Vegan Cauliflower Pasta

Tomorrow I will be gone on vacation on a vegan little cruise ship down in Croatia for one week. I'm really exited as I share a room with a unknown person. I will post more after the vacation - telling you what I ate and how it was. 

 Ingredible how much stress and preparation vacation needs. Packing the luggage, deciding what kind of dresses and t-shirt you want to pack -  etc. Beside, making sure showing that all perishable food are either eaten or given away. 

Though I thought that I really good prepared - there were more to do than I thought. And I my flight is at 6 a.m - which means getting up very early.. uah. But I knew I will be to exited for really sleeping. 

Today in the morning I brought my cats to their holiday (a cathotel). I don't like leaving my cats somewhere else, as I knew they are very scary and being without them - I felt so alone at home without the miau, cuddle and so on. 

Anyway, after I've done what I had to do, it was already dinner time. Though my stomach is quite tens, I had wanted to eat something but eating relaxed would feel much better........

I kept it simple of course, with the left vegetable I had in the refrigerator. 

If you're not having cauliflower at home -  us another vegetable - guess the taste will be similar. Now enjoy your dinner. 

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Cauliflower Pasta 

30 min 
2 People

Ingredients: 
400 g cauliflower 
salt 
4 spring onions 
200 g  rigatoni (noodles)

1 clove of garlic 
15 g basil leaves 
10 g pine nuts
120 ml olive oil 
Grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon

Preparation:
From the cauliflower break florets. In a pot boil water, add salt. Then cook cauliflower for 5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and drain. 
Clean and cut 4 spring onions into 1 cm thick rings. 

In a frying pan without fat roast the chopped hazelnuts and then let cool. 

In plenty salted water cook 200 g rigatoni according to the package directions.

Meanwhile peel and press 1 clove of garlic. Coarsly shop basil leaves and puree with the pine nuts, garlic and 100 ml olive oil.  Season to taste with salt. 

Cut the caulifower florets into thick slices and in a large pan with 20 ml oil fry until golden brown about 5 minutes. Add the Spring onions and fry 1 more minute. 
Wisk under the grated zest and 2 tablespoons lemonjuice, season with salt. 

Serve the paste with the vegetable and top with the pesto.  

New Year's "Kale and Brussels sprouts Soba Noodles"

It's New Year's Eve. 

Basel at the River Rhine

Every year there will be a hug firework at the River of Basel (City). A few times I've be in the crowd, watching the great firework. 

This year I watched I from a little bit more outside of the crowd and my jacket won't smell smoky with some burned holes in it. 

I just love the feeling by then in the city.

Hope you enjoyed also a great evening with your friends or even alone by yourself.

The time before the firework I spend alone at home and made myself something good, with a drink and then some wine. Nothing to be sad about. 

For my festive New Year's dinner I made a good delicious meal. I kept it simple, but even a simple meal can look and taste great!

Kale and Brussels sprouts Soba Noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 bunch tuscan kale
5 tsp. toasted sesame oil
10 brussels sprouts
1 plump clove garlic
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (white or black)
2 pinches red pepper flakes
500 g soba noodles
4 slivered green onions, for garnish

Direction:
Slice the kale leaves from their stems and discard the stems. Working in batches, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly lengthwise, and then thinly slice them crosswise into narrow ribbons. Put the ribbons in a large bowl with 1 tsp. of the sesame oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Massage the leaves with your hands until they glisten.

Discard any funky outer leaves from the brussels sprouts. Slice them paper thin (mandoline works best, peeling them by hand would take you some time..) then toss them with the kale.

Pound the garlic until smooth in a small mortar (I used a bowl and minced the garlic fine). Stir in the vinegar, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss well. This much can be done in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to serve, or enjoyed alone as a salad.

Bring the water to a boil. When starting the noodles, finish the salad with the sesame seeds, pepper flakes and green onions. Cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain well. Toss the noodles with the greens. The noodle salad can be served warm or cold.

