Pasta with Peas, Smoked Almonds and Dill

This pasta is quick from start to finish and delicious down to the last bite.

Pasta with Peas, Smoked Almonds and Dill

original recipe HERE

Ingredients

• 16 oz. small dry pasta (ditalini, macaroni)
• 10 oz. fresh or frozen sweet peas
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
• 1 cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup chopped smoked almonds
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 5 Tb. olive oil
• 2 Tb. dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Two minutes before it’s ready, add the peas to the boiling water.
2. Once the peas have warmed through, drain the pasta and peas.
3. Pour the pasta with peas into a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, and oil together in a small bowl. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
5. Pour the dressing over the pasta and mix well.
6. Add the dill and green onions and toss.
7. When ready to serve, sprinkle with smoked almonds.

I made just a couple of very minor changes to this.  First, after the first time I made it I wanted a little more dressing so I just used an overflowing TBS measurement while making the dressing and it was perfect.  I also used about 2 TBS of dried dill instead of fresh once and didn't notice a difference in the flavor at all.  Oh and I barely salted and peppered it the second time and I liked it a little better.

Cowboy Caviar {Vegan}

A few weeks ago I showed up at my moms house for dinner to find this bean and corn salad and fell in love.  She called it Cowboy Caviar and served it with tortilla chips.  I will be making this regularly through out the hot summer months.

Cowboy Caviar {Vegan}  

2 TBS Rice Vinegar (I didn't have any so I used regular white vinegar)

1 1/2 tsp salad oil

3-4 TBS lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 tsp)

1/8 tsp pepper

1 large firm ripe avocado

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed well

1 can corn or 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn

2/3 c. thinly sliced green onions

2/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 lb. Roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

Salt, to taste

1 bag tortilla chips

1.  In large bowl, mix vinegar, lime, oil, garlic and pepper.  Peel, pit and cut avocado and add to vinegar mixture, mixing to coat.

2.  Drain and rinse black-eyed peas and corn.  Add everything together, mixing gently to coat.  Add salt to taste.  Let it sit and marinate all together for at least 15 minutes.


Enjoy!!!

Summer of Raw Food Mini Series: Wilted Zucchini and Asparagus Salad with a Creamy Garlic White Miso Dressing {RAW}

My first attempt at raw food "cooking" was a success!  Ready???

Tonight I made a Wilted Zucchini and Asparagus Salad with a {Raw} Creamy Garlic White Miso Dressing - adapted from Addicted to Veggies.  TALK ABOUT DELICIOUS!

In order to make this meal you'll need to do a little prep work in advance.  You'll need Raw Vegan Sour Cream (RECIPE) and Date Paste (RECIPE).  Both things are very easy and will keep in your fridge for about 3 weeks (I froze some of the date paste as well) so you'll get a lot of use out of both of them.

First thing to do is prep the "noodles" for your salad, you'll need:

one bunch of asparagus
and about 4-5 medium zucchini's
2 TBS raw pumpkin seeds
1 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

1. Wash all produce and snap off the ends of the asparagus.
2. Take a vegetable peeler and peel the asparagus and zucchini into thin "ribbons".  For pictures step by step go to original recipe: HERE
3. Grind up pumpkin seeds with spices in spice grinder or food processor and then sprinkle over ribbons and toss gently to completely coat.
4. Place the vegetable ribbons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silmat and dry/wilt in the oven.  To do this, turn the oven on the lowest possible setting (mine actually starts at between 150º - 200º) and leave the door cracked open.  I put a thermometer on the baking tray with the vegetable ribbons and found that my oven was at about 110º which is within Raw heating standards.  For more information on Raw warming/dehydrating methods click HERE.
5. Let vegetable ribbons warm for about 30-40 minutes.

While the ribbons are wilting prep the rest of the salad, you'll need:

1 red bell pepper, fine chop
1/2 cucumber, cut into small quarter chunks
2 TBS of onion, minced
half a pint of grape tomatoes, quartered

and for the dressing, you'll need:

1 cup of your homemade raw vegan sour cream
1 TBS unpasturized white miso paste
1 TBS of your homemade date paste
1/2 TBS onion powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic, minced or pressed
cracked black pepper to taste
add water to desired consistency (start with about 2 TBS)

1. Whisk together until completely combined and then chill.

So now all you have to do is put it all together.  Take your vegetable ribbons and place them in your serving dish, top with other vegetables and gently toss.  Drizzle dressing over the top and SERVE.

