I bought nutritional yeast (nooch) quite awhile ago and I was very curious as to what it tasted like. I found a recipe for a vegan alfredo sauce and thought that might be a good starting point. In case you don’t know, nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast that has a ‘nutty’ or ‘cheesy’ flavour, which is why so many vegan recipes use it. I can’t say that it is my favourite flavour in the world, but I’m glad I tried it, and I would like to try it in other recipes. Although this doesn’t taste identical to true alfredo sauce, if you know anyone that is vegan, this could be a great option for a pasta dish. You could easily add in tomatoes, broccoli florets, or peas to add some more flavour to the dish. I used a gluten free pasta made from brown rice, but any pasta will do.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce with Pasta (adapted from Oh She Glows, originally from VeganYumYum)

• Pasta of your choice
• 1/3 heaping cup raw cashews
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp non-dairy butter (I just used regular butter)
• 2 tsp organic Tamari soy sauce, or to taste
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp Tahini (sesame seed paste)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Kosher salt, to taste (I used 1/4-1/2 tsp I think)
• 1/2 tsp Paprika, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Herbs or veggies to add into Alfredo, if desired

Directions: Cook your pasta until al dente and then drain, and rinse with cold water.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Add all ingredients except pasta into a blender and blend until smooth.

Add the drained pasta back into the pot and pour on your desired amount of sauce into the pot. Heat over medium stirring frequently. Add in vegetables if you desire and cook until heated through. Enjoy!

POM was so kind to send me some coupons for free POM juice and I was excited to use the juice in a way that I hadn’t before. I frequently use POM juice when I make cocktails…but I have never used POM in a recipe for food. I decided to make a sweet pomegranate reduction and serve it over warm brie with crusty baguettes….ohh my gosh, was this ever good! The gooey salty brie, and the sweet pomegranate were such a good combination!! I served it with with a cheese platter when I had my friends over for dinner. They loved it!

Pomegranate Reduction (adapted from here)

I used this over a nice brie cheese, but I’m sure it would taste great over other cheeses. This recipe makes a lot of syrup! Keep it in the fridge and find a use for it :p

• Brie cheese, however much you like, warmed in the oven… 350F for 10-15 minutes or so.
• 1 1/2 cups POM 100% pomegranate juice (You could use their other flavours but I like the plain pomegranate!)
• 2-3 tbsp raspberry jam
• 1/2 balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Combine juice, jam, and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Add sugar and heat until desired thickness is reached….I left mine on the stove for about 40 minutes lol it was pretty thick!

Heat brie up in the oven and drizzle with reduction. Serve with crackers or bread….yum!

Stay tuned for a Thirsty Thursday recipe of my go-to martini using POM!

I had been debating what to do with the beautiful and GIGANTIC rhubarb growing in my garden for several weeks now. It got to the point where it had to be picked, before it turned hard and stringy. I settled on scones, because I had never made them with rhubarb before- usually I stick to sauces and such. Although I did make a rhubarb sauce to top them with! I had just found a giant bag of spelt flour (which I love!) at Costco, and took advantage of the opportunity to use it.

Check out the size of just one leaf! To me it looks prehistoric…like something you’d see with dinosaurs around it…but then again I was always a huge fan of Land Before Time as a child.

Rhubarb Spelt Scones

• 1 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, cubed and cold
• 1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let stand a few minutes, until curdled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter, and cut it in with a pastry cutter, until only pea-sized pieces remain. Add the rhubarb and the curdled almond milk. Mix until it just comes together. If it is too crumbly, just add a bit more almond milk little by little until you can form a ball with the dough. On a lightly floured surface, make the dough into a circle, about an inch thick, and cut into 8 pieces, brush tops with almond milk and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Rhubarb Topping (adapted from here)

• 4 stalks rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine rhubarb and water in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes- until rhubarb begins to soften. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt. Continue to simmer until rhubarb is completely softened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in honey and vanilla extract. Let cool.

Serve the scones smothered in rhubarb sauce, with clotted cream or whipped cream, or of course with some nice, cold butter. Enjoy!

I thought I would also share some of my favourite pics from the summer so far, because I know my blogging hasn’t exactly been regular. At least you can see a bit of what I’ve been up to!

Kayaking in Whistler

Attending a concert- Trace Adkins & Toby Keith! Any excuse to wear my cowboy boots!

Ummm...stealing Yoshi's head

Forcing my brother to take a picture with me

Drinking bellinis...possibly after a beer garden...tough work to say the least!

And there you go!

One last thing I have been doing is writing for Examiner.com as their Vancouver Vegetarian Restaurant Examiner. Please check out my first couple of articles, and feel free to subscribe, comment or share on Facebook or Twitter!

Isn’t Summer awesome? Even though it hasn’t been very sunny in Vancouver lately (boooo!), I’ve been trying to make the most of it by jumping outside to soak up the sun when it actually decides to come out, and taking advantage of the long days for relaxing chats and crazy dancing over drinks with friends. Ooh! And riding my bike, how could I forget! Of course, I have also been in the kitchen whipping up cookies, pizza, plenty of salads, and trying to perfect a granola recipe.

Tonight I decided to eat something that I rarely eat- pasta! I was inspired by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks…but if you know me, you know that I see the  word miso and I’m sold! I was really curious as to what the miso would taste like when blended with almonds. It was light and creamy with a touch of garlic flavour and I think this could be a very versatile sauce for using on different vegetables and pastas.

