SwapMeat

Avocado Potato Salad

September 17th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

We were invited to a BBQ last weekend and I was asked to bring a potato salad. Although I have an amazing “traditional” vegan potato salad recipe, I thought I’d stir the pot a little and try something with a twist – and what better time to make something up from my head than when it needs to be served to a group of near strangers! Luckily (seriously, it could have gone either way), the results were really good and I had a few emails after the party asking for the recipe.

When something comes out of my head and onto my plate, I’m usually pretty critical about what I can do to improve it before it is blog-worthy. Sometimes a little tweaking is required. In the case of the potato salad recipe, the flavours were all there, it was the texture that I wanted to play with.

To me, flavour is # 1 of importance on the Good Recipe Scale (that’s a scale that I just made up in my head). The flavour has to be there, or it’s not worth putting it in your mouth in my opinion.

Texture is a different story; somewhat. I’m often willing to give a little in this area depending on what the recipe is. Generally, when I think up a dish, I want my version to be as close to the “real” version as possible if it’s a simple “veganization”. My vegan Caesar Salad is an excellent example of this. It’s as close to the real thing in texture and flavour as possible – I dare you to tell the difference in a taste test! On the other hand, there are also some things in vegan cooking that you just need to accept. Meat substitutes are a great example of this (although it often baffles me if you choose to eat a vegan diet, why you would want something to taste and feel like meat in your mouth). If you’re not using soy products or wheat gluten as a meat substitute it’s not going to have the texture of meat. That is just a fact of life. So, when it comes to that Mexican Bean Burger recipe we made up this summer (it’s one of my favourites), I’m ok if it feels more like beans in my mouth than beef! It’s the flavours that won me over on that one.

Back to the potato salad!

I prefer the chunks of potato to be a bit larger in this salad than I would make them in a traditional potato salad. The reason for this is the potatoes get lost with the other ingredients during the mixing and you could end up with something that looks more like guacamole, and is essentially mashed potatoes with guacamole flavours. Tasty, but textually not optimal!

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

12 small waxy style potatoes (about 2” in diameter)
2 ripe avocados
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced and seeds removed
3 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of half a lime
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and half the potatoes. Rinse and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until just tender (about 10-15 minutes). Do not overcook. Let the potatoes cool until they are comfortable to handle. Cut the potato into bite sized chunks (about 2cm by 2cm).

Add the jalapeño, onion, and cilantro. Salt the mixture (I used about 1 tsp). You can adjust the salt at the end as well.

In another bowl, mash the avocados with the lime juice. Add the olive oil and combine.
Gently combine the avocado mixture with the potato mixture I like to do this with my hands. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

Voila! Avocado Potato Salad! You might like to make a themed meal of it and try it with our Mexican Bean Burgers!

Summer Zucchini & Apple Curried Soup

September 11th, 2011 § 4 comments § permalink

My friend Dalyn (The Best i Ever Had) and I shared a garden plot this summer. The plot was in her back yard, so I have to say, she did most of the work. I managed to get around for the occasional weekend weeding session over a few glasses of white wine and a tomato harvest or two. It was lots of fun, and I think we learned a lot for what to do, and what not to do next year.

Photos Courtesy of Dalyn "The Best i Ever Had"

One of our crops was zucchini. We let a couple of these bad boys get a little out of control in terms of size, but mostly because there was so many we couldn’t keep up with ideas on what to do with them! I’ve had three “monsters” in my fridge for about a week, and I spent the afternoon brainstorming on zucchini baking ideas (most of which I poo pooed since I don’t consume a whole lot of baked goods in general). Then I started thinking about dinner and it came to me – I could make a summer harvest soup!

The fruits of our labour:

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 (or more) cloves of garlic
Grapeseed oil for sauteing
2 medium zucchini, chopped, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
2 apples, diced
3 cups vegetable broth
4-5 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion until translucent over high heat. Add the zucchini, garlic, and apple and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so as not to burn.