Baked Macaroni with cashew cheese

Brr, what a cold and snowy day. Yesterday we had such a nice evening with my parents and my sister. And like mostly we had too much food left. We splitted the dishes so everyone got something to take home.
This morning - being awaken by my cat sitting on me, right in front of the face and starring at me - I got up and done the rest of cleaning from yesterday.


Baked spelt Macaroni with cashew cheddar cheese

 

 

Macaroni and cheese is a well known dish for children and this dish i a kind of macaroni and cheese but made with wheat-free noodles. The herbed breadcrumbs add a chrunchy contrast to the creamy cheese sauce and tender macaroni.

 

 

Ingredients:

500 g spelt elbow macaroni

2 1/4 cups melted Cashew Cheddar Cheese (recipe below)

2 slices whole wheat bread

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh italian parsley

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

 

 

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 300 °C (depends on the oven you got). Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring often, for 8 min. or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

 

2. Toss the macaroni with the melted cheese ina large bowl, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisen and coat the pasta. Transfer the macaroni mixture to an 20x25 cm square baking dish. Cover and bake for 20 min. or until headed through.

 

3. Meanwhile, chop the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Toss the breadcrumbs with the parsley, olive oil, garlic, and pepper in a bowl to coat.

 

4. Uncover the hot macaroni and cheese and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over. Continue baking, uncovered, for 15 min. or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.

 

 

Cashew Cheddar Cheese

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups raw Cashews

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

3 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk

1 cup agar flakes

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup yellow miso

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 Lemon)

 

Direction:

1. Finely grind the cashwes in a food processor, don't turn into a paste! Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder and white pepper. Pulse three more times to blend in the spices.

2. Combine the soymilk, agar and oil in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer stirring occasionally, for 10 min or until the agar is dissolved.

 

3. With the food processor running, gradualy pour the soymilk mixture through the feed tube and into the cashew mixture. Blend for 2 min. until very smooth and creamy and then blend in the miso and lemon juice.

 

Serve immediatly

Sesam Lime Soba Noodles

My sickness is over and I feel well. The day was strange cause I read some mail and they made me think about my job doing there. Anyway long story...

 

After work I had therapy and was late at home. Luckely I had some leftovers, cause cooking at 8 p.m. is not that much fun, when your're hungry.

 

This morning I made myself some oatmeal. Long time since I had it the last time. 

 

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Apple Pie Oatmeal

The perfect breakfast for chilly mornings: warm cinnamon & slightly caramelized apples in a big bowl of oatmeal! (Can be made sugar free)                          

Ingredients

• 2 medium apples, diced
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon Vegan Butter
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. In a saucepan, melt Earth Balance butter over medium heat
2. Add diced apples and cook 5 minutes, until softened and slightly caramelized.
3. Add unsweetened apple juice, water and bring to a boil.
4. Add oatmeal and spices and reduce heat to medium low.
5. Cover, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes until it reaches the texture you like your oatmeal.
6. Spoon into bowls and drizzle with maple syrup.
7. EAT! And feel energized and satisfied for the rest of the morning!

 

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Sesam Lime Soba Noodles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tender soba noodles combined with meaty shiitake mushrooms, crisp snow peas, and a vibrant sauce flavoured with lime, ginger, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. Zesty, fragrant, healthy, and entirely delicious!

Ingredients (Makes 3 to 4 servings)

• 1 package  soba noodles
• 2 tsp  olive oil
• 140 to 170 g shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cut in halves or thirds
• 125 g snow peas, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise in thirds
• 1 tsp  tamari
• 1 cup (250 mL) green onions, chopped
• 2 Tbsp  black sesame seeds, or toasted or raw sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• Lime wedges and toasted sesame oil (for finishing)

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp  hoisin sauce
• 3 1/2 Tbsp  tamari
• 1 1/2 Tbsp  fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp  freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil (don’t substitute untoasted)
• 3 Tbsp  agave nectar

