Curry Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

There's a butternut squash just lying around and you're not sure what to make. You love butternut squash soup but you crave something new. This recipe is just that.

Ingredients
1/3 or 1/2 butternut squash
1 small white onion or 1/2 medium
1 garlic clove
1 tsp madras curry powder (or paste)
1 veggie stock cube
1 teaspoon vegetable oil 
1/2 can coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen)
salt
pepper

Directions

1. Cube the butternut squash in giant pieces, and boil them until soft (about 20 min or so). Remove from water and let them cool for a few minutes before scooping the squash with a spoon. Place all scooped butternut squash in a food processor.

2. Finely chop the onion and garlic, sautee over low-medium heat in a small pan. After onion becomes translucent, add the salt, pepper and curry powder. After a minute or 2, add this to the butternut squash in the food processor.

3. Crumble the veggie stock cube all over and add the coconut milk. Pulse blend a few times in the beginning, then process for 1 or 2 minutes.

4. Pour mixture into a pot and heat to preferred temperature.

Happy soup time! Have you ever tried a spicy butternut squash soup before?

Vegan FUNnel Cake Recipe

  If fairs, carnivals or amusement parks were part of your childhood (or adulthood), then maybe you remember the sweet waft of funnel cakes coming from the stands or the shops. A long line-up later and intoxicated with vanilla, you got a plateful of funnel cake topped with smooth ice cream, crisp strawberries, a glimmer of icing sugar, and ooey gooey strawberry sauce.
     For some reason, it had never crossed my mind until now that a vegan funnel cake is even possible. Here's the recipe folks!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon egg replacer (I like Ener-G or Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or to taste) 
1 cup vegetable oil or as needed

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and prepare the egg replacer (usually 1 tablespoon warm/hot water per 1 tablespoon egg replacer powder).

2. Slowly add in the egg replacer mixture, the milk and vanilla until you have a thick batter. It should be thick, but dripable but not extremely drippy like a crepe batter.

3. Use a middle sized pan and fill it with at least 2 fingers height of oil. Let it heat on medium-high and wait until the oil is hot but not smoking. Take a ladle and pour some of the batter in a large funnel and keep the hole covered with your finger. Start in the middle of the pan and take off your finger, slowly guiding the funnel in a spiral shape keep the spiral continious and close together. Continue until you reach the edge of the pan and let the funnel cake cook, turn when golden brown.

It takes a couple of tries to get the motion going right and the temperature right so don't worry if the first ones come out burned or not perfect! Just snack on them for quality assurance ;)

This should make about 4-5 funnel cakes if you use a medium pan but it all depends. I served it with Coconut Bliss vanilla ice cream, powdered sugar, fresh strawberries, homemade strawberry sauce, and Healthy Top whip cream.