Childhood Favorite Reinvented….Pasta Time!

Yay, it's zucchini season! And what can you use this summer squash for? Well, it would be probably easier to make a list of what you couldn't do with it…because it's such a versatile vegetable. You can use it in soups, salads, dressings, crackers, breads, dips, and…..what else?…PASTA! Yes, you can make pasta dishes even if you eat raw. In the past I've shared with you my Lasagna, Thai Pad, Pesto pasta recipes and here's something else that's very special to me.


This one is a childhood favorite that I wasn't planning on giving up when I switched to raw foods….a simple recipe for some soul food that might sound a bit unusual to many. As a child, I watched fresh, home-made pasta being prepared. I was always lurking around the kitchen and thought it was exciting to witness flour, eggs, and water turn into dough and then the thinnest, finest, strips of pasta that was to be covered with poppy seeds and sugar or other favorite toppings. Today's version is the kind I eat lately. The pasta preparation has nothing to do with the traditional method I just described, and the refined sugar is replaced with healthier alternatives. The key ingredient though, poppy seeds, which is one of my very favorite foods in the world, is the same, of course :)

Raw Poppy Seedish Pasta

(Ingredients for 2 servings)

2-3 medium size zucchini squashes

3/4 cup ground poppy seeds

coconut sugar/honey/maple syrup/agave syrup/preferred sweetener* to taste

*A combination of dry (crystals or powder) and liquid sweeteners works the best


Here's what you do:

1. Cut the ends of the zucchinis off and and peel them.
2. Using a machine (if you have one) or a knife, make pasta out of them as described here.
3. Toss the pasta with a generous amount of poppy seeds and a combination of dry and liquid sweeteners.

4. Share with someone you love and devour!
Ahh…heavenly.

Thank the Universe for providing such amazing foods! : )

Notes on nutrition: poppy seeds are extremely rich in minerals. Look at the amounts of manganese calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, copper, iron, etc. in them! Good for your bones, brain, skin, and hair…these tiny seeds are not only delicious but a nutritional powerhouse!

Rawsagna Made Easy

My fridge was still full of zucchini a while back (yes, I know, I didn't have the chance to put this up before now) and so all I needed was some mushrooms because, as you probably agree, the rest of the ingredients are regulars in every raw foodie's pantry. Lasagna is definitely not an everyday dish at my home but it's great food for entertainment. Even guests who are not familiar with raw food will appreciate it. And the best part: it's sooo easy to make, you will not spend all day in the kitchen.

Rawsagna

(Serves 2)

1 large zucchini, for the "pasta"

Filling:

~10 button mushrooms

1/4 red onion

shoyu sauce

optional: bell pepper, other veggies

Sauce:

6 sundried tomatoes

1 large heirloom (or other kind) tomato

chunk of onion

2 cloves garlic

few leaves of fresh basil

1-3 tbsp shoyu sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt

Nut Cheese:

1/2 cup Brazil nuts

sliver of onion/clove of garlic

optional: salt

Preparations:

1. Start by soaking the sundried tomatoes in a bowl of water for several hours (or at least as much time as you have).

2. Chop the mushrooms and the onion into small pieces. In a bowl, mix them with shoyu sauce and marinate your filling in the dehydrator for a couple of hours.

3 Peel and then slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin, lasagna pasta-like sheets. Place them on a mesh tray and dehydrate them for an hour or two but check on them every so often to make sure they don't dry out.

4. Blend all of the sauce ingredients until it reaches a smooth consistency, taste test and add more seasoning if necessary.

5. An hour before serving time, spread layers of the marinated mushroom, thinly sliced vegetables (if you're using any) and some sauce on the zucchini sheets (except for a couple top layers) and dehydrate them further for an hour at 118 °F (48 °C). Spread only tomato sauce on the top layers. 

6. For each serving, layer 3 sheets with filling and top with a layer of zucchini with the sauce only. 

7. Grind the Brazil nuts, onion/garlic, and salt in a spice grinder or make a larger batch and then you can use a food processor. The extra nut "cheese" you'll have will last several days in the refrigerator. 

8. Sprinkle the lasagna servings with the "cheese" crumbs and decorate them with fresh basil leaves.

It sounds like a lot "to do" but it really is effortless and worth the while. If you want to make a savory dish for lunch, dinner, to impress guests you have over, or to take to work the next day....you might just want to make this.

From Basil to "HemPesto"

A few days ago a dear colleague of mine surprised me with some freshly picked zucchini squashes from his garden. Yes, I know, I work with such nice people : )

Well, that meant I had to get to work and go out of my way to make something other than a salad for once... And since it's basil season too, here's the outcome. 

HemPesto

(Makes about 1/2 cup)

 large bunch of fresh basil

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup walnuts

2-3 cloves garlic

splash of olive oil

salt to taste

Remove the basil leaves from the stems and process them with just half the hemp seeds and half the walnuts, a splash of olive oil, the garlic, and salt. Depending on how thick/runny you prefer your sauce (runny is easier to mix with pasta) add more nuts/seeds or oil to the mixture. Taste test and add some salt if needed. 

To make zucchini pasta just cut grooves all the way lengthwise the zucchinis and then shave them into pasta. Check out the Pad Thai recipe for more details on this...
In a large bowl, toss the pasta in the sauce, cut up some tomatoes to go with it and decorate the servings with basil leaves. Hmmm, sooo satisfying...

Basil Nutrition
This lovely herb has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it's high in vitamin K and A, and the bone strengthening mineral, manganese. It can provide relief from arthritis and protect you from cancer.
Yes, the bursting aroma is not all...

