A Taste of Plant-Based – Part two!

Second Batch of Some Fun Plant-Based Recipes from Guest Writer Paige Host.

Hello again, and welcome back to Paige (and Steven’s) kitchen! Steven helped me cut and prepare the spaghetti squash for two of the recipes, and he ended up taking over for the leek cakes. I am a strong independent woman, but I would most likely have a missing finger or two if I were left to my own devices with our super dull chef’s knife and the ENORMOUS spaghetti squashes I selected… I am glad to report that I have all ten fingers, and ten toes, and Steven is very happy to be my sous-chef and guinea pig.

I was thrilled to try out some more recipes for you. I selected ones that mimic meat, dairy, and comfort foods. They were all pretty easy to execute, so let’s dig into it!

Lemon-Cream Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Sausage – Savory and hefty, yet light and healthy! I linked to the book above, as this recipe is from a physical cookbook, and I took a photo of the recipe that can be found below. I used Beyond Sausage instead of chicken sausage and peas instead of asparagus. This was a delicious ‘pasta’ dish, and the flour provides some heft and creaminess to the sauce. I recommend doubling the crushed red pepper for some kick!

Butternut Squash Macaroni and ‘Cheese’ is another The Organic Heart recipe that did not disappoint. It was set to serve four, but it only served two if you catch my drift. This one is definitely a comfort recipe and I would recommend using double the nutritional yeast for a cheesier vibe. I added more salt atop my pile of mac and ‘cheese’, but Steven is anti-salt, so he was very pleased with the recipe as is. I also mixed two kinds of pasta because cooking is a creative expression, but this was my effort to clean out our cupboard – please only use the elbows! And one more fun thing I did for this recipe – I popped it into the oven to brown and crisp the panko crumbs just before serving. This added a bit of crunch that was welcome in the ‘cheesy’ mess.

Black Bean Spaghetti Squash Tacos with Queso Fresco – Wowie, these were good… The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (linked above) was a gift from my mom, and it has been a fan favorite in our household. We had these on a Tuesday and so we have created our own Taco Tuesday Tradition. Steven made seltzer, strawberry rhubarb, and lime beverages and we devoured all of the tacos. My plate above has two tacos on it, but I went back for seconds and had a third. The flavors – chili, cumin, and coriander –were delightful and came together seamlessly. For the cheese, I used Violife Just like Feta, which is one of my favorite vegan cheeses. The tacos were moist, not greasy, lite, fibrous, and filling. Click here for the recipe.

Lemon-Herb Cashew Ricotta – Holy drool!! I’m shocked that there was any ricotta left to use for my own dinner, let alone other meals down the road. I may be biased, as I am dairy averse, but this is some of the best ricotta I have ever had – and it’s made with cashews!! This is another The Organic Heart recipe and so beyond easy; there isn’t any excuse not to try. I put it on pasta, Steven put it on his pasta another night, I’ve spread it on rice cakes… and I’ve snuck to the fridge to just grab a scoop of it; it’s that good!

Leek Cakes with Garlic and Lemon – Last, but certainly not least, are these delicious leek cakes from Smitten Kitchen. Unfortunately, I had a late lunch with the cashew ricotta, so I had three little leek cakes, but Steven had four and with curried lentils and he was in hog heaven. For the sour cream, I used Forager Organic Dairy-Free Sour Cream and for the egg, I used JUST Egg. Steven and I are going to try making an ‘omelet’ and maybe he’ll turn to full veganism! Click here for the recipe

I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you have any requests for the final round, I would love to hear from you!!

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If anyone is weary of plant-based with regard to protein, the typical diet in the USA contains too much protein. Experts argue that the human body does not need as much protein as the FDA suggests. Americans eat almost double the amount of protein they need. Moreover, eating animal-based proteins leads to higher rates of heart disease, cancer, chronic inflammation, diabetes, and many more challenges. I strongly encourage you to read some of the following pieces on Americans’ protein overload.