Raw Vegan Zucchini Lasagna

What's better than lasagna? Raw vegan lasagna! I recently came across this recipe on Pinterest and after a few alterations produced my own! This is truly delicious and, despite some doubts on my part, held its shape remarkably. The flavors really jump out at you and the texture of the zucchini noodles is great. You can pack even more veggies and toppings into the "casserole" to make this dish unique!

Raw Vegan Zucchini Lasagna
By Caroline Mac, after This Rawsome Life

Ingredients:
Noodles
1 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise

Cashew Cheese
2/3 c cashews
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T lemon juice
2 t Italian seasoning
3 T nutritional yeast
Water

Broccoli Pesto
1/2 head broccoli
3 T sun dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
1 T olive oil
3-4 leaves fresh basil
Lemon-garlic seasoning (I used Penzey's Trinidad)
Water

Toppings- To taste
I used...
3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tomatos, thinly sliced
Basil leaves, ripped into small pieces



Step 1: Blend all cheese ingredients in a food processor, adding water until mixture reaches a creamy, spreadable consistency. Set aside.

Step 2: Blend all pesto ingredients, adding water until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Step 3: Layer your ingredients in a small casserole dish, starting with a layer of zucchini noodles, until you have used all ingredients. My pattern was "noodle, cheese, pesto, tomato, mushroom, basil, repeat". I ended with a layer of cheese and pesto.

Step 4: Slice and serve!

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous

Tonight's dinner was one of my first completely original recipes, and I really enjoyed the final outcome. I'm a huge pesto fan and I could eat it on everything. Combined with the chewy Israeli cous cous, sauteed fresh veggies, and beans, the dish makes for a healthy and hearty dish. I was very happy with the pesto, as I didn't use completely conventional ingredients (though it was pretty close to the classic recipe). Despite the tasty pesto and wonderful cous cous texture, my favorite part had to be the tomatoes. After they were sauteed, the tomatoes took on a juicy and extremely sweet quality. They practically burst in your mouth as you bite them, and add great contrast to the texture of the beans and cous cous. This dish could also be served chilled as a summer salad.

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous
Ingredients:
Dressing:
2 1/2 cups fresh basil
2 T avocado
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 t whole grain mustard
Flower pepper to taste

1 1/3 cups uncooked Israeli cous cous
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 T shallots, chopped and separated
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
1 cup golden cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
Whole basil leaves for garnish
2 T olive oil

Step 1: To make dressing, process all dressing ingredients in a food processor until completely blended.

Step 2: Prepare cous cous according to directions on the package, adding 1 tablespoon of shallots to the pot. Once finished, set aside.

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add carrots and other tablespoon of shallots and sautee until carrots begin to soften. Add tomatoes and saute until they become soft and juicy, stirring the whole time. The tomatoes took me about 5-7 minutes.

Step 4: Add the beans and chopped basil to the vegetable mixture and stir until completely heated through. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once heated, add the cous cous and stir until thoroughly mixed. Finally, stir the pesto in with the cous cous mixture until everything is evenly coated.


Step 5: Serve warm, topped with fresh basil leaves.

Enjoy!

Quinoa, Mixed Veggies, and Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto

Since I'll be living away from home this year, I'll be cooking for myself and occasionally my roommate. Because of this, I've been cooking a LOT at home so I'll have a wide variety of tasty recipes under my belt. After all, there's nothing worse than boring food! I also want to make sure I'm eating as healthy a diet as possible, with a good balance of whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and good sources of vegetarian protein.

I'll start by sharing my most recent recipes, and will supplement them with the recipes I've done in the past. I've gotten most of my recipes off of other blogs, with some modifications based on what was in the fridge.

Tonight, I made a Quinoa dish. Quinoa is definitely one of my favorite grains, as well as a great source of protein. I'm always trying to find new ways to get protein since meat isn't an option. Originally, I planned to make a kale and sun dried tomato pesto sauce. However, my plans were thwarted when I discovered my kale was covered in bugs! Honestly, I was just way too grossed out to use the buggy kale. Thus, I decided to resort to a recent technique I've adopted in my cooking: Improvisation! I substituted the kale with the artichoke hearts I was planning to mix in later on, and messed around with the other ingredients until I found a sauce I liked. I ended up sautéing some veggies adding them to quinoa and mixing it all in with the pesto! I suggest making the pesto first, and then making the quinoa and veggies at the same time, combining it all at the end. I served it warm, topped with some more sun dried tomatoes and a few walnuts.

Enjoy!

Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto
Ingredients:
1 can of artichoke hearts, reserve liquid
1 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes (Not in oil)
3 T olive oil
2 T Walnuts
2 large cloves of garlic
Lemon Pepper to taste (Mine is from Trader Joes)

Step 1: Combine the artichoke hearts, olive oil, garlic, and reserved liquid in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Step 2: Add the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, lemon pepper, and remaining liquid and blend until smooth.

Variations: You can add less of the artichoke liquid to create a thicker, more dip-like consistency. This can then be used in the same way as hummus with veggies, crackers, breads, and anything else you can put it on! 

Quinoa with Shallots
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
1 T diced shallots

Step 1: Combine quinoa, shallots, and broth in a medium-sized saucepan.

Step 2: Over high heat, bring pot to a boil. Stir the quinoa mixture, reduce heat to low, cover, and let sit for approximately 15 minutes.

Step 3: Once quinoa is fluffy and has absorbed all of the broth, remove from heat and fluff it with a fork.

Mixed Veggies
Ingredients:
Mixed vegetables of choice
        My Choice: 2 Cups peas
                            1 Zucchini, thinly sliced or chopped
                            1 bunch of asparagus, cut into small pieces and then cut diagonally across
2-3 T olive oil
Italian seasoning to taste

Step 1: Heat oil in a large pan at medium- high heat. Add veggies and seasoning.

Step 2: Constantly stirring, saute veggies until tender.



Once all of the components are made, Combine everything in a large pot or bowl, making sure the veggies and quinoa are evenly coated. This recipe makes quite a bit of food, but it was a good amount for my parents and myself. I'd say it makes 3-5 servings.