Instructions

• In blender, purée sauce ingredients until smooth.
• Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in deep frying pan or large pot, heat oil on high. Add mushrooms; saute for 1 to 2 minutes to lightly sear; add snow peas and tamari; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing to lightly sear vegetables. Remove from heat and toss in green onions.
• Drain noodles (don’t rinse) and add to mushrooms and snow peas. Add sauce and toss to distribute through hot noodles. Add sesame seeds and cilantro; toss again and serve with lime wedge and drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

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Warm Lentil salad

What a cold, windy and rainy day we got right now, defenetly not the weather for being outside. But I have to, cause my little nephew got his Birthday today, he will be 3 today and my sister is making a little Birthdaycelebration with the family. It will me a coffee and cake meeting. He's so cute and so fast growing. He was born in America, Texas. (my sister lived there with her husband - he got the chance to work abord and they came back to switzerland this years spring).

 

I'm not really a lentil lover, can't tell you why, thats something I got from my father and grandfather. Nobody in my family loves Lentil. On occasionaly I try to make something with them but till now I didn't figured out in with ways I could eat them.

 

This time I tryed to put them in salad with some Brussels and I was good I have to say :) I guess this way is one option for me to eat the lentils....

 

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Warm French Lentil and Brussels Sprout Salad

Serves 2 as an entree or 4 as a side

1 cup french lentils
3 cups vegetable broth (or water)
1 pound Brussels sprouts, cut into ribbons (lay sprouts on their sides and slice thin, creating green ribbons)
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 scallions, chopped
1 avocado, pit removed and chopped
freshly grated pepper and sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Add your lentils and vegetable broth (or water) to a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, then bring down to a simmer. Simmer until lentils are cooked and tender (about 30 - 45 minutes). Drain any extra liquid from the pot.

Using your hands, mix the Brussels sprouts with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ginger, and garlic. Use your fingers to get the oil worked into the Brussels sprouts well. Lay flat on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 8 minutes, turning them after 4 minutes. When cooked, the Brussels sprouts should be tender (but not mushy) and the garlic and ginger will be fragrant.

Divide the Brussels sprouts evenly amongst your plates. Top with the lentils. Add the chopped scallions, avocado, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with a little olive oil over the top. Serve warm.

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Quinoa Pasta with Golden Beets and Greens

 Serves 4 - 6

2 bunches of beets and greens
1 cup french lentils, uncooked (optional)
1 pound of dry pasta
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
a sprinkle of nutritional yeast (optional)

Wash the beets thoroughly. Chop the beet greens and put them aside. Place the beets in a medium pot, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat for 45 - 60 minutes, or until the skins can be rubbed off with your fingers. (To test one, fish it out of the pot with a pair of tongs and run it under cold water until it's cool enough to handle.) When the beets are ready, give them a few minutes to cool, then peel the beets using your fingers and cut them into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, cook the lentils (if using). Add two cups of water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Add the lentils and cook until they are done (but not mushy), about 25 minutes. Drain if necessary.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium-low heat and sauté the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and beet greens and sauté for an additional 3 -5 minutes, until the greens are tender. Remove the pan from the heat and toss contents with the olive oil, pasta, and beets. 
Top with freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, and a little nutritional yeast if desired.

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There is always hope

 

I don't know how you say the 3thrd day of Christmas, but here in Switzerland we call it the "Stephansday". Don't ask me who Stephan was - I don't really know.....

 

Yesterday we had a "small" meeting for coffee and snack with the kingship at my uncles house. It was good to see almost everybody. My youngest cousine was also there, she came from a city located in the middle of switzerland ( I live at the border). So we don't really often see eachother.

During the afternoon she played the panflute. It was so great - I love the sound of the panflute (hope I pronounce it right) with the music in the background.

 

Today there is nothing special plannend and so I will stay home.

 

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Cheesy pasta casserole with sausage, greens, and cornbread crumb topping

 

 

Ah, the casserole. What could be better on a chilly evening?

 

Oh, how I love it.I combined finely shredded kale with tofu, cooked the pasta, then poured over the sauce straight from the blender. Leftover cornbread that went stale in the freezer makes the crispy topping, which gets a quick dusting of minced cilantro before serving. This goes into the oven in about 15 minutes.

