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Butternut Squash Soufflé – Gluten-free + Dairy-free
Next up in our Very Tasty Thanksgiving series is Cara of Cara’s Cravings. I came across Cara’s site earlier this year and I have always enjoyed every recipe that pops up in my feed from her. Although Cara isn’t exclusively gluten-free or dairy-free, she prepares a good amount of recipes that are naturally both and where she and I really share a common bond with our food is our love of eating clean and wholesome foods! Cara believes in healthy, seasonal clean eating, but doesn’t believe that has to mean compromising the flavor or fun of a meal. I couldn’t agree more. Cara’s sharing a super creative and unique recipe for a Butternut Squash Soufflé, which looks like the perfect dish for just about any holiday celebration, if you ask me. Enjoy.
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As much as it pains me to say it, and surprises all my friends who know I love to cook and entertain, I have never – and probably will never – host Thanksgiving.
Food blogger blasphemy, right?!
But you see, when I married my husband Ben, I also married his family in Philadelphia. And in this family, Thanksgiving is always in Philly. I know, it would seem like we should compromise and switch off every year between my family and his, but thing is, I really can’t complain. My family is all here in Massachusetts. And, I’m Jewish, so we get lots of big holiday dinners with my family: Rosh Hashanah (x3), Yom Kippur (the night before and break-fast), Hanukkah, and Passover (x2.) Oh, and did I mention my Dad converted to Judaism? So yeah, I get Christmas and Easter with the other side of the family too. I have no grounds to demand that we stay here for Thanksgiving. Unless of course there was a snow storm – but we’ve even trekked down there for a Bar Mitzvah when that was the case.
But that doesn’t keep me from making Thanksgiving-esque dishes throughout the holiday season. You should see the amount of winter squash that comes through this kitchen. I love to stock up from farmers’ markets and for some reason they all get stored at the far end of the kitchen counter, which my husband has affectionately labeled, “Squash Alley.”
This year, I got my bottom in gear and prepared a whole turkey dinner weeks before the big day so that I could join in the blogger fun and actually have Thanksgiving dishes to share.
Well, that’s kind of a lie. I made all the side dishes and asked my dear friend V to take care of the bird. I’m not one to do anything too terribly creative with a turkey, but wholesome stuffings, sides, and salads are what I’m all about!
While I don’t eat an entirely gluten free diet, I tend to cook a lot of gluten free dishes, whether that be recipes with more nutritious whole grains that happen to be gluten free, or entirely grain-free dishes. Same goes for dairy. I try to keep in moderation, and that opens up a whole wide world of ingredients like nuts, coconut, and tofu.
This Butternut Squash Souffle is a dairy-free, gluten-free side dish I’ve been making for a couple of years now at this time of year. It’s sweet, but not too sweet (come on, as if there is such a thing!) and has a light and fluffy texture. While I’d love to put it on my Thanksgiving table, I’ll happily settle for serving it at my pre-holiday bash, Hanukkah party, or dinner any time I feel like it.
[print_this]Butternut Squash Soufflé – Gluten-free + Dairy-free
Adapted from The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate Carrot Souffle- 2lbs peeled, diced butternut squash
- 1 quart low-sodium, organic chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegan option)
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla or plain almond milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 3 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a large souffle dish or individual ramekins with coconut oil or cooking spray.
Place squash and broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, until squash is very soft. Drain squash (reserve the broth for another use, if desired) and transfer to a food processor. Cool for 15 minutes.
Add onion, coconut oil, milk, and maple syrup. Process until smooth. Blend in cinnamon and nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Lastly, blend in coconut flour and eggs.
Pour the mixture into the greased dish(es). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until puffed and set. Serve hot.
This dish may be refrigerated and reheated when ready to serve, although it will lose its “puff” it will still be just as delicious. [/print_this]
Cara Lyons began blogging at Cara’s Cravings in 2007 out of a love of eating. After losing 75lbs in her early 20’s Cara saw no reason to give up her passion for good food; now, she simply prepares it differently and is always trying to incorporate nutritious, colorful vegetables, palate-pleasing spices, and natural sweetness from fruit and other healthy sources. Nowadays, Cara focuses on using the least processed, wholesome ingredients she can – while still managing to please her husband, family and friends with ever-changing creations. Cara’s original recipes may also be found in Clean Eating Magazine and Simply Gluten Free Magazine.
