easy. (That applies to life and food.) And I’m pretty sure that I am not the only one.

Which brings me the toast, or fancy toast as some people call it. Simple in it’s own right of being a piece of bread cooked until lightly crunchy and toasty. Piled on with stuff, almost like a sandwich, but it left opened faced because, well just because. This particular piece toast is piled on with stuff is what I have been eating all week (roasted squash, beets and avocado) and am pretty sure is my new favorite food combination.

So for lunch, wanting to share my favorite flavors, I toasted a nice big piece of my homemade sourdough, grabbed the stuff (some people call left overs which you might have bunch of but I just call it ready to eat food) and made the mr a fantastic, beautiful, and delicious piece of goodness that we call toast.

The mr, well he was a little spectacle at first but one bite and he was in. Might just be his new favorite food combo too.

Gosh he is lucky I have such good taste. HA

Now to the Toast!!!

The stuff. A good add piece of bread. (or rolls, or baguette.. whatever you have). Also need mashed winter squash (I used mashed butternut and there is also sweet potato in there too). Roasted and sliced beet, 1/2 an avocado, a little red cabbage, salt and pepper, a splash of vinegar, and red pepper flakes.

How it’s done. Step 1. Toast bread to preferred toasted-ness. Step 2. Cover entire side (right to the edges) with mashed up winter squash. Step 3. Add on sliced roasted beet. Step 4. Layer on avocado then mash it up. Step 5. Add on shredded cabbage Step 6. Drizzle on vinegar and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Last step. EAT IT!

-C

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Winter Squash, Beet, and Avocado Toast

makes one great piece of toast

• a few slices of roasted or steamed beet (cold or warm)

• about 1/3 cup mashed winter squash and or sweet potato (cold or warm)

• 1/2 an avocado

• 1 big piece of good bread

• salt and pepper

• teaspoon red or white wine vinegar

• a small little handful of shredded cabbage (optional)

• red pepper flakes

Grab great bread and toast it to your preferred toastedness. Once toasted cover with mashed squash then add on the sliced beet. Now grab avocado, place on top of beets and mash with a fork, Top with shredded cabbage and drizzle the top with the vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flake.

Eat.

Beans and Greens on Toast

It was a toss up this week. Share this recipe or share home remedies for flatulence!!!! Mah haha! (But honestly, should I share some home remedies for bloating and the toots?)

Ok, so we all know what is going on in the world at the moment and jeezm fuck. I’ll leave it at that.

Word on the streets (or in the news) is that everyone and their mom went out the past few weeks and stock piled a shit ton of food, especially beans. And you know what, that’s cool because beans are amazing and sometimes the silver lining behind bad shit is that you discover something magical. Like beans.

But there is also the issue of all the food people stocked up on in a slight frenzy and might not have had exact intentions for it. Maybe some greens? Did you buy greens? Are they, right now, sitting in your fridge, maybe a little sad, getting neglected because you have been binge eating up the rest of the girl scout cookies like what?

Well maybe this is a good time to use those greens before they go completely bad and you end up tossing them. Even though shit is mad crazy right now, we need to get perspective, especially on food. Waste is preventable. You don’t need to be that person. If you bought it, you for sure better be eating it.

But let me be clear. This is not just a recipe to use up greens and beans because you have to. No no no. These beans and greens are so freaking delicious. It is spring after all and greens are so bountiful and amazing right now. All I want to do is stuff handfuls of the tender green things into my mouth. After months of roots on top of roots, I could gladly eat nothing but greens for the next month. (Until all the other spring veggies start growing!)

This dish is quick and easy and tasty as AF. You can use any type of bean that you have, pretty much any greens you have, and any bread you have. As for the tahini sauce that gets drizzled on top, if you don’t have tahini, you can make it with another nut butter or just use some other dressing situation. It really is that simple and adaptable. And delicious and nutritious. All the boxes are checked!✔️

Now to the beans and greens on toast!

The stuff. Beans, greens. bread, tahini, an onion, a lemon, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Chop onion.

Onions into a skillet with a touch of oil. Cook until soft.

Once onions are soft, toss in the beans! Keep on heat and cook for a few minutes.

And lastly the greens. Right on in, just mix then around and let them wilt down to your preferable wiltedness.

Tahini sauce. All you do is mix the thin with lemon, garlic, a little pinch of salt and pepper, and water until it is creamy.

Lastly, toast the bread. I used a skillet but use the toaster or oven. Whatever you want to do.

