Veggie Quesadilla

Veggie Quesadilla

1 red bell pepper sliced matchstick style
1 zuchini sliced matchstick style
1 onion diced
olive oil to taste
coarse sea salt to taste
crushed black pepper to taste
daiya cheese
flour and corn tortillas
earth balance

I love to make quesadillas and do it quite frequently, usually for lunch or for an impromptu dinner. All you need is cheese/daiya abnd tortillas. You can get fancy and add vegetable fillings like in this recipe, black beans, or whatever you can imagine. I’ve tried just about everything and am never let down by the end result when frying them up the way I do in this recipe. I find that I like using both corn and flour, each have a slightly different taste and texture and both are equally pleasing. So you can try this recipe- which came about when we didn’t have a plan for dinner, and all these veggies were going to waste if we didn’t use them soon- or invent your own and have fun with it.

Quesadilla veggie filling
lightly oil a skillet and turn heat to med-high, add onion, salt and pepper and let brown (about 7 minutes, leave heat on higher and stir less in order to brown). then add bell pepper and zuchini and toss for about 2 minutes then remove from heat.

take a frying pan/skillet and put over med-high heat, add small amount of earth balance to pan, once melted add your preferred style tortilla (flour or corn, I like both but the corn takes longer to get crispy), add your desired amount of daiya and veggie filling, cover with another tortilla and let brown and get crispy, drop another spot of earth balance to the top of the top half/cover tortilla, then flip and repeat to your heart’s content.

Vegetarian Pizza

1 package trader joes plain white pizza dough
1 large tomato-thinly sliced
1.5 cups fresh basil- torn/ripped to medium size pcs
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can black olives ( I buy the large whole olives because I figure its cheaper than buying the cans of pre sliced olives and who can’t slice them on their own?)
1/2 zuchini- thinly sliced
1 jar of pasta sauce (marinara or whatever kind/brand you like)
1 bag mozz cheese shredded (daiya cheese- mozz style shredded if you want to make it totally vegan)

flour a flat surface for rolling out your pizza dough and proceed to roll out to your desired size/thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, place on a pizza stone or a baking sheet and adjust the parts of the dough with your fingers in the areas that need to be filled out. Then lightly brush with olive oil. Spread the pasta sauce over the dough surface until you are satisfied, layer with the cheese, and add the rest of your toppings. I put the tomatoes and basil on last and finish with another drizzle of olive oil. Place in preheated oven on 450 and cook for approx 15 minutes, be careful not to cook it too long, the trader joes crust will turn rock hard and be like a breadstick if you cook too long.

Vegan Butternut Squash Pizza

I love to invent my own pizzas, I used to go to the store buy a few of those boboli ready made crusts and whatever toppings I wanted to use and viola home made pizza. Its fun for the kids as well because they get to help put the toppings on and be a part of “making” dinner. So I got even more stoked when I first learned of the ready made pizza dough that you can get at Trader Joe’s. Its way better than the other stuff and really easy to work with. Over time I’ve gotten more creative with the different kinds of pizzas I’ve made but it all starts with what kind of toppings sound good to me and then you can start to vary the sauces you use and really get creative. That’s where this recipe came from. Well, it really started with the unused butternut squash sitting on my counter that needed to be used before it went to waste. I guess I have to be honest, and admit that a lot of my inspiration spawns from items that are in the fridge or cupboards that will waste if not used when we happen to have nothing on the slate for the evening for dinner, or afternoon for lunch. This one was really good, especially for an entirely vegan pizza. I usually make one vegan style for me and Ashley and one with regular mozzarella for the kids, and I will usually eat a piece or two of the kids’ pizza (as long as I haven’t used any meat for it) because there is still nothing quite like REAL cheese. But this one was good enough to quell the craving for the real stuff.

1 package trader joes garlic herb pizza dough
1 butternut squash
1 onion- diced
2 cloves garlic- chopped
2 packages diaya cheese mozz style shredded
small handful of brussel sprouts (about 2 cups worth)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups fresh kale- torn
3/4 cup almond milk
1.5 tbsp olive oil
coarse sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Half the squash and then cut the halves in half again, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste then place in oven on 400 degrees and let roast for about 45min-1hr. Its done when you can poke it with a fork and the fork slides in like you are forking a piece of butter. after about 30 minutes of roasting check it, if its still really firm you can boost the heat to 450 and just check every 15min or so to see if its reached the desired tenderness.

