Avocado Pesto Pasta

Whenever I make pesto, I always add avocado. Avocado makes such a fantastic, quick and creamy sauce. This recipe is super quick, you can have it ready in about 15 minutes but at the same time it provides a filling meal. Try using another nut like almonds if you don't have any pine-nuts, although you will probably have to grind them up first before adding the other ingredients as they are not as soft. Usually when I make this recipe I don't bother with measurements but here is the recipe I got the original idea from.

serves 6

• 1 pound dried linguini
• 1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces)
• ½ cup pine nuts
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon)
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to package directions. While pasta cooks, in a food processor, blend basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Drain pasta. In a large serving bowl, toss pesto with hot, freshly cooked pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf. For an extra touch of color and flavor, top pasta with sundried tomatoes.

   
   

   Notes: 
   
   
   A delicious variation is to make this with pistachios instead of pine nuts! Definitely worth the extra effort of shelling them 

   - When making this myself I leave out the oil - the avocado and pine nuts have enough oil and you can instead add a little water if needed 

   - I will usualy use 1 small avocado or 1/2 avocado with 1/4 cup pine nuts for one person and about 1/2 lemon 

   - will still use a bunch of basil. So my own version may come out more lemony and creamy but it is something that is very easy to adjust to individual tastes. 

Blueberry Cake

Baking Vegan desserts have often been a bit of a hit or miss in my past attempts. I don't like using a lot of oil, and sometimes egg-substitutes do not seem to work as they should. However one thing that I have found works really well to produce a soft, moist vegan dessert is using applesauce. This delicious cake is moist, and soft, just like a blueberry muffin but in cake form. Not the healthiest, but it is great for a morning tea snack every once in a while. The recipe is from Wild Vegan - by Angela Stafford 

120g (4oz) vegan margarine

1/2 cup unrefined sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened applesauce or stewed apple

220g (8oz) self-raising flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (frozen blueberries keeps them from getting squashed during mixing 

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350 F, Gas Mark 4) and grease and line a 19cm (7 inch) round cake tin. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the margarine and sugar with an electric mixer until it is very light in colour. 

3. Add the vanilla and apple and mix well. 

4. Slowly add the flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients, stirring gently by hand. 

5. Lastly, stir in the blueberries. Note the mixture will be thick. 

6. Pour into the cake tin, making sure there is an even coverage. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. 

Tofu and Sweet Potato over Cajun Quinoa

The textures of sweet potato and tofu complement each quite nicely and a blend of spices makes this dish a warm and filling meal. Don't leave out the parsely and hot sauce (i used tobasco) when making the quinoa because it really compliments the dish.

The recipe is from Vegandad's blog site and can be found herehttp://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/12/tofu-and-sweet-potatoes-over-cajun.html

hmm...comparing our photos mine turned out looking quite differnt didn't it :P maybe its because I added broccoli (and didnt drown my quinoa in the sauce). I used fresh parsely and I also used fresh lemon tyme, but everything else i kept the same.  He does not specify how many servings the recipe makes but i quartered it, and i think it would make about 4 big servings or 6 small.