Vegan Recipes

Continuing with the food theme as of late, I wanted to share some of the recipes we've tried recently, and also to comment that we have been very satisfied with our mostly vegan eating habits.  We haven't felt that we are missing out on anything, and we have made some very delicious discoveries. 

As I mentioned in the previous post, we were given The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook recently.  It is (obviously) geared toward diabetics and those desiring to prevent spikes in blood sugar, but it has some really great healthy recipes for anyone.  The one that we've tried so far, and have fallen in love with, is the vegan lasagna.  I won't post the recipe in its entirety, as I'm sure that violates copyright, but I'll summarize the basic idea of it.  I'm sure you can fill in the gaps, if you're really interested.  It basically consists of layers of zucchini and eggplant, sliced thinly, in place of actual lasagna noodles.  In between the bottom two layers is a verde sauce (raw spinach and a little red pepper, blended with water until smooth).  In between the next several layers is a home-made tomato sauce.  The key to the flavor of this sauce, in my opinion, is the balsamic vinegar that is included.  It's really delicious.  Under the top layer is a macadamia nut "mozzarella"  (we actually used vegan "cheese" instead, as it was much cheaper than the nuts).  On the very top is a cashew "Parmesan" (basically cashews, salt, and garlic, blitzed in a blender).  On their own, none of the ingredients are all that impressive, but they combine in a magical sort of way to make something that is truly delicious.  Both Rob and I were seriously impressed.

The other recipe that we tested out just tonight is the vegan/"raw" Pad Thai from The Present Moment Cafe's cookbook.  (Please support local business and buy it yourself if you're really interested in trying the recipe.  You can order it from their website or buy it on location... and it's a really well-designed book, so it's totally worth it!)  We have recently discovered and fallen in love with this place, so we bought their cookbook, and our first recipe attempt was not disappointing.  My new favorite (bizarre) food item is kelp noodles, which are called for in this recipe.  They are nearly carb-free, and they have a really pleasing texture, pretty similar to thin rice noodles.  The recipe is a little involved, but not difficult.  Because it's "raw" (Google exactly what that means, if you're interested), the main steps in the process are basically to throw things in the blender together.  I've learned that vegan cooking, especially "raw" foods, involves a LOT of cashews because apparently you can make just about ANYTHING out of them!  Both the Pad Thai sauce, as well as the "sour cream," were made from a cashew base.  You could probably use peanuts for the sauce, if you're really a fan of that flavor, but the cashews made it quite delicious.

Speaking of carb-free noodles, I also recently tried Shirataki Noodles (made from tofu).  While the texture of these aren't bad, they smell disgusting!  You have to rinse them to get rid of some of the smell, but it seems to linger even still.  If you are looking for a carb-free option, I would definitely recommend the kelp noodles over these.  I was able to find kelp noodles at our local health food store, Diane's, alongside all of the other seaweed/Asian-food items. P.S. "seaweed snacks" (like paper thin crackers) are quite delicious, as well!  Who would have thought?!

Our new dehydrator will be here tomorrow so we can begin trying out other "raw" recipes.  I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at the "sunshine burger" (made with sunflower seeds and, you guessed it, cashews).  I'll let everyone know how those turn out.  For now, I'm going to make some carrot juice.  Good night!