Creamy Cashew Pasta

I used to love fettucini alfredo. Love it. I think my prom date even made some for me before the prom, because I used to eat it like it was going out of style.

Since finding out that most of my health problems were caused by what I was eating, I could no longer indulge in the sweetness that is Fettucini Alfredo. This, however, does not mean that I can't have a similar, delicious foodstuff! BEHOLD!

Cashew Cream and White Wine Pasta
Ingredients:
1 Serving of pasta of your choice, cooked (I used rice vermicelli) 
5 stalks of asparagus, chopped into pieces, very ends discarded
a handful of sliced mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil

Sauce
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp tamari
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup white wine
Salt, Pepper, Basil
1/2-2 tsp cornstarch, depending on how thick you want it.
Water

Directions:
In a blender, blend together all of the sauce ingredients, adding a bit of water at a time, until it is smooth, thick, and creamy (the texture of heavy cream). Taste, and feel free to adjust the various ingredients to your liking.
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan or wok, and add the mushrooms, sauteing for a few minutes until browned. Add in the asperagus, and cook for about a minute, until they start to get bright and green.
Very quickly add in the sauce, mixing together with the veggies. Stir constantly (or it will stick to the pan and burn) until the sauce is bubbly and thickened.
Toss the sauce with the pasta, and serve, enjoying the tastesplosion of happiness!

Afternoon Asparagus Pasta

I love pasta. I love easy. I love delicious. So without Further Ado:

Mushroom Asparagus Spaghetti 
Ingredients
Enough Spaghetti to fill you up :) (I used Quinoa Pasta meself)
A few stalks of asparagus, chopped into pieces

a handful of mushrooms, chopped into pieces
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Basil, Salt, and Pepper (To taste)
A splash of white wine (no need to get good quality, I used a bottle I found on top of my fridge that was half empty.)

Directions
Cook the pasta. In the last minute, toss in the asparagus to cook it up. Drain in a colander.
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms are browned.
Add in the pasta and asparagus, and begin to toss. Add the wine to deglaze, and sprinkle with the spices. Toss around to coat everything.
Then Eat. It's delicious. And That easy!

Asperagus and Mushroom Cashew Pizza

It was an absolutely disgusting day in Montreal today. The weatherman said light snow... the reality was less than light, It was pretty rough.

So I decided to make a springish pizza to cheer myself up! (Snow not being my favorite thing on the planet... actually it's one of my least favorite things, which begs the question why I live in Canada)

Asperagus and Mushroom Cashew Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough for 1 pizza
Cashew Cheese (I used the recipe linked!) Grated
Stalks of Asparagus
Tomato Sauce
Mushrooms , sliced
Basil, Salt, Pepper, Oregano

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out your dough on a pizza tray, with a bit of cornstarch if you want. Bake for 5 minutes to sort of firm it up. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Take your stalks of asparagus, and cut off the bottom inch. Chop into little chunks, and leave the tops a few inches long, to put on the top as decoration :)
Spread the pasta sauce over the dough, and top with the mushrooms, and asperagus. Then top with the cheese and spices.
Arrange the asparagus tops on top, and return the pizza to the oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until cheese is browning. Take it out, cut it, and enjoy!

Deep Dish Pizza

I recently received my winnings from my pizza contest entry, and I was thinking "I need some pizza... I need some bad"

But not any type of pizza... I needed deep dish pizza.

Imagine my surprise when I told Matthew of this craving, and he'd NEVER HAD IT. I was shocked, and it only steeled my reserve to make it even more.

I've been trying to get healthier lately, eat less junk food, etc etc, so you might think to yourself "But Natalia! Deep Dish pizza isn't healthy!" To you I say- "Shut up! I've been exercising, I'll put vegetables on it!"

And I did

Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients:
1 Pckg of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free pizza crust mix, prepared like the package (Until after rising it)
Toppings of choice.
Some Cornmeal

My Toppings:
Daiya Cheddar
Pineapple Chunks
Baby Spinach
Artichoke hearts
Mushrooms
Diced Tomatoes Mixed with some tomato paste
Black Pepper, Garlic, Basil, Oregano, and a bit of olive oil, as well as a tiny bit of nutritional yeast


Directions:
Oven @ 450
At This point, you've got your dough all risen and stuff. Take a springform pan, and spray the inside with some pam, or wipe it down with oil.  Toss a bit of cornmeal in there, and swish it to stick to the sides.
Press the dough into the pan, thinner on the bottom, slightly thicker on the sides, about 1-2 inches high for the crust sides. Toss a bit more cornmeal in there!
Bake the crust for 10 minutes or so, until it is firmed up.
Remove from the oven, and let cool for a few minutes.
Top with your toppings. (The order I have mine listed are from bottom to top, though I mixed the spices in with the tomato mixture, and then dusted the top with nutritional yeast.
Return to oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it's all cooked through.
Remove from oven, and let cool for 5 minutes or so before cutting!
Then eat, and enjoy!