Mean Green Pasta

I will not take credit for this meal, but I definitely had to share.

I was a previous broccoli and brussel sprout hater. I would avoid them both and constantly announce my hate for them.

It turns out; I just never had them cooked properly. I thank my husband for showing me the error of my ways, and making me love both.

He boiled some broccoli and lightly sautéed brussel sprouts in some olive oil + loads of garlic.

He then topped of some of Trader Joe’s brown rice pasta with delicious homemade pesto (basil, spinach, olive oil, lemon, pumpkin seeds, sea salt and even more garlic-this was the theme of the evening), the brussel sprouts and broccoli. This came out to a powerful, vivacious green meal. It was incredibly filling and garlicky aromatic (which I wish was more socially acceptable).

Have you re-discovered any foods you previously despised?

Tahini Broccoli Salad

This meal was inspired by the 1) the delicious tahini sauce from Joni Newman’s upcoming book and 2) a broccoli salad one of my fellow yoga teacher trainers was eating over the weekend, from a local market. I swear, my best recipe “ideas” are all stolen.

Her broccoli salad contained: broccoli, almonds, red onions, raisins and mayo. I knew it would be easy enough to veganize and Joni’s sauce came instantly to mind.

As soon as I was out of training that day, I whipped up a big bunch of this salad. I had two bunches of broccoli and I gave them a quick steam in boiling water, followed by a shock with cold water.

I mixed the broccoli with almonds, sliced red onions, raisins, 2 blocks of Trader Joe’s cubed savory tofu and the tahini sauce. The sauce consists of tahini, lemon juice, Bragg’s aminos, olive oil and garlic.

This salad was so satisfying and delicious. It was a nice mix of sweet and salty, with a nice, filling bite from the tofu.

I served it up with Trader Joe’s brown rice wraps filled with Veganaise, pesto, tomatoes, bell peppers and avocado.

This meal was surprisingly filling and amazingly flavorful.

Do you ever copy recipes?