Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

Erica, Shaun, and I went to the farmers market the other day to check out some beautiful, fresh, local, organic produce. I stumbled upon these gorgeous red carrots that were shades of yellow and orange on the inside. They had these massive tops to them and I knew I had to figure out a way to cook them. Throwing away all that nutrition would be blasphemy. I asked the farmer who sold them to me what he did with them and he said he once made a pesto using the tops. It was like music to my ears. I would roast the carrots and top them with a carrot top pesto. It turned out absolutely amazing! Never again will I be throwing away carrot tops.

1 large bunch of carrots with tops
1-2 tablespoons of light olive oil, for roasting
1/4 cup basil
3 tablespoons macadamia nuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup light olive oil, for pesto
Salt and pepper, to taste

Erica and I at the market, it's amazing we didn't melt in the heat.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Wash the carrots and remove the tops, making sure to save them. Cut the carrots into even segments. I left a little bit of the tops on the carrots to make the dish appear more rustic but the tops became brittle in the oven so I suggest just removing the tops completely.

Prepare a baking dish by spraying it with non stick cooking spray. Toss the carrots in the oil set aside for roasting and bake until fork tender, about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the pesto. Add roughly 1 1/2 cups of reserved carrot tops to the food processor along with the basil, macadamia nuts, yeast, garlic- blend. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, continuing to blend until all the ingredients are well incorporated and somewhat sauce-like. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Once the carrots are tender, arrange them on a dish and spoon the pesto over top. Serve warm.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had two green peppers in the fridge, a box of mushrooms, and not much else. This was very a much a 'throw-something-together-and-lets-hope-it-works' meal. I made it for my family quickly and ran out of the door as I had plans for the night. Several hours later I received a text from my mom saying 'dinner was awesome!'. I was elated since I always struggled with turning bell peppers into an enjoyable meal. Not only is it up to par in the taste category but it is insanely easy to throw together too.

 2 green bell peppers
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1 box white button mushrooms
2 tablespoons braggs liquid aminos/soy sauce/ tamari
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 cup steamed broccoli (you can sub this for any other leftover veggie you have in your fridge)
1/4 cup diaya cheese + extra
Small bundle of scallions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Halve the bell peppers, removing the seeds. Place in a small casserole dish that has been sprayed with non stick spray.

Rinse quinoa until water runs clear, then add it to a pot along with the broth and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce head to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking quarter the mushrooms. Saute them in a pan with a little olive oil until they let out all their liquids and start to shrink down in size. Add in the liquid aminos and steak seasoning, continue to saute until tender. Remove from heat and place the mushrooms in a large bowl.

Cut the steamed broccoli into bite sized pieces and add them to the bowl with the mushrooms.

Dice the scallions and saute for 2 minutes, then add to the bowl with the mushrooms and broccoli. Toss in the diaya cheddar and the quinoa once it is done cooking. Stir the contents of the bowl until fully incorporated, then spoon into the bell pepper halves.

Bake for 55 minutes, until the peppers are tender. Sprinkle a little more diaya cheddar over top and broil for 1-2 minutes before serving.

Vegetable Lasagna with Lemon Basil Cashew Cheese

Over the past year I've made this a few times for my family since it's easy to throw together, makes a ton of food, and everyone always enjoys it. Not long ago I passed the recipe onto a friend who also had huge success with this lasagna. I finally decided to post it after giving a slice to another one of my good friends, Diego, and received nothing but rave reviews in return.

Lasagna:
1 box of bake-ready lasagna sheets
1 large jar of tomato basil sauce
Olive oil or coconut oil
2 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 large spring onion, bulb and greens (or a regular onion if you don't have a spring onion)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup frozen spinach (or fresh, I happened to have frozen on hand)

Lemon Basil Cashew Cheese:
1 cup raw cashews
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup water, or more as needed
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut the zucchini and the yellow squash into thin half moons. Saute in a pan with some olive oil or coconut oil until tender. Set aside in a bowl.

Saute the onion and garlic in some olive oil or coconut oil for 2-3 minutes, until almost translucent and fragrant. Set aside in a seperate bowl from the sqaush.

Saute the spinach until all the water has cooked out, add it to the same bowl as the onion and garlic and stir until the three ingredients are well incorporated.

In a food processor add the ingredients for the cheese and pulse until smooth.

Prepare a casserole dish by spreading 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the dish, adding your layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon over some squash and sauce, followed by a layer of noodles. Next layer on the cheese and onion-spinach mixture, followed by noodles. Repeat until you're out of ingredients. Top the last layer of noodles with sauce.

Bake for 45 minutes with a cover or tin foil, then remove foil and broil for 2-3 minutes if you like the top noodles a little crunchy. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving. And if you're into nutritional yeast as much as I am you can dust each piece with a little bit of it.

