Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 88

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoons garam masala

teaspoon ground cinnamon

teaspoon salt

teaspoon cayenne

1 cup water

1-inch cube fresh ginger, peeled

10 ounces fresh spinach (this is about 2 bunches), washed well and chopped coa.r.s.ely

Juice of lime

PREHEAT THE oven to 350 F.

First, bake the pumpkin: Carve out the top of the pumpkin to remove the stem. Use your strongest knife to cut the pumpkin in half along the vertical. Remove the seeds (reserve them to toast sometime) and sc.r.a.pe out the stringy stuff with a spoon. Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce the flesh.

Let the pumpkin cool completely. Peel away the skin and then chop the pumpkin up into 1-inch chunks.

Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions in the peanut oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until everything is honey brown.

Add the pumpkin and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the spices and salt, and grate the ginger directly into the pot (use a microplane grater, if possible). Add the water and cook for about 5 minutes, mixing often. Use your mixing spatula to mush the pumpkin up a bit, but leave some pieces chunky.

Add the spinach in batches (three or four should do it), mixing well after each addition.

Cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring often. Add the lime; taste and adjust the salt.

This is best if it's had time to sit for a while, but if you want to eat it immediately, we understand.

VEGETABLES OR SEITAN SIMMERED IN MOLE SAUCE.

Who doesn't want chocolate for dinner? Presenting two variations on the same concept; tender vegetables or chewy seitan is slowly simmered in homemade chocolate mole sauce. Change the vegetables to suit the season, if you please. Serve with a starchy side such as Mexican Millet (page 118), plain steamed brown rice, cooked quinoa, or soft, warmed corn tortillas to sop up lots of the luscious sauce.

SWEET SQUASH IN MOLE SAUCE.

SERVES 4 TO 6.

TIME: 50 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING PREPARING MOLE SAUCE.

This is a delectable stew of sublime mole sauce and a fresh tasting blend of summer squash and tropical calabaza pumpkin. Calabaza can be found in most any grocery that carries Latino groceries; it's usually conveniently precut into manageable-size chunks and can be easily peeled with a vegetable peeler. We love it so because it's the pumpkin that's commonly available year round (note our pumpkin fetish). Sugar pumpkin or b.u.t.ternut squash in season can be subst.i.tuted instead.

1 pound zucchini, yellow summer, or pattypan squash

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 large onion, diced

1 pound calabaza or b.u.t.ternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced in 1-inch cubes

2 cups Chile-Chocolate Mole (page 210)

Don't skip the salting-the-zucchini step; it really helps the zucchini slices keep their shape and fully develop their flavor. Salting does this by removing the excess water that usually makes sauteed summer squash fall apart. Cutting the squash into -inch-thick cuts will also help retain its shape.

TRIM AND slice the zucchini into -inch-thick rounds and place in a large colander. Sprinkle a few large pinches of kosher salt onto the zucchini and rub to coat each piece. Allow the colander to remain in the kitchen sink or over a bowl for at least 30 minutes to allow the excess moisture to drain from the squash. If you haven't prepared the mole sauce already, this is a good time to do so. Rinse and allow the zucchini to drain before using.

Heat the peanut oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until slightly softened and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the diced calabaza squash and 2 tablespoons of water, and partially cover. Steam for 8 to 10 minutes, until the squash is partially tender but not completely cooked.

Remove the cover, add the drained zucchini and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mole sauce, lower the heat slightly, and stir to completely combine the squash juices with the sauce. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until both kinds of squash are tender.

SEITAN IN MOLE SAUCE.

SERVES 4 TO 6.

TIME: 50 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING PREPARING MOLE SAUCE.

Seared, succulent chunks of seitan and spicy-sweet mole sauce makes one heck of a hearty and warming winter dinner. Serve with a lightly steamed green, such as chard or collards, to offset some of the richness of the mole and seitan.

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 recipe Simple Seitan (page 131), cut into 1-inch chunks

2 large carrots, sc.r.a.ped and sliced -inch thick

1 large onion, diced

cup vegetable broth

2 cups Chile-Chocolate Mole (page 210)

PREHEAT A large pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and saute the seitan for 4 to 5 minutes, until it is lightly browned.

Remove the seitan from the pot, set aside, and heat the remaining oil in pot. Add the onion, saute for 6 to 8 minutes, until soft, add the carrots plus the vegetable broth, and cover. Steam the carrots for 8 minutes, until partially tender, remove the cover, and stir in the seitan and mole sauce. Mix completely and allow everything to simmer over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

RED LENTIL-CAULIFLOWER CURRY.