When when the evenings begin to turn crisp, this Minestrone, overflowing with beans, pasta, and fresh garden vegetables, really hits the spot.

Don’t be alarmed by the lengthy ingredient list. This soup actually simmers to perfection in around 30 minutes. And yet somehow, the rich flavor, laced with red wine, makes this taste like you’ve been cooking all day.

I always take a shortcut with the cabbage in this recipe, using pre-packaged shredded slaw mix. You can throw the other vegetables into the food processer for expedience, or chop them by hand on your cutting board, for a more rustic look. Either way, the soup is equally delicious.

Minestrone always feels wonderfully nourishing, especially on a chilly night. Thanks to the beans and pasta, it’s hearty and satisfying, and especially so when served with a warm loaf of crusty bread. Plus, with all of these wonderful vegetables, you really can…

It’s time to feast your eyes because guess who got a new camera. Thank you, you may all welcome me to the DSLR world now; I am the proud owner of a Nikon D3200. Now, to learn how to use this thing. So far, I’ve been using it in “guide” mode and coming up with halfway decent looking photos, mostly ones like the lasagna with lots of pretty bokeh from playing with the aperature and the one of my husband’s model racecars. He liked this one so much he had to make it his Facebook cover image.

This lasagna is the hippie version of meaty cheesy lasagna, minus the meat and cheese part. Instead of meat, we have the ever versatile and tasty butternut squash. This recipe is also great with sauteed dinosaur kale (the darker green and purple one) mixed in. Smoked paprika lends a rich umami-like flavor and…

I have a confession.

When I was younger and traveling a lot for gymnastics, I was obsessed with The Olive Garden.  I would order unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks and I ALWAYS went for seconds.  As I got older, my taste in restaurants changed . . . But my craving for that Pasta e Fagioli never went away!

So I searched long and hard to figure out a way I could make this soup . . . In a way that fits my new lifestyle of course (no gluten, meat, or dairy).  So check it out.  You will LOVE it!

Pasta e Fagioli {Vegan}, makes 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup julienned carrot
• 3 stalks chopped celery
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2, 14.5-oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1, 15-oz can red kidney beans (with liquid)
• 1, 15-oz can great northern beans (with liquid)
• 1, 12-oz can v8 juice
• 1 tablespoon…

For this recipe, it’s ideal to soak the cashews first because it makes the sauce smoother. If you just blend raw or roasted cashews, you end up with a very grainy sauce.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cashews, soaked for at least six hours
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4-1 cup boiling pasta water
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (you can also use soy milk or coconut milk)
1 heaping spoonful of fresh minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon marmite (more if you want to increase the flavor)
salt to taste
1 package spaghetti, prepared according to the package instructions. It’s actually better to use linguine or a shell pasta, but I didn’t have that available. The shape affects the texture, surprisingly, at least for me.

Instructions:

1. Start by boiling the water for the pasta. Don’t throw away any pasta water since you’ll be using it in…

I know. I’m being a bit repetitive with nut butters, but I just discovered roasted almond butter!

I also discovered that I love to roast nuts.

The smell coming out from the oven while roasting almonds is fantastic!

I wish my house could smell like that all the time! But is it possible? I guess that even though I spent all my days roasting nuts, it wouldn’t work.

Sadly, no matter how wonderful an aroma is, our noses get bored and stop smelling. I don’t expect to give a scientific explanation of this phenomenon to stay out of trouble, but I’m sure you know what I mean.

Both almond butters are amazingly different. The roasted one has a darker color and its flavor is much stronger and intense.

Our favorite? My family chose the roasted almond butter as their favorite but I still prefer the tender flavor of raw almond…