Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash and Orange Maple Hemp Dressing

Hiiii and happy Friday!!!

It feels so, SO good to be back in this space sharing a recipe with you today. We've been eating it non-stop this past week, and I hope you'll be doing the same very soon.

I really don't know where to start with this post. There are so many things I want to update you on! I know it's been a little quiet here for the past few months or so, but I truly appreciate you sticking with me and still visiting this space for my previously posted recipes. I know you're not looking to read a novel on a Friday, so how about a Cliffs Notes version instead?

• We MOVED, again! If you follow on Instagram you're probably in the know and have seen some photos of my new work space. We moved a short distance from our last house and will not be renovating anything, possibly every again. Famous last words. Or for at least 5 years. I still feel like it's all a dream! There were many reasons for our move, but one of the big ones was so I could have a larger space and more light options for photography. I was thinking about looking into renting a studio space, but our new house ended up being exactly what I needed. 
• After nearly 1 year I finally updated my recipe pages (up top)! I still don't have all of the recipes listed (before 2013), but I did start to divvy them up by larger categories (like, breakfast!) and then sub-categories within those lists. Hopefully, this will be a big help! You can now also search for recipes by a long list of keyword ingredients. I haven't entered in all of the keyword info for each post, but it's a start! Baby steps...
• At the end of last year, I developed 18 recipes for Ancient Harvest that will be appearing on their product packaging! Look for their re-brand to launch sometime in the next few months. So excited for this! All 18 recipes are obviously gluten-free but also vegetarian and/or vegan. But they're very easy to add whatever your protein of choice is.
• I've had a very steady stream of freelance photography work coming in since December. I am actually currently booked through the end of April! I cannot even believe this is reality and am beyond grateful and excited for all of the work (and my amazing clients...seriously).
• I had my very first collaboration shoot last week with Room 214 and Glutino at our new house. It was a BLAST. Be on the lookout for my photography to start popping up on Glutino's Instagram feed in February!!
• Also, be on the lookout for a new website coming soon from Love Grown Foods with a bunch of my work featured there as well! (p.s. Have you seen their new KIDS cereals?? Let me just say, they are not only for kids. I am in love.)
• I have a handful of other photo projects coming in the next few months that I cannot WAIT to tell you about. Maybe I'll start doing some recap posts with my freelance work..?

Slightly longer than I initially intended....per usual.

Things have been exciting around here to say the least!

I must admit, I was quite burnt out by the end of last year and my recipe creating brain was completely shut off. I tried to look around for recipe inspiration but nothing was making sense in my head. I was cooking old standby meals for dinner and actually using my cookbooks. It was kind of nice to give myself a bit of a break and wait for inspiration to hit. I didn't want to come back to this space with anything that was forced, so I simply decided to wait.

And then my latest food obsession provided me with just the inspiration I was looking for.

The ingredients for this salad fell into place pretty naturally in my head. I love it when that happens.

The dressing was modified from a new favorite of mine on Gena's blog. I was really digging the creamy but not too heavy consistency of her dressing and have made it numerous times in the past few weeks. But for this salad, I wanted something a bit brighter in flavor and with some sweetness. That's when I thought to use orange juice in place of water and infuse it will a little maple syrup. 

The dressing helps soften the bitterness of kale and cabbage and helps bring out the natural sweetness in the squash. It's a total winner.

Print Recipe!

dressing adapted from: Gena's Lemon Hemp Dressing

Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash and Orange Maple Hemp Dressing

serves 3-6, gluten-free/vegan 

for the salad: 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 small delicata squash, halved lengthwise + seeds scraped
• 1 medium head lacinato kale, stems removed
• 1/2 small head red cabbage, cored
• 1 sweet red apple, cored
• 1/3 cup salted pistachios
• salt + pepper

for the dressing:

• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
• scant 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place squash halves cut side down and slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Place on the baking sheet and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 15-18min. Flip slices and roast for another 15-18min, until starting to turn golden brown. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stack your kale leaves and slice into thin ribbons. Using a mandolin (or very carefully with a knife), thinly slice your cabbage. Toss together in a mixing bowl and massage in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil for about 60 seconds. Place in the fridge.

Place all dressing ingredients in your blender and turn on working up to high. Scrape the sides as needed. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Pour into a jar. Dressing thickens a bit as it sits.

Just before serving, chop your apple. Place kale and cabbage mixture on a large serving plate, top with squash, apple, and pistachios. Serve dressing on the side. 

Notes:

• Leftovers will keep well for 1-2 days without dressing.
• There will likely be more squash than can fit on top of your platter. I like to serve this salad with the extra squash on the side, or save the extra pieces to eat the next day. Feel free to cook only 1 squash if desired and decrease olive oil to 1 tablespoon for roasting.
• One of the nights we ate this, I mixed in cooked and cooled quinoa and Gena's lemon tempeh. It was outstanding together and made for a very satiating dinner (leftovers were also great!).

Happy weekend!

Ashley

Oatmeal Cookie Tarts with Vanilla Bean Cream Filling

This is the first cookie I've made so far this winter and it's not even 100% a cookie! How is this possible!? I'm pretty sure next week is going to be filled with endless stacks of cookies, sugar coated counters, and an oven that's on for days.