And that is it. Toast on plate, pile on the beans and greens and get that tahini sauce drizzled also over!

Now eat. And revel in the greatness of all the good that is now in your mouth!

Stay safe and healthy and aware!

-C

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Beans and Greens on Toast

Serves 1

• 2 cups cooked or canned beans (I used navy but any bean will work)

• 2-3 large handfuls of greens (I used a mixture of spinach, kale, and chard, but again, any green will do, even romaine or spring mix)

• 1 small onion

• 2 pieces of bread

• a lemon (you can sub a tablespoon vinegar if you don’t have a lemon)

• a tablespoon or so water

• a clove of garlic minced or a pinch of garlic powder

• olive oil

• salt and pepper

First dice up the onion and toss into a medium sized skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on medium heat and cook until soft which should take about 5-6 minutes. Once cooked, add in the beans and stir around.

Let those hang out for a few minutes and start the toast. I think you can figure out how to make toast so I will let you do that. Also make the tahini sauce. Mix the tahini, the juice of the lemon, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper together until completely incorporated. Drizzle in enough water to thin it out to a drizzle-able consistency.

After beans and onions have had the past few minutes to warm and cook, toss in all the greens and a splash of water. Cook for another minutes to 2 or until greens have wilted.

Grab a plate, place toast on plate, pile the beans and greens on toast then drizzle all the tahini sauce on top. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Smile and then eat.

Cumin Lime Waffle Iron Tofu with Squash and Avocado on Toast

I have been meaning to share the magic of crispy waffle iron tofu for a while, but somehow kind of forgot. Yesterday when talking to my (not quite) mother in law she mentioned the bean waffles I made a while ago and suddenly I had a very real need to go home and bust out the waffle iron and make some tofu. And some of you may be thinking that this sounds weird, but its not. Waffle irons are not just for waffles, you can cook just about anything in them. I compare then to a George Foreman grill (remember those) or even a griddler. . Works the same way, just makes everything waffles shaped.

As for the rest of this open face toast situation, it just makes so much sense.  Crispy cumin lime tofu, avocado, mashed up squash.... A heap of things that are so freaking good.  I actually made the sandwich for the mr and was a little bit worried he was not going to like it, but worry I need not. He got down with it too. You could even ditch the bread and eat waffled tofu slathered in the squash and tofu alone, or maybe swap out bread for greens (that's what I did) Whatever you do, it will be good and your tofu will be so nice and crispy (without having to deep fry) that you may never cook tofu anther way again.

The stuff. Tofu, some roasted squash (any squash or sweet potato works), and half an avocado. Going to need a lime, some cumin and a pinch of chili powder, salt and pepper and little olive oil. And some type of bread that is good for toasting.

The cumin and chili powder go into a bowl with lime juice, a little oil ans a pinch of salt ans pepper. Give it a good whisk and set aside.

And now tend to the tofu. You want to get as much water removed from the tofu as you can.  I do this by pressing the sliced pieces between a clean tea towel a bunch of times until the tofu is as dry I can get it without falling apart.

While you are doing this, preheat your waffle iron.

Once the tofu is a dried as you can get it, dredge each piece of tofu, front and back, through the cumin lime mixture.

And place it on your preheated, lightly oiled waffle iron.

Close iron and let the tofu iron itself cripsy.

And in about 7-10 minutes, you got yourself some super fantastic crispy, oh so tasty tofu.

Now to put it all together.  Bread is toasted and topped with mashed up squash.

Next goes the tofu then top that with the avocado. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.

And sriracha if you like it..

Not deep fried, but super crispy tofu! And squash! and avocado! and toast!

It's amazing.

-C

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Cumin Lime Waffle Iron Tofu with Squash and Avocado on toast

Make 2 pieces of toast

For the tofu

• 1/2 a block of extra firm tofu cut about an inch thick slices
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
• pinch of chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 3 teaspoons oil plus more to brush onto iron

And for the rest of the sandwich

• a piece 4-5 inch piece of baguette or 2 slices of thick bread (use gluten free bread if you want)
• About a 1/3 cup of cooked or roasted squash or sweet potato
• sriracha (if you are into it)
• 1/2 an avocado
• the other half of lime

In a shallow bowl, mix together the juice of 1/2 the lime,the cumin and chill powder, a pinch of salt and pepper and 3 teaspoons of oil. Set aside

Preheat waffle iron to either the on setting or if it has variable setting, high.

