Zesty Roasted Asparagus

Once again this brilliant recipe comes from my friend Anna. Seriously girl, can't you open up your own restaurant already?? This dish will definitely be a side at our vegan thanksgiving this year! Oh, and Anna, even though I know you'll be spending the holiday in KY with your family, just know my family has extended the offer. Clearly the way into our hearts is with food!

1 bundle asparagus, trimmed and washed

Olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder, plus extra for later

Salt

Lemon, cut in half

2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Preheat your oven to 425°F. 

Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (I use a coconut oil non-stick). In a bowl drizzle some olive oil (a few teaspoons) over the asparagus, then sprinkle the garlic powder and salt to taste, and the juice from half a lemon, toss to incorporate. Lay your seasoned asparagus out on the prepared baking dish and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. If you're using pencil-thin asparagus adjust your cooking time to 8-10 minutes. 

Once the asparagus are out of the oven allow to cool slightly, then sprinkle the nutritional yeast over top, along with another pinch of garlic powder, extra lemon juice, and salt to taste. Give the asparagus a good toss so the seasoning is well distributed, arrange on a dish and serve.

Roasted Asparagus Soup

The other day our organic co-op delivered us an enormous amount of fresh asparagus. I was at a loss, what could I possibly do with so many? I did a bit of research and asparagus soup seemed to be the way to go. It sounded sort of strange to me, a soup made out of asparagus...? But I rolled with it and oh my it was delicious! It took 30 minutes from start to finish and was beyond good. I mean, this will seriously be a repeat meal in my kitchen.

2 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed
1/2 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 heaping tablespoons raw cashews
3 tablespoons nutrional yeast
Lemon juice to taste, I used the juice from half a lemon
Lemon peel, grated- don't skip this! It truly completes the soup.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the asparagus on a sprayed cookie sheet, then lightly mist the asparagus with spray (I use coconut oil spray, but olive oil spray or pam will work). Roast for 10 minutes, then flip the asparagus and top with the diced onion and minced garlic. Roast for another 10 minutes. If you have thin asparagus start with 6 minutes, then add the onions and garlic and roast for another 5.

While the asparagus is roasting blend together the cashews and white pepper with 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth- leave in the blender. When the asparagus are done reserve a few heads for garnish. Add the remaining asparagus, onion, garlic, and broth to the blender (you may need to do this in batches), and blend until completely smooth. Pour soup into a stock pot over medium-low heat and stir in the nutritional yeast. Once the soup is hot stir in the lemon juice, then pour it into bowls and grate the lemon peel over top and add the reserved asparagus heads for garnish. Serve.

Recipe adapted from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

Spring Penne

This pasta... oh my. So delicious! How? I can't even tell you, there's only a handful of ingredients in it and it took 15 minutes to throw together. Seriously though, this is phenomenal...and classy. That's right- this is classy pasta, the kind that deserves to be served for a luncheon with the girlfriends... or for a spring picnic in the park (except it's way too hot in South Florida to have a Spring picnic in the park)...sigh. I'm dreaming again, aren't I? 

1 12-ounce box gluten-free brown rice penne (this is my favorite penne, even though I'm not gluten-free)
1 pound bunch super thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces 
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 purple garlic clove, minced (purple garlic has a bit of a kick, but if you don't have it just use regular)
1 large lemon
1/2 cup veganaise (I know what you're thinking- it's okay to indulge once in a while!)
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, diced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, diced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, diced
Freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl add the zest of the entire lemon along with the juice of the zested lemon. Toss in your vegan mayo, garlic, mint, rosemary, and thyme along with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Whisk until completely combined, then set aside to allow flavors to marry. 

Put up your (salted) water on the stove to boil, while you're waiting grab a medium pan and place it over medium-low heat. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, once hot add in the asparagus pieces and the marjoram, cook until tender-crisp- you still want a bit of a bite to them. Throw in your pasta to the boiling water- my pasta was ready the same time my asparagus were done, roughly nine minutes, but it depends on your pasta obviously, and on how thick/thin your asparagus are. Once the pasta is drained add it back to the pot, along with the asparagus and the bowl of sauce that you made earlier, toss to incorporate. I drizzled a bit of olive oil over each bowl of pasta, along with a few grinds of black pepper and a bit of the vegan Parmesan cheese before serving. 

Vegan Parmesan cheese: equal measurements of raw walnuts to nutritional yeast- pulse in food processor until it comes together to resemble powdered Parmesan, store in airtight container in the cabinet for up to a couple months. I like to add extra nutritional yeast to make it more cheesy, just taste and adjust to your liking.   

Makes 3 large bowls of pasta

Recipe adapted from Gluten-Free Goddess