Some fall dinners to make again

This "Nearly Cheeseless Pasata Casserole" was fantastic. I will definitely make it again but next time I'll either cut the squash (I used pumpkin) really small, or I'll cook them in the boiling water with the pasta the whole time, because they were undercooked. Despite this, the flavor was good, it wasn't terribly high in fat, and the contrasting textures - soft pasta and squash with the flavorful crunch of toasted almonds - was awesome.

Another dish I made this week, which also used the pumpkins we are getting from the CSA of late, was this hearty Bean and Winter Squash Mole.

Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

I started the day off right with the making of vegan pumpkin pancakes for my daughter who has food allergies. These were hard to flip, but tasted fantastic.

Adapted from chooseveg.com

* 1/2 cup canned puréed pumpkin
* 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup unbleached flour
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or sprinkle cinnamon, allspice and ginger haphazardly like I did)
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup plain or vanilla soymilk

Combine the pumpkin with the dry ingredients.

Mix water, oil, and soymilk and add to pumpkin mixture. Beat just until smooth.

Heat griddle or frying pan and oil lightly. Use about 1/4-cup of batter for each pancake; cook until bubbles appear, then turn. Remove when pancakes are golden and slightly firm to the touch.