How to Roast a Whole Butternut Squash ♥ You Know, WHOLE

Today's vegetable recipe: The easiest way in the world to roast a butternut squash. No knife, no cutting, no lost fingers. Whole. Roast it whole. Really.

So, um, this is awkward. But how did I miss this easy-easy-EASY way to roast a butternut squash? For six years now, I've been writing about easy ways to cook vegetables and somehow, some-crazy-how, I missed this.

Except – I didn't. I actually roasted a whole squash, whole, almost exactly five years ago when making Rutabaga & Butternut Squash Purée. I even remarked upon it. But then, days, weeks, months and even years passed. When I remade the purée last week, there was the recipe. (Ha! As if something this simple can even be called a recipe. Let's call it a "technique".)

So I didn't miss the recipe aka technique, I plain forgot. Blame it being the end of the season and the summer's excitement about green beans, I think it was in 2006, some vegetable anyhow. But now, now, NOW I remember though I'm worried, really, because it's kinda late in the season again. So I'm going to count on you guys, YOU, to remember and try this really soon so none of us, ever, forget, again. (And just so there's no forgetting, here's how to cook a whole spaghetti squash too. And How to Cut, Peel & Cube a Butternut Squash and Keep All Ten Fingers.)

'kay? 'kay.
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How to Make Pudding from Tofu: Tofu Pudding Recipe ♥

Today's easy, flexible, adaptable (yes, and healthy) dessert recipe: Start with tofu, then add fruit and a touch of sweetness. Whiz in the blender. That's it: You've got pudding!

Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real". Weight Watchers, 1 or 2 Old Points and 2 to 3 PointsPlus.

As January draws to a close, the self-imposed privation begins to take its toll: the hunger for something sweet grabs tight and won't let go.

Other years, this has meant that I start baking cookies and quick breads again. This year, however, January has been a month of experimentation with what I've come to call 'Tofu Pudding' because of its smooth-smooth texture and the creamy mouth-feel when it's cold. I've been playing around and have four recipes to share. It's got just enough sweetness to satisfy -- and most of the sugar is coming from fruit, so comes from a natural, not a processed, form.

So this year, as January nears its end (how CAN that be???), I'm not fighting off a sugar fix. This is a good thing! And if you've ever wondered how to make a creamy pudding without, you know, cream and all its calories, how to make a low-calorie pudding, how to make pudding without dairy, how to make vegan pudding, well, this is your recipe.

Like so many of my recipes, Tofu Pudding is more 'inspiration' and 'good idea' and 'quideline', more suggestion than prescription -- yes, one more "concept recipe"! So I've included my tips and those of you who make Tofu Pudding, please do add your own tips and variations in the comments so that others may benefit!
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Weight Watchers Fresh Vegetable Soup ♥

Today's new Weight Watchers recipe: The latest vegetable soup recipe, one point for PointsPlus people, a half point for those still counting points with the old point system. Best made a day ahead of time, perfect for those of us who cook a big pot of soup for eating during the week.

"You sure made the produce department happy." So assessed the checkout person at the grocery store the day after New Years while ringing up one vegetable after another. I couldn't help but grin, because yes, I'm on a first-name basis with all the produce people. Sure enough, there were no fewer than a dozen different vegetables, enough unusual vegetables to send the typical checkout person scurrying for the break room.

Like millions of others, after the holidays, I was ready to lighten up, ready for the end of rich food, ready to quit the fixation on eating. And like so many who follow Weight Watchers, I wanted nothing more than the cleansing of one of the famous vegetable soups from Weight Watchers, this time using a new recipe that seemed especially targeted to fresh vegetables.

Chop, chop, cook, cook. The aroma in the kitchen was intoxicating.

The first taste, however, was disappointing. The soup was blah – nothing that a few drops of Tabasco or a splash of yogurt couldn't fix but nonetheless, disappointing. I shrugged and went on. A day or so later, I cleaned out the fridge and decided to warm up a bowl of the leftover soup. This time? Fabulous! Light and fresh, the vegetables still intact (not mushy at all) but much more flavorful.

Now this IS a mild soup, know that, you might still want to apply a little Tabasco or my own favorite, a squirt of ketchup. But it's good and a nice change from the original Weight Watchers Zero-Point Garden Vegetable Soup recipe. Score -- another winner!

PLEASE KNOW A Veggie Venture is not affiliated with Weight Watchers International, please see more information. As always, I recommend visiting your local office, especially to learn the in's and out's of the new PointsPlus method of counting points.

