Linguine with Lemon-Garlic Cashew Cream

It had been one of those weeks. There was almost literally no real food left in the house. Crackers. Applesauce. And Asparagus. The first two don't really qualify as dinner, but who wants to eat nothing but an entire bundle of asparagus in one sitting? Not I. So after a long while of pondering and a short trip to the grocery store, I had a frozen burrito for dinner. That's what I get for not planning. I mean, I know that cashews don't have to soak nearly as long as some other nuts, but 2-4 hours (compared to 8-12 for almonds) is still too long to wait for dinner.

Fast-forward to tomorrow. Let's talk about the sauce. I drained my cashews, rinsed and drained again for good measure, then threw it into a blender with a bit of water (water prevents motor burn-out, but the nuts grind finer with less water). A bit of salt, a touch of pepper, some parsley and thyme, maybe some nutritional yeast, and of course lemon juice (or fresh-squeezed lemon and/or zest, if you wanna be fancy), then dilute to desired thickness. I minced and pan-fried the garlic in a bit of olive oil before throwing it in, but you could either add it to the sauce raw for more bite, or cook it with the veggies.

Get your water boiling for the pasta, then cut and sauté the veggies (I used asparagus and baby bellas, but you do you). At this point, the sauce (except for the garlic) is raw. I chose to heat mine a smidgen so the whole meal was warm and cozy, but you don't have to. As for plating/serving - I believe in you ;)

Don't want to guess at the proportions? Well.. I did (totally "wung it," in fact), but I'll try to estimate for you.

1 cup cashews

2 Tbsp lemon juice (or 1/2 lemon?)

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

16 oz linguine (dry)

1 bundle of asparagus

8 oz baby bella mushrooms

2 Tbsp olive oil

Tomato Pesto Sandwich, and Cheese Review

Y'all, I think I'm in love. Follow Your Heart provolone-style slices are not only vegan - they're soy free too! But it doesn't stop there. It tastes just like actual provolone (I can say this because, and don't shun me, I am not living 100% vegan at the moment). AND it melts just like provolone (which isn't very much, but it's something). I could eat it by the slice... if it cost less.

For my first trick, I made this lovely toasted tomato pesto and cheese sandwich.I may have also made a grilled cheese sandwich at some point, but I can't remember.

The label doesn't explicitly say nut-free on it, but I didn't see any nut ingredients on the list. Turns out their website has a friendly FAQ chart about allergens in their products, and HOORAY - no nuts! In fact, the VeganEgg is the only product with a nut warning, and they have a rigorous process to prevent cross-contamination, which is outlined in the chart.

To be honest, I wasn't that hot on their mozzarella. It looked like mozza, felt kinda like mozza, sliced kinda like mozza, and even tasted kinda like mozza. But it was just "kinda" enough to not be convincing. Plus it's soy-based. They do also have soy-free american, pepperjack, and gouda that I have not tried yet, as well as a soy-based cheddar. I may have to give it a shot, just so I can report back to you ;)

Pasta Primavera

Google "Pasta Primavera" and you're sure to get a million varieties. The good news is it's actually default vegan. Any pasta, any combination of vegetables, sauces and herbs optional. Easy. And so very tasty.

Honestly, I was going to make chap chae (name varies country-to-country), but I had the wrong kind of onion. But I had zuchinni. I had red bell pepper. I had olives. And I had campanelle pasta. Hmm - I'd say this is a win-win. (There's always time for Asian food later.) Toss in a bit of olive oil, and Voila!

Okay, so I may have made a ridiculous amount of food for just one person. But I'm pretty sure this is going to taste just as good cold tomorrow, which is perfect for a summer lunch.

I had wanted a special noodle for date night - spaghetti is too commonplace, and farfalle is a little tacky (ironically, the pasta of choice for my first date ever). But Campanelle (literally, bellflower) was absolutely perfect for the occasion - and surprisingly easy to get just right. I used the conventional pasta, but any old GF pasta could easily suffice. Or you could turn that zucchini into noodles and throw in an extra veggie for good measure.

Barbecue Shroom Sandwiches

*This post is labeled as Raw and Vegan. The Udi's gluten-free whole grain bread pictured below is cooked and contains egg-whites. Substitute a diffferent bread to suit your dietary needs.

One day during my long commute, my nose caught a whiff of something akin to barbecue sauce, leaving me with a sudden and inexplicable craving for pulled pork sandwiches. Seriously?! Pork was my original inspiration for becoming a vegetarian! Weird, huh? Granted, it was late, and I was famished and very open to suggestion.

Well a few miles down the road, it hit me. In my fridge were mushrooms and a bottle of Saz's gluten-free barbecue sauce. (It tastes great on bean burgers, so why not?) Chop, chop. Glug, glug, a handful of alfalfa sprouts for good measure. Five-minute supper, done.

Now, I will say this. The barbecue sauce (which was the Vidalia Onion variety) was sweeter than I would have preferred, but as a whole, the sandwich was pretty tasty. If I were to do it again (and I will), I'd probably opt for making a homemade sauce that had a darker, smokier flavour such as the one featured on The Simple Lens (except I never have beer on hand...).

*P.S. Here's an article by Bon Appetit about their favourite gluten-free beers.

Of course, you can't have a barbecue without chips! But skip those deep-fried potato slices, and try these raw kale chips by Rhythm Superfoods (pictured: zesty nacho). If you don't like spicy food (and even the kool "ranch" flavour has a bit of a kick), they also sell sweet potato chips.