While you wait for the squash you can prep the sprouts. Coat the bottom of a frying skillet with olive oil and about a 1/2tsp of salt, set the burner to med-high heat and then quarter the brussel sprouts and place in the skillet, let sprouts fry for about 4 minutes then add 1/2 the diced onion and a few more pinches of salt and some fresh ground pepper and continue frying for another 6 min or just check to see when they are browned, once they’ve been browned to your hearts content then stir/toss them and fry for an additional minute or two then remove from heat.

Once the squash and the sprouts are done, remove the skin from the squash and chop into bite size pieces. Take all of the squash, except the pieces you want to reserve for your pizza topping, and place in a blender or medium-large size food processor. Add the garlic, olive oil (1.5tbsp), almond milk, 1/2 cup of daiya, the rest of the diced onion and salt and pepper to taste and puree until smooth and creamy.

flour a flat surface for rolling out your pizza dough and proceed to roll out to your desired size/thickness, I rolled mine out to fit a baking sheet since I wanted it to be a thinner crust and my pizza stone is kind of small. Once the dough is rolled out, place on a pizza stone or a baking sheet and adjust the parts of the dough with your fingers in the areas that need to be filled out. Then lightly brush with olive oil. Use the squash puree as your pizza sauce, I just spread it out until there was a nice thin layer that covered almost every inch possible on the crust, leaving maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch of sauce/puree free crust edge. Layer the pizza with the daiya cheese until you’ve got good coverage or are satisfied, add the rest of the squash, your brussel sprouts, the kale and then sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Then place in the preheated oven on 450 and cook for about 15 minutes be careful not to cook it too long, the trader joes crust will turn rock hard and be like a breadstick if you cook too long.

Braised Artichoke Salad

Braised Artichoke Salad

1/2 onion- diced
1 clove garlic- minced
1/2 cup mushrooms shitake- chopped
1 can artichokes in water- chopped
1tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs
1-2 tbsp grated daiya (parmesan style)

Brown the onions and garlic with mushrooms in the olive oil on med-high heat for about 10 minutes (or however long until they look brown/carmelized), once the saute is finished reduce heat slightly and add the artichokes. Stir somewhat frequently. After the artichokes have been braised (about 8 minutes) add the bread crumbs and daiya, toss/mix well into the saute.

I used a mix of arugula, red romaine and regular romaine for the salad (approx one head of regular romaine chopped, 1/4-1/2 a head of red romaine chopped, and 3 cups of arugula. I didn’t really measure, just kind of eyed it out and added what I wanted for each). Once all the greens have been washed and prepped, I dumped the cooled saute onto the greens, added fresh ground black pepper, 1 cup left over quinoa, some more grated daiya and if not going vegan 6-8 anchovies (from jar soaked in oil).

Dressing for salad

1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1tbsp olive oil
1.5tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon juice

whisked together

Other ingredients in recipe not listed above
1 cup quinoa

Serves 3-5 (or just me if you are eating this for your dinner and had nothing else the ENTIRE day)

Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Mushroom Medley with Brown Rice Pasta

Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Mushroom Medley with Brown Rice Pasta

2 cups broccoli florets
1 onion- diced
4 cups brussel sprouts- halved
3 cups mushroom medley- chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 lemon
2tbsp earth balance
3tbsp olive oil
crushed red pepper- to taste, only for adding fire
fresh ground black pepper- to taste
coarse sea salt- to taste
3 dashes dried thyme
3 dashes driver savory
1 box brown rice pasta penne style

Sprouts

heat 1tbsp of the olive oil on medium heat in a deep skillet. Salt the bottom of the skillet. While the oil is warming, rinse and slice the brussel sprouts. Put the sprouts face down in the oil as soon as you’ve finished slicing them.
Dice the onion, when finished dicing, add 1/4 cup to the sprouts. Let sprouts brown for 10-12 minutes (just check them after 8 to see if desired browning is present). When the sprouts are finished browning, turn the heat down to simmer/low, add 1/4 cup of white wine, 1/2 tbsp earth balance, dust with a layer of fresh ground black pepper and lightly dust with salt. Add zest of half a lemon and all of a single lemon’s juice. Leave on simmer.

