Creamy Lemon Pasta with Summer Squash {vegan}
I may or may not have googled "how to survive a long dark winter" the other day. I normally love Fall, but after struggling through said long dark winter last year, coupled with a tough first year of grad school I am dreading busy schedules, early sunsets, and the closing of Chicago farmer's markets this Fall. Towards the beginning of August I totally panicked, thinking I had not taken advantage of summer the way I should have, and filled my calendar with summer music and film series in the parks, food festivals, and long family walks with pumpkin. We've been savoring this weather and biking all around the city for date nights in neighborhoods far from our own.
We've become religious about our Saturday morning farmer's market trips. I think I bought close to 10 pounds worth of peaches last week, blanched them, peeled them, sliced them, and then froze them. I've been adoring Chicago summer, humidity and all. I worship these warm summer nights and hours of day light. Seriously, the summer can't end, I haven't even made zucchini bread yet!
This pasta is light, summery, and creamy but dairy-free. Once you've soaked the cashews it comes together so easily and celebrates the simplicity and freshness of summer produce. We've been buying zucchini in bulk for what feels like pennies every week at the farmer's market and this veggie-heavy pasta is the perfect way to use them all. It also just so happens to be packed with plant-based protein (thank you nuts) and reheats great.
Serves 4
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4-8 hours
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds zucchini, diced
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
large handful of basil
1/4 cup shelled pistachios (optional)
salt + pepper to taste
Combine soaked cashews, water, nutritional yeast, and salt in a blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Set aside - note, this step can be done up to two days in advance.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, followed by the garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes until garlic has softened then add in the zucchini and toss to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the zucchini has softened and released some of its liquid. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Once the water is boiling add the pasta and cook until al dente (keeping in mind angel hair cooks very quickly). Reserve about half a cup of pasta water, then drain, and add the pasta to the sauté pan and top with the cashew sauce (you probably won't use all of it), and toss over low heat. If it looks to thick, use pasta water to thin. Then top with zucchini and toss. Add in lemon zest and juice, basil and pistachios. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
Lavender Lemonade Cupcakes {vegan}
A couple weeks ago I celebrated my three year "veggiversary" and made these cupcakes to celebrate. I had been teetering on the edge of vegetarianism for years before taking the plunge. My junior year of college I studied abroad in Italy and convinced myself I could subsist on pasta alone, attempting to limit the amount of meat I consumed. I continued when I got home that summer in New York but constantly felt weak and shaky. I had no idea what I was doing, and ate a diet of almost exclusively some version of cheese and white carbs, and quickly went back to eating meat regularly.
Fast forward a couple years and I had moved to Los Angeles, possibly the world's mecca of health food with incredible accessibility to nearly any fresh fruit or vegetable you could imagine, and things had slowly begun to shift. I'd learned how to incorporate fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as mains while letting meat serve more as accents to the meals we ate at home. My OCD-tendencies hated all the hand-washing and careful counter and cutting board wiping that came with cooking raw meat, so before we knew it, meat became something we only enjoyed on weekend date nights.
Then on May 21st, 2013 I casually decided to watch the movie Vegucated while eating lunch at home between teaching yoga classes. I'm not going to lie, seeing the conditions of animals on factory farms made me sick to my stomach, so sick I figured I'd give this whole vegetarian thing another try. I thought to myself if I can make a real impact on the lives of animals with minimal effort on my part, why wouldn't I? I craved meat a bit in the first few weeks, I ate a lot of pasta with vegetables, and peanut butter sandwiches. I remember being so excited when I calculated how much protein I actually needed based on my weight and exercise level (it's less than you think). I soon learned how to incorporate beans and protein-rich whole grains like quinoa into nearly every dinner at home, and am proud to say I now resort to pasta only a couple times a month! But overall, it's become seamless, it's not something I think about except when I'm out at a restaurant. And it's forced me to become exponentially more creative in the kitchen, develop a greater appreciation for foods of different cultures, and a fierce love for homemade black beans.
I'm a firm believer in the idea that every dollar we spend is a vote we cast in a world we choose to support. Money speaks volumes, especially in an economy and political atmosphere like ours. So of course I get the appeal of eating meat, I ate it for nearly 24 years, but I think by making small changes in our meat consumption like reducing it to just a couple days a week or seeking out meat from animals who didn't spend their whole lives suffering on factory farms, or maybe taking the plunge and giving it up altogether we can really make a difference in the lives of animals.