When the apple and zucchini starts to become a bit mushy, you can add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. At this point I turned the heat down to minimum and started to blend the soup in batches in my high-speed blender until all the soup was pureed. Stir in the nutritional yeast.

This is when the soup becomes your own. Everyone likes a different level of flavours and spice. I used 5 tsp of curry powder here, but your curry powder may be stronger or weaker than mine, so add 1 tsp at a time and taste often until you’ve reached the flavour that best suits you. Do the same with the salt and pepper, just adding a half a teaspoon at a time until you’ve reached the level of flavour that you like. I have to admit I did add quite a bit of salt to mine (about 3 tsp).

Once the soup is seasoned to your liking, serve it up! This would be lovely with some crusty bread and some vegan herbed cream cheese. Yum.

Rice Pudding

September 10th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

It may be a little early. Maybe I should be holding on to summer a bit longer with fruit salads and ice cream, instead of heating up the house with the oven, but I couldn’t resist…

My Nana used to say to me “You’ll miss me when I’m gone”, and boy she was right. I miss everything about her, including her rice pudding. She used to make it with evaporated milk, cream, and sugar, and would probably tell me that this “vegan thing” is complete nonsense! In tribute to my Nana, I’ve converted her famous recipe into MY vegan version. Heaven…

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 2 hours

1/3 cup aborio rice
400ml can organic coconut milk **
225ml nut milk (coconut, almond, hemp etc) **
4 tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1tbsp coconut butter, or Earth Balance

** The total liquid (milk and coconut milk combined) for this pudding is 2 1/2 cups.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

With some coconut butter or Earth Balance, grease an oven-proof baking dish (a quart size works quite well). Place all of the ingredients into the dish and give it a bit of a stir. Place in the oven.

Stir every 20-30 minutes until the pudding is baked, there will be a nice brown skin on the top.

Serve hot or cold (ah! there’s the summer), with fresh fruit or just devour alone. Be careful not to burn you tongue!

Pasta Puttanesca

September 8th, 2011 § 6 comments § permalink

A fellow vegan blogger, Maya, from The Keen Kitchen, posted a Vegan Spaghetti Puttanesca yesterday. It brought back a lot of memories as puttanesca was one of the very first raw vegan dishes I made way back when I decided to swap the meat for better health. I have to tell you, I follow about 5 blogs religiously, and I love the Keen Kitchen. It often touches a part of my past or my taste buds, and she has inspired me more than once in my own blogging. Puttanesca is one of the many examples thus far that I’m very excited to share with you.

Back in the day, when I was racing, I was invited to an Italian themed dinner party. It is often a toss up when I get invited to a dinner party as to whether or not I should attend. Not everyone cooks vegan, and I’m never quite sure if there will be something for me to eat (which if often very important when drinking copious amounts of brilliant wine), nor do I want to put anyone out when I have been invited into their home to break the bread!

On this particular night, I decided to make a pasta trio by Green Chef Chad Sarno. This is another one of my favourite blogs, as I come from a carnivorous fine dining background and the food on the Green Chefs is of the same caliber of fine dining excellence. The presentation alone keeps me inspired and excited about vegan food. One of the three recipes offered here was a raw vegan Puttanesca, and I love it to this day.

I’ve made a few adaptations to this recipe tonight as I wanted to serve it with spelt spaghetti (I didn’t have the time to make zucchini fettuccine). I’ve also hit is with a considerable amount of lemon juice and olive oil which is slightly different to the original recipe.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

1/2 cup olives, Kalamata, green and black olives (pits removed and finely chopped)
3 tbsp capers
½ c sun-dried tomatoes re-hydrated and julienne
3 tbsp olive oil
lemon zest of half a lemon
juice of half a lemon
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small red onion fine diced
1 fresh red chile minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Bring enough water to boil for your favourite pasta. I used a spelt spaghetti tonight. Do not over cook!