Mushroom Medley

heat the rest of the olive oil (2tbsp) in a large chef skillet on medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and spices, add rest of diced oninon. Saute for 5 minutes, add mushrooms and earth balance (1.5tbsp). Saute for another 5 minutes, combine sprout mixture with mushroom medley. Add broccoli last so it doesn’t get mushy. Toss with a splash more of white wine, olive oil and about 1.5tbsp vegetable stock, and 2 small handfuls of daiya cheese, then cover and simmer on low for about 7 minutes.

When the pasta is done, toss it in the sprout and mushroom medley mixture on high heat for about a minute and a half, then serve. I like to crack some black pepper, 2 pinches of crushed rep pepper flakes and shave some parmesan cheese on top of the pasta after it is plated.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are, I polished a batch off with Ashley’s help on my own)

Strawberry Biscuits and Vegan Carmel Sauce

Strawberry Biscuits and Vegan Carmel Sauce

Okay got this Biscuit recipe from the Babycakes cookbook, but it calls for spelt flour and we didn’t have any so I substituted Bob’s gluten free all purpose flour instead. They were pretty good but depending on how many biscuits you want, it might be a good idea to double the recipe, especially if you make them as thick as the recipe calls for, I definitely didn’t as you can tell from the pictures. Warning, they were not good the following day, they didn’t last, got soggy. Maybe I should’ve kept them in the fridge but the book said store in plastic wrap at room temp and that didn’t work.

Biscuits-
2 cups Bob’s gluten free all purpose flour- plus extra for dusting
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp coarse sea salt- plus more for sprinkling
1/3 cup coconut oil melted- plus more for brushing
3/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 375 (the book says to line a baking sheet with parchment paper, I didn’t and they were fine.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly Pour the hot water into the dry ingredients and stir as you pour, then repeat the process with the melted coconut oil until fully combined and a dough is formed. If the dough is too dry add more water.

Dust the counter with the extra flour, place the dough on the surface and drag it through the flour. Then pat the dough gently until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits and arrange them on the baking sheet. Brush the biscuits with the extra oil, sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake the biscuits on the center rack for 8 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees after 4 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Carmel Sauce-
1/2 stick earth balance
1 cup sugar (natural cane)
1 dash fresh vanilla
2tbsp almond milk

Melt the earth balance in a mid size sauce pan on medium high heat, slowly stir in the sugar, add vanilla, then bring to boil. It will be bubbly all over and start to rise, stir it constantly, once it boils for 1-2 minutes, reduce to simmer, add almond milk and stir, then remove from heat and serve.

Other ingredients used not mentioned above
Strawberries

Serves 4-5

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Dinner together, at the table, as a family is so important.  Its a nightly ritual in our house. The TV is off, maybe some nice music is playing but playing low enough to where we can have family conversation.  The kids are pretty tired by dinner time from their busy days; but I don't want to lose touch, or look back when they are grown and wonder where the time went.  So I try to pry as much as I can from them at the dinner table, and use it as a time for us to pray together to start our meal, to eat good food we can all enjoy, and to get closer to each other through fellowship and conversation.  We have so many cool and hilarious moments together as a family at the dinner table that are frozen in my memory because we make a point to sit at the table and eat together no matter what...unless of course we are eating out then its a miracle from God if we can get through the meal without one or two of them breaking loose from the table and wreaking havoc in the poor establishment we've decided to patronize for that meal.  Half kidding...sometimes...Anyway, I love this dish and you can go totally vegan on it by subbing tofu products for the minimal amount of cheese in the recipe...I just have to enjoy some cheese sometimes, that is the Italian in me that I can't let go of.  Come on.. fresh, quality parmesan cheese slices or hunks with red apple slices...who wouldn't grind that?  Haven't tried it?  Don't hate it 'till you've tried to appreciate it.

Time consuming, multi-step process for preparation in this dish but well worth it if you can afford the time.  It’s light but rich and layered in flavors at the same time.  Its possible to make totally vegan but the Italian in me can’t give up the goodness of cheese entirely.

Roasted Veggies

4 small-med sized broccoli heads- chopped, stems removed

4 red bell peppers- ripped/torn into small pieces

3 carrots- sliced and halved

1 shallot diced

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp coarse sea salt

2 tsp herbs de provence

1tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tsp balsamic vinegar

wash, drain, chop and prep all veggies and spread on cookie sheet, dust with spices and dressings and turn/toss for even coating.  Roast in oven @ 450 for about 30 minutes or to your liking.

