Pasta and Veggies with Cashew Cream Sauce

February 13, 2013 · by ·
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Sometimes I make something and I wonder why I rarely or never make it. This dinner was one of those situations. It was that good and that easy.

As I do every day, I ask my husband what he thinks would be good for dinner the following night. He mentioned to me that he had a craving for some sort of pasta with a cream sauce. I knew I didn’t really want a heavy and rich cream sauce. Between the butter and heavy cream, I wasn’t ready for a stomachache.

I had one of those light bulb moments. Yosef from This American Bite recently had me drooling over his cashew based Mac and Cheese dish. In the past, I have been successful with various cashew based dishes. Cashews somehow add a wonderful nutty creaminess to a dish and can mimic what dairy and cheese can do. What if I made this Alfredo like sauce out of cashews? I had plenty of leftover cashews from when I made the candied nuts the other day.

I am so glad that I remembered about the cashews. It was so easy to make and I think I may even like using them more than a dairy based cream sauce.  The family couldn’t even tell the difference that there was no cheese or cream in the dish. Will definitely be making this again.



Pasta and Veggies with Cashew Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews
water
1 pound pasta (I used medium shells), cooked to al dente (reserve 1 cup cooking water)
1 cup vegetable broth
5 cloves garlic
juice of one lemon
2 tsp. basil, dried
2 tsp. thyme, dried
2 tsp. oregano, dried
2 tsp. sage, dried
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 cup peas
red pepper flakes (optional)
additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start out by soaking the cashews in a bowl of water. Let it soak for at least 4-5 hours. I left my bowl in the fridge while I went to work.

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Rinse and drain the cashews.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, process the cashews with the vegetable broth, 3 cloves of the garlic, lemon juice and spices. Everything should be completely pureed.

cashew cream

Heat up the olive oil in a large saute pan.  saute the onions and 2 cloves of chopped garlic for a few minutes, until soft.

Add in the sliced mushrooms and peas, and any other veggies you may like. Cook for another few minutes.

Turn the flame to medium and add in the cream sauce. Let the sauce warm for a couple of minutes.

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Add in the cooked pasta. Slowly add in the reserved pasta water until you reach your desired consistency.

Serve and Enjoy!

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Filed Under: pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

February 10, 2013 · by ·
Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

I’ve got Purim on the brain right now. My schedule is off and I have been procrastinating on everything, but Purim is one of my favorite holidays. I want to make it special. Ever since I was a kid, I loved the whole process of giving Mishloach Manot. As a kid, it meant driving around the neighborhood with my parents and running in to houses to hand off the goodies to our dear friends. I now have a more active role though. I love to get creative with what we put in our little packages. I always try to include something homemade and something somewhat useful.

My parents recently mentioned a dinner that they made some candied nuts. My mother went on about how easy and tasty they were. I thought back to some honey sesame cashews that I used to buy from Trader Joe’s. They were so good. Unfortunately, they aren’t kosher. I set out to make my own – with a few adaptations on flavor. These were very tasty and came together pretty easily!


Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp. coconut oil
4 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, chopped finely
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300.

Spread out the cashews and almonds on a baking sheet and toast in oven for around 15 minutes. Check on the nuts at around 10 minutes to see if they are beginning to brown. Do not let them burn.

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Spread the sesame seeds on a small baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes. Again, keep an eye on these as well so that they don’t burn.

Transfer the nuts to a large mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt together the coconut oil, honey, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, water and salt. Heat it on medium until the entire mixture is melted.

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Pour the mixture over the nuts and stir well until everything is well coated.

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Mix in the sesame seeds. Stir well.

Transfer the entire mixture to a parchment covered baking sheet. Spread out mixture well so everything is in a single layer.

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Place baking sheet in oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely.

Break up the mixture with a wooden spoon.

Once it’s cool, it’s ready for eating! Place in pretty bags for mishloach manot distribution, or serve in bowls. This mixture should be kept in an airtight container. Happy Purim!

