zucchini fettuccini + cauliflower alfredo

Are you ready to get your veggie on? Good! Because I have just taken a dish that is basically veggie-less and made it veggie-full.

But before I get to that, let me digress a little. Today is Australia Day! As per tradition, we are following Triple J's countdown of the hottest 100 songs of 2014, we made damper, drank tea, and are feeling the true blue Aussie spirit. We probably would be drinking beers around a fire too, except its pouring rain and we aren't drinking any alcohol right now, so tea and a blog post are going to have to do. And a juice, we just downed a carrot, celery, parsley, ginger, turmeric juice.

Damper; traditional aussie bread from the outback

For those of you who don't know about Australia Day, it is basically Australia's birthday, celebrated on Jan 26th to mark the anniversary of the arrival of the first British fleet to Australia's shores back in 1788. For those of you who don't know about Triple J, it is the radio station in Oz, playing a huge variety of new music. Here is #81 on the countdown: Fade Out Lines, by The Avener.

Ok, now back to those veggies!

zucchini fettuccine + cauliflower alfredo

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup veggie broth + 1/4 cup
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp earth balance (vegan buttery spread)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 3 zucchinis

Remove outer leaves and stem from cauliflower, cut into florets. Heat 1 cup veggie broth in pot and add cauliflower and peeled garlic, cover and simmer until soft (about 5-7 min). Transfer to food processor or blender. Blend with additional 1/4 cup veggie broth, nutritional yeast, salt&pepper, and earth balance until super smooth.

Meanwhile... peel zucchinis with julienne peeler (or regular peeler for thicker noodles, or spiralize them!). In a large fry pan add zucchini noodles and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until just warm, add sauce and toss, keep on heat until everything is hot for serving!

This dish is soooo good, I could eat the cauliflower sauce with a spoon, it is so tasty!

juice pulp + chia loaf

I haven't really thought of a more clever name for this loaf, so if anyone thinks of one, let me know!

I have always wanted to find a use for all of that pulp from the juicer. I don't juice too often anymore, but it is a nice way to use up extra produce left in the fridge from last week's farmer's market! And now I can use the pulp too! I think that pulp from just about any juice would do, my juice was beet, carrot, apple, ginger, and turmeric. But a green juice pulp would make a fun loaf too! Just save the pulp in a container in the fridge if you aren't making it right away, it will be good for a couple days.

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil (veg or coconut)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup almond or coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp chia seeds mixed with 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups juice pulp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with oil. In a small bowl whisk together the chia seeds and water until set, about one minute of whisking, set aside. Sift flour with other dry ingredients into medium bowl. In a larger mixing bowl, combine oil, milk, maple, vanilla, chia gel, and juice pulp. Fold dry ingredients into wet, mixture should be very thick and gooey! Transfer to loaf pan and press to flatten. Bake for 45-50 min.

I added the juice pulp one cup at a time, it seemed to have a marbling effect on the bread, which was really nice since there were so many flavors! We have now been eating this loaf for a couple days and it is good cold or toasted! 

... with tea, of course.

vegan tofu quiche + sweet potato crust

Vegan quiche? I honestly had never even thought about it, but there is was, on the all inspiring site of pinterest. Once I started doing my research on vegan quiches, I was able to come up with my own version of this delectable savory pie. I used a combination of two recipes, one from the minimalist baker and the other from the blog fourteen forty.

My vegan quiche was filled with kale, asparagus, dill, and parsley, but please... be creative! If there is one piece of advice that I can give you about cooking, its to be creative. Food is art, it is life, it is color, it is so many flavors and feelings that compliment and complete each other. Don't be afraid to look in your fridge and use a veggie combination that you have never used before! But... I do have one rule that I like to stick to, besides being creative, and that is to keep it simple. You don't want an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink quiche, you want for each veggie to stand out, and to be able to identify each flavor.

With that said, let's embark on a new journey to tofu quiche + sweet potato crust

• 1 large sweet potatoes or two small
• olive oil spray
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 cups veggies of choice chopped into desired size
• 14 oz extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional) (these are just approximations, I just squeeze it right in!)
• salt + pepper to taste (it takes about 1/2 tsp because tofu is pretty bland!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and thinly slice sweet potatoes, spray or coat pie dish with oil and line with potato slices. Bake "crust" for 15 min. Meanwhile... prepare your fillings!

Blend tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and zest, chili flakes, and salt + pepper in food processor until smooth. Sauté onions, garlic, and veggies with a little olive oil, but keep them crunchy! Toss tofu mixture over veggies and add to prepared "crust". Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 20-30 min, or until the top begins to brown.

Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before cutting.