It’s my great honor to welcome Anna Pelzer to Cowgirls & Collard Greens! Anna and I met briefly last year at the final Vida Vegan Con in Austin, Texas where we both spent days indulging and educating ourselves on all things vegan. I was a guest on Anna’s blog, Vegan Creative, earlier this year and am so excited she’s here to share today. Anna is an accomplished vegan foodie, coach and chef and an amazing photographer. The recipe she’s sharing today is perfect for any holiday meal or gathering and not only is healthful, but also so pretty to look at!
It’s my greatest hope that many of you will give this recipe a try; it’s an easy and tasty way to share a meal with all members of your family and, a delicious way to keep animals off your plate this season. Big thanks to Anna for her yummy contribution!
Wishing each of you a happy and cozy season, Kayle
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This recipe is an easy and tasty way to get your veggie servings in and will also get a smile out of whomever you share it with. One of my favorite winter vegetables is acorn squash. Not only is it beautiful (which I always appreciate for food photography), it is also creamy and sweet — a perfect winter comfort food. It also doubles as a bowl so I decided to fill it with salad and my favorite flax oil and apple cider vinegar dressing. Although you could roast the squash seeds to top the salad with, I find them a little too fibrous, so I prefer the flavor of roasted walnuts — but if you don’t have time to roast them, they will be delicious raw as well. Pomegranate seeds are mouthwatering red jewels that I like to adorn my food with for extra color, sweetness, and crunch.
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
2-3 cups arugula
½ cup walnuts, toasted at 350° for 8 minutes (optional)
½ yellow pepper, chopped
½ avocado, peeled and chopped
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
½ cup pomegranate seeds
Dressing:
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
⅓ cup flax seed oil
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp maple syrup
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the squash halves upside down on the parchment.
Bake for 40 minutes or until tender.
While the squash is baking, chop your veggies and combine in a bowl.
Seed your pomegranate.
Combine your dressing ingredients in a jar and shake.
Allow the squash to cool slightly before placing your salad into the squash halves.
Add dressing, and decorate with the walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and a grind of fresh pepper.
Enjoy!
Anna is a vegan food photographer in North Vancouver, BC. She is an MSVA-certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator as well as a Culinary Nutrition Expert through the Academy of Culinary Nutrition. You can most often find her on Instagram, where she posts her vegan creations, recipe testing, and cookbook reviews, along with the occasional guinea pig photo. She blogs together with Nia Seney, vegan graphic designer, at www.vegancreative.ca.
Photographs © 2016 Anna Pelzer
Graphic design by Nia Seney