 

Makes 6-8 servings

230 g gluten-free quinoa-corn radiatore or rotini pasta
100 g finely shredded kale
225 g tofu or any you like
leftover cornbread (90 g)
fresh cilantro

 

Preheat the oven to 180C

 

Cook the pasta according to package directions, usually about 10 minutes. Make sure you use a big pot, a lot of water, and have it really boiling. I add a good spoonful of salt and a small splash of olive oil, which seems to help the gluten-free pasta’s consistency.

 

Finely shred the kale after removing the tough stems. Saute the kale with the tofu in a skillet with a small amount of oil while the pasta is cooking.

 

After taste-testing the pasta to make sure it’s just cooked through but not too soft, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well.

 

Make the Cashew Cheez Sauce, recipe below.

 

Spray a heatproof casserole dish with cooking spray. Toss the pasta with the kale-chorizo mixture (I use the rinsed-out pasta pan for this), then pour over the cheez sauce. Toss until everything is well-coated. Pour into the prepared casserole dish.

 

Crumble the stale cornbread into crumbs, making an even layer on top.

 

Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Finely chop some fresh cilantro and sprinkle over the top.

 

Cashew Cheez Sauce

130 g cashew butter*
45 ml fresh lemon juice
15 g nutritional yeast flakes
1-1/2 T. light or chickpea miso
1 t.  onion powder
pinch of garlic powder
up to 250 ml water
Sea salt to taste

 

Place all ingredients in the blender except the water and blend until a smooth consistency. Add water until you get a thin pourable sauce. It will thicken as it bakes, so don’t make it too thick.

 

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Roasted red pepper and cherry tomato salad

 

Another super-simple salad at its best.
Beautiful organic peppers and yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes combine with fresh basil and just a touch of olive oil and lemon juice. If you have bell peppers that are past their prime, roasting them is an excellent way to use them up!

Roasted red pepper and cherry tomato salad
About 4 servings
2 large red bell peppers
450 g yellow cherry tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh basil
15-30 ml olive oil
1/2 lemon
sea salt
cracked black pepper

If you can’t find yellow tomatoes, use regular cherry tomatoes with orange or yellow bell peppers. Just as pretty!

Roast the peppers, peel and cut into thin slices. Slice the tomatoes in half. Julienne (roll up and cut into fine ribbons) the basil leaves. Toss everything in a serving bowl with the juice from the lemon half, the olive oil, and the salt and pepper.

Eat your vegetables. They're good for you!

 

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Californian walnut pasta salad...

Serves 8 to 10

-500gm macaroni/elbow pasta-1/4 cup good quality olive oil
-Juice from 2 lemons
-1 cup fresh parsley-Fresh black pepper
-2 avocados, diced
-1 carrot, grated
-2 cups baby spinach
-1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
-1 cup californian walnuts

-Cook and drain pasta until al' dente, run under cold water
-Whisk the olive oil, lemons, pepper and parsley together
-Toss the pasta with the dressing, then gently mix the carrot, spinach, cherry tomatoes and walnuts
-Top with avocado and serve chilled



 

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Christmas salad....

Serves 6-easily doubled

-5 or 6 large cos lettuce leaves
-2 mangoes, cheeks cubed
-3 nectarines, pitted and sliced
-1 peach, pitted and sliced
-2 oranges, peeled and diced
-1 cucumber, diced
-2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
-3 cups rocket
-1 cup baby spinach
-1/2 head radicchio, shredded
-1/2 cup coriander
-1/2 cup parsley
-1/2 pomegranate, pith removed- Use the seeds!
-1/2 cup mixed raw sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Dressing
-Juice of 1 lemon
-Juice of 1/2 lime
-Juice of 1/2 orange
-1 tbsp good quality EVOO

-Line a large bowl with the cos leaves
-In a separate bowl, gently toss all of the salad ingredients together except the pomegranate seeds
-Whisk dressing and gently pour over the salad, just before serving
-Top with pomegranate seeds and mixed seeds


One or two more dish

On monday morning I recived to calls about a job and made two appointement before christmas. One appointement was today and the talk was very good and the job would be great. At a big company, but in a small part of the company - at the health care station, where people can come in, when they got a problem. I'm really looking forward to get the job. AND tomorrow there will be one more appointement about a job at a doctors office. It would be different than the job today but the same I used to work. Let's see if will get one of the job.

