Amy decreed yesterday that today would be Raw Food Tuesday (stolen shamelessly from What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway), which probably means that we shouldn’t have had that Chik’n Club Sammich for lunch…we did, however blaze a new trail in raw food dinners. Well, a new trail for us: rawsage & pesto-laden zucchini-based pasta with mushrooms.

Eating raw is something you hear about or read about and know that it has to be awesome, that you’d feel like a new person if could get over your need for hot things; if you didn’t love cooking; if bread weren’t so tasty. You even know that you don’t have to always eat raw, just that now and again it’d probably be really good for you. But when it comes time to dig in, you give in to the temptation of cooking. Well, if you’re anything like us you do.

Not that we’ve never eaten raw–just had a big ol’ salad for dinner or gone to a raw restaurant–we just don’t tend to “cook” raw.

This recipe is from The Complete Book of Raw Food, a book we’ve owned for years and scarcely cracked open. The results from our first foray were largely good, with a few minor caveats. The rawsage, while delicious, was pretty much just a zesty pesto. It wasn’t at all solid and tasted closer to pesto than to sausage. The zucchini turned out pretty tasty, and worked fairly well just using a grater. It probably would have been fluffier–and thus more enjoyable–if we had one of those spiral-y duders. I halved both recipes (since they were supposed to serve 4) and was surprised at how little there was. I thought we’d be scavenging for more food within minutes of completing the meal, but it was astonishingly filling. One small plateful and we were both very satisfied. In general, I hear that raw food is more filling (since none of the nutrients have been cooked out), so you typically don’t need to eat as much of it.

We made a few modifications, so check it:

Pesto Pasta & Rawsage

Rawsage (aka Zesty Pesto…errr…Zesto!)

• 3/4 cup raw, shelled pumpkin seeds
• small handful of fresh basil
• 1/4 head of lettuce
• 2 – 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup onion powder
• 1/4 cup olive oil (less if you’re going for something more solid)
• 1.5 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp fennel or caraway seed
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Grind everything together in a food processor. Try it without the olive oil if you want to get these into proper patties. Just add it little by little to get the desired consistency. For this recipe, you’ll use half of it in the pasta; so if you’re going for patties, start with no olive oil and use half of ground mix to make patties. Then add 1/8 cup of olive oil and grind some more for the pesto part.

Raw Pesto Pasta

• 1 medium-sized zucchini, spiraled or grated
• ~ 6 small-medium-sized mushrooms, sliced very thinly (optional)
• sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft and sliced (optional; we didn’t use these this time)
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• Zesto! from above, or perhaps a few frozen pesto cubes
• olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and/or pepper to dress

In a medium-large-ish bowl, mix the zucchini, mushrooms, and Zesto!/pesto. When the zucchini-noodles are nicely coated, toss a handful of spinach into a plate, bowl, or, ideally, bowlplate. Spread the pesto pasta over the spinach. Garnish with sun-dried tomato strips, rawsage patties, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and/or pepper. Be forewarned: this is really filling!

Amy had a craving for a simple pasta last night, and we found this awesome recipe on vegweb. We subbed tempeh for the seitan/sausage (because that’s what we happened to have on hand) and uses spinach and kale for the greens. It feels really light, but with tempeh, spinach, and kale, it’s actually pretty substantial. It actually reminds me of–dare I say it–a healthier/tastier version of hamburger helper.

File under: Itch, Scratched

Our friends Ryan and Val pointed us to this recipe on VeganYumYum, which we make at least once a month. It’s amazingly easy and really tasty.

This batch was particularly exciting because we made it with our first ever batch of canned tomatoes! We also used our frozen pesto cubes in place of the fresh basil. Who says you can’t have garden fresh food post-season?

This isn’t the kind of meal I’d want to eat every day, but when I do get that occasional hankerin’, I can’t get it out of my head and I have to make it. This isn’t terribly hard–if you have seitan and cashew cream on hand. Otherwise, it’s a little labor-intensive, but still worth it–very rich and filling.

