Rice Pasta Shells with Aspargus and Peas

I found this recipe in Vegetarian Times, and altered it to my liking. I used rice pasta shells instead of whole wheat, omitted the mint, swapped garlic oil for fresh garlic and used Daiya cheese instead of feta. It was quite tasty! My only regret is that I didn't have a bed of kale to serve it on.

You'll notice that quite often I don't follow the recipe to the letter. Some people can be intimidated by certain recipes, and are afraid of cooking with new foods. I say try it! Experiment, try new things, play with your food. Don't be afraid to cook something new or mix things up. It's pretty much impossible to "break" a recipe. And if it you don't like the way it tastes, just remember that it's only one meal and you get to try again with another meal in a few hours.


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Asparagus and Kale Stir-Fry

Yes, asparagus is on the list of things I'm sensitive to. But I only had a vary mild reaction to it when I was tested, so I don't think this meal is going to do anything bad to my system. I had bought asparagus to give to a client, but she canceled her session due to Snowpocalypse 2. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I ate it!

This is another simple, yet delicious, stir-fry. To cook the quinoa, I used vegetable broth instead of water for some extra flavor. For the veggies, I sautéed a shallot, red bell pepper and the asparagus in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, wheat-free tamari sauce, rice vinegar and a little crushed red pepper. After a few minutes, I added some cashews, chopped purple kale and a sprinkling of seaweed gomaiso.

I did a 30 day raw food challenge last spring. It was easier than I thought it would be, I felt great, and I had tons of energy. But I found myself craving quinoa and sautéed kale a lot. This was the first meal I made when I went back to cooked food! I usually add tofu to it, but it's just as good without it.

Aspargus is a large perennial plant that can grow to about 40-60" tall. The young shoots of the plant are what we eat and know as asparagus. It has been used since early times as both food and medicine, and there's a recipe for cooked asparagus in the oldest known cookbook. It was cultivated by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans who ate it fresh when in season and dried in the winter.

Asparagus is a good source of protein (yes, protein!), iron, vitamins A, C, E & K, niacin, folic acid, potassium, copper, manganese, and selenium. So it's probably okay that I had a little with my dinner today!

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