Serving Suggestion
Needless to say, pasta is not the only way to enjoy pesto. Serve this as a dip with crackers or veggie sticks. Spread it on canapés, sandwiches, or pizza. You can even make it really liquidy and use it as a salad dressing. So good so many ways...

Out and About in San Francisco

The “new year” also means new jobs and a new home for us. We’re in the middle of moving still and right now staying in a hotel in the Bay Area, which is/will be our new home. Hotel living is not all that great though if you like to be creative in the kitchen. Since I was planning on staying in a hotel room for only a week or so, I’ve packed very few tools and very little of my specialty foods. As a result, I’ve been eating very simply, which feels wonderful but we made a trip to the city where I was in for a great surprise! Both in love with animals, we were planning on going up to Pier 39 to visit the seal ions before doing anything else.  Our walk started at Pier 1 though where we ended up spending over an hour checking out the amazing indoor market and walking around among the food vendors outside. This city is all about food and they know how to “do food” for sure! Wherever you go you’re swimming in the aromas of all ethnicity’s culinary creations. The wonderful smells that escape restaurants and food vendors, booths, and stalls are so inviting that I was getting ready to “having to” sacrifice my lifestyle and eat something cooked….until I found the raw stand! Yes, among all those amazing creations were so many vegetarian, vegan, and even raw options, including this 100% organic raw vegan place in the middle of a food vendors’ maze. Oh, was I in heaven! The food was fresh, affordable and delicious. I had the Spicy Asian Pasta dish. It was prepared exactly how I would make it and it was simple and flavorful…..I really am so impressed. So what did it consist of? On a bed of romaine lettuce was a good serving of zucchini pasta, buckwheat “meat”, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, sprouted lentils, avocados, and chili sauce.

It was incredibly satisfying and tasty. What else would you ask for in a setting as such? Well, we even had the most beautiful weather and the greatest view of the Bay Bridge. Saturday, sitting on a bench with my husband, eating pure raw food (at least I was) while looking at a magnificent structure, the vastness of water and seagulls scavenging…..a good start for a weekend to say the least.

…And just a little while later what did we find? A vendor was selling raw sauerkraut! Something I’ve been in love with ever since I can remember, I don’t know why we only got two pints of it because that afternoon I gobbled down one pint on the way home in the car. He was selling four flavors but by then he was out of two of them. All four I sampled though (there was still enough for tasting) and they’re all wonderful. What a dream! I cannot wait to go back and get more next week. I’m pretty sure I could live on sauerkraut for the rest of my life...at least it feels like that right now. As close as I feel to nature, I’ve always been a city girl and when “city” means great food, nice people, caring community, etc. it’s all the merrier. I’m excited to go and discover more of it!   

We did not leave until visiting the sea lions though. Aren’t they precious? I love seeing them piled up. It makes me want to jump in the crowd and nap with them : )

"Better Than" Pad Thai

What do you do when pasta is on the menu at home?
With a large batch of my favorite peanut sauce already made I had to figure out what to put it on! It didn’t take long to get some zucchini out and go on a raw pasta adventure. I had been wanting to try zucchini pasta but haven't figured out what kind to make first….until now. It was the first time but definitely not the last, in fact, I admit that I’ve made this dish several times in the past two weeks already! Yes, it’s that good.

Raw Zucchini Pasta
Zucchini makes perfect pasta because it doesn’t have an overpowering flavor and it has quite the right texture to replace the strings of dough we’re all used to. If you have a spiralizer or some kind of a magic machine to make pasta, lucky you, your task just got somewhat easier. If you’re like me and even your mandolin is in storage somewhere and all you have to work with is a knife then do this: cut grooves all the way lengthwise the peeled zucchinis but be careful to not cut through the other side. With a peeler go down the grooves you’ve made and shave your squashes into pasta. It takes some work but I must say I didn’t expect to like the outcome as much as I do now and it’s so worth it. Pile some on plates and put your pasta servings in the dehydrator for a warmer dish at about 130 °F (54 °C) while you make the sauce.

Peanut Sauce*
Ingredients:
(Serves 2-3)
1 ½ cup peanuts (or a shallow cup of peanut butter)**
optional: 3-4 tbs soy sauce/nama shoyu 
~½ cup water added a spoonful at a time (you may add less or more depending on how watery you prefer the sauce)
2 cloves garlic
handful of cilantro
optional: 2 tbsp of your favorite sweetener
optional: 1 jalapeno (makes it spicy)

* If you happen to end up with leftovers this makes a great dip to go with apples or veggies.
** For this recipe I used lightly toasted Valencia peanuts, which are not raw. I’ve talked about raw Jungle peanuts vs. roasted peanuts here and in this case I think these are a better choice. Decide for yourself. If you want to go for both the flavor and the improved digestibility then I recommend using lightly toasted Valencias. If you insist on 100% raw go for the Jungle ones and maybe adjust your seasoning.

Directions:
If you’re using peanuts, grind them in a food processor until they’re starting to clump together and little by little add some water. Add the soy sauce/nama shoyu, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and sweetener of your choice. Mix evenly and taste. Adjust the seasoning and add more water if it doesn’t have the consistency of a sauce to pour on pasta. If you’re starting with peanut butter you don’t even need to use a food processor just mix it with water and the rest of the ingredients but use already pressed garlic and chop the cilantro finely.

Assembly:
Get your pasta out of the dehydrator and mix each serving with some peanut sauce and place back into the dehydrator to warm up for a little while longer. Slice some bell pepper and some green onions, and chop some more peanuts to top each plate before serving. Add some chili flakes for an extra spicy finish dig in!
Put zucchinis on your shopping list because from now on you’ll want to have “pasta” on hands at all times.