Organic goods from Costco and a quick gnocchi.

Good morning! 

It's definitely feeling like autumn and I'm having some mixed feelings about it.  Most of this year so far has felt like a blur maybe that's why I'm just not ready.  Change is good I tell myself.   It's interesting though, the different feel and smell in the air when the weather starts to change.  I think of being bundled up, the rain, old movies and the smell of spices. I guess that's not so bad.   

How do you feel about the changing of the seasons?

I've been shopping at Costco more due to their increase of organic foods and items. So exciting!  Below are just a few of the organic items I've bought.  They also have soups, raw sprouted seeds, breads, jams, hemp seeds, chia seeds, frozen berries, and lots more! That huge pack of Baby Kale up above cost less than $4.  Hello!!! Awesome deal and it's very tasty!  First time I've eaten baby kale.

Berries. I actually just picked up a 12oz pack of organic raspberries for $3.49!  The grocery store down the street from us is selling non organic raspberries 8 oz for $3, so this is a steal!

Bob's Red Mill 7 lb bag less than $8.

My new favorite tofu, Hodu Soy.  The company is located in Oakland, Ca.   It is very firm and has a nice slightly nutty flavor.  They have these Yuba Strips as well that are very flavorful and can be tossed on a salad or used in wraps, etc.

I usually use Ecos laundry detergent w/softener.  I was happily surprised to see this at $11.  

I also purchase almonds, walnuts, pecans and seasonings.  So you see if you just take your time you will walk out of there spending more than $100 like everyone else! hahaha!

Can't leave before I leave you with some type of home cooked meal.  This is a store bought gnocchi which I've been serving to my son in place of pasta because it's softer for him to eat while having jaw pain. One day I am going to attempt to make a homemade gnocchi.  Anyone have a good recipe?  I used an easy home made marinara and I added blended cashews for that creaminess.  After the gnocchi is cooked, I heated a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and then sauteed fresh garlic.  After about a minute I added some fresh chopped spinach until cooked and then added the gnocchi and marninara to heat through.  Throw some fresh basil in and wallah!

Have a great day!

Spaghetti Casserole;just like mom used to make

Okay, let me just start out by saying when I first saw this recipe on Karina's Kitchen I knew I had to make it. This reminded me of spaghetti casserole that my my mom used to make us using Capellini pasta, mozzarella, jack cheese and topped off with spaghetti sauce. My husband brings this dish up sometimes because he loved it and I haven't made it since I've been vegan. Until now I haven't tried to replicate it. I'm not a big fan of vegan cheeses and you use alot of cheese in the original recipe so it would be loaded with fat. Back to the blog, Karina shows this lovely picture of a vegan pasta pie on her blog and I said to myself "I just found the recipe to spaghetti casserole". The result was amazing. My husband loved it, I loved it, we all loved it. Can I tell you how much we loved it? lol. You need to try it and add it to your comfort food list.

There were a couple of changes I made to it in that I used capelinni pasta, added more mustard to the sauce, at the end of the directions it says to add 2T. of rice flour, I only add 1T, and I topped it off with a basil marinara instead of adding veggies, just 'cuz I wanted it to be more like the one I used to make. Let me know how you like it if you make it.

Eggplant Parmesan?

I had a couple of eggplants sitting around. What to do? Make Eggplant Parmesan, if you can call it that.

Preheat oven to 375.

You will need a cookie sheet and one small casserole dish ( I used a 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inch).

Should serve 4 people.

Bread crumbs if making homemade:

2 cups. bread crumbs -seasoned with:

1 tsp. thyme, dried

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. basil, dried

1 tsp. oregano, dried

1 Tbsp. vegan parma (Eat in the Raw)

3 tbsp. melted earth balance

Mix the above ingredients together, set aside.

Marinara sauce with fresh basil added.

2 eggplants

Slice into 12, 1/2inch thick rounds. Salt the slices if you wish and set in colander for about 30 minutes to take out the bitterness. Then rinse off.

Tofu filling:

1/2 cup pine nuts plus 1 tbsp.

1 7.5 oz extra firm tofu (I used this because it's what I had on hand)

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

1/4 c. soy milk

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp rosemary

t tsp. salt

I got the idea to use the pine nuts in the filling from Veganomican's pine nut cream recipe. In food processor blend 1/2 cup pine nuts, until creamy. Then add olive oil, tofu, soy milk, dried herbs and salt. Next mix mix by hand 1 Tbsp. whole pine nuts.

First take your eggplant slices and you can dip them in water or non-dairy milk, then press the bread crumbs into each slice. You really have to press the breadcrumbs into the eggplant to get it to stick. As you can see in the picture it didn't get all around the edges but that is okay. Put them on cookie sheet and spray them with olive oil, this will help coat the eggplant that is not covered with the breadcrumbs. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until soft. Flip carefully after about 10 minutes.

Layering: In your casserole dish coat with marinara sauce then layer one row of eggplant. Next add a light layer of marinara, then all of the tofu ricotta filling, then more marinara. Top off with the rest of the eggplant and cover with the rest of your marinara sauce. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes.

When done serve with your favorite pasta.