Walnut-Miso Spaghetti (adapted from 101 cookbooks)

• 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped in florets
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup of walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/8 tsp red chili flakes
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup + warm water
• drizzle of lemon juice
• sesame seeds for garnish
• fresh chives for garnish
• walnuts, chopped for garnish

For the sauce:

In a food processor, combine the toasted walnuts, olive oil, miso paste, vinegar, lemon juice, chili flakes, garlic, honey and salt. Blend until smooth. Add water little by little until the consistency of heavy cream is achieved.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta as directed, until al dente.

Steam or boil the broccoli until it can just be pierced easily by a knife.

Drain pasta and toss with broccoli and raw red pepper, add sauce as needed, and top with walnuts, chives, and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

P.S. Thursday is Canada Day! Take a look back at the cupcakes I made to celebrate last year if you need some cute decorating ideas.

Ketchup is probably my favourite condiment…just slightly ahead of honey mustard. I know that most commercially made ketchup is extremely high in sugar, preservatives, and artificial colours and so I began my quest for a great homemade ketchup! This ketchup is so easy- basically throw a few ingredients in a pot and let it simmer for 45 minutes or so, and then puree in a blender. It makes a giant batch, so leave a little container in your fridge and freeze the rest! Don’t expect this to taste like Heinz…because it doesn’t. It has great flavour, almost like a barbecue sauce ketchup. I’ve already used it on potatoes, calamari, and on a veggie dog. It’s a little more versatile than regular ketchup and it tastes great! In regards to sugar, I used dates instead of white sugar. Still a sweetener, but not processed and refined. I hope you like it

Homemade Ketchup

• 1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1 can (5.5 fl. oz) of tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup dates
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 bay leaves

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepot and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let simmer for about 45 minutes until the mixture had reduced. Blend with an immersion blender, or let cool and blend in a blender. Enjoy with whatever you like!

Homemade ketchup aside, I have a couple of crazy weekends coming up! I can’t remember if I mentioned that I’m in bartending school right now, but my exam is coming up this weekend and I hope I pass! I’ve just been introduced to the show Lost (6 years fashionably late…..) so I have become completely addicted to it and almost finished two seasons in a week….which has left little time to study up on all the drinks I may have to make! The reason I’m going to bartending school is because I want to travel in the future and bartending certification is universal- I could use it on a working exchange, or even to make some money if I’m running low while travelling. I want to travel alllll throughout Europe, and definitely head back to Greece for little while.

Lately I have been wanting to create a recipe for healthier spring rolls. When I was younger I used to love eating spring rolls, dipped in plenty of plum sauce, but these days I rarely eat them. I thought about making spring rolls that were baked, instead of deep fried, and when one of my classmates in culinary school was offering up a package of spring roll wrappers, I jumped on the chance. They sat in my freezer for about a month- until tonight, that is. I have been trying to stay away from soy products (besides fermented soy, like miso, and soy sauce) but I can’t stand wasting food, so I decided to use up a pack of organic tofu I had in the fridge. I actually marinaded the tofu for about a day and I really liked how much flavour it took on. I could use a little practice on my spring roll wrapping technique, but this finished product was delicious. Instead of plum sauce, I made an almond butter sauce and it was wonderful paired with the rolls.

Baked Spring Rolls with Almond Butter Dipping Sauce

Tofu:

• 1 package extra firm organic tofu cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 4 drops of stevia (or, of course a sprinkle of sugar or honey)

Combine all the ingredients in a shallow dish and let marinade for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, bake for 12 minutes.

Spring Rolls:

• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
• 1 can water chestnuts, diced
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp each- minced garlic, ginger, lemon grass (I used a bottled paste of each of these, otherwise, sauté these together until garlic is cooked), sesame oil
• baked tofu, cut into thin strips
• 8 x 8 spring roll wrappers
• sesame oil, for brushing

Combine carrot, pepper, water chestnuts, scallions in a bowl with chili flakes, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and sesame oil. Take a spring roll wrapper in front of you so it looks like a diamond. Take a few strips of tofu, carrots, peppers, water chestnuts, and scallions, and place on the bottom end of the wrapper. Roll the bottom over the filling, tuck the sides of the wrapper in, and roll like a cigar. Place on a lined sheet pan, seam side down and brush with sesame oil. Repeat until all filling has been used (just eyeball the amounts!). Preheat the oven to 400 F and cook spring rolls for 8 minutes. Flip over, brush with oil and cook for 5 more minutes.

Almond Butter Dipping Sauce (Adapted from Rebar):

• 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp honey
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sambal oelek
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Blend all ingredients in food processor, or by hand, with a whisk.

This is a “recipe” for a dressing that can be used as a sauce over vegetables, a spread for sandwiches, a dip for crackers or veggies…whatever you want! The recipe comes from Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine but it’s all about throwing the ingredients together to create the taste and thickness that you desire. My favourite use of this is as a dip for steamed veggies- I love the super salty flavour the miso provides.

Miso-Tahini Dressing

Mix about equal parts of tahini and miso paste together, adjust to taste.

Add some dijon mustard, some tamari or soy sauce, or some balsamic vinegar and adjust the levels of liquid and solid until you get the texture you are after. It’s all up to you!

Coming Soon….my Iron Cupcake entry, and homemade peanut butter cups!