Prepare the puttanesca, making sure the ingredients are finely and uniformly chopped. It can be tempting to use a food processor here, but you will get the best results hand chopping (trust me, I’ve attempted the short cut).

Toss everything together with the cooked pasta and enjoy! Quick, simple, and delicious!

**please note, most of the protein from this dish comes only from the pasta (which isn’t huge). You could add some toasted nuts or nutritional yeast to bump up the protein if you like.

Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans and Rice)

September 5th, 2011 § 5 comments § permalink

We were recently married in beautiful Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba at the Melia Las Dunas (which, by the way, we highly recommend – great resort with great food). We had 17 guests and what we like to call a week long reception because there was nothing but fun to be had for the 7 days that our guests were with us. It truly was one of the best experiences I have ever had in the Caribbean – and the ONLY way to get married in my opinion.

17 of our closest friends and family!

One of the other best experiences we had while at the resort was the Frijoles Negros, Cuban Black Beans and Rice. Being vegan in Cuba was a bit of a challenge, and if I had been really smart (or had the time before we left) I probably should have prepared a little better and thought to bring more sources of vegan protein with me. Alas, I didn’t (think or have the time before we left – although I’m pretty sure the thought crossed my mind and quickly passed) and therefore lived off this traditional Cuban dish for 14 days.

You would probably think I’d be sick of this dish by now (and maybe I am a little), but I will tell you this: I love culinary challenges. I thrive on them. For me, rice has always been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to cook (and I don’t get it because your average “non-cook” can do it with their eyes closed!). I can saute, roast, flambe, broil, make a roux, thicken a sauce, julienne, dice, make my pasta the perfect al dente….but can I cook rice? To save my life – NO! It always turns out mushy or crunchy or just gross (in my opinion). I follow the directions and measure the rice to water to salt ratio PERFECTLY and still I get yuck rice.

Ok, so not big deal because I don’t actually love rice. I can live without it. I love quinoa, barley, millet, the occasional cous cous, aborio rice (risotto) and many other great grains and starches. There are lots of alternative grains that I can cook and love to eat that have kept me out of the rice cooking line of work! But now that I’ve tasted another classic Caribbean rice and beans, it’s a challenge that I’m determined to overcome.

So what’s going to be different about this kitchen adventure that really should be one of the easiest things in the world to cook? Our new rice cooker. This may be my saving grace on the one thing that I have never been able to cook! There was a recipe for Orleans Spicy Beans and Rice in the rice cooker cookbook, so I’ve just taken the rice to beans proportion of that recipe and added Cuban Frijoles Negros spices. Here goes nothing!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

1 15 oz can drained and rinsed black beans
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp olive oil for sauteing
1 celery stalk, trimmed and diced
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
5-6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp oregano leaves
1/8 – 1/4 tsp dried chipotle pepper (optional)
1 bay leaf
6 Tbsp fresh minced cilantro for garnish
1 lime sliced in 6 wedges, to serve with the rice & bean

1. Put Cuban guitar music in the CD player. Very important.

So here’s what I did in the rice cooker. If you are doing this stove-top, you would do exactly the same thing, but let the rice cook for about 30-40 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed) but really, lets be serious – what do I know about cooking rice!

Rice Cooker Method

2. Place the olive oil in the rice cooker bowl, cover and turn on for 1 minute. The covering part is quite important, because without the weight of the lid, the cooker will only turn to “warm mode”, at least on my rice cooker. I’ve determined that the rice cooker works on a weight basis (that’s my theory anyway).

Add the onions and celery and stir to coat with the hot oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions and celery are translucent. Add the garlic and stir in the rice and spices. Stir until the rice is opaque which will be about 3-4 minutes. Throw in the bay leaf, the vegetable stock and the rinsed black beans. Here my rice cooker turned to “warm mode” again, so I had to turn it back to cook (just be on the lookout for your cooker turning modes on you). Cook until the rice cooker switches to warm. It should be about 18 minutes all together from this point -but I don’t ask questions. Rice cooker, you are the boss.

