MoFo #3: Hemp milk & GF pasta w/spinach, tomatoes

Okay so it's day Mofo day 3!   Another sunny day and elections are over, finally.  I'm done with all of those ads and phone calls towards the end. 

Trader Joe's finally has Hemp Milk! Woohoo!  I've been not-so-patiently waiting for this.  It's only $2.99 compared with the much  higher prices at other stores.


Yum!

Add some Hemp milk and almond butter to your smoothie...delish!

This GF past dish is so easy to  make and tasty too!

I don't have exact measurements so your on your own, sorry.  I can give the step by step and ingredients used.  I hope that helps.



GF pasta or whatever kind you want to use, cooked

olive oil

4 large cloves of garlic, chopped

Cherry tomatoes-halved

fresh spinach-cleaned and chopped

white wine

salt

ground walnuts(optional)topping

 For the sauce:  Heat up a saute pan then add some olive oil.  Next add garlic and saute for a minute or so.  Next add in the halved cherry tomatoes and chopped spinach until soft.  Add about 1/3 c. or more of white wine until the wine has reduced a bit.  Season with salt to taste.  Serve into pasta dish and top, drizzle with more olive oil if you wish and top with ground walnuts!

See you tomorrow!



Pasta for two!

While snacking on some big organic cherry tomatoes I had sitting out, I thought about how I could incorporate them into dinner, besides a salad or eating them all up as they were. My son was eating at a friends house for dinner so that left just my husband and I. Pasta it was!!! Easy prep and clean up. This turned out very tasty and quite frankly you could very well make this for company just use more tomatoes, artichokes and basil.

This how I made this lovely pasta meal for two!

olive oil

6 oz. wheat spaghetti noodles (your choice of course)

5 garlic cloves, chopped ( I like the garlic)

1 pint/small green basket or so cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 jar artichokes

1 bunch of fresh basil, chopped

1/3 -1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup cashew butter (see note how to make)

red pepper flakes

salt

Heat up a medium saute pan then add about 3 tbsp. olive oil. Add garlic cloves and saute until soft. Next add the tomatoes and saute until they are soft. Next add artichokes, stir for about 1 minute and add the white wine. Let the white wine reduce a bit then add the basil and continue to cook. You want it to be a bit saucy, you don't want it to be dry. Next add the cashew butter. This makes it creamy and rich, you can not tell it is cashew butter at all for those of you who have never tried it. You just need to make sure you blend it well into the mixture, you don't want clumps, you may need to use a fork. You can always add more wine and olive oil for more liquid, just eye it. Add salt to taste and red pepper flakes if you choose.

Note: cashew butter

You can purchase cashew butter but I usually make it.

In a food processor add about 1/2 or however much you want of raw cashews.

Turn on the processor and let it run, you may have to scrap the sides a couple of times during this process, until it sticks together and becomes like a spread. Wallah! Cashew butter. Keep what you don't use in a container in the refridge.

Enjoy!

Savory Tart w/zucchini & roasted tomatoes

My inspiration for this meal came from 101 Cookbooks blog and the recipe is called a Lasagna Tart. It's a twist on lasagna but without the noodles. She uses ricotta as a filling then layers it with zucchini and a marinara on top of a crust. My version: First of all I didn't do any layering. I started with a pinenut crust, then I made the tofu filling I use for my savory tarts or "quiche." I grilled up some zucchini rounds and spread them on top of the filling then topped the whole thing off with roasted tomatoes. For the roasted tomatoes I chopped up quite a few roma tomatoes, threw in some chopped garlic, olive, sea salt and roasted until most of the liquid was gone. Then I mixed in some chopped basil. Next it went into the oven for about 35 minutes.

Wallah! A savory tart with grilled zucchini & roasted tomatoes. It was a nice change from a lasagna or the usual tofu tart. We all really enjoyed it, served with a large green salad. It also tastes really good the next day right out of the refrigerator.

Angel hair pasta with roasted asparagus, tomatoes and pesto

First off this picture is a bit dark, when I used the flash it was too bright. Oh well!
Everyone wanted pasta tonight and we didn't want anything too heavy and I had a bunch of asparagus and basil. Since it's still cooling down at night this dish was perfect. It smells so wonderful as the veggies are roasting in the oven. The idea behind this recipe comes from Karina at Gluten Free Goddess. Again just tweaked it a bit and added pesto to it.

I cooked 3/4 pack of angel hair pasta according to directions. Meanwhile in the oven I roasted some chopped Roma tomatoes, garlic, capers, olive oil, basil, oregano and just a bit of jalepeno for a kick and a bit of balsamic in 400 oven until done.
Then I made a basil pesto. Once everything is done stir it all in a nice pasta bowl. Drizzle a bit more of balsamic syrup and a couple sprinkles of red pepper flakes. Serve with a nice caesar or salad of choice and garlic bread.