FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

A Spiralized Meal

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Spiraled Zucchini Casserole

I’ve been admiring others’ perfect veggie noodles/spirals a lot lately.  Like a lot, a lot. Enough to order another gadget that will undoubtedly crowd my cabinets to the point of kitchen avalanche.

Spiralizer

But after my first spiralizing experience, I have a feeling that this tool will be used often enough to stay front and center.  It may even find a permanent place next to the Blendtec that’s used almost daily.  Seriously.

Roasted Veggies

It is unlikely that I’ll go all out with recipes like the one pictured in this post {Inspiralized’s Baked Zucchini Pasta with Pancetta, Olives and Broccoli} on the regular. But I would like to have a stock of simple zucchini noodle {or other vegetable noodle} dishes that I rotate throughout the week.

Sauteed Pancetta

But if you’re looking for a gluten-free, dairy-free comfort food casserole, this recipe {using coconut oil in place of olive oil and macadamia nut ricotta in place of milk ricotta} is the way to go.  Topped with an egg, I bet it would become an extra delicious breakfast dish as well.

Vegan Ricotta

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Vegan Ricotta

I was within days of developing a food-crush on ricotta cheese when the doc not-so-subtly suggested that dairy should leave my diet {a post for another day}. Luckily there are plenty of folks out there in the same boat that have been creating dairy substitutes in my absence – like Nom Nom Paleo.

It’s amazing that macadamia nuts, lemon juice, water, and salt can be whipped into something so ricotta-like.  A review of the recipe {and the recipe itself} can be found on Serious Eats.  But I’ll have to disagree with this review a bit.  If you use a Blendtec or Vitamix and purée, add a teeny bit more water, purée again, and repeat until white and fluffy – this mixture tastes much like ricotta. Add a bit of basil and, well, you’ve got yourself a darn good substitute.  

Piña Colada Skewers

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Pina Colada Skewers

Earlier this week I had an unexpected dinner party, which meant there was nothing even remotely dessert-ish to serve when our meal finished up.  And even though I rarely eat dessert, dinner with guests just doesn’t feel right without ending on a sweet note.

Vegan Whipped Cream

And then I remembered I had a can of coconut cream in the back of the fridge {for future mousse making}. I whipped it up, added vanilla and sugar, and served with bowl of strawberries.  Dinner was saved!

The next day at work, I described this save to my culinary co-workers.  Ben, lover of veg-friendly food, thought it was great and said, “you could totally make piña colada skewers using pineapple instead of strawberries”.

Pineapple

So I did.  And it was amazing!

Array

Veggie Tacos

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Homemade Tacos 2

Within days of re-evaluating the crazy, meaty diet that has become Austin life norm, I received May’s Primo Picks package from HEB containing ingredients to make vegetarian tacos.  It couldn’t have been better timing.

Neat Taco Meat Replacement

I skeptically read the Neat taco “meat” package, assuming it would not be for me.  But with ingredients limited to nuts, beans, and spices, I couldn’t think of a reason not to give it a try.  Combined with the HEB Mixla {corn + wheat} tortillas that were also included in the box, I was only a few toppings short of a total taco meal.

Taco Toppings

I chopped some greens {spinach, avocado, cilantro} and whooped up some homemade chipotle salsa {coming soon}.

Homemade Tacos

And I served up some of the prettiest homemade tacos the FoodFash household had ever seen.

Not only were they pretty, but both Primo Pick products were a huge hit.  I loved how the blended tortilla combined the lightness of a corn tortilla with the softness of a wheat tortilla.  If I happen to be in a Mexican mood the next time I’m at the market, I’ll {without a doubt} pick up a package.

And the Neat meat substitute was surprisingly good.  Using eggs as a base eliminated the odd texture problem that is common among anything faux.  Even my roommate {who is meat-substitute-hesitant} went back for seconds, eating a total of four tacos!

As part of the HEB Primo Picks team, I received compensation to sample various Primo Picks products. The opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.