Artichoke Pesto Pasta

So I am really getting anxious for winter to be a thing of the past and I was craving something kind of springy and decided to try a pesto of some sort. I looked online at some recipes and got the idea to use artichokes as a pesto and I thought I'd try it. This turned out pretty stinkin awesome!


1lb pasta. Penne or ziti or anything
1 or 2 15oz cans of artichoke hearts in water
1 can of black olives
1 can of diced tomatoes or 2 or 3 diced fresh romas
1/3 cup of pecans or walnuts
1/2 lemon juice
1/4 olive oil
1/4 nutritional yeast (optional)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
handful of fresh basil (or 1 package you get at the store)
salt and pepper



Boil the pasta as you normally would.

Drain 1 can of artichokes and put in blender or food processor. I used a blender and it worked fine. Put lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, basil and pecans in the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper as needed

Drain the noodles and put back into the pot you boiled them it. Stir in DRAINED diced tomatoes, sliced olives and chopped artichokes from can number 2. Stir and reheat until heated throughout. Thats all you do!

Now you dont have to add the 2nd can of artichokes. I thought it worked well. Also, make sure you drain the diced tomatoes. You just want the chunks, not all the juice. You could also add capers or sauted mushrooms and zuchinni.

Andréa's Moroccan Inspired Organic Chili

This recipe is courtesy of Miss Andréa Woods. Andréa does a lot of ethnic cooking with lots of fresh organic vegetables. I haven't tried this chili yet but it looks fantastic! Love the garbanzo beans and all the spices. I'll have to make it and take a picture, though I am sure it looks as good as it sounds.

You will need the following organic ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
variations: dash in cardamom, fenugreek, mitmita, or curry to taste. sub sweet potatoes for carrots. add a handful of golden raisins or chopped medjool dates.

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

enjoy!
andréa

Easy, Cheap and Quick Garbanzo Bean Sandwich

This sandwhich is kind of like a tuna salad sandwich in a way because you make the garbanzo beans into a spread that slightly resembles it. The bread I used in the picture are these little flat multi-grain "Sandwich Thins" that I found at the regular grocery store. They aren't too bad. I prefer fresh local bread but these were cool.

1 can garbanzo beans

1/4 cup veganaise

squirt of mustard (I used brown spicy)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

2 tablespoons relish or chopped dill pickle

salt and pepper to taste

You could also add celery, chopped red onion, black olives, dill, etc

Use a potato masher or a fork and smash the drained beans until smooth, leaving some beans unsmashed for texture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Taste and add more seasoning as desired.

Put a little more veganaise on both sides of bread. Put sliced tomato, lettuce, sprouts, avocado as desired.

Vegan Pizza at The Foundry in Westport

So B and I have been putting off going to The Foundry for quite awhile because we just figured it was some scenester joint that probably didn't have good food and service like McCoy's does. We finally went last Saturday and were extremely happy. They have a TON of vegetarian/vegan things on the menu, including 5 vegetarian pizzas and vegan tacos. They even have veg sloppy joes! The highlight though was the vegan pizza. I saw it on the online menu but it wasn't on the menu when we got there. I asked the guy if they had it and he said it all depends on the availability of the vegan cheese they use. He said its hard to get and that's why it's not on the menu. They are waiting to see if people actually order the vegan pizza before they commit to it. So he checked with the kitchen and came back and said they could do it. I was super excited.

So here it what it looked like. It was so delicious! It had fake Italian sausage, fresh basil and delicious Daiya vegan cheese.


Much better than the only other vegan pizza you can get in town that includes cheese. So if you are vegan or even just vegetarian, go order this pizza so they will keep it on the menu! You will love it. Its super good.