Hi friends! We hope you had a great holiday last week and enjoyed some great eats like we did. With it being that time of year when it starts to get colder and darker, we've noticed a shift in our recipes to some "cozier" foods. Rich flavors, warm dishes, and hearty meals are just what we are craving during this transition in seasons. This recipe for example includes hearty fall greens and starchy beans with a rich but still bright white wine sauce. Let's get to it.

Hearty Greens N' Beans
PREP TIME: 10 minutes (plus 8 hours to soak beans)
TOTAL TIME:  60-90 minutes, includes cooking beans* (plus 8 hours to soak beans)
Servings: 4

Ingredients
2/3 cup dried beans, ~2 cups cooked (we used a variety of heirloom beans, however any dried bean would work)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 small red onions, diced
2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp stone ground mustard
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 large bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped  
3 small endive, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh  parsley, chopped
Shaved Parmesan to taste (~2 oz or 1/2 oz per dish)

Pre-soak beans in room temperature water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse beans, cover with water in a large pot, and gently boil for at least one hour* or until soft. In a medium sauté pan set to medium heat, add olive oil and chopped onion and sauté until translucent and golden on the edges, ~10 minutes. Add minced garlic and mustard to the pan and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add wine to de-glaze the pan, then add the vegetable stock and turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the cooked beans, chopped kale and endive, and salt and pepper then simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the greens are somewhat wilted and bright green in color. Remove from the heat, add chopped parsley and shaved Parmesan and serve immediately. This dish is best eaten the same day it is cooked.

*Cooking times will vary depending on the beans used and may take 1-3 hours to fully cook

Well there you have it, a warming and cozy but still completely nutritious dish. Though containing mostly greens and beans, this dish feels extra hearty and rich from the flavorful herb and wine sauce. If you're looking to make this meal extra cozy, serve over pasta or with fresh bread. Go on, get cozy!

Enjoy,
Jess and Cecelia

There are many different ways to enjoy Thanksgiving. Here at TGBK we enjoy the festivities poultry free, instead opting for seasonal produce based dishes that are still gobble worthy (meaning you'll want to gobble them up!). We've picked a few of our favorite fall recipes to features here - which will make the cut for your Thanksgiving table this year? 

Bright fall colors and a mix of unique ingredients create a standout starter to your meal. Originally debuted as Freaky Freekah Halloween Salad (recipe here) can easily be re-titled "Freekah-mazing Harvest Salad" for its Thanksgiving use. 

An impressive, photo-worthy, and unique main vegetarian entree for your Thanksgiving table. This Brussels Sprouts Tart (recipe here) is rich and savory with bold flavors and textures. There is nothing quite like whipped ricotta to top off any dish, especially this one. 

What plant based meal would be complete without a veggie based cake? Our Rainbow Carrot Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting (recipe here) provides the sweetest finishing touch to a seasonal and inspired meal. 

We sincerely wish you a happy, healthy, and delicious holiday-
​Jess and Cecelia 

Hello friends, we've got a unique take on a classic fall recipe for you this week. Along with that we have some fun new developments that you could say are also orange in color....

Just what are we talking about, Yummly.  If you aren't familiar yet, Yummly is a recipe database on which you can search for millions of recipes and save your favorites to your personal page - check it out here. We've started to add the Yum button to the bottom of our posts (look for a little orange "Yum") so that you can easily save our recipes once you've created a Yummly account. On Yummly you can begin to build a portfolio of your favorite recipes from all over the web (with a large percentage of TGBK recipes of course, wink, wink). All our new recipes will include this Yum button and we will start adding the button to older posts though this will take some time (there are just so many!). We have a few recipes published to our Yummly account which you can check out here, and look forward to "yumming" many more. We thank you for your patience as we get more added and hope you enjoy creating your own virtual recipe book. 

Butternut Squash Red Curry Soup
PREP TIME: 35 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 60 minutes
Servings: ~ 10 cups of soup

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt + 1/4-1/2 tsp to taste 
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp fresh ginger juice (2 Tbsp chopped ginger root would also work)
3 Tbsp red curry paste
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 cups full fat coconut milk

Toppings
1 package (15 oz) sprouted tofu, cubed  (or protein of your choice - white beans or chick peas would also work)
1 cup dry pearl barley (or grain of your choice - quinoa, spelt berries, or wheat berries would also work)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
Lime wedges
Sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash, peel, and cube butternut squash then place on a parchment lined backing sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes or until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Cook pearl barley according to package instructions then set aside.

Drain tofu from water and cube into bite size pieces then set aside.  

In a large pot set to medium heat, sauté onion with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Cook onion until translucent and golden on the edges, about 5-7 minutes. Add minced garlic to the pot and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the ginger juice or chopped fresh ginger and red curry paste. Stir until combined then add vegetable broth, peanut butter, and cooked butternut squash to the pot and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and work in batches to puree soup contents in a large blender on high until completely smooth. Add pureed soup back to the pot, stir in 2 cups coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add additional 1/4-1/2 tsp salt to taste.

Pour hot soup into serving bowls and top with cubed tofu, pearl barley, a sprinkle of chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime wedge, and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes.  If you do not plan to serve all the soup at once, store soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If you freeze your left overs, remove from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw about 2 days prior to consuming. It's best to keep the toppings separate from the puree and add them in when you're ready to warm up your next bowl of soup. Enjoy!

This soup really does deserve the "Yum." Such an interesting twist on a fall favorite - butternut squash soup. Though in this preparation the mild squash is brightened by red curry and made super rich with the addition of coconut milk. Peanut butter provides a nutty finish and the various toppings can be adjusted to your liking. Why not take a risk with your next squash and try this variation? And don't forget the Yum!

Enjoy,
Jess and Cecelia