Honey Sesame Ginger Roasted Cashews and Almonds

Filed Under: nuts, Purim, Snacks · Tagged: , , , , ,

Veggies and Merguez Sausage over Basmati Rice

February 7, 2013 · by ·
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So happy to be back here, cooking and writing about food. Thank you to all of my loyal readers who have stuck around these parts during my unexpected hiatus. Was dealing with some messy stuff related to Crohn’s Disease, which managed to take over my life for the past couple months. Thankfully, things are good now and life is looking up. Always remember to take care of yourself and never ignore your health.

So…back to cooking.

Recently, I’ve been ordering some of my meat from Grow and Behold. They are a wonderful small company that delivers glatt kosher pasture-raised beef and poultry. You can read more about them on their website. Word has been getting out online that they had the good stuff. I had to see for myself. I am not the biggest meat eater, but some of my family is. I love their ethics and their selection is great. Additionally, they deliver to my front door! You can’t beat that! So I hopped online and browsed through their selection. I picked up a selection of various sausages, beef bacon, and other goodies. I was very impressed by their customer service and helpfulness when it came time to delivery. Everything arrived perfectly.

A recent order featured some amazing wonderful looking merguez sausage. Being that in recent weeks, I haven’t been doing too much cooking for the family, I decided to surprise the husband with a wonderful meat meal.

Dinner success. This merguez cooked up beautifully! No complaints from anyone.

Veggies and Merguez Sausage over Basmati Rice
Ingredients:

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. merguez sausage, sliced
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. allspice
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
5 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained ( I like the kind that has some onions pre-added to the can)
2 cups Basmati rice, cooked per directions on package

Directions:

Heat up oil in large saute pan.

Add in the sliced sausages and brown the sausages a bit. After it begins to brown, transfer the sausages to a plate for a bit.

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Add in the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the spices. We like some heat in our food, so I also added some red pepper flakes. Always good!

Add in the rest of the chopped veggies and cook another 5-7 minutes, until they begin to soften.

Once the veggies are soft, add in the diced tomatoes. Stir the mixture so all of the flavors come together.

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Add the cooked sausage to the veggie mixture and cook another 5-6 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve over some rice, or another grain of your choosing.

Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Dinner, fleishig, Main Course, meat, vegetables · Tagged: , , ,

VeganMofo: Vegetable Black Bean Soup

October 29, 2012 · by ·
Veggie Black Bean

So, I am sitting at home today, waiting out Hurricane Sandy. The actual storm hasn’t really started, so we are thankful for the power. School and work are both closed and the family is getting restless. Instead of going completely bonkers indoors, we are trying to get things done.

Did a quick pantry clean-out to see what we have. I have no worries that we will ever go hungry during this storm. My kids might complain, but we’re good.
Came upon plenty of canned goods and decided to make this fantastic and easy black bean soup.
The smells were intoxicating pretty quickly, I didn’t want to wait to eat it, but it’s definitely worth it. It cooks up pretty quickly.

Vegetable Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tsp. cumin
3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cans black beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
1.5 cups frozen corn
non-dairy sour cream (optional)
Directions:
Heat up the vegetable oil in a large soup pot on medium-high.
Add in the onions, carrots, celery and chopped pepper. Cook for a few minutes.
Add in the garlic and the spices.  Cook another 5 minutes.
Add in the canned goods and vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium low and cover the pot.
Cook for 30-40 minutes.

With a potato masher or an immersion blender, mash or puree some of the soup. You still want the chunks, but the pureed or mashed bits will help thicken the soup.

Cook another 10-15 minutes on low. Try it. Season with additional salt if necessary.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Veggie Black Bean
veganmofo
Filed Under: Soups, Vegan, VeganMoFo, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Vegan Food Swap: October Reveal

October 29, 2012 · by ·

This is my third month participating in the Vegan Food Swap, organized by Cat at The Verdant Life. I have had so much fun participating these past few months. It’s so fun to go shopping for fun stuff and even more fun to get that yummy package in the mail.

