Nika and Misha provide extra warmth on a cold night in the woods. |
Box Lake (McCall, Idaho) landscape painted in fall colors |
More fall colors at Box Lake |
Nika and Misha enjoy spending quality time with their pet parents. |
Spaghetti squash with sweet potato coulis, asparagus succotash and almond-crusted tofu |
Ingredients for two meals:
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 medium sweet potato
2 granny smith apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
lemon juice, stevia and coconut nectar to taste
1/2 bunch asparagus
1 medium zucchini
olive oil
1/2 package extra firm tofu
2 T. almond butter
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Directions:
For spaghetti squash:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and split squash in half; remove seeds. Place squash in a baking pan filled with 1 cup of water. Season squash halves with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Bake about 30 minutes until tender. Note: there is an alternative method of baking the squash whole but I prefer the splitting and seeding method. Remove from oven and allow to cool before scooping out the spaghetti squash strands.
For sweet potato coulis:
Dice sweet potato and granny smith apples (no need to peel). Place on a large baking sheet sprayed with pan spray. Toss with small amount of olive oil and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Bake at 425 degrees until tender. Allow to cool slightly. Make coulis by pureeing diced sweet potato and apple pieces with lemon juice, stevia and coconut nectar to taste in a food processor. Add more liquid for a thinner coulis. The coulis will taste sweet. Set aside.
For almond-crusted tofu:
Slice tofu into two or three rectangles. Prepare the almond marinade/dressing by mixing 2 T. almond butter with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 T. olive oil. Mix in cumin, chili powder and a dash of stevia powder. Dilute with a bit of water to make a medium thick dressing/marinade. Rub some of the marinade/dressing all over the tofu pieces. Reserve the extra for dressing for serving. Place the tofu on a sprayed baking sheet and pop in the 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Flip the pieces after about 7-8 minutes. Continue baking until crisp and golden. Set aside.
For the asparagus succotash:
Chop the asparagus spears into 1/2-inch pieces. Dice the zucchini. Saute in a skillet with olive oil until tender.
For serving:
Scoop out the flesh of the squash. Put half on each plate. Top squash with asparagus succotash. Add a slice of tofu and several spoonfuls of coulis to each plate. Drizzle some extra almond marinade/dressing on the tofu if desired.
Recipe contributed to: http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2012/09/27/wellness-weekend-septemer-27-october-1-2012/