GF Vegan Broccoli & Artichoke Buckwheat Pasta!

So the Kentucky Derby was today…”I’ll Have Another” took home the crown. What a name! “I’ll Have Another”…what…? haha…juuust kidding :)

creamy and decadent pasta sauce!

I’ll Have Another Margarita cuz it’s Cinco de Mayo — how about that?! No…I wish…I haven’t been able to have any alcohol since October, when my Ulcerative Colitis flare started. Alcohol exacerbates the symptoms, and is Strictly Prohibited on the Body Ecology Diet.

So tonight, you should “Have Another” margarita for me:) I like frozen lime with salt. K thanks.

such a colorful plate!

So for dinner tonight, I made Buckwheat Pasta with Broccoli and Artichoke Sauce, and broiled flounder. It was delicious!

want a bite?

Although…I committed pasta’s Mortal Sin — I forgot to reserve pasta water!!!! Pasta water is the secret ingredient that makes the sauce velvety and creamy — and I forgottttt! So it was a bit thicker than optimal, but still delectable!

gorgeous color on the flounder!

Here’s what you need:

2 big stalks of broccoli, chopped into florets and steamed
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts
1 yellow onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
dried oregano and basil
1 1/2 cup veg stock
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
reserved pasta water

Start out by toasting your macadamia nuts and pumpkin seeds, and steaming your broccoli for about 3 or 4 minutes, until bright green. In a large sauce pan, saute your onion until tender in 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. When tender, add in your artichoke hearts, and let them warm through. Finally, stir in garlic for a minute. Then, deglaze with your veg stock. Add your steamed broccoli to warm through again. If the pan seems dry, add more stock. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes — add “1 turn of the pan” of veg stock. Then, carefully transfer the veggies into a food processor, along with the parsley, lemon, and nuts with about 1/4-1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth. Re-season with salt and pepper. Toss with cooked pasta and ENJOY!!

gorgeous green color from the broccoli and artichokes!

Finally, I served this with broiled flounder. Lobsta Bakes’ wild, ocean-caught flounder is SO moist and sweet. I seriously love this fish. It is so tender and juicy! I broiled it for about 8 minutes with 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. The spice crust is so wonderful — a sweet-spicy coating that has formed a crispy crust, leading to this moist and succulent flounder meat. YUM!

This meal was delicious. Even though I forgot the pasta water and the sauce was a bit thicker than I would have liked, it was still fantastic! I loved the flavor of the broccoli with the garlic backdrop. There was subtle hint of lemon, which paired beautifully with the nutty buckwheat.

fantastic dinner!

The sauce is so healthy too! Not only is it gluten-free and vegan, but it is PACKED with nutrition. It is literally pureed broccoli and artichokes! Artichokes are full of potassium, folate, Vitamin C, and magnesium, while broccoli is full of Vitamin E, Calcium and Iron.

“I’ll Have Another” great day tomorrow, please!

So my food processor was the star of the show tonight, making this sauce possible! Here's the one I use and highly recommend:

Weekend Recap!

So last night was great — my sister-in-law was with me for dinner while my parents were out with friends. Girls’ Night! We had a great chat over dinner, and then watched a movie afterwards. So fun!

And best of all — she found a house, made an offer, and bought it yesterday!! We’re so excited!! Congrats A and R!!!

such crunch and bright flavor!

For dinner last night, I served my GF Vegan Cucumber-Fennel-and-Dill salad over Millet, with broiled wild, ocean-caught Flounder from Lobsta Bakes. I think we were both hungry, because we cleaned our plates!!! {{that’s buckwheat in the pictures}}

You can find my recipe here.

light, crisp and refreshing!

This was so delicious. The combination of the fresh cucumber, the sweet-licorice-y fennel, sweet red pepper, lemony dill, and bright-tangy lemon juice was SO refreshing. It seriously rocked!! And it was SO crunchy and juicy. It was light, but just explodingwith flavor. Over the nutty millet — priceless. My sister-in-law loved it so much, she wanted the recipe!!

Sometimes, simplicity is genius!

The food was “prime time”, but the best part of the meal was sharing it with my sister-in-law. After all, that’s the best part of cooking — making something delicious to delight the people you love, to show them that you care.

Tonight, my parents have friends from high school staying with us, so it’ll be the 3 of us, my S-I-L, and our 2 guests! So my parents are having a nice Sunday Supper here at the house. Since we didn’t want to force them to eat from the exhaustively restrictive Body Ecology Diet, they will be having one meal — this delicious Chinese Stir Fry with Ahi Tuna , and I’ll be having a different, BED meal. Ahhh, someday *hopefully soon* this tedious BED will be put to rest.