I served this to my husband, my (carnivorous) brother and a couple of neighbors and everyone loved it! 

Spring Quinoa Salad {Vegan}

I fell in love with Peruvian food when I was a missionary in.....Nebraska.  Yeah, there are a lot of Peruvians in Nebraska and they are wonderful!  I love them and I LOVE their food.  When I moved to Philly my first visiting teaching companion turned out to be from Peru!  She is a WONDERFUL person and OH how it was wonderful to live near her and every so often get to eat her food.  I have never eaten anything of hers that wasn't absolutely mouthwatering and delicious!  The last time we ate with her and her husband (Hey, Mike!) before we moved she made this salad and it was so simple and refreshing and DELICIOUS that I have been dreaming of it ever since.  I finally got around to getting the recipe from her and so now I will share.  This is the perfect hot summer meal.

From Karen's Peruvian Kitchen

Spring Quinoa Salad {VEGAN}

2 cups of water
1 cup of quinoa, soaked for 20 minutes and rinsed well

1/2 lb asparagus (could use frozen)
1 ear fresh corn or 3/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber

Herb Lime Vinaigrette Recipe

2oz fresh lime juice (about 2 fresh limes)
4 oz olive oil (~1/2 cup)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt pepper to taste

1. Rinse and drain Quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Combine the 2 cups of water and the Quinoa in a 2qt sauce pot bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. The grain should be soft and the germ should be visible. Spread out on a baking sheet to cool.

2. To cook the asparagus and corn, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus (cut about 2" off the bottom the spear). Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Cook the asparagus spears in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes and the using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove them from the water and plunge them into the ice water to stop from boiling. You want the asparagus to be tender-crisp. In the same boiling water cook the ear of corn for 5 minutes and then put it in the ice water too.

3. Cut the asparagus on the bias into 2" pieces. Cut the corn off the cob and separate the kernels. Cut the red pepper into julienned strips, about 1/4'x2". Peel the cucumber, cut into 2" sections and then into 1/4" strips.

4. Put the Quinoa and vegetables into a large bowl.

5.  In a medium sized bowl combine lime juice, parsley and whisk together while adding in the olive oil slowly.

6. Add all the dressing to the Quinoa and vegetables and combine.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Corn and Spinach Salad

Rachel Ray's Corny Salad turned out to be a really great side salad for my baked potato and chili dinner I made. Try it :)

Balsamic Tomato Couscous

Speaking of having an abundance of garden fresh tomatoes (...no? See post below)...

I made THIS great couscous the other night. It was really very good. My two year old ate it up and my husband was happy to see that I had doubled the recipe so there would be plenty for him to take for lunch for the rest of the week.

Couscous is surprisingly higher in protein then people usually think. 1 cup of cooked couscous has 6 grams of protein. Surprised that this light and fluffy grain could have so much power packed in it? I was. (it's also a good source of selenium and has many other vitamins and minerals to offer...just so you know). I just always thought of it as pretty weak because it's just so dainty on the plate. But don't be fooled by its pretty appearance, couscous can hold its own.

Now, back to the recipe.

I did make one slight change to the recipe. I didn't use nearly as much balsamic as the recipe called for (although I think it would have been delicious...I LOVE BALSAMIC!) before I was feeding 4 children...all 3 and under and also vinegar and this pregnancy do not agree with each other. So I just marinated the tomatoes in the dressing and then I drained them quite a bit before adding the couscous.

We served this with roasted carrots and potatoes, steamed asparagus and whole grain bread on with vegan butter spread. It was a delicious dinner!

Balsamic Tomato Couscous

2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
5 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring broth to a boil. Then add the basil and garlic and stir.
2. Add the couscous, cover the pan and remove from heat. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
3. Seed and chop tomatoes and transfer them into serving bowl.
4. In a small bowl mix balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a touch of salt and pepper, pour over tomatoes. Toss.
5. Fluff couscous with a fork and then add to serving bowl. Toss together coating everything in the dressing.
6. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or cold.

ENJOY!

Easy Summer {Vegetarian} Lunch

I think everyone has a version of this recipe and that's the best thing about it. It's so versatile. You can adapt it to your personal tastes or your pantry's current inventory. No problem.

