“Traditional” Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta Cheeze

Where in the world have I been you might be asking?… It’s been just over a month since my last post! I certainly hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Holiday season, and a joyous New Years. 2014 was a wonderful year for us – Seattle had some pretty impeccable weather, we learned a thing or two about owning a home, we made new friends, celebrated a year of marriage, traveled,  and spent a lot of time with our families. But most importantly we are happy, healthy, and in love. What’s better than that?! This past month we traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii where my family spends our annual “post-Holiday” vacation. Each and every year we travel to the same place; truly a blessing. The Kohala Coast on the Big Island is my favorite place in the world — my little slice of heaven on Earth. Put it on your bucket list.

Now, onto the lasagna! In our household we have two offerings; red lasagna or white lasagna (my white version is delicious; a recipe I will post soon!) but this red version is spot-on, and more-or-less “traditional” in texture and flavor.  For the ricotta cheese I used extra-firm silken tofu seasoned with Italian herbs (sounds kinda nasty, right?)…but have no fear, I would never post something that didn’t taste good…! :-)

For the recipe…

Creamy Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup

Talk about easy peasy lemon squeezy.  My husband kept saying “Wow, this is so good!” …little did he know it was one of most effortless meals I’ve prepared in a long, long time… but hey, I’ll still take the compliment!

This soup has some wonderful flavors going on – hints of fresh ginger, cayenne, and lemon (yes, lemon!)

This soup will definitely tingle those taste buds!

For the recipe…

Spaghetti-Squash with Avocado Cream Pesto

Whoa! This avocado cream sauce takes less than 5 minutes to prepare…(what?!) It’s perfect for a lazy night in or when your on-the-go. I paired this pesto with spaghetti squash – which really doesn’t require any work (thank God) – pop that baby in the oven and let it go.

By the way, your house is going to smell quite amazing with that squash cookin’

So, let’s talk details…

Pumpkin Curry

You can’t buy happiness, but you can make pumpkin curry – and that’s kinda the same thing.

Here’s the deal,  when making curries I don’t use a can or two of coconut milk for a few reasons – the astronomically high fat content and it causes me to get an upset stomach. So, I replace most of it with a cauliflower-cashew-pumpkin puree.

Sounds odd, right?…

Well… it is….But it’s amazing, and that’s why I am sharing it with you!

For the recipe…

Vegan “Clam” Chowder

How in the world do you make a vegan clam chowder?…

Use oyster mushrooms, cauliflower, and cashews…! Why use oyster mushrooms you ask? Well you see, oyster mushrooms are moist, completely hairless, fragrant, and quite frankly… taste a bit like the “sea.” Seriously. How else do you think they got their name?

There are a lot of ingredients that go into making this chowder, but trust me – it is worth it!

For the recipe…