Sauce/Puree for Lasagna

1 small onion- chopped

1/2 shallot- chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic

3/4 cup jarred roasted red bell pepper- chopped

1 cup of finished roasted veggies 

2 tbsp ricotta cheese (sub tofu ricotta if want to make entirely vegan)

2tsp olive oil

2tbsp torn fresh basil

4 tomatoes chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1/2 can of tomato sauce

put all ingredients in large food processor (or blender) and mix until smooth and creamy.  For a creamier and less chunky sauce add 1/2 cup of almond milk.

Mushroom Saute (for Lasagna filling)

1 small onion- diced

5 cups cremini mushroom sliced

1 tsp salt

1tsp fresh ground black pepper

3-4 tbsp earth balance

1 tbsp olive oil

dash of red wine (any kind, I used the last bit of a bottle that wasn’t drinkable anymore)

Saute onions in earth balance, salt and pepper for 5-7 min (until opaque), add mushrooms and olive oil, saute for 3-4 min, then add wine and simmer for 10-12 min.

other ingredients needed

lasagna noodles

1 can black olives- chopped

1 can favorite pasta sauce

daiya cheese- mozz style

2 fresh zucchini- thinly sliced
1 Tub of Ricotta (part skim) cheese- (sub Tofu Ricotta for Vegan)
4oz Parmasen cheese ( exclude if making vegan)

As you layer it...

When its finished..YUM!

Sophie enjoying..

Ash's Parents in town...

Okay so lots of steps and prep involved in this dish, so I find that what works best is to get done what takes the longest first.  You want to get the veggies in the oven to roast first.  Once those are in, start prepping your puree and have it ready so that when the veggies are done, you just pop the cup of cooked roasted veggies that you need in the processor, and then blend away.  As soon as the puree is prepped and waiting for the veggies to be done roasting, start the mushroom/onion saute.  Once the veggies are done roasting, add the necessary amount to the processor and puree, then get a lasagna dish or casserole dish, and layer the bottom with the other half of the can of tomato sauce left over from the puree, and add a few spoonfulls of your fav pasta sauce to the bottom of the dish as well.  Then, one by one, spread about 1/2 tbsp of ricotta (or tofu substitute) on the lasagna noodles (up to you how you want to go with the noodles, you can go no boil/bake or do the real deal, I find that the no bakers can tend to get gummy), and layer or lay them out to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.  Then you add your fillings to the first layer, add a few spoonfulls of mushroom saute, roasted veggies, your puree, chopped black olives, daiya cheese, and fresh zucchini slices (as thinly sliced as you can make them) to each noodle, then layer with another noodle and repeat.  I like to stack it up till its almost taller than the casserole dish itself, the last layer is just a noodle topper with a mix of the canned sauce, your puree sauce on top with a sprinkled layer of daiya and fresh grated parmesan cheese.  Place in the oven and bake @ 400 for about 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.


Serves 5-7
13x9x2 dish utilized

coffee

I love black coffee and if you are a coffee lover you have to try Stumptown Roasters coffee.  They are based in Oregon, Ashley's family ships it down to us all the time...think you can order online...if you live near LA their is a vegan bakery called BabyCakes (lots of good, sweet, gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free eats in this place http://www.babycakesnyc.com/locations.html) that sells it by the pound and serves it.

 More important than the beans I've found is the quality of the coffee maker.  The way it filters the water over the coffee is important, I think.  Spent $80 one time on one of those target all in one grinder/coffee makers and it produced absolute undrinkable mud, no matter how much I spent on fancy beans.  We own a Capresso brand (older model 441) simple coffee maker (think you can google shop it for around $180-230) and it makes the most amazing coffee.  I can put cheap Safeway brand grounds in it and still get a decent cup of coffee.  So, combination of quality coffee maker, good natural, organic coffee beans (whole beans, always grind your own) and always make sure to use filtered, cold water for brewing.

Forgot about Sleepymonk Coffee it rocks just as much as Stumptown, its another Oregon roasted bean and crazy good, haven't found anything that even gets close to touching either of these two brands.