QUICK NOTE For those who don't follow Weight Watchers, you might wonder if this soup is 'any good'. It is! All the Weight Watchers soups are good. But for slightly more substance, you might want to try my long-time favorite recipe from Kitchen Parade, Low-Fat Vegetable Soup or my new favorite and master recipe, Master Recipe: How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup, never the same twice.
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Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk ♥

A hearty vegan soup, one to warm a body from the inside out. It's slightly sweet from the orange tubers we call sweet potatoes, slightly nutty from the grain-like seed called quinoa, slightly spicy from cayenne and chili powder, slightly cool from the coconut milk stirred in near the end. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

Sweet potato soups can be, well, a little 'sweet potato-y', too heavy, too starchy, too dense.

So I loved the idea of a recipe for sweet potato soup lightened with the healthy and protein-dense quinoa [pronounced KEEN-wah]. I feared the color and little doubt, the color is akin to what Nana, my grandmother on my mother's side, used to call the 'dog's breakfast'. But thanks to the cayenne and chili powder, the soup has a welcome kick that's smoothed and cooled by the coconut milk.

This soup, it's a winner.

REVIEWS
"Just made this tonight, and it's really good!" ~ Anonymous
"We all (including the kids, 8 and 4) loved the balance of spicy with sweet coconut." ~ MamaGames
"I used Kabocha squash (big harvest, froze a lot) with good results." ~ Anonymous

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Healthy Habits & Win a Kitchen Scale

Happy New Year, vegetable lovers!

This year, oops, that would be last year, I turned New Years resolutions into 'healthy habits' adopted way last summer. One is a concept salad, my Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad. (We just love these concept 'recipes', right? If you like the idea too, grab it and make it your own way!)

But first, what is your healthy habit? Or what healthy habit would you like to adopt in 2011? I'm giving away a kitchen scale, register to win at Kitchen Parade, my food column and home to seasonal, easy and healthy recipes made from real food without processed ingredients, where all new recipes include Weight Watchers old points and PointsPlus points, calorie counts and nutrition data.

Register to Win a Kitchen Scale!

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Hoppin' John Soup ♥

Today's hearty soup recipe: For a double-dose of good luck in the new year, try a soup version of Hoppin' John, the traditional food of 'good fortune' in the American South. It's packed with lucky black-eyed peas and for extra measure, lucky collard greens too. Low carb. A very hearty-tasting Weight Watchers 1 point (Old Points) and 3 points (PointsPlus).

Check your grocery store this week: it'll be selling big bunches of collard greens, it's a promise. That's because greens, especially collard greens, are traditional for New Years' – who wouldn't mind a little more 'green' prosperity? Hoppin' John is a traditional beans 'n' rice dish, so that makes this Hoppin' John in a soup bowl, with collard greens for good measure.

It's a great soup for that long pause between Christmas and New Years, the one where we catch our breath and remember what the heavens must call 'relaxation'. But to be official, serve Hoppin' John on New Years, just to get things off to a good start. It can't hurt and it sure will taste good.

REVIEWS
"I made this on New Years and it was wonderful! It was even better the next day!" ~ Walter
"It was delicious, even forgetting to add the vinegar at the end." ~ Dave

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My Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes Hint: They're Not Just for Fries Anymore!

Finally! It's a veggie evangelist's dream come true, sweet potatoes named a food trend for 2011. In honor, I hereby present my best and favorite sweet potato recipes.

Finally, there's a food trend for vegetable lovers. And it's a vegetable that's found in every grocery store in the world (I'm betting) not an obscure plant grown every third year on a certain hillside in the far reaches of Outer Mongolia reachable only to people who trek in on yaks. And it's affordable not the price of an orthodontist visit. And yahoo, get this -- it's healthy! And maybe famous! Will 2011 be remembered as the Year of the Sweet Potato?

On Monday, Food News Journal (a great source of well-organized and timely food tidbits from both mainstream media and food blogs, best way to follow is via a free e-mail subscription) linked to Food Trend Predictions for 2011 from Tanya Steel at Epicurious. And right there, at #8, were "sweet potatoes". Yes, imagine sweet potatoes going all trendy! The New York Times thinks sweet potatoes are hot too, see Sweet Potatoes Step Out from Under the Marshmallows.

That's the good news. The bad news is that much of the trend is headed toward sweet potato fries -- and you know what I think about sweet potato fries, see Frozen Sweet Potato Fries: Are They Worth the Price, the Calories?.

So I've got a new campaign slogan, whaddaya think? Sweet Potatoes: They're Not Just for Fries Anymore. Here are my favorite sweet potato recipes, hold the fries, please.
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