This makes a perfect summer lunch (or dinner) and lately I've been living off of it. My husband has also loved having it ready to take to work.

Pasta Salad

3-4 carrots, chopped
2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cups of cubed Colby Jack cheese
1 lb WHOLE GRAIN Pasta Shells (I like THESE and I stock up on them every time there are on sale)
1 package of cubed super firm tofu
Your favorite homemade or bottled Italian Dressing
Parmesan, finely grated (optional)
Romano, finely grated (optional)

1. Drain and press your tofu, put in a air tight container and then cover with Italian dressing. Place in fridge and let marinate for 20-60 minutes.
2. Get a pot of water boiling and cook pasta to your desired done-ness (is that not a word? I use it all the time). Drain, rinse and let cool.
3. While pasta is cooking and tofu is marinating. Prepare other ingredients.
4. Toss everything together and coat liberally with Italian dressing.
5. Chill in the refrigerator. The longer everything marinates together the better.

This is obviously very easy to make vegan - just forgo the cheese (but make sure to add the marinated tofu), but this pregnant lady is all about the cheese right now so I'm leaving it in :)

Warm Thai Salad with Crispy Tofu

After watching a marathon of "Take Home Chef" while cleaning and folding laundry the other day, I dreamed up this recipe. I wrote it down about a week ago and just tried it tonight. IT WAS DELICIOUS! It is very similar to the flavors in the Thai Vegi Wraps so if you liked those you will LOVE this!

Warm Thai Salad with Crispy Tofu

(Sorry, I had to take this picture with my cell phone)

2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 package super firm tofu, cubed - prepared according to instructions in THIS post
1-2 red pepper, julienned
*2 green papaya and or an apple or two, julienned
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 small bunch kale (flat leaf works best), cut into thin ribbons
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

You can use any Thai peanut vinaigrette that you like OR just use the dressing recipe from our Thai Veggie Wraps post.

1. Prepare all vegetables into a large serving bowl, toss and refrigerate.
2. Warm dressing or let it sit out at room temperature.
3. Heat peanut oil over high heat. Once peanut oil is really good and hot toss in prepared tofu cubes and fry until they are golden brown and just crispy. Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil and then toss into salad.
4. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. If salad is not going to be finished in one meal, do not add dressing, just pour it over individual servings.

This salad is great served cold in the summer months as well. This recipe makes enough for 4 good sized portions and it doesn't save very well. It might keep for one day in a cold fridge, so if you need to, half this and finish it in one serving.

*Papayas can be expensive and can't be found all year round so use them in this recipe when they are in season or just when you feel like it but an apple will do just fine :)

Julienning made easy:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this combination of tools. It makes peeling, thinly slicing and julienning so fast and easy! I had a Japanese mandolin that I bought as a birthday present for myself. It didn't even work and it wasn't cheap! I sent that baby right back and started looking for different options. Then I ran into THIS on the Bed, Bath and Beyond online store, went up and bought it with one of the million 20% off coupons and it is probably the BEST $12 I've ever invested in my kitchen.

Make sure to watch the little clip of the infomercial they have on the website. It really does all of that!!!

Oriental Orzo Salad {Vegan}

I had lunch with a friend last year and she served the YUMMIEST pasta salad EVER! I could not rest until I had the recipe and lucky for me (now that I'm not so into the meat eating) it is easily adaptable.

Oriental Orzo Salad

1 lb bag/box of Orzo, cooked according to package directions
1 package of super firm cubed tofu*, marinated in teriyaki sauce**
1 small can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
Toasted almonds
Sugar snap peas (in a pinch I am happy to use regular old frozen peas - about a cup)

Combine the above ingredients in large serving bowl.

*If you're not sure about how to correctly prepare tofu. Please go HERE.

Dressing

½ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar (you can use regular white vinegar in a pinch if you need to)
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

(you can cut out some of the fat but cutting the olive oil in half and then adding an extra Tbsp or two of the other ingredients)

Combine well and pour over salad. Mix well until everything is coated and chill.

**My homemade Teriyaki Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar - packed
1 1/4 cup water
4 cloves minced garlic
a few shakes of red pepper flakes (optional)
-and when I'm feeling fancy I'll throw in some canned pineapple with the juice.

Combine everything and whisk until sugar is dissolved (heating it can speed up this process).