This month, I was chosen to receive a package from the amazing Adrienne over at Crack the Plates. I can’t get over how she just seemed to understand me in the package she sent over. Her box made me so happy.

As I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was the amazing smell! She knew I loved spices and sent several. There were a bunch that I didn’t even have in my spice pantry! If you have seen my overstuffed spice cabinets, you would know it’s a huge accomplishment to get me something that I don’t have.

She got me some sage, rosemary, poppy seeds, savory, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, apple pie spice blend and cinnamon sticks.

She wasn’t done there though! In addition to the amazing spices, there was quinoa and amaranth flour, some pumpkin spice rooibos tea and some amazing Halloween edition Trader Joe’s Joe Joe cookies!

I really can’t wait to cook with the apple pie spice and the caraway seeds!

Filed Under: Vegan, VeganMoFo · Tagged: , ,

VeganMoFo: Black Bean and Avocado Quesadillas

October 25, 2012 · by ·

Avocados were on sale at my local store for something like 2/$1. When they get that cheap, I get really excited. So excited – I buy too much. It happens. I’m not complaining. It could have been worse.

So this quick dinner, like most dinners, was brought on by necessity. But it’s amazing what necessity delivered! This dinner worked out perfectly. I wish I had thought of this meal before!
Black Bean and Avocado Quesadillas
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. pepper
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
tortillas
1-2 avocados
1/2 lime
Daiya Cheese (optional)
Directions:
Heat oil in medium saute pan.
Add the onions to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium high. Add in the garlic cloves and the spices. Cook a couple of more minutes. Add in the drained black beans. Cook for several minutes. Add the extra water if the mixture seems a bit dry. After about 7 minutes, mash some of the beans.  Remove from heat.
Cube up your avocado and sprinkle with lime juice and a tiny bit of salt.
Take a tortilla and spread some of the bean mixture over one half. Layer on top some of the cubed avocado and the optional cheese.  Fold tortilla over.
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a second pan.
Place folded and stuffed tortilla in pan. Cook for a couple minutes on each side.
Repeat with rest of mixture and tortillas.
Enjoy!
Black Bean and Avocado Quesadillas
veganmofo
Filed Under: avocado, black bean, daiya, quesadilla, Vegan, VeganMoFo, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Cookbook Review: "The Kosher Baker" by Paul Shoyer

October 24, 2012 · by ·

When I say I’m a hesitant baker, I really do mean it. I can tackle challahs and and make a mean oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but when it comes to real baking – I get the jitters. I need good, easy recipes and techniques or a Betty Crocker mix to get me through the yummy sweet stuff.

So, when “The Kosher Baker” by Paula Shoyer showed up at my doorstep, I was excited and nervous. I have a lot of cookbooks on my shelves, but very few baking books. I asked my daughter to pick out a few recipes. Then I sat in a corner and paged through the book – deciding what to make first.

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I was impressed by the variety of recipes in this book. From simple cookies and cakes to tarts and babkas to macarons and challahs. This cookbook has a baked treat for everyone.

I love that right from the beginning, the table of contents breaks the recipes down by ease of preparation. It makes someone like me more at ease. I also love that this cookbook is dairy-free. It gives options for margarine and soy-based dairy alternatives, allowing  the home cook to delve in to all areas of baking. Throughout the cookbook, you will also find that the recipe ingredients are not very complicated. Many of the ingredients are those that you already have in your home and the others are very easy to find in a regular supermarket.

Paula Shoyer eases the home cook in to baking with a nice introduction to baking – instructing cooks on the basic tools and pantry staples. She also gives us some helpful cooking tips to help with the process. From how to crack eggs, to baking in water baths – Shoyer explains the various tricks of the trade.