Also these cupcakes! They're vegan and they are unbelievable, fresh, summery and the perfect way to celebrate my three year anniversary with all foods plant-based. Enjoy.
Makes 12 cupcakes
For the frosting:
1 can coconut cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar
For the cupcakes:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon almond milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest, packed (from ~ 3 lemons)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender buds, + more for garnish
1/2 cup coconut oil, in solid form
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) whisk together the coconut cream, vanilla, lemon juice and zest until smooth. With the mixer on low gradually sprinkle in the sugar and continue mixing until fully incorporated. Taste and adjust adding more sugar or lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cupcakes. (Note: the frosting can be made up to 2 days in advanced).
Make the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with 12 liners, then lightly spray the cupcake liners with oil (I use trader joe's coconut oil spray).
Combine almond milk and lemon juice then set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside. In a small prep bowl, mix together the sugar, lemon zest and lavender until moist and fragrant.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) cream together the solid coconut oil, vanilla extract, and the sugar mixture until smooth and creamy. Add about a third of the flour mixture, followed by a third of the milk mixture, repeat allowing the batter to incorporate between additions until all of the milk and flour mixtures are incorporated into a smooth batter.
Divide the batter equally in the cupcake pan and cook for 20-24 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Top the cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle with lavender. Cupcakes store best in the refrigerator and keep for 3-4 days.
Chunky Vegan Queso
My dad’s side of the family lives in El Paso, Texas. We've visited every couple of years for as long as I can remember. There isn’t much in El Paso but it’s proximity to Juarez means it has some pretty excellent Mexican food. We've been going to one particular family-runned restaurant called Avila’s for decades. I have such fond memories of going there with my immediate family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As a kid, I remember staring in wonder when my dad told me his mole had chocolate in it. I remember thinking chocolate steak, gross!
As a kid (and who am I kidding, as an adult too) our favorite was always the sopapillas, these puffy, deep-fried hollowed Mexican doughnuts. We’d poke a hole in the corner and pour in as much honey as possible. It was always a delicious mess. The last time I went they began offering cinnamon sugar covered sopapillas, but I still prefer the original. Every meal ended with sopapillas, a dessert we never seemed to be able to find after we headed back to southern California. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who had even heard of them, which to my brothers and I, made them feel even more exclusive and special. They were our best kept secret.
Every meal ended with sopapillas but every meal also began with chile con queso. Sharp white melted cheddar with soft roasted green chilies. We’d slather it on tortillas and eat it with chips. Most of the time we ate so much chile con queso that we were full before the meal got there, but that didn’t matter because everyone knew it was the best part anyway. And as delicious as it was, this queso is nothing like that.
The first time I made this queso over Super Bowl weekend, I promptly texted my dad and his siblings “vegan queso!”. My dad's side of the family is hispanic and they know a thing or two about good Mexican food. I got a range of reactions and even some suggestions from my chile obsessed Uncle Mike. So I applied said changes and the result is something even my Texas family members could appreciate. It’s creamy and spicy and full of green chiles and fresh pico de gallo, and although you’d never know it, it’s completely vegan. Trust me, you won’t miss the cheese one bit, or even be able to tell it’s missing.
Makes about 3 cups
1 large tomato, seeded & diced
1 jalapeño, seeded & diced
1/4 large red onion, diced
1 small handful cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 4 hours
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup + 2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (see notes)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 4-ounce can diced green chilis
Notes: 1/4 teaspoon cayenne makes this dish mild, 1/2 teaspoon makes it pretty spicy. I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon and adjusting from there.
Make the pico de gallo, in a small bowl toss the tomato, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and green onions with 1 tablespoon lime juice and set aside.
In the bowl of a blender blend the remaining tablespoon of lime juice, cashews, chili powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, water, salt, cayenne, and tomato paste until completely smooth. Adjust to taste, adding more lime/cayenne if needed.
Reserve a scant 1/4 cup of the pico de gallo. Stir the remaining pico de gallo and the green chilies into the queso and top with the reserved 1/4 cup.