Vegan Yum Yum (34 page)

step 8
Place the shaped gnocchi on a plate that has been dusted with flour. At this point you should cook the gnocchi immediately. I tried freezing the raw, shaped gnocchi once and it was a disaster! You must at least partially cook the gnocchi at this point or all your hard work will be ruined.

Cooking and Serving the Gnocchi:

step 1
Gently place the gnocchi into the salted, boiling water. After a minute or two, the gnocchi will float to the surface. About 30 seconds after they begin floating, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, draining them well.

step 2
Place the cooked gnocchi into a large bowl that has half of the vinaigrette in the bottom. Toss the gnocchi to coat. Drizzle your dinner plates with the other half of the vinaigrette and some of the cream sauce. Pile the gnocchi on the plates and drizzle more cream sauce on top. Garnish with a fresh sprig of thyme and serve immediately.

Hurry Up Alfredo

O
ne day I came home from running errands and I was starving. I felt like pasta with a creamy sauce, but I didn't have the patience to make a roux. I decided to make a blender Alfredo because I didn't care how it turned out and it'd be quick. I not only loved the sauce, but my husband and I now make it on a regular basis. It's fast and easy, and you probably already have all of the ingredients. It's a great compromise between “I don't feel like cooking” and “I don't want to eat toast for dinner.” We like it so much, however, that we make it even when we have plenty of time to spend in the kitchen.

I like to use the wide fettucini-style rice noodles, but whatever pasta shape you have will work wonderfully (the shape pictured here is orecchiette). You don't even need pasta to enjoy the sauce: I've made this several times and poured it over a huge bowl of steamed organic broccoli and it was divine.

Hurry Up Alfredo

Makes 2 or 3 servings

step 1
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add the noodles. Cook until tender but not mushy.

step 2
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, mix together the soy milk, cashews, yeast, tamari (or soy sauce), margarine, tahini, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and garlic (if using) in a blender and blend on high until very smooth. If your blender is having issues with grinding the nuts smoothly, you can strain the sauce. (Or you can keep them as is and pretend it's a “textural feature.”)

step 3
When the noodles are finished cooking, drain them well. Add the noodles back to the now empty but still hot pot and pour as much sauce as you want over them. Turn the heat on and gently stir until the noodles are piping hot, adding in your optional veggies or herbs if you're using them. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

3 cups of any small pasta shape

Alfredo Sauce

1 cup soy milk

cup rounded raw, unsalted cashews

¼ cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon or stone-ground mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch salt

Black pepper, to taste

2 to 4 garlic cloves
(optional)

Suggested/optional add-ins

2 cups steamed broccoli florets or any other veggie

2 tablespoons of fresh herbs
(your favorite)

Lime Peanut Noodles with Seitan, Kale, and Carrots

T
his is a tangy lime noodle dish with a light peanut sauce. The recipe makes what will seem like a very strong sauce, but it will cover enough noodles for four servings, so it needs to be strong. The lime flavor is fairly pronounced, and it's great served warm or as a cold noodle salad. That's a bonus because even if you're not going to have four people eating this, you can make the whole batch and take leftovers to work!

Lime Peanut Noodles with Seitan, Kale, and Carrots

Makes 4 servings

step 1
Begin by boiling water for your rice noodles. While waiting, make the peanut sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, sugar, chili flakes, and ginger powder until combined. Set aside.

step 2
Cook the noodles until just softened, then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well. Use kitchen shears to cut the noodles down to shorter lengths (run your scissors through the noodles until “chopped” or actually chop the noodles with a knife. Uniformly sized noodles makes mixing everything together much easier). Set noodles aside.

step 3
To prepare the kale, seitan, and carrot, heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the kale and stir until cooked through and browning in some parts. Add the seitan and carrots, and then turn down the heat a bit.

step 4
Add the noodles to the pan. Add the sauce, reserving about a teaspoon (eyeball it). Stir until everything is well combined, but no longer. If your wok is still super hot, some noodles may stick to the pan, but don't worry.

step 5
Add the nuts to the remaining 1 teaspoon of sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with nuts and a slice of lime and serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

Ingredients

1 package wide, flat rice noodles
(10 ounces)

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2½ tablespoons lime juice, fresh

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon chili flakes