In addition to the nice overview of the kitchen to help you, there are numerous photos to draw you in to each recipe.  I know that the photo is often the deciding factor of whether or not I will try that recipe. Her photos even include some lovely step-by-step shots for some of the more intricate recipes.

The first recipe I was pulled in to, were the Scones au Chocolate. The chocolate oozing out of the scone got to me. I had to make that first. The recipe and instructions were spot on. The Scones pleased everyone in the room.

Later, I decided to try out something fruity. I turned to her rasbperry bars. I am always a sucker for raspberry bars and I had all of the ingredients in my house. I was also struck by her technique for the crust topping – which included shaving the dough on to the raspberry filling. So creative!

When I set out to make the raspberry bars, I was once again left feeling happy. Paula Shoyer’s step-by-step instructions leave nothing out and are very easy to understand. The rasbperry bars came out perfectly, with no complaints.

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Overall, I would definitely recommend “The Kosher Baker” for someone looking for a baking book to ease in to. If you are looking for simple and easy to follow recipes that happen to be pareve, then this is the book for you. I am sure I will be turning to this cookbook when the holidays come around again, as there are so many recipes to pick from.

I am sharing with you her raspberry bar recipe. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Raspberry Bars
by Paula Shoyer, “The Kosher Baker”

Crust: 
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) pareve margarine, frozen for 15 minutes, plus extra for greasing pan and parchment paper
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
12 oz (1 1/2 cups) seedless red raspberry jam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with some margarine.

Place a piece of parchment in the pan that is large enough to go up the sides and hang over a few inches. Grease the top and sides of the parchment.

To make the crust:Place the flour and sugar into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process for 10 seconds. Cut the margarine into pieces and add to the bowl with the vanilla. (You can also make the crust by hand by cutting the margarine in to the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives.) Process or hand mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough in to two parts, 1/3 and 2/3 of the dough. Wrap the smaller piece in plastic, flatten and place in the freezer. Take the larger piece and break it into pieces and scatter over the parchment. Press the pieces into the pan as evenly as you can. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.Use a silicone spatula to spread the jam all over the crust in the pan. Remove the other dough piece from the freezer, and using the large holes of a box grater, grate the remaining dough over the filling. Use your hands to spread the grated dough all over to cover the filling.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. Let cool. Trim off about 1/4 inch of the sides and then cut into squares or long bars.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: baked, cookbook, cookies, product review · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Creamy Mashed Parsnips

October 22, 2012 · by ·

There is often that dinner scene in the movies. The one where everybody sits around a massive wooden table passing around platters of steaming food. The food I prepare is rarely seen in those movies. You never see Ryan Reynolds asking Mila Kunis to “please pass the tofu curry” It just doesn’t happen. They always have amazing bowls of pasta and plates piled high with filet mignon. There’s always a big salad and a serving dish of peas. Why are there always bowls of peas?

Another food that makes it to the big screen family dinner is mashed potatoes. You can always hear the splat of the potatoes as they hit the plate. Peas and mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are homey. There’s something about the creaminess and warmth of the potatoes that tell you that you are home. We never eat mashed potatoes though.
I was looking for that warm and creamy texture when I came up with tonight’s side dish. My kids are not big potato fans and neither am I. This creamy parsnip mash fit the bill.
Creamy Mashed Parsnips
Ingredients:

5 parsnips
1 medium potato
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup non-dairy sour cream
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
3 tsp. garlic powder
salt
ground pepper

Directions:

Peel and cube up the potatoes and the parsnips.

Place in a pot.

Cover the cut up veggies with some salted water.

Bring the pot to a boil. Turn down to medium and cook for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Turn off the stove.

Drain all but about a tablespoon of the cooking liquid.

Add in the sour cream and olive oil.

With an immersion blender, puree the parsnip mixture.

Add in the spices. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve!

These were great paired with a stew and its’ gravy.

Enjoy!

