zucchini pasta

i come from an italian family, and love just about every italian food out there. i have fond memories of my mother's sauce on the stove, simmering for hours to really give it a nice rich flavour. i recently got a spiral vegetable slicer, so i've been using that to turn my garden zucchinis into noodles. this is a pretty quick and easy dish... tasty and low-fat too.


for the noodles:

• 1-2 green zucchinis (i peeled them)

for the marinara sauce:

• 2 small cans tomato sauce (8oz)
• 1 small can tomato paste (6oz)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1-2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1 dash of salt

start the sauce first so that i can heat up and allow the ingredients to really meld together. unfortunately, i usually don't have the time to let my sauce simmer for hours, but i like keep it on the stove as long as i can. all the sauce ingredients can be mixed together and put on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is hot. be sure to stir occasionally. then turn it down to low heat until you are ready to serve.

i use a world cuisine spiral slicer - listed in my vegan kitchen store, but i'm sure others will work as well. use the spiral slicer to make zucchini noodles. spoon sauce on top, and serve. it's great with some garlic bread on the side.

ginorango smoothie

ah... the green smoothie. i am huge fan of green smoothies, and love spreading the word on how delicious and healthy they are. store bought smoothies or smoothie stands often puts tons of refined sugar in their smoothies, and it is not only unhealthy, but i think it's just gross. i've read that a good green smoothie mix is about 60% fruit and 40% leafy greens. i just eyeball it in my blender. if you are interested for more information on them, you can just google "green smoothie" and there is a ton of websites with info and great recipes.

this was the first smoothie i incorporated ginger in, and i loved it! i will definitely be making some more ginger recipes!

• 1 mango
• 1 orange
• 1 chunk of ginger (about the size of a small ice cube)
• 1.5 cups spinach
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 ice cubes
  

if you just have a regular blender like me, you'll want to peel the mango, orange and ginger. then separate the orange, and cut the mango & ginger into a couple chunks.
put those ingredients, plus water and ice into the blender. add more water if your blender has trouble. blend until smooth, then add the greens and blend again. makes about 20-24oz of deliciousness.

drink up!

asian cabbage salad

this is a really fresh salad that is easy to whip up for just one, or you can multiply the recipe and it makes a great pot luck dish as well.

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup sliced red bell peppers
• 1/4 cup sliced green peppers
• 1/4 cup shitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablesppons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or nama shoyu

all the ingredient amounts can be adjusted to whatever amount you prefer. i tend to just make it up as i go... i toss everything in a bowl and it has a great flavour with a little twang from the mustard. sometimes i even throw in a dash of rice vinegar.

you can get nama shoyu at most health food stores, or i have it listed in my vegan kitchen store.

intro

those of you who know me well know that i *love* to cook.

of course, i love to eat too. :)

i was ovo-lacto vegetarian for 12 years, but in 2008 i went vegan. i also try to incorporate a lot of 'raw' foods in my diet, so you'll see quite a few recipes of that nature here.

visit my vegan kitchen store for tools, accessories and ingredients i use.

enjoy.
-miss v