Vegan!

I received two awesome vegan cookbooks for Christmas. One is an East African cookbook, the other a soul food one. Both have some pretty slammin-looking recipes and I'm looking forward to experimenting once I'm back in my own kitchen.

Being vegan over the holidays has proven to be a test of will and courage. It's hard to not revert back to my summertime mantra of "vegan tomorrow!" So many sweets, buttery potatoes and cheesy casseroles to indulge in. And the eggnog, oh the eggnog! I'm kidding, sort of. I'm just trying to say it hasn't been easy, but I've been trying.

For the big Christmas dinner on my mom's side of the family I adapted this recipe, veganized it and otherwise made some changes. It seems like something that could be found in a vegan soulfood cookbook. Just in case anyone might want to have some I thought I'd share with you what all I did!

Before I go into it, I should say that it's a pretty time-consuming dish but is pretty worth it. It also makes a TON so it's perfect for potlucks or something you can make on Sunday and then eat for a week. I am excited to experiment with this in the future, making it spicier (jalepenos, cayenne, oh my!), adding greens and putting something in the cornbread to make it a little less dry (vegan cheese? earth balance? more soymilk?) and maybe actually eating it with mole sauce, though I highly doubt I'm going to ever feel compelled to make my own.

I'm down for suggestions, so help a lady out if you feel like you've got ideas!

Southern Vegan Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients:

Filling:
3 tablespoons (or a little more if you need it) extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
16 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used 8 oz baby bellas and 8 oz portobello)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped sage (I used some dried from Dad's garden)
4 teaspoons ground thyme
5 garlic cloves
3 teaspoons cumin
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
2 14oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes in juice, no salt added
1/2 cup water

Cornbread:
Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix
egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 1/2 cups soymilk
3 tablespoons parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers (mine were from the jar)

Preparation

For filling: (taken pretty much directly from the epicurious recipe!)
Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until translucent. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender. Add sage, thyme, garlic, and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add squash, beans, tomatoes with juice, and 1/2 cup water; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer ~8 minutes. Uncover and simmer until vegetables are tender and most of liquid has evaporated but mixture is still very moist, about 12 minutes. Season filling generously with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover; chill.)

For cornbread:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Follow instructions on the back of the cornbread mix bag, using the egg replacer and soymilk instead of the non-vegan options. Stir in parsley and roasted red peppers.

Make it happen!
Transfer 2/3 of the dough to the baking dish. Place large piece of plastic wrap atop dough. Using plastic as aid, press dough evenly over bottom and 3/4 of the way up sides of dish; peel off plastic. Spoon filling into dough in dish, spreading evenly. Spoon remaining dough in small dollops atop filling. Gently spread dollops evenly over filling to cover.

Bake until dough is light golden and casserole is heated through, about 1 hour.