You can also follow Cara on:
Twitter: @CarasCravings
Facebook: facebook.com/carascravings
Pinterest: @carascravings -
Sweet Potato and Poblano Hash – Gluten-free + Dairy-free with Vegan Option
And the craziness of life continues. We are still quite busy with work, though it seems to be getting a bit easier each day as we check things off of our list. We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy our holiday weekend, though I had a little bump in the road along my way. Saturday morning in the middle of my 8:30 am 90-minute Vinyasa yoga class, I suddenly had a strange pain in my upper back, near my right shoulder blade. It came on sharp and so suddenly, but nothing ever seemed to happen to cause it. I sat back into child’s pose and gave it a second, took a deep cleansing breath, then I stood up and attempted to meet up with the class in Utthita Trikonasana, extended triangle pose. That really hurt. Weird. So back to child’s pose I went. It wasn’t my shoulder, I had full mobility, but it was something in that area, and it really hurt when I twisted my torso. I took restorative poses for the remainder of the class and thankfully my teacher that day was Elyssa, my super amazing chiropractor!! She immediately knew what it was. A rib subluxation, in other words, my rib popped out of place. If this hadn’t happened to me before, on 2 or 3 other occasions, I may have been concerned upon hearing that. Thankfully I knew that I just needed it to be popped back in and I would be on my merry way. Elyssa, fit me in, gave me an adjustment, gave that rib a good jarring “umph!” and I felt some immediate relief, though I was still very sore. I spent the remainder of the weekend, icing and trying to take it easy. Elyssa told me that unfortunately this is the result of hyper-mobility or being extra flexible. Sometimes our bodies can do something easily, that they maybe shouldn’t. So yay!
I get so frustrated when I have an injury, not because of the pain or the injury itself, but more because that means I have to take time off from my daily yoga practice. It has become such a part of my daily routine and I feel like it is what makes me, ME! When I am forced to take a few days off, it is so much harder for me mentally, than any physical pain I could endure. I guess in some ways it is good for me though, it gives me time to take a step away and reflect on my practice, on everything it means to me and what I can do to continue evolving it.
I plan to be back to my usual practice by this weekend, hopefully. I am feeling better each day. I think I just may have to make some modifications and take it easy for a while, so as not to risk another unexpected rib popping!
What do you dislike the most about being injured? Do you like the forced time away from your daily workouts or do you dread it?
While I am on this forced time away from yoga, I did get to squeeze in some time for a new tattoo!! I guess if I am already gonna be out of commission with yoga for a few days, why not, right? Josh Schlageter, at Hand of Doom Tattoo, drew up this lovely lady for me and he tattooed her on my left thigh yesterday. I am so excited about it. It is huge and the colors are absolutely beautiful. This iPhone photo doesn’t do it any justice, so I will have to post another once it is fully healed. I keep thinking I am done getting tattooed, that I have enough. Then I end up with more. Oops!
So, besides popping ribs and tattooing thighs, I have actually been able to find a bit more time in the kitchen. Over the weekend, I got to play a little, I made these delicious almond-flour cinnamon rolls (recipe courtesy of The Urban Poser), I was honestly amazed at how incredible they turned out! I subbed coconut sugar for the honey in the filling and I skipped out on the raisins and nuts in the filling. I am telling you – if you love warm cinnamon rolls, these hit the spot! They are almost a bit biscuit-like. It is incredible that they are totally grain-free! Recipes like this, honestly get me dancing around the kitchen. Totally brilliant.
I also made a delicious Easter dinner for us on Sunday night since my parent’s are away on vacation. I roasted one of our delicious pasture-raised smoked hams from Sojourner Farms in Olean, NY, and I served it with some oven-baked sweet potato fries and roasted asparagus. It was a perfect and simple dinner. But, of course, we had a ton of ham leftover and I bought way too many sweet potatoes, so I had to figure out something to do with all the leftovers. That is where this delicious breakfast for dinner hash came in.
It was simple to put together and it is easily customizable to what you have on hand. If you are vegan, simply don’t add any meat or eggs. If you are a cheese addict, sprinkle a bit of sharp cheddar, jack or whatever your favorite cheese is, over top. You could also add cherry tomatoes, jalapeño, corn, black beans, etc. I feel like there are no rules with hashes! So have fun with it. This hash would obviously work as a main breakfast dish or a brunch side dish, but really it is great for dinner or even lunch. It takes such little time to prepare and you could even eat it right out of the pan to keep it really simple. Since I had just picked up some local farm fresh eggs this morning, I decided to top the hash with one egg for each of us, since they cook so easily and perfectly on top of the sizzling hash. If you don’t like or want eggs, you can leave them off and the hash will still be incredible.
[print_this]Sweet Potato and Poblano Hash – Gluten-free + Dairy-free, Vegan Option
Serves 2 as a main course, more as a side dish- 1 large organic sweet potato (mine weighed just over 1 pound), cubed (I leave the skin on because I like it, feel free to peel away)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 poblano peppers, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- a pinch or two crushed red pepper, to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup leftover local pasture-raised smoked ham, cubed (optional)
- 2 farm fresh local brown eggs (optional)
- 1 handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes until they begin to soften, add the sweet potato, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften. Try not to stir around too much, just enough to keep them from sticking. You want them to get a nice brown outside to them.
Remove the lid and add in the garlic, peppers and ham. Toss everything around to combine and try to leave in a single layer so the potatoes can begin to brown a bit. Allow to cook for another 5 to 8 minutes. Tossing once the underside begins to brown. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Toss in half of the cilantro and the scallions.
If you are adding eggs, crack two eggs on top of the hash. Cover the pan and allow to cook another 3 to 5 minutes until the whites are set. Serve immediately topped with the remaining fresh cilantro and green onions.
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