When the rice is done remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the chopped cilantro and toss to combine.

Serve up hot with a Cuban beverage of your choice! Now where did I put the rum…

Fig Ice Cream

September 4th, 2011 § 6 comments § permalink

Just after we got back from or wedding in beautiful Cuba, I visited my fried Jeff who gave me about 5 lbs of beautiful fresh figs from his fig tree in the back yard. We had a chance to catch up over a frosty lager and chat about the summer garden harvest!

If you’ve never had a fresh fig you have to try one. They are available in Vancouver from about July through early September and they are one of the most delicious, and beautiful fruits I know, not to mention probably one of the earliest fruits known to man. They have a chewy texture and a beautiful sweet smell and were believed to be the favourite fruit of Cleopatra. How’s that for a little history lesson?

The rich potassium content of figs helps to maintain good blood pressure in the body. They are rich in dietary fiber (and we all could use a little more of that!), and even the leaves of the fig plant have healing properties. According to numerous sources, eating fig leaves can help diabetic patients reduce the amount of insulin they have to take! That’s really amazing (although you may want to look into this a little further before you chow down on he foliage)!

A few other tidbits on the fig fruit:

Consuming figs helps to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Calcium and potassium present in figs prevent bone thinning and help to promote bone density.
Tryptophan, present in figs, induces good sleep and helps get rid of sleeping disorders like insomnia.
The soluble fiber, called pectin, in figs helps in reducing blood cholesterol.
Figs are rich in calcium and are excellent calcium alternatives for people who do not consume dairy products.
Figs promote the overall well-being of an individual and are excellent as an aphrodisiac.

Fresh figs unfortunately only last about 2 days in the fridge, so I had to have a plan for these 5 lbs, and what better idea that to utilize one of our favourite wedding gifts! The ice cream maker… (thanks Catie, Jenny, Steve and Marianne!).

I referenced a recipe in one of my favourite books of all time, The Vegan Scoop by Wheeler Del Torro for fig ice cream. Because figs are so sweet (especially when cooked down which is what we are going to do here) I cut out most of the sugar that the recipe calls for (3/4 of it actually) and replaced what refined sugar I was going to use with agave nectar. I’m glad I did. This ice cream was still sweet and creamy. Delicious! I also made a few other adjustments that made this ice cream my own:

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Freeze Time: 25 minutes

**I should mention here that this ice cream is a two-step process because we need to cook down the figs and then let them cool before we add them to the ice cream maker. So, if you are planning on making this for guests, keep in mind you will need to start it the day before, or buy fig preserves as an alternative.

1 cup non dairy milk (I used coconut milk from Turtle Mountain)
20 fresh figs, chopped, or 1 cup of fig preserves
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
pinch of salt
2 cups full fat coconut milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan, place the figs (fresh), water, agave, and pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the mixture becomes thick, rich, and jam like. You want most (if not all) of the water to be cooked off the figs so that you don’t end up with big ice crystals in the ice cream. Cooking the figs down could take as long as an hour depending on how much water they contain.

Let the figs cool (preferably overnight).

Combine the fig mixture with the rest of the ingredients and place into your ice cream maker! If you are not using an ice cream maker (and I highly recommend you get one – we love ours) – then you can place the mixture in the freezer, remove every 20 minutes and give a good stir until the mix has turned into ice cream. Otherwise, your ice cream maker will perform the magic for you.

you can see here that after a few days in the fridge the fresh figs have lost a considerable amount of water - still tasty though!

