Veggie Pasta

Since Winter is now here, and the weather has gotten colder, cooked food has become the basis of my diet once again. And quite happily, I must say.
I think I've decided that raw veganism isn't quite right for me- at least not yet. I feel like I have so much energy now that I eat cooked vegetables and whole grains.

Pasta has long been one of my favorite grain dishes. That, rolled oats, and brown rice.
I especially love pastas with creamy dishes and lots of vegetables!
This recipe is really quick and easy to make, and came out super tasty!

Ingredients:
For the veggies:
Swirl sesame oil
3 cloves garlic
1 Chopped bell pepper
2 or 3 C chopped broccoli (I like a lot of it)
1 chopped tomato

Sauce:
2/3 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
2/3 C tomato sauce
1/3 C water
3 Tbsp apple sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp tamari
cumin, salt, and pepper, to taste

1 lb whole wheat pasta

Method:
Cooking the pasta according to directions on the package.
Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil on medium heat. Add the garlic. Saute for about 30 seconds.
Add the vegetables and saute until tender.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the sauce. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and adjust for flavor.

When the pasta is done, drain, and return to the pot. Add the cooked vegetables and stir in the sauce. Enjoy!

Raw Carrot-Veggie Mush

I think one of the main reasons I get sick of eating raw food is that I quickly fall into a routine. Breakfast goes through cycles, spending a week or so on monkey sandwiches then to raw cereals to fruit salad to smoothies. Lunch is usually a salad consisting of kale, broccoli, carrots, raisins, and either a chopped apple or berries, all tossed with olive oil, sea salt, and lemon juice. Dinner will perhaps be a little more varied, sometimes raw pasta, or raw macaroni and cheez, perhaps raw tacos... but it just gets boring.
I once tried a raw chicken salad recipe and found it so delicious, but, like many raw recipes, it required the nuts/seeds to be soaked. Sure, it makes them easier to digest, but it's so inconvenient!
This recipe was just trying to come up with some type of raw vegan meat-like food without the nuts and seeds. Not very meat-like, but still delicious, this recipe can be tossed with a salad, eaten as a little loaf, or on raw crackers or bread. I complemented it with this broccoli mash recipe, and found, with a few modifications, the cheez sauce for said recipe went very well with the carrot veggie mush. With a handful of spinach and raisins (definitely went well with the raisins!!), this was a great lunch!


Carrot Veggie Pate Loaf serves 2-3
3 Carrots
1/2 small yellow onion
3 stalks celery
2/3 C chopped bell peppers (I used red and green)
1 T raw almond butter
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all the ingredients in the food processor until well combined.

Cheezy Sauce:
1 T and 1 tsp miso
2 T water
2 T olive oil
2 T nutritional yeast
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Mix the miso with the water, and mix in the remaining ingredients.


This is definitely a recipe I will make again, but for dinner tonight, I might just cook up some pasta and roast some veggies! :)