Tomato Basil Cashew Alfredo

Finished product.

My palette was in the mood for some sort of alfredo sauce this week, but all the vegan cashew pasta sauces that I've tried are too heavy for me. So, I decided to cut that richness with fresh tomatoes. Yes, I’m aware that there are many recipes like this floating around on the interwebs, but this one is the best! I used fresh tomatoes from our hook-up in Eastern Washington, so the flavor can't be beat. Also, if you’re looking for a way to use up an overstock of tomatoes, this is one way to do it.

You can use the sauce on any type of pasta. It would also make a great sauce for lasagna (you wouldn't even need a vegan ricotta substitute). 

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews (soaked, rinsed, and drained)

1 cup cold water

2 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

2 small bunches basil

salt and pepper to taste

Cover the cashews with about an inch of cold water and soak for at least an hour, then rinse and drain them. Combine the cashews with one cup cold water in the blender and blend until smooth. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the blender along with the garlic and basil. (Note: you can use more tomatoes if you want a thinner or more tomatoey sauce.) Salt and pepper to taste; I used 3 teaspoons salt and 20 grinds of pepper. After everything is blended thoroughly, pour the sauce into a pan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until it has reduced and thickened up a bit.

Tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Yum.

The sauce before simmering.

Optimus Smoothie

This week's smoothie before being completely mixed into an ugly purple-green. 

Even before I started eating plant-based, I would throw together a batch of smoothies every once in a while in order to keep my body fully supplied with micronutrients and to stave off sugar cravings. I found that my body would crave less sugar when it was satisfied with enough proper nutrition. Now in addition to creating impulse vegan brownie purchases, my body also tells me that I want real cheese and bacon when I haven't properly stuffed it with enough vitamins via my food. That's when I know it's time to call upon Optimus Smoothie!

This is another one of my recipes that's more of a framework or merely inspiration for your own food. The beauty of the smoothie is that you can throw whatever ingredients you want into that blender! The basic formula I use is: fruits, vegetables, source of fat, and liquid needed to blend to desired consistency. 

My liquid base in generally grapefruit juice (not from concentrate and, please, not from a can! I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit just thinking about it). The reason for this is that I just love grapefruit juice, but it's also lower in sugar than most other juices. Some people use water as their base, but I find that it dilutes the flavor too much for my taste. 

I also boil flax seeds (about 1/2 cup) in water (about 2 cups) for about 15 minutes so they're easier to digest. Just make sure you let the mixture cool before adding it to the blender and the rest of your smoothie; you don't want to kill all of the vitamins in the fruits and veggies. (If you don't have time to let it cool, you can throw some frozen fruit in there that you didn't have time to thaw. It's a win-win, really.) Another reason I use flax seeds is to have a source of fat for better absorption of the vitamins in the fruits and veggies. Alternately, you can use avocado.

For fruit, I use whatever is in season or that I'm in the mood for. The smoothie in the picture above contains apples, pears, blueberries, mango, and kiwi. Later in the summer I'll use peaches, nectarines, cherries, etc. If you find that your mix is too sour or you added too many vegetables, more mango always sweetens it up. 

For veggies, I always use at least one bunch of kale. This last batch also included a bunch of spinach and parsley. It's important to get your greens into your smoothies, and the bonus is that you (or your children) can barely taste them when they're mixed with fruit.

An optional additional for more punch and flavor (not to mention anti-inflammatory benefits) is fresh ginger and/or fresh turmeric. I used to always add these to my smoothies, but I found that my husband and son would drink more if I omitted them. So, maybe I add too much ginger...I might have a problem...       

The important thing is to have fun. If you don't enjoy a batch, play around with ingredients until it's something that you love and you enjoy drinking. 

Banana Cashew Cream Pie

 A couple months ago, near the holidays, I wanted to make another vegan dessert to take to a family gathering but had already made a vegan cheesecake for Christmas. So, I went though my saved recipes, searched online, and otherwise racked my brain trying to figure out something. Then it came to me, like an epiphany: banana cream pie! I hadn't had banana cream pie in so long and it sounded so good. So, I took what I knew about vegan cheesecakes and just pieced together my own recipe and it turned out tasting exactly how I wanted it to. Last week, I finally got around to making it again in order to test the reliability of the recipe and, yep, it's officially a winner! 

Ingredients:

• For Crust: 

1/2 cup oats

6 dates (pitted)

1/2 cup almond meal 

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• For Filling:

2 cups soaked and drained cashews

1 cup cold water

3 T coconut cream

1 t vanilla

1/4 cup agave (or maple syrup)

5-7 bananas, sliced

• For Whipped Topping:

1 cup soaked and drained cashews

1/2 cup water (approximately)

1 T agave

1/2 t vanilla

ground nutmeg

Combine the total amount of cashews (3 cups) and cover with cold water to soak for at least 3 hours (but they're fine soaking for a day or two if they're stored in the refrigerator). 

For the crust combine oats, dates, almond flour, and coconut in a blender or food processor. (Using a blender is a little tricky, as you have to use the lower settings and scrape the sides a few times.) Blend until incorporated enough that there are no large pieces of oats or dates. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan (you can line the pan with parchment paper, but it's not necessary). 

Crust ingredients in the blender.

For the filling, blend 2 cups of the soaked and drained cashews with 1 cup cold water (it's important that it's cold water) until smooth. Then add the coconut cream, vanilla, agave, and two bananas. Blend until smooth and a little fluffy; about 2 minutes. Slice about 5 bananas and layer several slices evenly onto the crust. Pour about half the filling over the bananas, layer more sliced bananas, then pour the rest of the filling on top. Spread with a spoon so everything is level.  