Creamy Mashed Parsnips

Filed Under: VeganMoFo, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , ,

VeganMofo: Product Review – Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs

October 17, 2012 · by ·

As you probably I already know, I love food shopping. I love finding new foods.  Just the other week, I was browsing the frozen foods section at Whole Foods. I came across the line of products by the brand Sol Cuisine. Was happy to see that all of their products are certified kosher. Was also happy to see that the products were priced pretty reasonably.

I decided to pick up some of the Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs, which are certified kosher and organic, as well as vegan. When browsing the selection, I figured that I have had many veggie burgers in my life, and the tofu ribs sounded good – the box promised lots of good flavor from these tofu nibbles.

Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs

I decided to serve the tofu ribs with some sauteed veggies and some brown rice – a complete meal.

When I opened the box, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It looked pretty nondescript. Some stuff in some reddish sauce.  I’ll try anything once, right?

Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs

The directions instructed me to let the package thaw, which I did.

I then heated a fry pan with a drop of oil and placed the thawed “ribs” with the sauce in the pan. I will note that there wasn’t that much sauce. Was expecting more.

Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs

I let the tofu ribs cook a few minutes on each side.

Before eating with the veggies and rice, I decided to take a bite on its’ own. The tofu wasn’t bad. It has a really nice texture. The sauce is a bit bland and sweet, but not bad. Just not very smoky or spicy. There is a small undertone of heat, which I found very pleasant.

Once, I mixed the tofu in to the rice and veggies, the tofu ribs shone more. The flavor worked.

Sol Cuisine Tofu Ribs

Despite the lack of flavor, I would buy these again. The tofu ribs do work when eaten with an accompaniment  I would definitely recommend them and would encourage people to doctor these riblets up.

I see that Sol Cuisine has many other good products on their website that I am eager to check out.

Enjoy the day!

veganmofo
Filed Under: product review, tofu, VeganMoFo · Tagged: , , , ,

VeganMofo: Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich

October 16, 2012 · by ·

I was at Trader Joe’s the other day, doing my weekly spending binge. I was wandering the refrigerated case and peering at their selection of fake meats. I usually stick to the same stuff each time, but on this trip I decided to check out their Tofurky Italian Sausage. I usually just buy the Trader Joe’s brand, but this one was slightly cheaper and looked decent enough, so I tossed it in my cart.

I usually just slice and saute these sausages with veggies and pasta. I wanted to do something different this time. I thought about the sausage carts near my office. An old coworker of mine used to pick up sandwiches from these carts often. They were cheap eats. While I never really crave street meat, the smell coming from my friend’s sandwich was always pretty good. I am so glad that I chose to recreate this sandwich at home. These were so good. And I highly recommend the Tofurky sausages. These had great flavor, better than some of the other fake sausages we have had. My meat-eating, pepper-disliking husband had three helpings of this! I call that a successful meal!


Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp. olive oil
1 package of Tofurky Italian Sausage or 1 lb. of Italian Sausage
1 large onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp. red wine
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. chopped basil
1 tsp. oregano (dried)
salt
ground pepper
4 hoagie rolls
Daiya or Mozarella Cheese (optional)

Directions:

Heat up the olive oil in a large saute pan.

Slice your sausage and add to pan.  Cook for a few minutes until browned slightly on edges.  Remove to plate.

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Add the onions and peppers to the pan and cook a few minutes. Add in the garlic and mushrooms. Cook a few more minutes.

Add in the red wine, tomato paste and spices. Stir in and cook for around 5-7 minutes. The peppers and onions should be soft and the flavors incorporated.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Hero Sandwich

Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

Scoop out the bottom of the hoagie roll.

Layer on the sausage. Top with the peppers and onion mixture.

Add cheese if desired. I had mine with some Daiya Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

Italian Sausage and Peppers Hero Sandwich
veganmofo
Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, sandwich, soy, Vegan, VeganMoFo, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
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