Cashew Cream Pasta  

Posted by Matt

 Really this is from Diane.


Soak a bunch (maybe a cup and a half?) of raw cashews overnight in the fridge. Just cover them with enough water so that they can expand and still drown. Add a pinch of salt to the water for fun. 

After that day has passed, drain your cashews and rinse them. Put the now-soft cashews in a blender with olive oil, pepper, splash of nutmeg, more salt, a bunch of sauteed garlic and onion (I used about 7-8 small to medium sized cloves and about a 1/3 of a yellow onion), lemon juice from 1/2 lemons, about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, cayenne - to taste, and a splash of soymilk. I don't think the soymilk was really necessary. Just add water until it reaches your desired consistency. Should come out like a super creamy hummus.

Top with parsely and add awesome vegetables.
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Veggie Curry and Quick Bread with Balsamic Dip  

Posted by Matt

 What do I want to say about this. It was really good. Really really good. I am slowly getting better at doing Indian food (and slowly worse at doing Mexican).


For the curry:
2 acorn squash
1 fennel bulb
1 head cauliflower
1 red onion
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1 c. plain yogurt
1 lemon
2 clove garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
4 Tbsn Curry Powder
1 tspn each of Cumin, Tumric, Coriander, and Cayenne
2 Tbsn water
1 tspn salt

Roast the acorn squash ahead of time for 45 minutes at 350, cut in half and seeded.
Roast the fennel bulb whole for 20 mins at 350.

Chop the onion small and sautee until transluscent in a little oil. Add the garlic and ginger and the spices. Mix the water in and stir for 2 minutes. This brings out the oils of the spices.

Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk and yogurt. Mix it up then add the cauliflower, chopped. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is a little soft.
Chop the squash and slice the fennel bulb, leaving out the tip tops as they get too tough to chew. If you have the fennel leaves, dried from baking, toss those in. It won't hurt anything.
Simmer for 5 minutes, then squeeze lemon juice over it all. The lemon juice right at the end brings the whole dish together. Don't skip this step. And don't skimp on the juice. Get a few lemons if you'd like. Also, you could add some fresh garam masala and chopped cilantro if you have it around.

For the Bread:
1½  flour
1 tspn salt
1 Tbsn baking powder
Black Pepper
Dried Oregano
Dried Parsley
Dried Basil
Any other dried herbs you have on hand.
1 Tbsn cider vinegar (really just to get the baking powder to react)
¼ cup sourdough started if you have it
½ cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together, pour over the water and vinegar and mix until you get a soft but dense ball that mostly holds its shape.
Toss in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes

Balsamic Dip:
¾ cup olive oil
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1tsp salt
1 tspn black pepper

Mix ingredients with an Immersion blender. The blender is really key. It makes the dip nice and thick, to stick to the bread.

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