I adapted this incarnation (the perfect stroganoff is a work-in-progress) from this VegWeb recipe–”The Czar’s Own Stroganoff”. On the whole, the recipe seemed pretty good, but I’m positive the czar would be into pepper. And in a perfect world, he wouldn’t want tomatoes in his stroganoff. Well, he would, but all he would have available is meat and cream, scorched earth, and a hardened soul. But no tomatoes. I subbed cashew cream for the tofu stuff–but go easy on the lemon.  I didn’t, but would, reduce the amount of paprika. The cream already adds some sweetness, so too much paprika just pushes this over the top. Also, since this calls for a “beefy” kinda seitan, I recommend the PPK’s version, not Jennifer’s/Joanna’s (which I used because I had it on hand–just marinade for a few hours in veggie stock and soy sauce). Finally, because I need to get this off my chest: I’m not into cubed seitan. I say that with some reservation, as I’m sure there’s some recipe in which it would perform magnificently. But in general, cubed food seems kind of unnatural to me. I like strips or pieces, and getting different types of bites. Sometimes I even cut my tofu or tempeh irregularly, even though their natural shape is a block. I’m just sayin’ is all.

Seitan Stroganoff

• ~ 3 cups chopped seitan (1 “ball” if you made the PPK recipe)
• 1 medium-large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 – 3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
• 1 cup veggie stock (I like to use the stock from the seitan)
• 3/4 cup cashew cream (but go easy on the lemon! you can add more later)
  
• 1 tbsp tarragon
• 1 tsp paprika (add 1/4 tsp at a time and taste!)
• salt and papper, to taste
• unsweetened milk-like beverage (you may want to thin, esp. if you have leftovers)
• a splash of soy sauce
• noodles of your choice

As you’d expect, sautee the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in oil and a splash of soy sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Once they’ve started to become tender, add in the seitan and cook until the seitan starts to brown (or get browner, as the case may be). Add in the stock, tarragon, lots of pepper, and cashew cream, stirring well. Salt to taste. Add in 1/4 tsp paprika and taste. If you want your stroganoff a little sweeter with a hint of spice, add another 1/4 tsp. This is truly a matter of personal preference. I don’t like a lot of paprika in my stroganoff. Some people might. Depending on how easy you went with the lemon in the cashew cream, you may find you want to add a squeeze or two now. As with the paprika, do this little by little. You can’t take it back. Reduce heat and let simmer while you’re finishing/starting your noodles.

At some point, you will have wanted to start your noodles. If your sauce gets too thick, add in a but of unsweetened milk-like-product (we like almond milk for this).

As anticipated, serve stroganoff over noodles. Invite the czar. We had this with brussels sprouts, which the czar also loves.

So we’ve been struggling with this recipe for years. Amy’s mom makes a mean chicken al fredo. When we go home to visit, she’s kind enough (seriously people, she’s awesome) to make us a version of buttered cheezy noodles. But deep down inside, we always knew it wasn’t the same as noodles with rich, creamy alfredo sauce. So. When Jennifer posted this badass li’l guy yesterday, I couldn’t help but be inspired.

I made the ch’eitan as is: it wasn’t super-savory; but upon cooking it, I discovered that this li’l guy is versatile!

My approach to the Al-Faux-Do sauce was very on-the-spot. We’ve tried any number of recipes, none of which were satisfactory. So, in honor of Jennifer’s recipe for Chik’n, I thought it was time to revamp our recipe for Al-Faux-Do:

Al Faux-do

• 1/2 medium- large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance ™
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup ground cashews
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt & pepper, to taste

Sautee the onion and garlic in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, until tender.

Also meanwhile, combine cashews, almond milk, lemon juice, and sauteed onions and garlic in a blender; blend until smooth. Once it’s smooth, test with your finger. If it’s not superlative, you’ve done something wrong. Otherwise, rejoice.

Substance

Follow Jennifer’s recipe for the Chik’n part. When it’s done, slice two cutlets into thin strips and brown in Earth Balance ™, over medium heat in a large sauce pan with one half of a summer squash–cut into thin strips.

Meanwhile, cook linguine or fettuccine to perfection in a large pot with a little salt, rinse and drain.

Add the noodles to the Chik’n and squash, and stir in the sauce. You may want to add up to an additional 1/2 cup of almond milk for further creamification.

Excelsior! You’ve done it! You’ve reached the Al Faux-do promised land!