Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Chili Pepper

Coconut oil is not just a great butter substitute in vegan baking. You can also use it in savory recipes. This simple yet satisfying dish is the perfect example. I was almost shocked how flavorful of a dinner this turned out to be, especially because it calls for only five ingredients, including salt!

serves: 2

1 medium spaghetti squash (big enough to wrap both your hands around)
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Half the squash and place, cut side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until easily pierced with a knife. Allow to cool slightly and use a fork to scrape threads of squash into a bowl.

Melt the coconut oil in a pan set over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili pepper and a dash of salt. Saute until garlic begins to turn golden brown around the edges. Turn off the heat and add the squash. Toss to coat with oil and transfer to serving bowls. Serve hot.

You will love it! Please leave comments if you do try.

Beet Capellini with Pistachios

I have been craving beets for days. This finally gave me my fix, and then some! Whatever I crave must be in all red foods, because I also threw in some paprika, and came thisclose to adding dried cherries, too.

Raw beets are under-appreciated. The heat from the cooked pasta in this recipe warms the grated beet, but stops just shy of cooking it. You still get the satisfying crunch and earthy goodness of raw beets.

This is a recipe for one that takes minutes to prepare. It can be easily multiplied to feed a crowd.

5 ounces    capellini (about 1/3 package)
1 small       beet
1/2 cup      coconut milk
1                clove garlic
1/2 tsp       paprika
1 pinch     each, thyme and oregano
2 tsp          pistachio oil (optional)
1                light drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbp     chopped pistachios

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a bowl.

Grate the beet over the pasta. Turn the grater to the side with the smallest holes and grate the garlic over the pasta. Add the remaining ingredients, except the pistachios, and toss.

Garnish with pistachios and serve warm.

World’s Laziest Nori Rolls; Homemade Sushi for the Underacheiver.

If you are like me, when you’re home alone, meals consist of whatever is around and fits in the palm of your hand. I cannot be bothered to cook for myself. If there’s nobody around to oooh & aaah over my food, what’s the point? That was the case today.

But, by dinnertime, I was hungry for more than just fistfulls of cashews, bittersweet baking chocolate, flaked coconut, and other remnants raided from my baking cabinet.

The next easiest thing was to throw some rice in the rice cooker. Once it was done, but still hot, I decided to mix in some shredded kale and carrot. The next thing you know, I was adding grated ginger and horseradish, sesame oil, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, dried herbs, lemon, and a little of that flaked coconut for a nice touch of sweetness.

By that time, I realized it would be pretty easy to roll it all up inside some sheets of nori. Because the filling ingredients were already mixed into the rice, there was no fussing around layering perfectly cut vegetables of uniform size, like you have to do with real sushi rolls. All I had to do was spread some filling on the nori, roll it up, and cut! This was surprisingly easy because everything was sticky from the rice. There was no need for pickled ginger or wasabi because those flavors were already in the filling.

I topped each piece with a dollop of raw vegan blue cheese dressing, and had my first real homemade meal in days. It felt like cheating. The meal took less than 20 minutes from start to finish. This recipe could be made with any vegetables, seasonings and sauce you have around. You could even throw some seeds or nuts in the mix.

You just might catch yourself saying “Aaah.”