Combine the remaining 1 cup of soaked and drained cashews and blend with approximately 1/2 cup cold water. Add the water gradually and blend until smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes). The entire 1/2 cup water is not necessary if the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream; just don't water it down by adding too much water. Then add the agave and vanilla, blending until combined. Pour on top of the filling and spread evenly, then sprinkle with ground nutmeg. You can do some texturizing with a chopstick at this point if you wish. Cover and freeze until set up. You can serve this as more of a parfait by partially freezing it, or as a cream pie by cutting it in slices while it is still frozen then allowing it to thaw a bit (making it easier to consume).  

Whipped topping layer.

After being frozen overnight.

This is how I served it parfait-style.

Cabbage Rolls

I've had cabbage rolls on my mind the last couple of weeks, so I finally made them. My mother-in-law makes голубцы (golubtsi) pretty regularly, so I wanted to see how my husband would like my take on these traditional Russian/Ukrainian cabbage rolls. I made a meat version for him and this plant version for myself by using mushrooms and beans in lieu of the meat. 

As a side note, I opened an email today from Taste Cooking and their article It's Difficult to Talk About Soviet Food caught my eye. Naturally, I read the entire thing. At the end, there's a recipe for голубцы including a vegan filling variation that has mushrooms in it. My recipe was not inspired by this one! I read the article after I created mine. (Apparently, I'm not that original.) My train of thought was this: I want to make cabbage rolls...cabbage rolls have meat...what should I replace the meat with...I use mushrooms in my burritos instead of meat...yeah, mushrooms!...and ooh, beans! So, there you have it. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (I used long-grain white basmati rice, but you can use any rice you prefer)

12 carrots, grated 

3-4 onions (3 large or 4 medium) finely diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup tomato sauce (not pasta sauce, just regular tomato sauce in a can)

2 portobello mushrooms (about 3lbs) diced

2 15-oz cans aduki beans, rinsed and drained (or any other beans you prefer)

3 T fresh dill, minced

1 large head of cabbage (I used savoy cabbage, but you can use regular green cabbage as it may be more tender)

2 cups tomato juice or tomato sauce (I used home-canned tomato juice)

salt and pepper to taste

Start by shredding the carrots using the small side of your grater, or use a food processor so you don't get carrot elbow (yes, carrot elbow; it's like tennis elbow but you get it from grating too many carrots). Finely dice the onions. Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a large skillet, then add the carrots and onions. Don't caramelize or brown your onions; just soften the mixture by cooking it down for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally (the time goes by quickly when you're prepping your other ingredients). Add minced garlic at any point. 

While the carrot/onion mixture is cooking, fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Cut the core out of your head of cabbage and tear (or cut) the leaves off individually. Add the leaves to the water and boil for about 5 minutes or until slightly translucent. Remove leaves from pot, shake off excess water, and let drain on a plate. It's probably a good idea at this point to preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Return to carrot/onion mixture. Salt and pepper to taste, then add dill and the 1 cup of tomato sauce.

Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine diced portobello mushrooms, beans, rice, and about 3/4 of the carrot/onion mixture. Make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well. This is your filling.   

Now it's time to wrap the rolls. Take a cabbage leaf and spoon a rectangular-sized blob of filling either in the middle of the leaf or at the pocket of the leaf's base. Fold the sides toward the middle, then roll it up. (If you need a visual, just search the internet for videos on "how to roll a cabbage roll.") 

Place the cabbage rolls in a single layer in a dutch oven or any other large oven-proof pan. Pour the 2 cups of tomato juice or sauce over the cabbage rolls. Then glob the remaining carrot/onion mixture evenly over the rolls. Cover your pan with the lid or cover tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. 

Deep Dish Pizza

If you're looking for a simple dish for busy weeknight dinners, this is it. You can make it more complicated by making your own crust, but there's no need. I buy cornmeal pizza crusts in the frozen section at the grocery store, add spaghetti sauce and whatever toppings and seasonings I'm in the mood for. 

Ingredients:

Frozen cornmeal pizza crusts (or any other type of pizza crust)

Spaghetti sauce 

Combination Suggestion #1: mushrooms, frozen (or not so frozen) peas, onions (or quartered pearl onions), smoked salt, and dried ground rosemary.

Combination Suggestion #2: zucchini, bell peppers, onions, fresh basil, and fennel seeds (optional, but adds amazing flavor if you have them on hand). 

Preheat oven to the temperature suggested for your pizza crust. Add spaghetti sauce to the pizza crust shell (be generous; the sauce will keep the veggies from drying as the pizza is baking). Add any toppings and seasonings you'd like; my combinations are just suggestions (albeit very wonderful suggestions). Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is perfectly toasted and the veggies are mostly cooked.  

Mushrooms, onions, and peas combination.

Zucchini, peppers, onions, and basil combination.

Lazy Persian Kotlet

So, last year I attempted to make a vegetarian kotlet recipe from My Persian Kitchen and I left too much liquid in the mixture, so I had no kotlets but some very tasty mashed potatoes. I had some advieh left (which is a very delicious spice blend for Persian cooking) and I wanted to try a version where I didn't blend the ingredients together but kept them whole. I often do this with soup recipes so that I can keep some texture in my food. It turned out very well. (And so much easier too!) 

Go to My Persian Kitchen's recipe for Vegetarian Kotlet and just don't blend the ingredients. If you actually want to make them kotlet-style and keep it plant-based, use a flax egg instead of a regular egg.  

Fancy taters.

Advieh, turmeric, and salt on the mash from my previous attempt. It's so pretty!