Recipe: RAW "Zoodles" with Sundried Tomato Marinara and Cashew Parm

This is the perfect recipe for summer when you don't feel like heating up the kitchen but are still craving comfort food.  The flavors of the sauce will make you think you've been slaving away for hours, and yet it comes together in just seconds.

Instead of traditional pasta, the base of this dish is zucchini noodles, or "Zoodles," made with a spiralizer.  It's a fun little gadget that's great for kids or even the kid at heart.  You'll enjoy making these!

See how to make zoodles with sundried tomato marinara!

Raw “Zoodles” with Sundried Tomato Marinara and Cashew Parm 

Zucchini noodles or “zoodles” are made with a spiralizer and they’re a fun way to get kids involved in meal prep. The sauce can be whisked up in mere minutes with a food processor so you can have dinner on the table in no time.

Ingredients:1 zucchini
2 campari tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (about 8)
1/4 cup kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Directions:Cut ends off zucchini, slice into pieces that will fit easily into spiralizer, and spiralize on thin setting to make “zoodles” Pulse tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and garlic 5-6 times in a food processor or until coarsely chopped. Add remaining ingredients and pulse 1-2 times to combine. Use as topping for spiraled zucchini spaghetti.

Cashew ParmIngredients:1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked, drained & rinsed, then dried)
2-3 Tbl nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped and well blended.

CT Style: Edamame Succotash

"Sufferin' succotash!!"  How can you not think of Sylvester the Cat saying that whenever you hear the word succotash? That's what we kept saying off camera while on the set of WTNH TV's "CT Style."  I was back again to tape the cooking segment and featured this quick and easy "work night meal" recipe.

This traditional Native American recipe is made with corn and beans, which together form a complete protein.  I chose to do a contemporary twist on this dish by substitution edamame (soy beans) for the standard lima beans, plus I added some cherry tomatoes for an extra pop of seasonal color.

You can see the full segment and get the recipe here:

http://wtnh.com/2014/09/29/in-the-kitchen-edamame-succotash/

Zaalouk - Moroccan Eggplant Caviar

Did you see Well on Wheels on CT Style yesterday?  If you somehow managed to miss the spot, or your DVR wasn't set properly, you can now view the video clip of the segment on the WTNH website.  Or right here:



http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/ct_style/in_the_kitchen/eggplant-caviar

Favorite recipe: Chocolate Ambrosia Tart

I've been making this recipe for some time now, and it has become one of my favorites for the following reasons: it works any time of the year, is easy to make, tastes delicious, looks impressive and everyone likes it, even non-vegans. Whenever I have a party to go to, I bring this along because it looks so pretty and festive. And no one would ever guess the secret ingredient is avocados. Yes, that's right, 2 or 3 ripe and creamy avocados.

For a raw recipe, it's really quite simple. Simply pulse everything for the crust in your food processor and press it into a tart pan, making sure to get plenty of the crumbly stuff into the fluted edges so it will look pretty when it's taken out of the form. Or, if you don't have one of those fancy pans (but really, you should buy one just for this purpose... they're only $9), you can use a regular pie pan or even a spring-form cake pan.

While the crust is firming up in the refrigerator, puree all the filling ingredients in your handy Vita-Mix high-speed blender. If you don't have one of those, you can just use the food processor again. Then spread the creamy pudding into your prepared tart and refrigerate a couple of hours to firm it up. Garnish it with fresh cut berries (sure, summer is best for those perfectly ripe strawberries, but even frozen will work), and you're good to go. I think I'm gonna do this for Thanksgiving!

Nearly Raw Chocolate Ambrosia Tart with Nut Crust
(from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet)

Crust:
1 cup walnuts (soaked, rinsed and drained)
1 cup pecans (soaked, rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup Medjool dates
1 Tbl raw agave syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt

Finely chop walnuts and pecans in a food processor, then add dates, agave syrup, cinnamon and sea salt and puree until it begins to stick together. Press into pie pan and refrigerate while preparing filling.

Filling:
1 cup Medjool dates
½ cup agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3 avocados, mashed
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup water (approx.)

In a food processor, puree dates, agave and vanilla together until smooth. Add avocado and cocoa and puree until creamy. Pour into prepared tart shell and garnish with fresh berries.