Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Pizza Pasta

What sounds better than a pizza and creamy pasta fusion???? I'm going to go with......nothing!!!  This was creamy, delicious and flavorful!!!  Definitely a do again!!!  YUMMY!!!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Pizza Pasta
1/2 package Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (linguine or spaghetti is perfect)
1/3 cup Cashew Halves
1/3 cup + 1/3 cup Water
2 teaspoons + 2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Pizza Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
1 tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed

Cook Pasta with 2 teaspoons Pizza Seasoning according to package directions.  In a vita-mix or blender add, cashews, 1/3 cup water, 2 teaspoons Pizza Seasoning and Salt.  Blend until creamy.  In a large skillet, add grapeseed oil and heat until nice and hot.  On low heat, add onion and garlic and sautee until golden.  Do not allow garlic to get dark because it will become bitter.  Add cashew mix and 1/6 cup water.  Mix well until thin enough to use as sauce.  If cashew mix is too thick continue adding water until thin.  Turn off heat and add pasta.  Toss well.  Serve hot with some fresh oregano to garnish.  ENJOY.......

Cashew mix.

quinoa pasta

garlic and onion

added cashews

Pasta added to sauce

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Avocado Black Bean Salad

I love love love my Super Black Beans .  So needless to say I'm always looking for ways to put them into, well really everything :)  Last time I made the beans I had a lot left over so I decided to try freezing them.  Great news....they do great frozen!  The first night I had tacos (safety from my previous failures) but the second night I decided it was time to get cr-a-a-azy!!!!  I struggle with my weight, so after my fast I decided to limit my oil intake to a minimum for a little while.  So how am I supposed to eat salad?  I have the solution!!!! and it's Y-U-M-M-Y!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Avocado Black Bean Salad
1 Avocado, peeled and sliced
5 Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
2 Scallions, diced
1/4 cup shredded Red Cabbage
1 head of Romaine Lettuce, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup Super Black Beans
1/8 teaspoon Herb Stop's Garlic Granules
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Minced Green Onion

Gently heat black beans over low heat until thoroughly reheated.  Remove from heat.  In a large bowl add avocado, scallions and red cabbage.  Once beans have cooled enough not  to cook the vegetables you will be pouring over, add desired amount to to large bowl.  Mix until well coated.  Add cherry tomatoes, lettuce, garlic and minced green onion to the bowl and mix until all ingredients are well coated.

yummy start

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Simple Quinoa & Carrots

I must admit, cooked carrots on not on my favorite list...... buuuut, they are so good for you.  Quite the dilema eh?  When prepared this way, I actually enjoy these crunchy tasty guys.  ENJOY!!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Simple Quinoa & Carrots
1/2 cup Quinoa
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Make Mom Proud/Power Up Power Shake or any powdered broth
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Spaghetti Seasoning
1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon Water
1 Scallion, diced
1 Carrot, sliced
Dried Herb Stop's Minced Green Onion (optional)

Rinse quinoa very well.  Add to a medium pot with water, shake/broth and spaghetti seasoning.  Bring to a boil then reduce to medium high heat and cook for 5-7 minutes or until 1/2 the water is absorbed.  Add carrots and scallions.  Cook until water is fully absorbed.  Serve hot with minced green onion sprinkled over the top as garnish.

Fasting and Fails

Well....don't those look delicious???? (said with anger)  I've been working hard on new inventive recipes - GF spaetzle, raw hummus, salad dressings - and all have been epic failures.  Some I could eat anyway, but most went right in the trash.....even my dog turned her nose up. Needless to say I decided that it was time to do safe tacos after a weeks of one fail after another.  Well, I then decided it was time to do a juice fast for three days, which ended up for five days.  So basically for two weeks I have been recipe-less.  I will have recipes again soon....PROMISE

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Sulfur Madness

So as I was making dinner I was laughing to myself ..... all of the ingredients I grabbed were sulfur foods!!  So I had these ideas to call this Brassica madness - yes here is my geeky herbal side - or Curried something or another, but as I was talking to my mom I made a joke about my sulfur madness dish and her husband heard my loud voice through the phone and started laughing.  I figured I would let the name ride....give everyone a little giggle.

As I was putting this dish together, I had this idea to make this mostly with Italian herbs.....but every time I opened the spice drawer the Curry was staring at me.  I gave in and figured if I'm going to curry....well the by golly gosh.....I'm gonna curry!  It's potent, but incredibly delicious!  ENJOY!!!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Sulfur Madness
1 large head of Broccoli, into florettes
1/2 head Cauliflower, into florettes
1/2 large Yellow Onion, into strips (use a mandolini slicer)
1/2 cup shredded Red Cabbage
4 cloves Garlic, pressed
1/2 cup Roasted & Salted Cashews
1 1/2 teaspoons Curry (if you prefer mild, start with 1/2 teaspoon
2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil

In a medium pot, steam broccoli & cauliflower until it begins to get soft - don't let it get mushy though.  In a large frying pan, add grapeseed oil and heat over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and sautee until limp.  Do not allow the garlic to burn or it will become bitter.  Add cabbage and curry powder and sautee until curry is well mixed.  Add broccoli, cauliflower and cashews and lightly toss until the curry has coated everything.  ENJOY!!!

