Pasta Alla Puttanesca #WFPBNO_PASTA

PASTA  ALLA  PUTTANESCA

I really enjoy cooking pasta, but I only had half a jar of this really spicy sauce in my fridge and some Ramen noodles from Costco made from brown rice and millet. 

If that's all you have then you may as well improvise and have a little fun with it. So I looked around and found some olives stuffed with garlic and jalapeno next to a jar of capers. I GOOGLED it and found there is actually a sauce called Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca, which comes from the Italian word "Puttana", which translates to Prostitute in English. It doesn't get much spicier than that so I looked up the recipe! It includes tomato, olives, garlic, hot peppers and anchovies. Since I don't eat any animal products, including fish, I had to find a substitute. Well right there in the cupboard next to the Nutritional Yeast, just waiting for me, was a package of Nori Seasoned Seaweed, just begging me for attention. It tastes salty and fishy and makes a great substitute for anchovies. That was just too easy to pull together so hear we go!!! Quick, easy and delightful, just like the professionals it is named for!

Pasta Alla Puttanesca Recipe

2 cups of spicy fat free spaghetti sauce

Pasta noodles of your choice

1 Roma tomato, finely diced

2 Large olives stuffed with garlic and Jalapeno, sliced thin

1 pack of Nori Seaweed, finely chopped

1 rounded TBSP Nonpareil Capers

Cook the pasta per package directions. Drain and set aside. 

Cook together all the other ingredients to a low simmer. 

Add the pasta to the pot and cook away any excess water while gently stirring.

Serve hot.

I boiled some kale, drained it and used it to garnished the edges of the pasta then sprinkled it with nutritional yeast because it was there next to the Nori and I really like it!

This dish is easy, salty, delicious and you may want a cigarette after its over, but those are bad for you. I know its salty, but when you add it all up, it isn't as bad as it sounds; about 1000 mg of sodium for the entire pot. About equal to 3 bowls of corn flakes.  My blood pressure is well controlled. If yours is not, you may want to look away and blush a little. 

Dairy Free Cheese Sauce

DAIRY-FREE CHEESE SAUCE

Here is another variation on the theme of dairy-free cheese sauce. This time I used a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Per serving, the amount of EVOO is negligible and it does improve the texture. The cap of the bottle equals 1 tsp or 1.7 fluid ounces. There are 9 calories per ounce of oil. So 1.7 ounces x 9 calories per ounce = 15 calories. The blender pitcher is 64 oz and was half full, so that is 32 oz.

Calories per ounce comes out to 0.5 calories. 

The serving size is 1/2 cup, which is 4 oz.

4 oz x 0.5 calories per oz = 2 calories per serving, which is negligible.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, who wrote The China Study, recommends the daily total fat calories from any source, plant or animal, should be in the 10% to 15% range.

So a serving of something that only contains 2 calories from fat will not increase your risk for Cardiovascular Disease(CVD).

Spicy Zoodles or Stuffed Into Purple Cabbage #StuffedCabbageWFPBNO

I made some spicy zoodles, which tasted spicy and delicious, but didn't look so good. So at the suggestion of a new friend from Dr. Esselstyn's fb page, I turned them into purple cabbage rolls. The flavor is exactly the same but now it looks neater and comes in fun sized packages!!

Lets have a vote. Reply in comments. 

You choose. A or B?

            "A"

 

              "B"

          

            

 

Kale Chips! #WFPBNO #CrunchyKaleChips

Someone was asking about crunchy, munchy snacks on another site. All they wanted was something compliant with a plant based whole foods no processed oil, no salt, no sugar diet. 

Hard to find anything like THAT in the average store, especially at a reasonable price. 

Fortunately I have an easy recipe for just such a four-leaf-clover covered unicorn of a snack.

All you need is a blender or food processor, a cookie sheet and some parchment paper. 

KALE CHIPS

1 Bunch of fresh Kale

1 Fresh Scallion

2 Cloves of garlic

1 Large Carrot

2 TBSPs of Milled Flaxseed

1/2 tsp of smoked paprika

1 1/2 Cups of water

2 TBSPs Lemon Juice

Enough Nutritional Yeast to dust it at the end

(Optional: 1/4 cup of low sodium Tamari or 1 tsp of salt) Without salt, it tastes like grass clippings.

Strip the kale off most of the stems. I throw all of it into a blender and Puree into a batter. Spread it out with a cookie sheet and parchment paper. Bake at 400F for about an hour. flip it like a pancake back onto the paper and bake at 300F until crispy. Make sure its all dried out then break it up into chips and dust it with Nutritional Yeast (Nooch). To make the Nooch stick, I spray it with a little water and then put it back in the oven for a few minutes to make sure it is completely dried out and crispy.

