Creamy Sweet Pea Pesto Pasta

This sauce was inspired by a Sweet Pea Pesto dish that used to be on the menu at one of my favorite Walla Walla Restaurants, the Green Spoon. It always sounded so good, but the knowledge of how all that cheese and dairy would leave my stomach feeling made me pass it up every time. I'm not sure what the original tasted like, but this plant-based alternative is pretty tasty.

1 cup cashews
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 tsp. smoked salt
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. paprika
4-6 cloves of garlic
Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. Earth Balance margarine
1 1/2 cups fresh peas (thawed frozen peas will work too)
Big bunch of pea sprouts (cut off the green part to use as a garnish)

Place cashews in blender or food processor and cover with water. Blend until smooth, add more water as necessary to achieve a sauce-like consistency. Add the lemon juice, salt, dijon mustard, paprika, garlic cloves, butter and pepper and blend until thoroughly combined. Add the peas and pea shoots and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water until desired consistency is reached.

Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes. Stir constantly to ensure that sauce doesn't burn. Serve with your favorite pasta, garnish with pea sprouts and enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons

2/3 brown rice flour
5 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2/3 cups agave syrup
1 cup cocnut milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the rice flour, coconut, salt, agave syrup, coconut milk, and vanilla in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. The dough will be moist and slightly sticky.

Use an ice cream scoop to form the macaroons. Dip the scoop in a pitcher of water, then firmly pack the dough into the scoop just to the rim. (Packing the dough is critical so that the macaroons stay together when baked.) Ease the dough out of the scoop and onto a prepared greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until just barely brown, about 12 minutes.

Creamy Corn Chowder

I love soup, especially during chilly winter nights. Growing up, my mother often made corn chowder and it was always one of my favorites. This recipe from The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen uses cashew cream to give this soup its wonderfully creamy base.

Sea Salt
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced Vidalia onions
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, de-ribbed and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 dried chipotle pepper
5 cups vegetable broth
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kernels from 6 ears of corn, plus 2 ears roasted or grilled corn
1 1/2 cups thick Cashew Cream (click here for recipe)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. minced chives
1/2 cup diced tomatoes

Place a large pot over medium heat, sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and heat 30 seconds, being careful not to let it smoke. This will create a nonstick effect.

Add the onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and chipotle pepper. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the stock, potatoes, and thyme, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

With the back of a spoon, smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot and stir to thicken the soup. Add the raw corn and Cashew Cream, season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the chipotle pepper and thyme sprigs. Garnish with the chives, tomato, and roasted corn kernels.

Cashew Cream

2 cups whole raw cashews
(not pieces, which are often dry), rinsed very well under cold water.

Put the cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. To make a thicker cashew cream simply reduce the amount of water until the cashews are barely blended.

Hummus

Hummus is pretty much a staple for me. I make it at least once a week and I love to eat it as a snack with sliced carrots. Usually I just add ingredients to my food processor until I get the right combination of flavors, so the below measurements are estimates. Feel free to add more or less of an ingredient until you get the right flavor for yourself.

2 cups dry garbanzo beans
1/4 cup Tahini
4 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
Salt to taste
Cold pressed olive oil

Soak dry garbanzos overnight and then drain off water in the morning. Place in slow cooker and cover garbanzos with plenty of water. Cook on low for six to seven hours or until tender.

When garbanzos are done cooking, place in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle in a little olive oil and/or water to thin out the hummus to desired consistency and blend until smooth.

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries

As my friends know, I have an affinity for gourmet fries. Here's a quick, easy recipe using sweet potatoes or yams.

4 sweet potatoes or yams sliced into thin strips
olive oil
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until sweet potatoes or yams are evenly covered with spices.

To prevent yams from stick to baking sheet, take wire cooling racks and place on baking sheet. Spread fries on the cooling rack and then place in oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until fries are tender.

Try these with Yum Sauce or another favorite dip.

Yum Sauce

This sauce adapted from Cafe Yum is a great multi-tasker. Thin it out with a little lemon juice and oil and you have a salad dressing; serve it with beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. and you have rice bowls; or use it as a dipping sauce for fries.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 can garbanzo beans
1 block of tofu
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. salt or more to taste
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric
1 bunch of cilantro

Place the water and almonds in a blender and blend on high for 1 minute, add the rest of the ingredients (except cilantro) and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Add cilantro and blend 30 more seconds or until no leaves remain.

Vegetarian Sushi

For a one year anniversary, a former boyfriend took me to this amazing restaurant in Portland, called the Portland City Grill which is located on the 30th floor of the Us Bank building in downtown Portland. It was there that I was introduced to my new love: sushi. Previous to this experience, I had thought that I hated sushi, but I discovered that was only because I hadn't been introduced to the proper way of eating it. With the first bite, I was hooked! The combination of flavors and wasabi was like fireworks exploding in my mouth.


Even more fun than eating sushi however, is making it. Sushi is a fun meal especially with a group of friends. Set all the ingredients out on a table, and begin rolling!


Ingredients:


Sushi rice:
3 cups short grain rice
3 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt


Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. When it's almost done heat the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt on the stove and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Than slowly pour the liquid over the rice and mix in. Allow the rice to cool for thirty minutes or so before using in in sushi.


This is a basic recipe so I recommend experiment with the amount of vinegar and sugar. Some people prefer more seasoned rice, while others prefer it barely seasoned.


Wasabi: is a root that is often compared to horseradish. Many wasabi pastes or powders contain colored horseradish and little or no wasabi because it's difficult to cultivate and so is more expensive. Real wasabi will not be cheap, but it will definitely be worth it! Read more


Nori: thin, dried sheets of seaweed used to wrap sushi.


Pickled ginger: this is usually served on the side and eaten after of with a nori roll. According to one of my Korean friends, ginger was originally eaten to kill the parasites found in raw fish. 


Optional ingredients: You can roll almost anything up in sushi, but some of the more common items are: avocado, cucumber, and shredded carrots. I've also used, green onions, eggs, cream cheese (vegan of course), and mushrooms.


Here's a video if you want to see how a professional does it:

Millet Burgers

About two months ago, I experimented with a gluten-free diet due to an annoying, persistent rash that frequently appeared on my hands. The gluten-free diet lasted about two months and then it ended when I realized that gluten wasn't the problem. However, while going gluten-free I discovered all these new grains such a millet—which this recipe uses—that I'd never used before. It made me realize that those with gluten-intolerance might actually be the lucky ones, they eat all these wonderful foods that a lot of people have never heard of.


Millet Burgers

1 cup millet

4 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onions, minced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cups carrots, peeled and grated

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted

1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cooked rice

Bring the millet and water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook until all the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

In a mixing bowl mix together the remainder of the ingredients and then add to that the onion mixture and cooked millet. Form the mixture into patties and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.