Take your tofu and remove as much of the liquid as you can by pressing it between two clean kitchen towels. When you get as much of the liquid out as you can, take the tofu and place into the cumin mixture and coat both sides.  Ready the iron by brushing each side with a little more oil just to make sure it doesn't stick and place the tofu on the iron, close it up, and let it do it's thing for about 8-10 minutes. (check after 6-7 to see whats what and if is as crispy crunchy as you like, remove. If you think it could use another minute or two, well close it back up and keep ironing it.

And when the tofu is done, it's time tot make compile it all together.

Toast you bread you are going to use. Once toasted mash a good amount of squash onto toast. Place tofu on top of that and thinly sliced avocado on top of that. Finish with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lime juice and if you are feeling a bit more spicy, a few drizzle drops of sriracha.

Eat right away. Do not share...they can make their own.

Not Your Parents "Shit on a Shingle" (Creamy Lentils and Mushrooms on Toast)

The other day the mister and I started reminiscing about some of our earliest memories of what our parents fed us or what they used to eat when we were growing up. One of the dishes that we both remember eating was the classic creamed beef on toast, or as my mom use to call it, shit on a shingle.   Yup, shit on a shingle. (who ever started calling creamed meat on toast is a freaking genius) I think that as a kid, I liked  the dish just for the mer fact that I could say the word shit and get away with it.  I think my mom liked it for few reasons; she could make a big butt load of it really fast, for a crap load of kids, on the super cheap. And I think that she just really like it.  

Shit on a shingle is one of those foods that I like to call "trash food", you know stuff like beefaroni or pork and beans. Stuff that we all loved as little kids but might think twice about feeding to anyone now. ( I'll still feed nick a can of beefaroni.. he likes it) As a throwback to our earliest food memories, (also a lack of food in the house and wanted to make something fast, easy, and cheap.. thanks mom!) I made the mister my rendition of the classic. Creamy Lentils and Mushrooms on toast. Not quite as trashy as creamed beef (lentils, mushrooms and onions are not trashy) but you get the same reminiscing feeling. I guess I could call it something like "stuff on a shingle" or lumps on a shingle", but what kid (or adult)  would want to eat that. Let's just stick with shit, it makes it more awesome to eat it.

The shit….. A few mushrooms, a bit of onion, cooked lentils, flour, milk, oil, salt and pepper, and garlic powder. And the shingles.. 2 pieces of thick white country bread. Slice the mushrooms and the onion and toss into a skillet with a drizzle of oil. Cook on medium heat until browned and fragrant..Remove from pan.In the empty pan still on medium heat, add in the olive oil and the flour. Whisky constantly, slowly add in the milk. Keep whisking until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add in  salt, pepper, and garlic powder.Add the mushrooms and the lentils into the sauce and give it a good mix. Oh, and don't forget to  toast up the bread. Now dump that shit all over those shingles! Oh the memories.

If you need to, make it classy by serving it with a cloth napkin and a nice fork and knife. But eat it however you need to. (As kids we like dirty hands and no fork, preferably with a big tall glass of overly sweetened red flavored kool-aid)

Enjoy this fantastic Spring weekend!

-C

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 Shit on s Shingle (Creamy Lentils and Mushrooms on Toast)

One serving

• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 2- 3 mushrooms
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup milk (cow, nut, plant… whatever you want)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 2 pieces of nice thick but soft white sandwich bread

Slice the mushroom and onion and toss into a pan or skillet with a drizzle of oil. Cook on medium heat until brown and fragrant than dump onto a plate. In same skillet, add the oil and the flour and mix with a whisk while slowly adding in the milk. Keep whisking until sauce starts to thicken. Turn heat to simmer and add in the cooked lentils and the sautéd mushrooms and onions. Push down the bread in the toaster.. and when it pops up, dump the shill over it.

Avocado Tomato Toast

 Some days making an effort is just too much. The upcoming holidays are taking up most of my brain capacity. I need the day to decompress and I don't want to worry making any meals. Not to mention I am running low on food in the house, my winter farm share doesn't start until next week (HORRAY!!) and I really don't want to go to the grocery store. I have avocado, I have tomato, I have bread. Smoosh avocado on toast, top with a few slices of tomato, and give it a sprinkle of salt. Wa La..There you have it. Easy and delicious and is suitable for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't like avocado? Well today, that's not my problem. I am sure you can find  jar of peanut butter. Note: Peanut butter anything is also suitable for any meal replacement. Thursday Thursday!!