Serve warm or cold with the dip of your choice.

Here they are with homemade bean dip using Great Northern White Beans and Raw Cashews, but that's another blog.

Bean Dip #WFPBdairyfree

I hurt my back and needed surgery a little over 2 weeks ago. Its feeling pretty good now but I need to have PT for a few weeks before I can go back to work.  

You know its getting better when I can get in the kitchen and make up new recipes!

BEAN DIP RECIPE

1 Can Great Northern Beans including the aquafaba.

1 Cup of raw cashews.

1 Garlic clove.

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar.

1TBSP Lemon juice

1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast.

(Optional)

Salt, Cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, Smoked Paprika ( I used them all but the salt.  Spicy!!).

Boil the raw cashews for 20 minutes. Rinse in cold water. This softens them, reduces the tannins, but the fat and fiber remain.

Add them together with the rest of the ingredients to your blender of or food processor. Blend until completely smooth. I had to use a spatula 4 times to scrape down the walls of the blender.

Serve with chips, crackers or veggies of your choice. 

Pictured with homemade kale chips, but THAT is another story!!!

Mac N Cheeese! #Glutenfree #Dairyfee #Oilfree #Nutfree #GuiltfreeMacAndCheese

 This was so fun and easy to make!  The noodles are Barilla Gluten Free. They are made from corn and rice. The cheeseless sauce is made from potatoes, nutritional yeast, tapioca flour, white vinegar and some spices. There are no milk products, nuts or processed oil. 

It came out very creamy and delicious. Even the noodles had surprisingly great texture. I boiled them in salt water, twice as long as the directions on the box recommended, making them soft and tender. I've been making this stuff for years but this time a added a little onion powder. What a difference!

Follow the recipe.  You won't be disappointed!

2 fist sized Yukon gold potatoes peeled cubed boiled in salted water(save 2 cups of the water), 6 level TBSPs each of nutritional yeast and tapioca flour, 1 level TBSP each of salt and onion powder, 1/3rd cup white vinegar, 1TBSP lemon juice, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce. 

Mix the dry ingredients together to prevent clumping.  

Put the dry ingredients into the blender 1st, followed by the potatoes with 1 and 3\4 cups of the saved potato water and the remaining wet ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Pour it into a pot and heat it gently (don't boil it) while stirring until it thickens. Let it cool a little which thickens it more. Boil your noodles in salted water until soft. Drain them. Put them back in the pot. Over low heat fold the noodles and sauce together and serve hot.

If they are in the fridge over night, add about 3 TBSP  of water, stir it in and microwave it for 20 to 30 sec.

SOLAR ECLIPSE IS COMING!!! (a good life is about more than good food. I do have other interests 😎😎😎😎)

There is going to be a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE on April 8, 2024, visible from the very eastern most bottom of the Michigan mitten and most of northern Ohio. The last total solar eclipse visible in south east Michigan was in 1806 and the next one will be in 2099. This is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME opportunity!

We had an Annular Eclipse in 1994 that was visible from our area and lucked out with clear skies that day. I was ready with my telescope, tripod, solar filter, film camera, camera adapter and a cable release to activate the camera without shaking the whole setup. I took the pictures below...

ANNULAR ECLIPSE, SOUTHGATE MICHIGAN MAY 10, 1994

If you are in the path of the eclipse or can get yourself there, make sure you have what you need ahead of time to enjoy it. You CANNOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN, even during an eclipse, without permanently damaging your eyes. You also should not point your digital camera or cell phone camera at the sun, unless it is very low in the sky around sunset. The earth's atmosphere will act as a solar filter at sunset, making it possible. 

You can buy a special 10 pack of SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES WITH A SUN FILTER FOR YOUR CAMERA OR CELL PHONE  by clicking the blue letters in the link. They will do the trick for you and 9 of your closest friends, protecting your eyes and your camera. 

You can get a more permanent pair of Solar Eclipse glasses for a few dollars more, if you like staring at the sun more often to look at the sunspots that are becoming larger and more frequent as Solar Max arrives by clicking THIS LINK.

Also, a reminder that that the first full moon following a total eclipse of the sun will be a TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, which is perfectly safe to watch without any special equipment. 

I, however, already have the special equipment so I took this next picture of a lunar eclipse in my own backyard!!!!  The light that filters through the earth's atmosphere, which acts like a lens, hits the moon and makes it look red.  ENJOY!