Serve with fresh left over figs and enjoy on some of our last summer nights…

Mexican Bean Burgers

September 3rd, 2011 § 4 comments § permalink

A few nights ago I had an amazing opportunity to cook a meal alongside
my good friend Dalyn (http://thebestieverhad.wordpress.com/). What did we make? The most
AMAZING, flavourful Mexican bean burgers I’ve ever had in my life.
They were so good I made them again a few days later and am STILL
eating them as leftovers at lunch! I think you’ll agree these
burgers are bursting at the seams with flavor and richness. I will
make the comment that our “condiments” and toppings played a part in
how good these were, so I do recommend you try our suggestions there.

Without further adieu:

Makes 8 burger patties
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 4-6 minutes

Burgers:

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 Portobello mushroom, finely diced
1 14 oz can organic lentils
½ 14 oz can organic refried black beans
½ cup (or a good handful) fresh cilantro
1/2 cup shredded zucchini (optional)
1 cup whole rolled oats
1 tsp ancho chilli powder (less or more depending on how hot you like it)
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of ½ lime

The fixings:

Roasted jalapeno peppers
Roasted red onion
Fresh avocado
Vegan mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 400F. In an oven safe dish, cut the red onion in
half. Cut the tops of the jalapeno peppers, cut in half and remove
the seeds and membrane. Place the onion, flat side down, and peppers
in the pan and drizzle with olive oil, making sure to coat the
underside so they don’t stick to the pan (a good amount of oil is fine
here as it’s nice to use it later when frying up the burgers).

In a skillet, heat some olive or grape seed oil in a pan over
medium/high heat. Sautee the onion until translucent. Add the diced
mushrooms and shredded zucchini if you are using it. Continue to cook until the mushrooms have released their
water. Season with chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt
and pepper. Set aside.

** note that the first time we made these, we processed all the ingredients in a food processor (shown here). When I made them a second time, I opted for a chunkier version and I only processed the oats, lentils and cilantro.

In a food processor, add the lentils, oats, and cilantro. Pulse until
the mixture is coarsely chopped (not completely pulverized). In a
large mixing bowl add the lentil mixture to the refried beans and the
mushroom/onion mixture, lime juice, and combine well. Place in the fridge for
about 20 minutes to firm. Form into about 1/3 cup portioned patties.

Meanwhile, check on the peppers and onion roasting in the oven. Turn
when one side is golden and brown. When they have finished roasting,
remove and place on a plate to top the burgers. Reserve the oil from
the pan to fry the burgers.

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat and place the burgers in the
pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Serve on a wheat -free bun (or any bun of your liking) with Veganaise (or Veganaise mixed in equal
proportion with my vegan pesto is to DIE for), roasted onion,
jalapenos and fresh avocado. We chopped up some cilantro as well for a
little extra kick.

Enjoy the flavor explosion!

Spinach and Mushroom Risotto

June 30th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

It’s July 1 tomorrow and summer still hasn’t really arrived so it’s time again for an “earthy” hot meal tonight (although this would serve up nicely on a patio as well with a nice glass of pinot grigio). I wanted to do something really quick and easy so that I could enjoy the rest of the evening without too much work or clean-up. This is what I came up with:

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

1 cup arborio rice
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion (chopped finely)
olive oil for sautéing
3-4 (or more) cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine
1/4 cup soy milk
3 cups baby spinach
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup Daiya Mozza Shreds
Salt & Pepper to taste
a few cherry tomatoes for garnish

Arborio rice is an Italian short-grain rice named after the town of Arborio Vercellese, in the Po Valley, where it is grown. Like pasta, arborio rice is prepared al dente, which means that it should be slightly firm to the bite - a degree of doneness that might seem underdone in ordinary white rice. Because this rice undergoes less milling than ordinary long-grained rice, arborio retains more of its natural starch content. Cooking releases this starch, giving risotto its creamy consistency. Arborio rice is also used for rice pudding. I feel another post coming on – rice pudding is MY FAVOURITE!!

Measure the peas and set aside to thaw slightly.

Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion. Stir often until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook an additional 4-5 minutes covered and stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to lose their moisture. Remove the lid and cook off the liquid until the mushroom and onions start to brown (this might take 10 minutes or so). Add rice and stir to evenly coat, about 1 minute.

