VeganMoFo 2015 #23: Autumn equinox themed father's day dinner (in Spring)

23. Equinox eats.

So, funny story. This prompt was originally called 'Autumn equinox eats' and was originally day 30 in the prompts. I prepared much of my MoFo in advance from a list of prompts I printed out some time ago due to my busy end of September. Since that list, they actually changed the prompts around, switching this to day 23 to be on the equinox itself. So this morning I put up what I thought was day 23 (fusion food), but is actually now day 30. Some had read it (and commented, thanks Babette!). I have taken that post down to put this one up today. The fusion post will reappear as the final day of MoFo post. Also I had prepared the post for the original prompt of autumn equinox, even though it is spring here. I don't know that I have ever used the word prompt so much in my life!

Anyway, here is the post!

Today's prompt originally was quite out of season for the southern hemisphere (Autumn equinox eats), because it is actually spring here. September is also the month of father's day in Australia, and every year I make a special father's day dinner. Due to some communication mishaps, we happen to have several bags of frozen cranberries in the freezer, and Dad suggested that he would like a dessert that included some cranberries. Plus he loves pumpkin. So I decided to run with the autumn equinox theme for his dinner rather than doing the more geographically appropriate spring equinox.

Cozy Roasted Butternut Soup from The Abundance Diet by Somer McCowan was the first course. This soup blends roasted pumpkin, onion and garlic with a noochy broth and a generous splash of sherry (which I found a little strong, I would decrease it next time). Pureed cashews provided some creaminess.
Rating: :)



Shepherd's Pie Pizza from Bake & Destroy by Natalie Slater provided a fun main course. I made the pizza base using the recipe in Vegan Pizza (it is so easy). The base is slightly baked naked, then is topped with a herby potato mash as the 'sauce' and a layer of vegetables including carrots, cauliflower, green beans and mushrooms. Very yummy! It also passed the test of being fantastic cold the next day.
Rating: :)





Cranapple Crumble Pie from Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes was the final course, being the cranberry dessert, The tart pastry is made with a blend of wholegrain flours including wholemeal, oat and barley. It was quite a thin pastry, and tore easily. I used my deep dish 9 inch pan and it didn't quite go all the way up the sides. For the filling, the recipe calls for 880g of peeled and sliced apples. I stopped at about 600g because it was already a huge amount, and any more would not have fit into my pie plate! It is all topped with a great crumble. This was very yummy, though ended up being not entirely structurally sound when cut and served. Messy but good!
Rating: :)





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Month of Gizmo



And here is Gizmo on her 15th birthday! Can you tell the difference? Still perfection. :)