But before I go into total cookie-bake-mode over here, I busted out something a little fancy to line your dessert table with this year. These Oatmeal Cookie Tarts with Vanilla Bean Cream Filling are pretty much all of my favorite dessert flavors + textures packed into a 2-bite treat.

Vanilla + oat lover 4 life.

This post is sponsored by Rodelle.

The other day, I tried making no-bake pecan tart crusts in a mini muffin pan. Total fail. They may look okay in this photo but they were pretty much a hot mess. After 10 minutes sitting out at room temp they would turn crumbly in your hand. The dough was also difficult to work with and it ended up being too soft paired with the vanilla cream filling. I'm sure I could have tested the pecan dough 17 more times to get it right, but I had another idea in mind.

Oatmeal cookie tart shells!

I remembered my vegan deep dish oatmeal cookie recipe from a few years ago and thought it might be the perfect dough to make a tart shell from. It's a little bit chewy, very sturdy, and doesn't have an overpowering flavor. I really wanted the vanilla cream filling to shine, so this oatmeal cookie crust is the perfect little nest to house that insanely delicious filling. I made a few tweaks, pressed the dough into the pan, and triple crossed my fingers while they were in the oven.

I had a mild panic attack when I pulled them out of the oven because they puffed all the way up to the top of the pan! However, this was quickly remedied with the back of a small spoon and 30 seconds of my time. Phew.

The filling was also a bit trickier than I anticipated. I didn't want to go fully cashew-based and coconut cream wasn't the direction I wanted to go in, either. The answer? A mix of silken tofu and cashews and loads of vanilla beans. 

I used to be freaked out about using tofu in desserts. It definitely seems a little hippy-dip, out there. But once you see how easy this cream filling is to make and get your first taste, I can guarantee you'll be on board.

Just make sure you're using the silken (and firm) variety!

Creamy vanilla.

Chewy oatmeal cookie.

Sweet, juicy raspberry.

Kissed with chocolate shavings on top.

Oy.

You'll probably have a little cream filling leftover after filling the shells, but I promise you won't mind. Spoon to face.

Print Recipe!

tart shells adapted from my vegan deep dish cookie // cream filling adapted from Kathy

Oatmeal Cookie Tarts with Vanilla Bean Cream Filling 

gluten-free, vegan // yields: 24 mini tarts

for the vanilla bean cream:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked (at least 4hrs) + drained
• 3/4 cup packed silken-firm tofu
• 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup (room temp)
• 1 1/2 vanilla bean pods, seeds scraped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 tablespoons melted unrefined coconut oil

for the tart shells:

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/3 cup muscovado sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup softened unrefined coconut oil (not melted)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (room temp)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• toppings: 24 raspberries, dark chocolate shavings

Place cashews, tofu, maple syrup, vanilla beans (scraped from pods), salt, cinnamon, and almond extract into your blender. Blend, working up to high power until creamy and smooth (30-60 seconds). Add the melted coconut oil and blend again until fully smooth. Pour into a sealable container and refrigerate until fully chilled and thickened (at least 4 hours).

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a 24-mold mini muffin pan with softened coconut oil.

Place oats, flour, meal, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the softened coconut oil, syrup, and vanilla. Start to combine with a large fork then use your hands to finish mixing the dough, making sure the coconut oil is evenly dispersed. The dough should be stiff and hold together well when pressed. 

Place just over 1 tablespoon of packed dough into each muffin cup. Press dough down to form the base and then work up the sides to create a thick edge all the way around (refer to photo 2). I used my thumb and pointer finger for this.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until light golden brown (8 minutes for a chewier shell, 11 minutes for a crispier texture). Remove from the oven and gently press the center of each tart shell with the back of a small spoon while hot (I used the back of a rounded, 1 teaspoon measuring spoon). You want about a 3/4-inch deep pocket with 1/4-inch edge all the way around.

Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then gently press down on an edge to loosen and pop each tart shell out. Use a thin knife if needed. (Mine popped out very easily.) Fill the cups once fully cool. Top with a raspberry (patted dry after rinsing) and chocolate shavings and serve immediately. 

Notes:

You can make the cream filling 24 hours ahead. The cookie shells can also be made 1 day ahead. Keep covered after fully cooled. Fill tarts just before serving for the best taste. Refrigerate leftovers (they do hold up well overnight in the fridge).

The coconut oil adds a mild, coconut flavor. If you despise any coconut flavor at all, simply use refined coconut oil in it's place. Do not sub with any other other type of oil or butter.

Be sure to use firm-silken tofu for the creamiest texture. This type of tofu is found in the ethnic aisle of your store and is not refrigerated. It comes in a small cardboard box. 

To quick soak the cashews: Cover with water in a small pot then bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover in the pot for 1 hour. Drain and rinse cashes with cold water.

I used Rodelle Madagascar Vanilla Beans and their organic Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract in this recipe. 

Happy Friday, friends. I so hope you're enjoy this season!

Much love,

Ashley

Today's post is sponsored by Rodelle. Product opinions are always my own. If I didn't love it, you wouldn't hear about it. Thank you for your continued support over the years! It is truly appreciated.