Coffee
http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/

http://www.sleepymonkcoffee.com/



Capresso coffee maker links
http://www.a14electronics.com/product-p/capresso-mt500-440-441.htm

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbm=shop&source=hp&q=capresso+coffee+maker&aq=f&aqi=g5&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=b9ea6ed042ff5ffb&biw=1024&bih=895

The Beginning

Ok so history on my family and eating habits...Meat meat meat...raised in Italian family where meat was part of every meal.  My wife Ashley and I have been married about 8 years now and we've always had meat be a part of our diet, Ashley is an exceptional baker, so baked goods have also been one of our weaknesses.  Rewind to a year ago, and Ashley snuck in some vegan dinners 3 or 4 nights in a row- without really telling me- and I didn't notice.  Friday night rolls around and its taco night, I am in the kitchen buttering some tortillas in a skillet; and Ashley arrives home from picking the kids up at soccer practice and is like, "Oh I am not eating that stuff anymore."  I flipped out...literally flipped out, once I clarified what "that stuff" was (which turned out to be anything dairy or meat related.  Oh, you know, ALL THE CRAP I LOVED AND COOKED WITH EVERY MEAL, EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE UNTIL.... now!)...I told her that was a blow equated to the blow that would be felt in telling me something like, "we are changing religions to <insert whatever religion that would horrify you the most, I will refrain as not to offend anyone, even though I hate that PC minded BS we are all concerned with now a days.  I mean is it really PC if you are purposefully saying something that just sounds nicer and isn't what you would normally say?  Come on people, let's just be real.>."  The Italian in me lost it, thoughts ran through my brain like, "how the heck am I going to cook without butter," a tear welled up as I thought, "no more BBQ'd pork tenderloin," "no brussel sprouts braised with bacon!"I loved to cook pork a million different ways and was having a hard time reconciling life without pork at that particular moment.  But I got over it (after 24 hours or so), told Ashley to keep cooking that way and that I would eat it; but I wasn't sure I would get totally on board with a full lifestyle/diet change.  A year later, and I am meat free (fish only from time to time) and I feel great, probably the healthiest I've been.  My cholesterol dropped like 90 points from my previous physical, I lost like 30 lbs from my heaviest weight and I still enjoy food as much as I did when I was a carnivorous freak.

I've always enjoyed cooking and kind of had a passion for food.  Ash always says I cook comfort food, I would have to agree, though I have tried to branch out to the lighter and less comforty, type foods (I know that's not really a word..grammar Nazis).  I love to try new things and eat at new restaurants that I've never been to or heard of before.  My cooking style has always been kind of improvisational, I like to look in the fridge or cabinets and throw something together; or I will get an idea in my head and try to imagine what sounds good to me to eat, and then go to the store for the ingredients.  I only recently started to try my hand at following recipes and actually measuring ingredients.  Some of the stuff I've thrown together has turned out to be edible so I finally decided to put it in print, and maybe friends and family will try some of this stuff out and enjoy.

Hoping I can get my wife Ashley to put some of her recipes on her as well, she's a great cook, not afraid to try something new, which I think is huge and risky, especially when you are cooking it for people besides yourself or spouse.  And she is an AMAZING baker, that's where at least half of those 30lbs I lost came from, pies, cookies, crumbles, muffins, tortes, you name it she can bake it.

anyway not exactly sure what this will develop into or if this will be the last post I ever post but we'll see..

Roasted Veggie Rice Bowl

Roasted Vegetables and Brown Rice Bowls

Brown Basmati Rice (or just plain brown rice)

1.5 cups brocoli cut in small bunches shaving stems to no longer than an inch to an inch and a half

1.5 cups brussel sprouts sliced in halves

1 cup red bell pepper chopped coarsely

2 avg size carrots sliced

1 zuchini sliced in halfmoon pieces

1/2 bunch of kale rinsed and chopped coarsely

1 shallot diced

1-2 cloves of garlic

1-3 tsp crushed red pepper (to give fire, use to your preference)

2tsp of coarse sea salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

2-3 tbsp of olive oil

1tbsp honey ginger white balsamic (from “Olive Oil & Beyond”)

-sub 2tsp of honey, 1/2 tsp minced ginger, 2tsp white wine vinegar

1tsp worsteschire

2tsp agave nectar

1 avocado

sesame seeds

Rice:

