Pumkpin stew

Hearthy and easy, this dish is good year round (if you can find a pumpkin) and for many people.

Ingredients:
(4-6 people)

• 1 butternut squash or hokkaido pumpkin
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• (maybe a courgette or some mushrooms, potatoes or other vegetables)
• 1 can of chick peas or beans or both
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• Salt, pepper, spices
• Fresh green herbs, e.g basil, thyme, or coriander
• Sour cream or yoghurt
• Oil for frying

Chop all vegetables. If you're using a hokkaido pumpkin, I'd suggest washing the skin instead of cutting it off - it adds a good flavor and texture. 

Fry onions and garlic, and add the veggies. Leave for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and peas/beans and the spices. Leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes (or 5, if you are very hungry or impatient! In which case I would suggest meditating for 10 minutes anyway...!)

Season to taste and serve either 

• sour cream or yoghurt and herbs
• over rice
• with good bread
• with some fish/chicken for the pesce-/flexitarians 
• all of the above. :) 

Chili sin carne

This recipe will make most meat-eaters as happy as any dish with meat. Very easy to make for many people.

Ingredients:
6-8 portions

• 2 onions 
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 fresh chilies or some chili paste or chipotle
• 3 peppers (e.g. 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)
• 15 champignons
• 4 carottes 
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cans of beans (e.g. kidney beans, butter beans, or black beans)
• Salt and pepper
• Cumin powder
• Fresh coriander (cilantro)
• Sour cream
• Oil for frying

Chop and fry the onions, garlic, and chilies. Dice the peppers and the mushrooms, and mix it in. Add any other vegetable, you have at hand (e.g. aubergine or courgette). After a few minutes, add tomatoes and beans, and season it to your liking. Leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes, and add more spices or water to the desired consistency and taste. 

Serve with rice, bread, tortillas, tortilla chips, or mashed potatoes. Either way, with a nice cool bit of sour cream on the side, and some coriander sprinkled over. Well, actually I'd suggest to leave the dosing of coriander to your guests individually, as this is an ingredient that many disagree with...! 

Beetroot patties

This is the first intentionally vegetarian recipe I tried to cook myself, and one of my favorites. I'm not sure what to call the form, but patties or burgers are probably most suitable in English. In Danish I would call them "deller", short from "frikadeller", which at least the Dutch speakers will understand. :)

I won't specify the portion size, as it will depend on the size of the beetroots etc. But make plenty and put the rest in the freezer - they're excellent as long as you give them another round of frying after defrosting. Play around with the ratios till you get a consistency you like, but watch out to not leave it too wet - then the patties will either not stick together or they will be soggy.

Ingredients:

• 3 beetroots
• 1 onion
• 2 gloves of garlic 
• 1 egg
• Flour or oats
• Salt and pepper plus e.g. rosemary or thyme
• Oil for frying

If you have a food processor, your life will be a lot easier right now. Finely grate beets, onion, and garlic, and mix it with egg, flour, and spices to your liking. Don't be scared to season it quite heavily - otherwise it might turn out a bit bland.

If you have time and patience, leave the mixture in the fridge for half an hour to get a more homogenous texture - if you just wanna eat as soon as possible, just continue with the next step:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and form the patties with a tablespoon. Press them flat (1 cm) when they're on the pan. Leave them to get a crispy and brown-ish surface, and turn them over (app. 5 minutes on each side).

Serve with a green salad, steamed green asparagus and/or carrots, potatoes in any form (e.g. masked or sweet potato fries), and maybe a dip made from goat cheese and yoghurt... Or something like that...

Oat meal / porridge

Let's start like we did in HLSS - with a nice bowl of porridge. There are millions of variations, but this one is super easy, and will keep you full for hours!

The real deal - HLSS breakfast meal!

Ingredients (1 portion):

• 1 dl of oats
• 2 dl of water or milk
• Salt
• Topping of your choice

Mix oats with water or milk and salt, and heat either in the microwave (app. 2 min) or in a pot on the stove. Either way, keep and eye on it and stur occassionally so it doesn't overflow or burn.

When its done, add your desired topping. Can be anything and all combinations, e.g. of the following

• Banana (I like to mash it and stir it into the porridge)
• Apple cut into cubes and drizzled with cinnamon powder
• Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries... 
• Salty almonds (I'll post the best recipe shortly!) 
• Raisins (can also be added before the cooking)
• Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• Honey
• Chocolate chips
• Yoghurt (yes, really. Adds a bit of a nice sour contrast)

Any kind of fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, ... You get the idea. Have fun decorating, and enjoy!