An epic fail becomes an epic win!

This weekend had been full of rich, delicious, delightful food. MMmmm.

I was supposed to make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (adapted a bit from Vegan with a Vengeance) on Friday night, but as I went to measure out my cane sugar I was 1/4 cup short. That was enough to make me decide I should wait and make them the next day. Haha. So after getting our three paper routes done (last day for one of those routes!) and taking a little nap (love!), I whipped them up so they were cool enough to enjoy when we got back from our library and work (mine) visits.

Dinner last night was so amazingly good. I made the Lentil Mushroom Sliders from Chez Cayenne with only a couple of small changes, along with a Mediterranean Pepper Salad that I found on Eat Me, Delicious that I only tweaked slightly, and some yam fries. Can you say yum? Yeah, I thought so.

Since it was date night in, I decided to use up the leftover canned pumpkin I had from the muffins and made a Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake from Vegan Dad that I'd been meaning to try for months now. The kids gobbled up all the leftovers for dessert after dinner tonight. Haha.

Tonight I started out making a pasta I found in a Vegetarian Times magazine, but it was an epic fail, so I completely morphed it into something incredibly satisfying. The kids couldn't get enough of it, and Tiernan named it Pasta Sauciola. :) We had the pasta with a piece of whole wheat toast and some leafy greens.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp molasses

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a dozen muffin cups (it made 18 for me) with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, milk, vegetable oil and molasses. Mix the two together and combine it well. Add the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups two thirds full. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

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Lentil Mushroom Sliders

2 tbsps olive oil

1 cup onion, finely diced

4 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green lentils, washed

2 cups vegetable broth, divided

1/2 cup quinoa

1/3 cup walnuts

2/3 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sage

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp salt

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Stir in the lentils and one cup of vegetable broth. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender.

In a small saucepan, heat the second cup of vegetable broth with the quinoa. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 15 minutes until quinoa soaks up the broth.

Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they become powdery (works best with frozen walnuts). Transfer to a medium sized bowl and add the oats, flax seed, soy sauce, spices and salt. When the quinoa has been cooked, add that to the bowl as well.

When the lentils are cooked, pulse gently in a food processor leaving it quite chunky. Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Form the mixture into small slider sized patties and cook on an indoor grill.

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Mediterranean Pepper Salad

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup cold water

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/2 red onion, diced finely

3 bell peppers, diced (I used orange, red and green)

3 roma tomatoes, diced

3 baby cucumbers, diced

1/4 lb feta cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

In a glass measuring cup, mix together the vinegar, cold water, salt and sugar. Leave it out for a bit until the salt and sugar dissolves. Cut up the red onion and put it in the dressing to soften and sweeten.

Chop up the rest of the veggies, and put them in a bowl. Add the feta cheese. Remove the onions from the dressing and add to the bowl. Now add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of dressing over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

It can be served immediately, or chilled for a while to let the flavours mingle.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake

1 cup flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup pureed cooked pumpkin

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Get a few cups of water boiling.

In one bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.

In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk, oil. Mix the two bowls together. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place in an 8x8 pan sprayed with cooking oil.

Mix together the brown sugar, cane sugar and cocoa powder. Pour it over the top of the pan. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the top, but do not stir. Add the vanilla.

Cook for 40-45 minutes until the top is cracked and firm. Let it cool for a bit before serving.

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Pasta Sauciola

450g spaghetti, split in two thirds

cooking spray

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 large can tomato paste

1 tsp red chilies

1/8 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz cremini mushrooms

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

5 cups spinach, roughly chopped

4 oz cream cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and add the spaghetti noodles. Spray top lightly with cooking spray. Cook the spaghetti noodles for 5-7 minutes, shaking the tray a couple of times to toast evenly.

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water, vegetable broth, tomato paste, chilies, saffron, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer, keeping it warm.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic and stir another 30 seconds. Add 3 cups of broth, and cook until the liquid has absorbed. Add the rest of the broth mixture, the chickpeas and the spinach. Cover, and cook until most of the liquid has absorbed, and the spaghetti is cooked. Add some more broth if needed. Add the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese, and stir until thoroughly melted.