Rainbow “Pasta” with an Almond Tumeric Sauce October 6, 2011

This dish was inspired by a dish I had at the Loving Hut in Palo Alto last weekend. They have this raw fettuccini dish that is killer! Here is the description from the website:

 

A raw celery root fettuccine with collard greens,
carrot, tomato, beet, cucumber, bell pepper, pistachio
and almond, in a rich n’ creamy almond sauce

 

So I really wanted to recreate it and let me tell you, this tastes NOTHING like it! It is still good though. Mostly, I just liked the idea of using a bunch of different veggies in a “pasta” shape with a creamy and nutty dressing. For mine I just used veggies I had on hand: Kale, butternut squash, red bell pepper, and zucchini. Celery Root, Kohlrabi, Collard Greens, beets, would all be great to use as “noodles.”

 

 

As for the sauce, I decided to make an almond turmeric sauce. Turmeric has a compound in it called curcumin which has many health properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. When combined with black pepper the bio-availability of curcumin increases dramatically making it much more potent as a healing agent.

 

I made a very simple sauce with almond butter, soy sauce, black pepper, raw honey, lime, and turmeric. It was yummy but I will be honest, I think I liked the sauce that Loving Hut used better. I added water to my sauce as well to thin it out and felt it was too watery so the recipe below does not include water. If you find the sauce too thick add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

 

 

I added tempeh that I lightly seared in coconut oil to my salad. It was healthy, light yet filling, and tasty! Enjoy the recipe!

 

Raw Rainbow Pasta with Almond Turmeric Sauce

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Raw

 

Makes 1 Serving

 

two handfuls of chopped kale

1 bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips

1 cup raw butternut squash, spiralized

1 cup raw zucchini, spiralized

 

2 tablespoons almond butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon raw honey (or agave)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic

 

1. Layer the veggies in a large bowl.

2. Blend the almond butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey (or agave), turmeric, pepper, and garlic in a blender until smooth.

3. Pour sauce over veggies. Mix. Enjoy!

Hello! And Welcome to My New Blog! September 6, 2010

 

I’ve been wanting to start blogging again for some time but life and such always seemed to get in the way. I moved from San Francisco down to Camarillo, CA and my whole routine got turned upside-down. Once things got settled, I got a job as a chef cooking lunch for a small 8 person company. That was so much fun and I would have loved to blog about it but I couldn’t take pictures of the food I made and I was so exhausted after work that I just never could get myself motivated to start a blog. When I ended up getting an office job after my short stint as a chef I was determined to start writing a blog again… but then I got pregnant… and with this incredible and exciting news came horrible morning sickness. I did not even want to go near a kitchen to save my life, let alone cook, take pictures, and write about food! Well, I am now 21 weeks pregnant, the morning sickness has finally gone away, and I find myself with  a renewed sense of energy and motivation! So here…finally…is my new blog where I will chronicle my life of delicious vegan food, eco-friendly living, puppies, and becoming a new mom!

 

This labor day weekend was a pretty productive one for me! My friend Michelle came over and we baked up some vegan goodies! We are experiment and perfecting some recipes in the hopes that we can start selling vegan, raw, and gluten free goodies at the farmers market soon! This weekend I made some mini vanilla cupcakes with chocolate ganache:

 

Excuse the picture. I have not used my camera or Photoshop in a little while and I am RUSTY! This is definitely a recipe-in-progress. This is the second batch I made and they definitely turned out better than the first batch which completely sunk in after they were finished baking! However, these little guys still need work. I can’t wait until I perfect this recipe because next on the list is gluten-free cupcakes!

 

I also made some gluten free zucchini chocolate chip loaves:

 

I made the non-gluten free version last week and they came out great! For this version I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour and it came out better than I thought but I’m not a huge fan of this brand of gluten free flour. Anyone have any brands of gluten free all purpose flour they like to use? Or any advice on how to make your own?

 

 

On another note, I decided to start my own herb garden this weekend as well! I planted organic heirloom tomatoes, chives, dill, parsley, and basil. My dog decided to dump out the dill pot, I replanted it, and he dumped out all the soil again! So I have no idea if that one will produce any sprouts but I hope so! I am completely new to gardening and really have no idea what I am doing so this is a learning experience for me and I will definitely let you all know how it goes and share the tips I learn along the way. Any tips from all you experienced gardeners out there are greatly appreciated!

 

This little guy is a pepper plant my mother-in-law gave to us about a month or so ago and it was growing very nicely in the pot in front of the window of our kitchen. It finally outgrew the pot so I decided to replant that one in our backyard in the ground. That was an adventure! We had a little area with dead rosebushes so I dug out the rosebushes (wow was that a task!) and then loosened up the soil and mixed it with some organic potting soil and transplanted the little plant to the ground. We watered it really well to make sure the soil is moist enough for the roots to grow. I really hope this little guy thrives but with the soil being so barren and not much sun hitting the area where he now lives, I think he is going to have to be strong! I’m hoping with some tender love and care he does well.

 

Well I got some vegan chocolate chip cookies in the oven ready to come out and this post is long enough as is so I hope you all had a great labor day weekend and I will try to write again soon!