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I was rushing while making dinner and I forgot to write down all the measurements for the recipes. To me the hardest part about updating a blog is documenting all the recipes. I'm so used to adding ingredients to taste (a dash here, a teaspoon there) that I lose track of what I've added. Anyway, everything was delicious.

Veggie Calzone with Roasted Garlic Cream

 

 

If you like garlic then this calzone is for you! This recipe contains two whole bulbs of garlic! And if you're tired of using a standard red sauce for calzone's or pizza, then I really think that you'll love my Roasted Garlic Cream.

 

Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce:

 

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least four hours or overnight

1 1/2 cups filtered water

1 bulb garlic

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice top off garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil.
• Roast in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until tender. Set aside to let cool.
• Drain soaking water from cashews and place cashews in a blender. Add filtered water and blend for about 3-4 minutes on high until smooth.
• Heat a sauce pan on medium heat and saute onions, garlic and thyme until onions are soft.
• Add cashew cream, salt and pepper to taste and cook on low for about 15 minutes until sauce becomes thick, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside.

Tomato Concasse:

8 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced

2 tbsp finely minced garlic

2 tbsp minced fresh basil

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

 

Note: You can use diced canned tomatoes, but since tomatoes are in season, it really makes a difference using fresh.

 

Method:

• Fill a sauce pan with water and bring it to a boil. Slice an X on the top of each tomato and immerse in the boiling water until skins start to peel, about 30 seconds. Remove tomatoes and place in ice water to cool, or rinse under cool water. Peel tomatoes, slice in quarters, remove seeds and then dice.
• Add olive oil to a sauce pan, add diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper to taste and cook until liquid is absorbed and tomato sauce is thick. Set aside.

Calzone Ingredients/Assembly:

 

1 lb whole wheat/grain pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's), divided into 4 portions

1 head broccoli, sectioned into florets and steamed until crisp-tender

12 oz baby spinach leaves

4 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to brush top of calzone

1/2 package Daiya Mozzarella Cheese Shreds

Kosher salt and black pepper

Cornmeal for dusting pizza peel

 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees and preheat pizza stone for about one hour before using.
• Let pizza dough come to room temperature for 30 minutes and then divide into 4 equal portions, roll into balls on a floured surface and cover and let sit for another 30 minutes for gluten to relax before rolling out.
• Place broccoli florets in a steamer and steam for about 1-2 minutes until crisp-tender. Cool and then chop into 1/2" pieces. Set aside.
• Heat a large saute pan on medium-low, add olive oil, garlic, spinach, salt and pepper to taste and cook until wilted. Place spinach in a strainer and press with the back of a spoon to remove most liquid, set aside.
• Roll out pizza dough to about an 8" circle, or to desired thickness and then transfer dough to pizza peel dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking.
• Place about 2-3 tbsp roasted garlic cream sauce on the bottom half of the circle. Top with chopped broccoli, sauteed spinach, 2-3 tbsp tomato concasse and 1/4 cup Daiya cheese. Fold over top and seal edges tightly. Brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper.
• Bake for about 7-10 minutes (depending on your oven) until puffy, bubbly and golden brown.