In a separate pot, heat the vegetable stock to a simmer.

While constantly stirring rice, pour in the white wine. De-glaze the pan with the white wine (that’s just fancy talk for adding the white wine to the pot and letting it simmer until the lovely caramelized bits have loosened off the side of the pot and combined into your sautéed mix). Scrape up and stir in any brown bits from pan bottom. Stir often until rice absorbs wine – about 1 to 2 minutes.

Gradually pour in 1 cup of vegetable broth. Stir often until liquid is absorbed, add the second cup and repeat this until all the stock has been added to the rice and is fully absorbed. If rice is not tender, continue to stir in stock, 1/4 cup at a time, until the rice is tender. Once all the liquid has been absorbed , and the rice is tender, stir in the Daiya and continue to stir until it has melted. Add peas and stir often until hot – another 2 to 3 minutes, and finally add spinach and continue to stir until it has wilted. Spoon into bowls and polish off the remainder of the wine you opened to de-glaze the pan.

Garnish with a few cherry tomatoes and perhaps a few pine nuts. Enjoy!

Vegan Cheddar and Beer Soup

June 24th, 2011 § 11 comments § permalink

June 24. Dear Summer. I miss you. We should hang out again soon. Love Melissa.

Normally at this time of year I’d be tossing the raw foods and salads, but on June 24th, we just endured a torrential rain storm, followed by hail, and the temperature outside is nothing to be desired. Hm. Ok…I guess it’s back to winter food!

Ever since I saw a version on Diner’s Drive-Ins and Dives, I’ve wanted to do a vegan version of this Irish classic and I took the hail storm as my que. I’ve just used an ale that was in the fridge, but feel free to experiment with your favourite beer (I’m going to try Guinness next!).

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Oil for sauteing
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 medium waxy potatoes cut into 1″ cubes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
12 fluid oz of beer – your choice
1 tsp tamari
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 pkg Daiya Cheddar cheese shreds
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven (that’s the fancy term for “large pot”). Saute the onions and potatoes together over medium heat, turning constantly. You want to “caramelize” the onion and potato together as it creates the character for this soup. Continue to cook the potato and onion mixture until the potatoes are cooked. Put half the mixture into a high-speed blender and add the vegetable stock (to the blender). Blend until smooth.

Add the potato/onion puree mixture back to the pot and add the other half of cooked potato and onion.

Stir in the mustard, the beer, the tamari, nutritional yeas and Daiya cheese shreds. Reduce the heat to medium/low and gently heat the soup back up to temperature, until the cheese if fully melted and the alcohol in the beer has cooked off.

Season with paprika and salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with salted crackers (I’ve used pita chips here). Enjoy!

Penne with Fresh Pea Cream

June 20th, 2011 § 5 comments § permalink

More green. I can’t get enough. This time I’ve used peas to create a creamy sauce with zero cream (not even a vegan version). Peas are a great source of protein. This dish serves up 22 grams of it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 6

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for sauteing
1/2 chopped white onion
2-3 large garlic cloves
2 1/2 cups light vegetable broth
16 oz bag of frozen green peas
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves
1 lb organic crimini mushrooms (thinly sliced)
about 10 spears of asparagus
12 oz egg-free penne or other pasta
Boil about 4 quarts of water for pasta.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until translucent. Place all the ingredients up to the basil (not including the mushrooms or asparagus) in a vitamix or other high-speed blender and add the onions. Blend on high until smooth.

While the pasta is cooking, saute the mushrooms for about 5 minutes (until they start to release some moisture). Add the asparagus and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Pour the pea mixture back into the skillet that you’ve been using to saute, and gently heat the sauce until it’s hot (do not over cook or it will lose its bright green colour – not to mention nutrients).

Combine the cooked penne and the pea sauce. Plate and top with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus.

Enjoy!