Dinner Bowl #30

 

This is the spinach casserole recipe from Ela Vegan served with microwave-steamed brussels sprouts (using this technique from Family Style Food) and carrots with celery and pecans (a recipe I've often made from Taste of Home using vegan butter).

Aside from under-salting the casserole a bit and over-toasting the pecans a bit, I think this was a pretty great meal. I like baked lentil casseroles, though I often forget that because so often I am making lentils into curry. I used coconut milk for the cream here, which goes well with the rest of the flavors. If you need to avoid coconut for allergy reasons, though, there are a lot of options. Aside from the salt issue, it was really well seasoned. It is a little more complicated than I'd like a casserole to be, usually, having been spoiled by dump-and-bake things lately, but it's not that involved--mostly, aside from chopping an onion, the most you have to do is measure and stir stuff occasionally. I think it would be better if the lentils and quinoa were cooked in broth, though; a note for next time.

Brussels sprouts are one of fall's gifts to us, and I love that I'm going to get to have so many more of them before we return to asparagus and berry time!