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Tahini Noodles

Tahini used to be one of those misfit ingredients to me. I buy it to make fresh hummus – something that is exponentially superior to the supermarket selection. But afterwards, I used to be left an almost two-thirds full jar which would stare at me from the back of the refrigerator as if challenging me to figure out a use for it. One day, I took up the challenge and in my research, came upon a brilliant solution: tahini noodles! Though it sounds simple on the surface, the bitter flavor and thick, paste-like texture of tahini can complicate matters. Using this recipe from Vegan Yum Yum (which in turn is inspired by one from Coconut and Lime), I made my own version of this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

½ lb (1 box) whole wheat spaghetti

1 head broccoli

1-2 carrots

½ of a cucumber

5 scallions

8-10 mint large mint leaves (plus extra for garnish)

Black pepper to taste

 

For the Sauce:

½ cup tahini

3 tbsp tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Chili Garlic sauce

1 inch knob of ginger, grated

1 orange, juiced

1 tsp honey

1 tsp sesame oil

 

I recommend using whole wheat noodles for this recipe because the nuttiness complements the nuttiness of tahini very well. The noodles should be cooked to al dente. While you wait for the water to boil, prepare the other ingredients. Cut the broccoli into small florets and blanche. Shred the carrots, thinly slice the cucumbers, slice the scallions, and julienne the mint. When the water is ready, toss the pasta in and prepare the sauce. All you need to do is whisk the ingredients for the sauce all together. When the pasta is done, drain and combine with the broccoli, carrots, scallion and mint. Pour half of the tahini sauce over and mix very well. Add more sauce to taste and serve the rest on the side. Add black pepper to taste and garnish with the cucumber slices and mint.

While you might notice many similarities to the Vegan Yum Yum recipe, there are a few deliberate distinctions that take the flavor to a new level – and most of them are in the sauce:

• I’ve omitted the cauliflower since I find it to be a too mealy with such a thick sauce.
• I’ve added fresh orange juice to the sauce. This might be the most important addition to the recipe. In addition to brightening all the flavors, the acid cuts through the heaviness of the tahini and the sweetness counterbalances the bitterness of the tahini and the saltiness of the tamari.
• I’ve added ginger to my recipe, which adds a third level of spiciness on top of the chili sauce and the black pepper. I like my food spicy.
• I recommend using Chili Garlic sauce since it adds the garlic element automatically. You can always use chili oil and add a little bit of garlic paste in. I just like the addition of a little garlic to the sauce because, well, who doesn’t like garlic?

This recipe will take tahini from that dreaded item on your grocery list to being one of your favorite secret ingredients that keep your friends guessing and begging for more!



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Cosy being inside, when outside it's all over covered with snow

 The night was so calm, so carsounds passing by. Therefor I slept pretty well, althought I have a deep sleep every night.

 

 

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As I was in kitchen the whole yesterday, I wanted that's fast done.

Well it ended up not so fast, but so good!!

Vegan Lasagna with Basil Cashew Cheeze 

 

Yield: ~1 cup

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 30 mins or overnight
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth or water (or more as needed)
• 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves (lightly packed)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (gives the cheese flavour)
• 3/4-1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste) + freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)

1. Drain and rinse soaked cashews. With the food processor turned on, drop in your garlic cloves and process until chopped. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

 also saved time by using bottled pasta sauce (1.5 bottles), but you can make homemade marinara sauce if you prefer!

 

The next thing I did was sauté the vegetables. I chopped 1 sweet onion, 1 large red pepper, 2 small zucchini, 1 cup of cremini mushrooms, and minced 3 garlic cloves.

 

While the vegetables are sautéing, you can boil your noodles. The best lasagna making tip that I can give you is to slightly undercook your lasagna noodles. I cooked mine for about 8 minutes and then quickly rinsed them with cold water. No one wants mushy noodles in a lasagna! I used Kamut noodles and they were very tasty.

 

Once that is done, it’s time to start layering your lasagna. I took step-by-step pictures to help guide you along the process. So yea…if you’re not taking a bazillion photos it should move along even quicker!

 

Tips:

• I used about 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Use half of your basil cheeze for the 1st layer and the rest for the second layer. Ditto for the vegetables!
• You can add as much or as little cheese on top as you prefer. I think I used about 1 cup?

 

At this point you can wrap it up and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it, or you can bake it right away like I did.
After layering, bake in the oven, covered with tin foil, for 40-45 minutes at 400F and then remove the tinfoil and broil it over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, watching closely.

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