Monday, July 25, 2011

Zucchini Pesto : : Pasta

it was a hot summer day...
all i wanted was some fast, simple food that used lots of veggies and basil from the garden (mine and my mom in law's).

Zucchini Pesto Pasta is what i came up with.

I julienned up 2 big zucchini on my mandolin.


for the pesto i blended:
2 cloves of garlic
2 handfulls of basil
1 large zucchini
olive oil
salt
pepper
juice from 1 lemon
1 handfull of cashews


put the julienned zucchini in a large bowl.

add 1 package of cooked whole wheat pasta


pour pesto sauce over noodles and zucchini.




stir  and serve.  

this is good cold or warm and was a hit with the adults and the kids both!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Beef Stroganoff : : Vegan

most of the key ingredients...forgot to put all in the photo.  i will get better at this!

after a couple of weeks of eating lots of veggie based dinners...salads, wraps, stir-fry's...i was ready for some good ol'fashioned comfort food!  so I came up with this "beef stroganoff" recipe that was a big success!

i've been playing around with making 'cream' sauces using soaked cashews and had great success.  i made a sweet whipped cream by adding vanilla and maple syrup last week.  I poured it over fresh berries and success!  yummy dessert.

then i was missing sour cream on my burrito. so, i made another batch of cashew cream...but this time i added cumin, garlic salt, lime juice, cayenne pepper and oregano.  special burrito sauce was a big success!

now i was feeling bold...ready to make the sauce the star of the meal, not just a condiment. 
 i'm talking gravy here folks.

Start by boiling a package of your fave noodles.


sautee about 1/2 an onion in olive oil until it starts to soften.


add mushrooms.  sautee until soft and brown.


add meat substitute crumbles.  i used soy 'beef' crumbles from trader joe's.
season with salt and pepper.
veggies done.


now for the cream sauce.  in a high speed blender blender add: 
~1 cup soaked cashews 
1/2 sup unsweetened soy milk
2 cloves garlic
garlic salt
nutmeg
onion powder
cayenne pepper
fresh cracked black pepper
salt

(i don't measure when i cook...i just do it by feel.  so play with it, trust your gut!)

Blend until smooth and creamy...add more soy milk if necessary to thin.



add cream sauce to veggies.


pour over i package of your favorite pasta and stir.  i had this fat spiral on hand...a flat wide noodle would be more stroganoff-y.  

the pic doesn't look terribly appetizing but i promise it was delish.  the fault lies in my photog skills...not the food!

enjoy!