Winter Squash Polenta - Vegan

I made some polenta this weekend with a roasted sweet meat squash.  I made the polenta per the basic directions, 6 cups water, 2 cups polenta.  Simmer about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  When most the liquid was absorbed, about 15 minutes in, I added about 2 cups roasted squash puree and a can of coconut milk and continued to cook for another 15 minutes, stirring a lot.  Then I removed it from the heat, added about 3 TB sage olive oil, a dash of sea salt, and a TB of pumpkin honey.

I served it warm in a bowl of marinated mixed vegetables.  The vegetables all came from our garden and were marinated and canned by my friend, Morgaine.  She has a real knack for combining herbs and oils in interesting ways.  The flavor is really nice.  That is one of the fun parts of sharing the garden, sometimes it comes back in different forms.

Pumpkin Polenta

I ran across this idea from a blog I read called Gluten Free Goddess.

Her recipe is for four servings, I doubled the polenta recipe to use in other meals later.  I used four cups low sodium vegetable broth, 2 cups water and 2 cups polenta.  When the polenta had absorbed most of the liquid I added 1 can of coconut milk, about 3 cups pumpkin pureé.  The pumpkin came from the garden, but I didn't grow it.  It just appeared in the corn rows.  I assumed it was either a gift or the folks stealing the corn put it down and forgot it.  I also added fresh herbs from my garden, parsley, rosemary, and some purple basil. When it had simmered a little I added 2-3 TB vegan margarine and 1 1/2 TB agave.

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa Fresca
by Karina Allrich - Gluten Free Goddess

3 tomatillos
1/2 orange or yellow bell pepper
1 Anaheim chili pepper
1 fresh lime
A dash of extra virgin olive oil
A drizzle of raw organic agave nectar
Sea salt, to taste
A handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1 small avocado

Remove the papery skins from the tomatillos and wash the stickiness off with produce soap and water. Roughly chop. Toss into a bowl. Wash and halve the bell pepper; seed and chop one half. Add to the bowl. Stem and clean the chili pepper; dice. Add it in. Drizzle the mix with fresh squeezed lime juice, olive oil and agave nectar. Season with sea salt, to taste. Add in fresh chopped cilantro and stir to combine. Cover and chill till serving.

Just before serving, peel and pit the avocado, dice it and add the avocado to the salsa.

This is the same pumpkin polenta chilled, then sliced and warmed, served with black beans and roasted vegetables (carrots, beets, parsnips, and yams).