Restaurant Review: Sublime Restaurant and Bar

Location: 1431 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304

Hours: 5:30-10:00 p.m Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday

Happy Hour at the Bar: Tuesday-Friday, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Website: http://www.sublimerestaurant.com

Quite frankly, to me, Sublime will always be The Mothership of Vegan Fine Dining. It was the first vegan restaurant I ate at and has set the bar very high for all the vegan restaurants that have followed suit. A cool side note: 100% of their profits go towards supporting animal welfare.

Perfect for: date night, special occasions, girls night, family dinners, or for anyone who wants to enjoy fabulous food.
Atmosphere: the restaurant is gorgeous, very 5-star. But let's be honest, this is South Florida, which basically means you can walk in here in jeans and be seated next to someone in a suit and all is well. Personally I think you should get yourself put together for this place, it's too beautiful not to.
Overall: Highly recommended

Click here to check out Sublime's menu

Reviews of things I've tried: 
Complimentary, Pesto Polenta Triangles: These are complimentary and come with every meal. I must admit I had a waitress forget to give me my complimentary polenta once and I was devastated, as I am obsessed with these. If you enjoy poletna you'll really love these. (Pictured below).

Cocktail, Tangito, $9: Made with Flor de Cana 4 year aged white rum, fresh tangerines, mint leaves, and lime juice; this is like a happier, brighter, lighter version of their mojito. Definitely recommended! Don't forget, half-off cocktails during happy hour! (Pictured below).

Cocktail, Sublime Mojito, $9: Made with Flor de Cana 7 year aged dark rum, fresh lime, and mint. You can't go wrong with a mojito, but I do have to ask...where's the sugar cane? Maybe that's a resort thing- but I do appreciate a little sugar cane in my mojitos!
Cocktail, Watermelon Cosmopolitan, $11: Made with American Harvest organic vodka, watermelon, lemon, lime. Clean taste, very pleasant watermelon flavor, not unnaturally sweet- which was a plus! 
Appetizer, Frito Misto, $11: This is a take on General Tso's chicken, and honestly, the flavor is spot on. It would not be a complete dinner at Sublime without ordering this. It's perfectly delicious in every way and a must-try signature sublime dish. (Pictured below).

Appetizer, Fire-Roasted Artichoke, $10: Buttery and garlicky, not my all time favorite appetizer at Sublime, but still very enjoyable. (Pictured below).

Appetizer, Mac 'n' Cheese, $7: Creamy, cheesy, and delicious. They serve it with a panko topping that appears to have been finished off in the oven. If you're into mac 'n' cheese, you won't be disappointed, as it taste just like a 'real' mac 'n' cheese should.
Appetizer, Sliders, $12 for 3: Oh my god I love these sliders. If you like the 'fast-food style' burgers then these babies are for you! They are so juicy and meaty; I adore these. They are offered during happy hour on the bar menu for dirt cheap, a must try if you're making happy hour. 
Entree, Mushroom Ravioli, $19: Currently my favorite entree on the menu. How can you go wrong with fresh homemade pasta stuffed with a mushroom and cashew cream filling, tossed in a basil butter sauce with sundried tomatoes? I'm a huge pasta person and frankly my only vegan pasta options when dining out at local Italian restaurants are pasta and red sauce- borrrinnngg. Sublime, you hit the nail on the head with this one! 
Entree, Sublime Picatta, $18: I give an A for effort on this one. It is a gardein cutlet served with mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and a lemon-caper sauce- all of which is spot on for me except the gardein cutlet. I normally enjoy gardein products, but I was less than enthused with this one. 
Entree, Reef Tacos, $15: This is always a go to item for me! Lightly battered and fried tofu, which somehow miraculously tastes like cod topped with a delicious Asian slaw, served with freshly made beans and jasmine rice. This is also on the bar menu, one taco for dirt cheap- you can't pass it up! 
Entree, Mushroom Risotto Cake, $16: I adore risotto, but this was a little dense for my liking. With all the other phenomenal entree options, I can't say this is at the top of my list. 
Dessert, Chocolate Nirvana, $9: Let me start out by saying I'm not a chocolate person at all, however, I went to sublime with chocolate lovers and I was out voted on the dessert. With that said, Oh My God- this cake is devine!!! It is a rich chocolate cake, with Kahlua butter creme, and a dark chocolate ganache. You will not regret getting this! 
Dessert, Ice Cream Sundae, $6: Once again I was out voted on the dessert, but this ice cream is phenomenal. It is a homemade vanilla ice cream topped with a creamy chocolate sauce and dusted with peanut pieces.

Is it obvious I go to Sublime a lot?? I seriously love this restaurant. It's truly the gem of South Florida.