TOMATO SAUCE

Works great for a Spaghetti Sauce!

1 C. diced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 quart canned tomatoes or 4 cups of pureed tomatoes

14 oz. can of diced tomatoes or 2 C. of raw chopped tomatoes

1 t. salt

1 t. basil

1/2 t. lemon juice

1 t. olive oil

1/2 t. oregano

1 t. honey or other sweetener

Water sauté the onion until they become translucent. 

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

You will need:

20 white cap mushrooms or baby-bella mushrooms

Wash the mushrooms and pare off any bad spots.  Remove the stems and save 1/2 of them for the filling. Save the other half for another recipe.

Filling:

1 C. cooked amaranth  (1 c. amaranth in 3-4 c. water cook for 25-30 minutes)

1/2 of the mushroom stems

1 C. walnut (ground fine in the blender)

1/2 C. water

1 tsp salt (may need more to taste)

1 T fresh onion

1 C. cooked diced potato

1/4 c. fresh chopped basil or 1 T. dry basil

1 tsp. dried lavender (optional)

Combine the following ingredients in the food processor the cooked amaranth, ground walnuts, water, onion, potato, basil and salt.  Once the mixture is well blended, hand-stir in the lavender.  Place the mixture into the de-stemmed mushroom caps.  Heap them up a little bit. Bake the mushrooms stuffed end up at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

 While the mushrooms bake cook a pasta, such as liguine or angel hair.  Cook enough to make a bed of pasta in the bottom of your serving pan.

After the mushrooms are baked place them over the bed of hot cooked pasta.  Drizzle 2 - 3 C. tomato sauce over the top and garnish with an additional 1/4 c fresh basil.  Serve hot.

BREAKFAST QUINOA

Serves 2 fairly hearty appetites

1 C. quinoa

4 C. nut milk

1 t. cinnamon

1/2-1 T. fresh grated ginger

1/8 t. salt

1/4 C. honey

1 T. ground flax

1/4-1/2 C. currants or raisins

Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer or in a deep bowl that you can drain off the rinsing fluid.  Place the quinoa in a fry pan and cook the quinoa on high heat while stirring to prevent sticking on the pan until the grains are dry and separate.  In essence we are "dextrinizing" them which will speed their cooking.  This should only take about 3-4 minutes. 

Add the nut milk, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Bring to a boil and cook until the quinoa is soft, look for the central dot of white in the center of the grain to get real tiny.  The little arm that hugs around the quinoa will begin to loosen up.  This should take about 30-40 minutes.

Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the honey, flax and raisins.  Place the pan back of the stove and cook for a few more minutes until the mixture is thickened.

Serve warm or make the day before, refrigerate and eat cold with a nut milk or a pear cream.  Delicious!

n-CHEESE SAUCE

1 c. raw cashew nuts rinsed well

2 c. water

2 T. tomato paste

1 small sweet red pepper

1 1/2 t. salt

2 t. onion powder

2 cloves garlic

2-3 T. lemon or lime juice

Blend until smooth.  If you are using a Vitamix, you can boil it by blending it about 4 minutes otherwise pour out the contents into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil to thicken the sauce.  If you are using the n-Cheese Sauce in the Hot White Bean Dip, then you don't need to cook it first.  It will cook while baking.

HOT WHITE BEAN DIP

1  15 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained or 2 cups of white beans cooked from scratch.

1  15 oz can diced tomatoes, slightly drained or 2 cups of finely diced fresh tomatoes

1 T. chili powder substitute (see recipe below)

1 red or green bell pepper, chopped 

2 cloves garlic minced

1 t. salt  to taste

2 c. n-Cheese Sauce (see recipe above)

Toppings:

fresh cilantro

sliced black olives

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine white beans, tomatoes, peppers, seasonings and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce in a large bowl. Mash the beans lightly.  Pour bean mixture into a 8x8 baking dish. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese and place in oven.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until dip is bubbly and cheese has melted.  After removing the dip from the oven, top it with fresh cilantro, and sliced black olives.