onion and garlic

onion, garlic and cabbage

cauliflower and broccoli

yummy yummy

Vegan Chunky Guacamole

On our last Azure Standard order, we ordered a case of organic avocados.  I thought they were going to be Haas, but they weren't.  I was less than pleased to find those huge green ones with the thin skin - we were now stuck with 40 of these!  I started putting them on sandwiches (I was still going to eat them) and other things....also forcing my husband to eat them, lol.  Last Sunday we were cleaning and I wanted to make a light lunch so I grabbed an avocado and decided to make guacamole.  It was incredible!!  I take back any bad things I ever said about those avocados.....I even started a tree - or at least I hope it turns into one!

Vegan Chunky Guacamole
1 large Avocado
5 Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoons Red Onion, diced
2 small cloves/1 large clove Garlic, pressed
fresh lemon juice

Add avocado to a bowl.  Using a fork, mash avocados well making sure to leave some chunks.  Add tomatoes, onion and garlic and slightly mash with the fork.  Squirt a tiny bit of fresh lemon juice to the avocado mixture.  Mix well and enjoy with some chips - I love the organic tri-colored chips from Fresh & Easy!  mmmmmm......

Fresh veggies...well mostly fruit technically

All mashed up

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Apple Quinoa Burgers

Someone once asked me why I don't post breakfast recipes and jokingly I said "no one wants to have what I have for breakfast"!  My breakfast consists of juicing apples, carrots (some times) kale and mixing in our Power Up/Make Mom Proud Shake.  It's green madness!  Well, so what happens to my pulp is the fun part!  Well, maybe it's fun for me....I feel it to my doggie, Mu.  She loves apple pulp, but when she takes a bite she makes this face like "ewe, what was that?" and then realizes she likes it and comes back for more.  Ever bite is like that.  It's quite entertaining!

So after all that!..... my left over pulp occasionally makes it into my famous Apple Quinoa Burgers.  Now I use the term "famous" very loosely.  They are famous to my mom, really.  She gets very excited when I make these. ENJOY!!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Apple Quinoa Burgers
Pulp from 2 Apples
Pulp from 1 Carrot
1 zucchini, finely grated
2 tablespoons Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Potato Starch
2 tablespoons Tapioca Starch
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Italian Seasoning Powder
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Bar-b-Quick
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Anytime Salt
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Onion Granules
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Garlic Powder
1 teaspoons Grapeseed Oil
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 tablespoon Herb Stop's Make Mom Proud/Power Up Power Shake
1/2 tablespoon Herb Stop's Vegetable Broth

Wash quinoa well.  Add to a medium pan and cover 1 inch with water.  Add Make Mom Proud/Power Up Power Shake and Vegetable Broth.  Cook until all the water is absorbed and the germ is visible.

Collect the pulp from your juicer after juicing two apples and one carrot.  In a small bowl combine pulp and shredded/grated zucchini in a bowl.  Mix in Almond Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch and Grapeseed Oil and set aside.

Once quinoa has cooled enough to handle, add to apple mixture. Mix very well.

In a large frying pan, add grapeseed oil and heat over medium high heat.  Form quinoa mixture into patties.  They will be fairly sticky - if you keep your hands moist it should help out.  Gently place in the frying pan and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side until the outside is firm to the touch. Once finished cooking, place on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.  ENJOY!!

quinoa cooking with broth and power shake

shredded zucchini

carrot and apple pulp

zucchini, apple and carrot mixed

apple mix with flours and spices

apple mix, blended

apple mix blended with quinoa

shaped into burgers and frying.

burger with mustard on one of my dinner rolls

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Macaroni & Cheese

My husband just informed me that Mac & Cheese is trademarked or something, so good ol' fashioned Macaroni & Cheese will just have to do!  Sometimes at 4 in the afternoon, I start to get hungry and I get these wild ideas of what I want to eat and I swear I have olfactory hallucinations, because I smell what I'm drooling over in my head!!  Anyhow....Macaroni & Cheese was on my mind.  How was I supposed to create that?  Well, I did and it rocked my world!!!  ENJOY!!

Vegan Grain/Gluten-Free Macaroni & Cheese

1 box Quinoa Harvest Macaroni Elbows

3/4 cup Cashews
13 tablespoons Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Granulated Onion
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix
1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Turmeric Powder
1/2 tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
3/4 teaspoon Unrefined Salt (I use Himalayan or Sonoma)

Cook pasta according to the box (I like 8 minutes).  While the water is heating up, prepare cheese sauce.  Add the rest of the ingredients to your vita-mix, blender or food processor, until smooth.  This should be a little runnier than my cheese recipe.  Once noodles are cooked drain the noodles and set aside.  In the same pot add the cheese mixture and heat very carefully on low - make sure that the cheese will not separate by heating very gently.  Add noodles in and toss well.  Some very lightly steamed zucchini and squash gave a little crunch to this dish and was delicious!  ENJOY!!

ooey gooey cheesy pasta

julienned yellow squash and zucchini