Vegan Bowls To-Go!
Vegan Bowls To-Go! are super delish and make your work week way easier and healthier. I had all these veggies, beans, grains, and basil that I wanted to use before going food shopping – “Waste not!” (FGG’s food mantra) – so I used them for my Sunday food prep. Last week I was crazy unprepared and either didn’t have a lunch, or grabbed something that I otherwise would normally never have eaten. I was so pissed at myself!
I always save glass jars from various sauces etc. I love to recycle them as tupperware or vases. This time I cooked quinoa and orecchiette pasta – that took up 2 burners. On the other 2 burners I was cooking a bunch of veggies and beans in a homemade taco seasoning, and cooking maple flavored brussel sprouts in the other. All 4 burners going at the same time. During that food fiesta, I made a kale pesto with loads of basil from my window basil plant (a must in the cold weather seasons). Click here for one of my kale pesto recipes. I made 5 different Vegan Bowls To-Go in under 30 minutes. Fuck yeah! That’s exactly the kind of ease and simplicity I am looking for… especially when you had a good friend and her daughter stay over last night and drank ’til wee hours of the morn! Let’s just say I’m lagging a little in the lust for motivation department. Yesterday, all 4 of us went to Mississippi Pizza to see an awesome kids band play, eat dope pizzas (yup – they have vegan!), and drink beer. We were having so much fun that we stayed for most of the bluegrass band afterwards. We did the same thing a few weeks back with 2 different bands. Portland is fucking awesome!
Anyway, I’m tired, have to make some more tea, and then finish up my podcast editing so I can fiiiinallllyyyy go live! Enjoy the work week! I’ll be dangling the “Friday is the last day before 2 weeks off ” hallelujah carrot in front of my face all week so I can make it with my sanity still intact. Chow for now! 😉 -FGG
PS – As usual, a fitting song…
These are not going to be direct recipes – I’ll give you the ingredients I used and you can follow that or tweak it to your taste. If not, simply use this post as a good idea for work week grub. 😉
1 – Quinoa with brussel sprouts. I cooked the brussel sprouts in grape seed oil, Himalayan salt, pepper, fresh lemon, and maple syrup (SOOOO good!). I often throw in tempeh but I didn’t have any.
2 – Orecchiette, quinoa, red & yellow peppers, kale, broccoli and black beans. I cooked the beans and veggies in taco seasoning. I put hot sauce on top of the orecchiette. Would be great with a good salsa, too!
3 – Same as above but without orecchiette.
4 – Orecchiette with homemade kale pesto (click in post for pesto recipe) and sun-dried tomatoes.
5 – Orecchiette with kale pesto, vegan meatballs (I love Trader Joe’s!), and small white beans.
Vegan Kale Pesto Spring Primavera!
Vegan Kale Pesto Spring Primavera! will be your next favorite spring pasta dish! Crazy colorful, flavorful, and incredibly healthy… not to mention quick and easy to make. This is one of those meals where I sometimes say, “if you could purchase it in a store and didn’t absolutely love it, I’d give you a refund in full.” Dem be powerful words, pasta lovers! A rainbow of deliciousness awaits you. I found this rainbow array of veggies in my fridge left over from my Organics to You delivery and had to use them before they went bad. I had also purchased Trader Joe’s Vegan Kale, Cashew, and Basil Pesto. However, if you don’t wanna go out and spend too much dinero on that bad boy, I have an AMAZING recipe on my blog for a pesto just like Trader Joe’s – in the search box, type – crazy creamy pesto (not sure why my hyperlink wasn’t working).
On this fine and fabulous afternoon, I went nuts-o cooking dishes for the week and for the blog. Breakfast toasts, red pepper hummus, a spaghetti marinara with peppers and chard (recipe coming soon), and of course, the one and only Vegan Kale Pesto Spring Primavera! I was a cooking machine. It was sunny, I had the door and windows wide open, and I listened to some My Bubba. If you don’t know these super hot, folk-esk, Scandinavian duo, get to know their music asap. They’re freakin’ amazing! So amazing, that I feel the need to add one of their recording sessions from a totally dope hostel in Iceland to this very post. You’re welcome. 😉 To sum this short post up (well, for me, haha), if you like incredible pasta and fantastic tunes, I implore you to make this recipe asap whilst listening to these superb ladies serenade you. Mangia!
PS- There’s a gigantic gap b/w my last photo and the video and recipe card. I can’t fix it! UGH! WordPress woes… 🙁
- 1 lb fusilli pasta (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli) - cooked
- 8 oz of kale pesto (I have a recipe on the blog for this but I used TJ's Vegan Kale, Cashew, and Basil Pesto)
- 1 1/2 C purple broccoli florets
- 3/4 C broccolini or something similar - diced
- 3/4 C small red cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 C carrot - diced
- 3/4 -1 C thin aspargus - cut into approximately 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 of a lemon
- 6 large basil leaves (or the equivalent) - chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Olive oil for pan
- Heat a large pan with olive oil over medium heat
- Add the carrots and asparagus stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes
- Add the purple broccoli, broccolini, tomatoes, salt & pepper, and squeeze the lemon on top of the veggies - stir occasionally for about 5 minutes
- Add the basil and stir for approximately 2-3 minutes more
- Your veggies should be crisp but cooked - don't over cook
- Remove from heat
- Pour pesto over your pasta and mix well
- Pour the veggie mix from the pan over the pesto pasta and still well
- Done!
- Sauvignon Blanc, dry riesling, or Fiano di Avellino
Crazy Creamy Pesto (Vegan)!
Crazy Creamy Pesto (Vegan)! is my new summertime spread. I use it on virtually everything I eat! My garden is overflowing with basil plants so I’m pumpin’ out pesto like it’s going outta style. I’ve been adding all sorts of things to my pesto: arugula, spinach, kale, cashews etc. My girl friends and I went camping recently and one of the ladies had made a pesto pasta salad using an edible lemon essential oil and it was amazing! If you get your hands on some of that tastiness I urge you to throw it into your pesto for a superbly refreshing summertime sauce.
The one thing I remember my father making plenty of every summer was pesto. Every time I’d pop over there for a meal we’d be eating it in some form or another. I, too, am a lover of pesto everything. This summer I’ve been making loads of rotini and farfalle with my Crazy Creamy Pesto (Vegan)! sauce. However, I rub that creamy green goddess sauce on sandbos, wraps, as a dip for veggies (peppers overflowing outta my garden), as a pizza sauce (both myself and G man’s most favorite thing to make together), or with any grain imaginable tossed up with some salad goodies. I think the gist is that you really can’t go wrong with pesto… ever.
Basil, spinach, kale, walnuts (’cause who can afford pine nuts these days?!), cashews (for extra creaminess), lemon, garlic, salt, and voila! Sub any of those salad greens for arugula or another healthy green. Add olive oil or any other oil for a different texture. As always, adapt and create to your tastebuds and whatever it is you have left over in your fridge or garden. Happy summertime eats to you all!
- Large handful of basil leaves (approximately 15-20 large leaves)
- 3/4 cup raw and unsalted cashews
- 1 cup raw and unsalted walnuts
- 1 cup raw spinach leaves
- 1 cup raw kale
- 1-2 Tbl lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt to taste
- olive oil/water for texture (as per your preference). I add a small bit of water to thin it out during blending and mix in a smidge of olive oil once in bowl.
- Put all ingredients into a blender (minus oil) except water and blend
- Slowly add water according to your desired consistency and blend again
- Sub out spinach or kale for arugula, or add less of the first two and use all three together!
- Add tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, or sauteed mushrooms to liven up a pesto pasta!
- Sauvignon Blanc or Arneis
