Shriveling to Nothing

The pizza that started it all.

It has absolutely been a long time since I updated this blog. Mainly it has been due to the craziest semester of my life!! But I sure did save some of the most delicious food I've eaten in a long time for this post. I just recently bought a million pounds of spinach that I was going to use for a party; however, I never used it. So, to use it up before it went bad I made spinach pesto. In order to make sure that does not go to waste, I made pizza a couple of weeks ago with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. As per usual, my dishes come from my creativity in not wanting to waste food. So, I came up with this dish from scratch:

Spinach Artichoke Dip Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 lb quinoa pasta
• 1 c button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 c artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 3/4 c tofu ricotta, recipe follows
• 1 block non-GMO tofu, crumble
• 2 small lemons, squeezed
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 oz vegan cream cheese
• 1 c fresh baby spinach
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flake
• salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
• vegan "parmesan" topping, recipe follows

Method:

Homemade Vegan Parmesan Topping

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. Saute mushrooms until soft. Add the artichoke hearts and garlic, saute for a couple of more minutes. 
3. Add the tofu ricotta mixture. (With a fork, mix the tofu, lemon juice, and seasonings until it is small crumbles like normal ricotta.) Saute for at least 3 minutes.
4. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
5. Add nutritional yeast and spinach. Cook just until spinach is wilted.
6. Season to taste.
7. Top with topping. (In a food processor, blend salt, pine nuts and nutritional yeast flake until it resembles parmesan cheese. *see picture*)

This dish surprised me. Since I just made it off the top of my head, I was worried it would be too thick, too salty, too tangy, too chunky. But really, there was a nice balance between them all. I would say one of my favorite pasta dishes that I've made. It tastes so close to what I would normally have at an Italian-American restaurant that would be full of cheese, fat, cholesterol, and all of that fun stuff. 

Another dish that sprouted this week was because of some left overs that I had. Every week our local ECM has a free veggie lunch. There they have two tables just overflowing with vegan bread from a local bakery. They allow you to take as much home that is left over at the end of the lunch as you want. I took two loaves home: one sourdough and one raisin walnut. I have also been craving something pumpkiny. Also, I had two apples left over from the party I was going to use the spinach at. What did I do? Make pumpkin bread pudding!!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 loaves (8ish cups) local vegan bread, cubed
• 1 can pureed pumpkin
• 6 c favorite non-dairy milk (I used mixture of unsweetened almond and hemp milk)
• 2/3 c any sweetener (I used all-natural maple syrup and brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp vegan buttery spread, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 c raisins
• Apple Compote
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1/4 c cane sugar
• 1/4 orange juice
• salt, cinnamon, cardamom, to taste
• Cinnamon Cream, topping
• 1 block silken tofu (non-GMO)
• 1/4 c agave
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9 pan.
2. In a skillet, saute apples, sugar, oj, and spices. Once caramelized, take of heat and let cool.
3. In large bowl, mix together the bread, raisins, apple compote and cinnamon.
4. In another large bowl, mix together remaining ingredients until a homogenous, custardy texture. 
5. Pour the wet mixture over the bread mixture. Let stand for at most 5 minutes (depending on the crustiness and staleness of your bread).
6. Pour into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. 
7. Top with cinnamon cream. (Place all ingredients in food processor and puree.) 

This dessert is the taste of fall. It did not require to go to the store for anything and it is extremely filling and comforting. Another great dessert to accompany a great meal. I hope you enjoyed, these are the dishes the satisfied the busy lengua de un vegan.