Vegan Month Part I: Sweet Potato Squash Bake

It's vegan month here at Charlotte Local Eats! This month I post recipes that don't require meat, eggs, or dairy products. After reading The China Study and learning all about the benefits of a completely animal product-free diet, I've been testing some recipes that avoid those ingredients.

If I hadn't strategically titled this post, you probably would have guessed that I was going to give you a tofu recipe. Luckily for you, that post comes next week. This week I celebrate the hallmark of Dr. Campbell's diet: whole unprocessed plants. There's so much you can do with just veggies and one or two other ingredients. This recipe is so incredibly simple, the hardest part is waiting for it to come out of the oven. 

Actually, peeling the squashes is a bit of a trick. My suggestion: cut the thinner part of the squash from the bulbous part, remove the tip and base and then use a really sharp knife to cut down towards the counter top. You may loose a little bit of the meat of the squash, but you won't cut yourself or spend an hour trying to peel one squash.

Houston Farms has had beautiful butternut squash and Bell's Best Berries has had sweet potatoes and green apples. That makes this recipe easy, local and, as a bonus, totally vegan. The recipe below makes about 4 servings.

Sweet Potato Squash Bake (V)

1 butternut squash

1 sweet potato

1 green apple

1/4 cup red wine vinegar 

1-2 T brown sugar

1. Peel the potato and squash then cut apple, potato and squash into roughly the same slice size, no more than 3/4 inch thick
2. Put squash, then potato, then apple in a brownie-type dish
3. Pour over vinegar and dot with sugar
4. Cover with tin foil then Bake at 400 for 45 minutes

I added almonds when I made it but they didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. The rest was delicious though!