Crockpot Rice Pudding (vegan)

6 cups milk (soy, nut, oat, etc)...for this recipe, I used plain almond milk
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp spices of your liking (pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cardommon, nutmeg, etc....)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup dried fruit/berries (cranberries, raisins, blueberries, etc...)
pinch of sea salt

Put everything in the crock pot and cover.
Set on High. Cook for 45 minutes and stir to make sure rice is not clumping together.
Cook for 45 minutes and stir. Continue to cook on high for about 2 hours or at low for about 5-6 hours. The longer you cook it the thicker the pudding will be.
Eat warm or let it cool and refrigerate..

Spicy Carrot-Butternut Squash Soup (vegan)

3 large carrots, sliced in 1 inch chunks
6 small squash (or 4 med., or 2 very large)
1 small onion, sliced in wedges
1 long cayenne pepper (I removed the seeds, but you can leave them in for more kick), sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp celery salt
ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

**preheat oven to 375F**

Cut squash in half and lay them cut side down in a glass baking dish. Add 1/2 cup of water to the dish and bake the squash for about 30 minutes or until they feel soft.
Meanwhile heat your olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Saute the carrots, onion, pepper and all the spices until the onion is tranluscent (about 8-10 minutes). Add the stock and bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and let the veggies simmer until very soft.
When squash is done, remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Remove stock and veggies from heat and allow to cool a bit also. Once cooled slightly, blend the stock/veggie mixture in a glass blender until totally pureed. Put the puree back into your dutch oven. Scoop out seeds and membranes of the squash and scoop the "meat" into the blender. Puree the squash and stir it into the pureed soup. Reheat gently, if necessary.