Cheesy Pumpkin Scalloped Potatoes

Wow…this may have been the longest I’ve gone without a post since 2011. Very weird, and I have really missed blogging and hearing from and interacting with all of you!

To say that things have been crazy would be a complete understatement. As much as this is a food and recipe blog, it is still my BLOG as in, my personal (and public) diary. On the business side, I’ve lost some bad clients recently, and gained some really great ones. I’ve begun filming on a local TV show, talking about health, wellness and a vegan diet, and am shooting in front of a live audience next week! I’ve also been teaching my cooking classes every week and prepping food for a wellness expo last minute. I’ve been networking like crazy and also cooking/nannying for a local family. Oh, and you want the personal side? A five and a half year relationship (yes, with my infrequent co-blogger, Jim) is coming to an end and I find myself moving in just three weeks…when I also have a 30th birthday party weekend, a 10K and some concerts coming up by the end of the month as well.

Needless to say…new recipes and blogging have not been a top priority.

Which makes me sad, especially because the blogging community makes me feel the most complete. And although it SEEMS like I should be sad, and wallowing in self-pity, I am actually SO insanely excited for this new chapter of my life. Similar to when I quit my corporate jobs five months ago, I again find myself in a perpetual state of transition. Of taking risks and chances, and finding that in the end, it was the best thing for me. That doing the uncomfortable thing is often times the greatest. And I’m ready for it all 🙂

With all the chaos of all these changes, I find myself either not eating at all (shame on me!) or immersing myself in comfort foods. Pasta, pizza, bagels…almost nothing homemade and nothing made in my own kitchen. I’ve been cooking like crazy for my clients, but just have no appetite for the healthy stuff in my current state of stress. Two weeks after ending my relationship and getting a new place, I am FINALLy ready to get back on track. But still wanting HOMEMADE comfort foods.

Enter, cheesy pumpkin scalloped potatoes. Not my own creation, but soooo amazing. And it made me feel VERY comforted. I stumbled across it on Fo Reals Life and instantly knew I needed it in my life. If there’s one thing you do with pumpkin puree this year, make this dish! It’s totally going on my Thanksgiving table this year 🙂

7-8 medium red potatoes, sliced thin (2- 2/12 lbs)

2 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

5 scallions, chopped

2 tbsp tapioca starch or arrowroot powder

1 tbsp miso

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Toss potatoes in olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper
• Lay on a baking sheet (you can use two or just have them overlap on one sheet)
• Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes
• Meanwhile, whisk together pumpkin puree, almond milk, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch, miso, garlic, red pepper flakes, scallions, sea salt and black pepper until creamy
• When potatoes are cooked, toss with cheese sauce, pour into a 9X13 baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (I stuck mine under the broiler for a few minutes after, too just so it crisped up)