Measure rice as desired and add water according to instructions on box/container (if recipe calls for 2cups of water, use half water and half vegetable stock, this will give the rice a bit more flavor), add pinch of salt, add tsp sesame oil, tsp olive oil, 2 pinches dried parsley, 2 pinches cumin seed, 4 or 5 fresh sage leaves and bring all to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer and let cook according to the time on the rice box.  Check rice every 20 minutes or so and add water and or vegetable stock as necessary until rice is cooked to your liking.  (I’ve found not all boxes give accurate cooking times)

Roasted Veggies:

Toss all veggies and veggie ingredients, except kale, until everything is lightly and evenly coated and spread over a baking sheet, cook on 400 degrees for about 45 minutes (or cook as long or as little as desired).  10-15 minutes before veggies are done   roasting toss kale with juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2tbsp olive oil, 2 pinches of salt and throw in with other veggies to roast for the remainder of the time.

Serve veggies over rice and garnish with sliced avocado and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Drizzle with terriyaki glaze if desired for added flavor.

Serves 3-4

Quinoa Veggie Curry

Quinoa Veggie Curry

Quinoa-

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

mix all ingredients in small-med saucepan, bring to a boil and cook on low for 20-30 minutes (or per box instructions)

Veggies-

2 cloves garlic- minced

1 onion chopped coarsely

2 cups kale chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

1/2 cup dried shitake mushroom chopped

4tbsp earth balance

1/2 tbsp olive oil

2.5 tbsp muchi curry (yellow)

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt (preferably coarse sea salt)

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp brown rice mellow miso

1 cup zuchini matchstick sliced

1 cup fresh brocoli chopped

1/2 cup snap peas

2tsp sesame seeds

1/4 cup veg broth

1.5 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 avocados, sliced

saute on med heat garlic, onions, cumin, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in the olive oil and earth balance for 8 min, add bell pepper, mushroom, snap peas, miso, veg broth, rice vinegar (you can whisk veg broth, vinegar and miso in separate bowl before adding to ensure miso is broken down), kale, and curry and saute for 10-15min.  Add zuchini and brocoli and saute for another 5 minutes.  The longer you let everything saute or simmer on low heat the more all the flavors and their complexities will have to mesh, but always add the zuchini and brocoli last and cook no more than 5-7 minutes to ensure they stay crisp and fresh and don’t become mushy and soggy, if you don’t mind mushiness then it doesn’t matter when you add the zuchini and brocoli.  Plate up the quinoa, spoon the veggie curry mix over the quinoa, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with fresh sliced avocado.

Serves 3-4

Kale Salad

Fresh Kale and Radicchio Salad

1/2 head of radicchio chopped

4-6 cups of fresh kale chopped

1/2 cup fresh thin or early season asparagus chopped diced finely

Dressing-

1/2 clove garlic minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tbsp white balsamic

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

cayenne pepper to taste

1 tbsp dulce flakes

1tsp dried onion powder

1/2 tsp italian herbs

1tbsp fresh grated parmasean

whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl then toss in salad mixture and voila.

Serves 3-4

Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

2 cloves garlic sliced

2 small onions chopped coarsely

coarse sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

2 tomatoes chunky diced

1 can artichokes hearts (in water) chopped coarsely

2 tbsp capers

1 can black olive chopped coarsely

1/4 cup kalmatta olive chopped

1 pinch dried oregano

2 pinch crushed red pepper

2tbsp minced sun dried tomato (in oil)

1/2 cup diced roasted red bell pepper

1/2 cup frozen green peas

3/4-1 cup fresh basil

1 box pasta of your choice

saute garlic and onion with all spices on med heat for 8 min in large chef pan (almost like a wok).  toss in the rest of all the ingredients and stir and bring to rolling simmer, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least 20 minutes (the longer you simmer, the more the flavors will meld).  You can plate up the cooked pasta and then spoon the sauce on top or if your sauce pan is big enough to house all the pasta and the sauce you can just dump the cooked pasta in the saute pan with the sauce, stir and then serve.  

Pasta- I always add 2 tsp olive oil and 1tsp salt to my pasta water, when the pasta is done, I like to rinse with cool fresh water to prevent from over cooking, I always (whether putting a sauce on the pasta or not) like to toss in 1/2 tbsp of earth balance when finished to keep it from sticking together.

Serves 4-5