Category: Meatless

Earthy Intoxicating Flatbread Pizza – Mushroom, Walnut, Black Truffle Sauce

Earthy Flatbread Pizza - Mushroom, Walnut, Black Truffle Sauce

Earthy Intoxicating Flatbread Pizza
Mushroom, Walnut, Black Truffle Sauce
Mozzarella, Parmesan, Chives

“Our black truffle sauce is made of Black truffles (tuber aestivum), harvested in the beautiful Piemont region in Italy. Only best quality black truffles are hand selected by experts before confectioning in jars to be tasted all year long. To create this amazing sauce, we are using artisan methods as well as high quality raw materials.”

Black Truffle Sauce from my friends at Gourmet Attitude is made with mushroom, olive oil, truffle, carrot, onion, salt, aromatic herbs and spices, garlic, and walnuts. The addition of Black Truffle Sauce to a humble mushroom flatbread transforms it into an intoxicating slice of heaven.

The flatbread is heated just long enough for the cheeses to melt and the edges to get a little crispy allowing the Black Truffle Sauce to release its heady aromas and intensify the robust earthy flavors.

Black Truffle

Earthy Flatbread Pizza Recipe

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Refreshing Rice Noodle Salad, Ginger Lime Dressing

Refreshing Rice Noodle Salad, Lime Ginger Dressing

Refreshing Rice Noodle Salad

Thai Brown Rice Vermicelli, Butter Lettuce
Carrot, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper, Serrano Chile, Fresh Herbs, Peanuts
Ginger Lime Dressing

Warmer weather is on its way and this salad is the perfect antidote for those sweltering days to come. It’s light, cool, fresh, refreshing, and zingy. The rice noodles come from my friends at Explore Cuisine – made in Thailand, organic, whole grain, gluten-free. Crisp strips of colorful vegetables, a fiery chile, and lots of rough chopped basil, cilantro, and mint are combined with roasted peanuts and a lively ginger lime dressing. This rice noodle salad is lightweight yet satisfying and it’s a wholesome recipe to help beat that heat.

Refreshing Rice Noodle Salad Recipe

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Super Tasty Green Soup with Spinach, Zucchini, Potato

Green Soup - Spinach, Zucchini, Potato with Pine Nuts, Crema, Chili Oil

Green Velvet Soup
Spinach, Zucchini, Potato with Herbs & Spices
Toasted Pine Nuts, Crema, Chili Oil Garnish

It’s a soup with a luxurious deep green color and velvety texture. Spinach, zucchini, and potatoes are the base for this satisfying and healthful potage. A zippy garnish makes it anything but boring.

Fresh cilantro and toasted dried spices give this green soup a wonderful depth of flavor. Dried cumin seed, coriander seed, and fennel seed are added at the beginning of the cooking process to unlock their intense flavors. Fresh cilantro is added at the end of the process to preserve its essence and verdant aromas.

Where the chili oil adds a fiery touch, the Mexican crema add a cool richness. Unlike a “cream” soup, there is less than a tablespoon of cream per serving. Pine nuts add texture and that toasty note, which is mirrored in the toasted spices.

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Chickpea Spaghetti with Roasted Carrots, Cilantro Dill Pesto #glutenfreevegan

Chickpea Spaghetti with Roasted Carrots, Cilantro Dill Pesto

Chickpea Spaghetti with Roasted Carrots
Cilantro Dill Pesto

My health-minded friends at Explore Cuisine have just released a new line of Pulse Pastas.  Certified vegan, organic, and gluten-free – their Pulse Pastas are made in Italy into spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and lasagne shapes.

Pulses are part of the legume family, the term “pulse” referring to the dried seed. Dried peas, edible beans, lentils and chickpeas are the most common varieties of pulses. Pulses are very high in protein and fiber, and low in fat.

Made of chickpeas, red lentils, or green lentils these noodles are much more than a gluten-free pasta substitute, they are smart choice for the chef to savvy home cook, and they make a perfect dish for everyone at the table. Packed with protein, high in potassium, with lower net carbs, and a good source of fiber – beyond the health benefits, these noodles have an impressive taste, texture, and color.

Here, chickpea spaghetti is paired with carrots that have been roasted and slightly caramelized for depth of flavor. The carrots were spiralized for a nifty presentation. Fresh and herby, with bright lemon and zippy garlic flavor – the cilantro dill pesto complements the roasted carrots. It is a simple but very tasty and healthful dish.

Chickpea Spaghetti with Roasted Carrots Recipe

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Rhône Blend White Wines are a Dream to Pair with Foods

Fried Goat Cheese, Butter Lettuce Cups, Green Apple, Almonds, Sweet Meyer Lemon Cream

Fried Goat Cheese
Butter Lettuce, Green Apple, Almond, Borage
Sweet Meyer Lemon Cream with Cardamom

paired with

Le Cigar Blanc 2012
Bonny Doon Vineyard
Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, California

for

Grocery Outlet’s
Spring Wine Sale

Rhône Blend white wines are a dream to pair with foods. Who can resist the tempting flavors of peaches, apricots, ripe pears, sweet spices and honey, or the seductive aromas of honeysuckle and tropical fruits? White wines from France’s Rhône tend to have these characteristics. Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, and to a lesser extent Picpoul Blanc – are the dominant varietals in the region. Many of the wines tend toward a creaminess that is rich but not heavy, with a refreshing acidity, and a pleasing minerality and nuttiness.

California Winemaker Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards has been a tireless champion of the grapes of the Rhône for decades. It is difficult to resist his stylish wines as well as his quirky sense of humor. This wine, Le Cigare Blanc (The White Cigar) is named after his flagship, Le Cigar Volant (The Flying Cigar), so-called in honor of the cigar-shaped flying saucer banned by decree of the village council of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s a true story,  in 1954 the mayor and the council voted to ban alien craft from the airspace of their hamlet in order to protect their precious crops.

The 2012 vintage of Le Cigar Blanc is made of 48% Grenache Blanc, 44% Roussanne, and 8% Picpoul Blanc. The Grenache Blanc adds notes of green apple and lemon-lime citrus. The Roussanne brings honeyed notes with a rich mouthfeel and nutty aromas. These characteristics are highlighted and elevated by this salad’s rich goat cheese, sweet/tart meyer lemon cream with a hint of warm cardamom spice, allumettes of green apple, and lightly toasted almonds. Soft butter lettuce, creamy cheese with a toasty panko breadcrumb crust, and crisp Granny Smiths add contrasting textures.

This goat cheese salad and Rhône blend make a quite dreamy pair.

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