Butternut squash risotto

This https://www.loveandlemons.com/butternut-squash-risotto/ from Love and Lemons is a one-pan wonder! We microwaved our butternut squash to make it easier to slice. I didn’t grow up eating risotto, so it’s a relatively new experience for me. Most proud that our winter keeper system for squash and other vegetables kept this one fresh until February!

Mug cake!

This magical recipe https://minimalistbaker.com/gluten-free-chocolate-mug-cake from The Minimalist Baker is the perfect instant dessert. Not gonna lie, it comes together like a science experiment requiring some ingredients that might not be among your typical pantry staples: tapioca starch, potato starch, almond flour, and coconut sugar. But once you mix the ingredients, it takes two minutes in the microwave. This would be amazing with ice cream—we added homemade whipped cream. We shared one, and it was perfect.

Nora from Nora Cooks has a mug cake recipe with more traditional ingredients: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-mug-cake.

Gnocchi soup?

This https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-gnocchi-soup from Monica at The Hidden Veggies was delicious and unexpected. I loved every bite. It had never occurred to me to put gnocchi in a soup.

Kale and white bean artichoke dip

Another home run from The Minimalist Baker: https://minimalistbaker.com/kale-white-bean-artichoke-dip

We made this with mixed baby greens, and all spinach would work, too. If you use canned beans, you can use the whole can, no problem. Violife plant-based cream cheese worked perfectly in this recipe, but I think coconut cream would work well, too. We had our dip served over a bed of fresh greens and Moroccan-spiced rice and lentils. Crusty bread on the side would be amazing, but we served ours with tortilla chips because we are behind in bread-making. It was delicious. Easy to make—just allow for the time needed to soak the cashews.

Photo by Nick Collins on Unsplash