What my parents and their friends will be indulging in---mouth...is...watering

What I can’t eat in the above picture *right now while on the Body Ecology Diet*: brown rice, peas, carrots, edamame, Tamari, ginger, agave, mushrooms, and green peppers. Someday….someday.

asparagus and gorgeously caramelized red onions

Here’s what I had:

my "Incredible Hulk" sized plate! (eyes were bigger than stomach)

This is an UNmarinated, gorgeous piece of Ahi Tuna, with nutty Buckwheat, and beautiful Roasted Vegetables. The green topping is a delicious, oil-free, Artichoke Pesto! It was delicious!

artichoke basil pesto!

I guess I’m used to cooking for 3, because by the time I plated up everything I had cooked…it was an absolute MOUNTAIN of food! I couldn’t finish it all, but that was fine with my dad — he thought it was outrageously delicious!

gorgeous roasted veggies

Here’s the recipe for the pesto:

3/4 cup artichoke hearts, dethawed
1 cup of fresh basil
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1-2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
salt
water to consistency

Whirl it up in the food processor. It is great over the ahi tuna, as well as the buckwheat and veggies!

succulent and sweet garlic inside its shell!

For the Roasted Veggies, I roasted asparagus, broccoli, red onions (don’t be scared — these were the best), and garlic (in its skin) in a bit of EVOO, salt and pepper. I roasted them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

ruby red ahi tuna!

My meal was phenomenal. The roasted veggies had such a wonder flavor! The natural sweetness of the veggies come out and they gently caremalize. The red onions become SO sweet and delicious! My dad said they were like CANDY! And the garlic steams in its skin, so when you take it out of the shell, it is like the consistency of butter! I shared with everyone at the table, and had them spread it on their bread. They were blown away.

so many nutrients on one plate!

And the pesto was so bright and refreshing! Its tanginess paired beautifully with the nutty quinoa and the buttery ahi tuna. Great food, great company.

It was wonderful to all be together:)

This meal utilized several of my favorite tools: my mandoline, grill pan, and my faaaaavorite food processor! Here's where you can get them!

Until tomorrow!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta w/ Pollock!

What a beautiful Saturday in March! We’ve put a couple of bird feeders up outside on the patio, and its so fun to watch all the different birds come and eat! OK — I know I sound like a crazy bird lady right now…but when you’re stuck on a couch — sick — everyday, you begin to appreciate the little things…even birds:)

such wonderful flavor!

So tonight for dinner, I decided to try my hand at a Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta.  Spinach and Artichoke Dip is one of life’s most glorious foods. And it is absolutely NOT vegan. Your average S&AD contains pounds of cheese, mayo, sour cream…all combined to make a decadently delicious dip! So, needless to say, “vegan-izing” the dip would prove to be quite a difficult task.

packed with green nutrition!

Now, they do make vegan mayo and sour cream, but to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of consuming all those processed ingredients. We’re going for happy tummies here.  So, I tried to make this dish fresh, healthy, and as unprocessed as possible.

yum!

Here’s what you need:

3 big handfuls of spinach, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups artichoke hearts, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp white wine
1/4 cup veg stock
1/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp Vegan Cream Cheese
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Dash of nutmeg

Saute you onions in 1 tsp EVOO, salt and pepper.  After they soften, add in your garlic. Stir in your artichokes and let them cook for a few minutes. Deglaze with your wine. Let it reduce, and then add in your stock, almond milk and nutmeg. Let that cook for a bit, and then stir in your spinach, wilting it. Once it has wilted, stir in your cream cheese and Dijon mustard. Combine with your pasta, and re-season it with salt and pepper. I added considerably more salt at the end. Yum!

Look at that flakey Pollock!

Finally, with this yummy pasta, I served broiled pollock. This was our first time having pollock and my goodness was it fantastic! Lobsta Bakes‘ wild, ocean-caught pollock is so flavorful and delicious! It flakes so beautifully, and is a bit “meatier” than cod, but still just as tender and delicate. We will definitely be having this again! And let me just say, it is a rare and refreshing find when you come across a shop that treats you like family. It’s true. The guys and gals at Lobsta Bakes are so wonderful. They know I am sick, so they always ask my parents how I’m doing that day, or will package our fish up with a smiley face drawn on the butcher paper. Little things that elevate them from an amazing fresh fish supplier, to a genuinely wonderful shop full of friends. :) We need more businesses with the authentic character of Lobsta Bakes!

spinach and artichoke goodness!

This meal was delicious. Although it didn’t *quite* have the Spinach and Artichoke Dip gooey-stringy-molten-cheesiness that we all love; it did have outstanding flavor with fresh and healthy ingredients. You got the spinach and artichoke flavor with the slight creaminess from the cream cheese and the reduced almond milk and stock. The Dijon mustard chimed in with a little *zing,* rounding out the pasta. Truly wonderful.

Tools used: 

Happy Saturday!