It’s finally pumpkin time: I love it so much! Today I would like to share a recipe with this colorful seasonal vegetable, which will help us to prepare a cream, also using its peel. We do not always wonder if the peel of some vegetables can be cooked, and we generally discard it. With this preparation you will see the possibility of using also the external part of the pumpkin. We will complete the dish with stems of kale. Usually when I buy some leaves of kale I find the refrigerator a little bit ‘”crowded”, in fact, its leaves are large and long. The stalks are the hardest part, so I find it practical to cut them immediately and get two benefits: a less “crowded” refrigerator ☺ and well cooked stems that require a different time to be ready, than the leaves.
Two dishes of different traditions meet together: linguine with pesto and sushi … what do you think, do you want to try? I am attracted by harmony and beauty of all Japanese dishes. In any Japanese restaurant, dishes will always be served with great care and attention to beauty. This aspect interests me a lot, because as I said in one of the last posts, it is important to take care of aspects like beauty and harmony. Today I would like to combine two traditions: I was in Liguria and I was looking to a book specialized in Japanese cuisine; this is how “Mediterranean sushi” was born. The difficulty is quite high: you will need patience to learn how to make these rolls well … but if you like the idea, I hope you will be excited enough to try and try again until you will reach a good result. If I made it, you can make it. Enjoy the path 😉
When the heat comes but it’s no time yet for holiday, we feel more and more the desire to travel and to see new places: those who are still at work can only use their imagination or, as I do in the kitchen, prepare ethnic dishes that makes us think about exotic countries 😉 This aubergine cream is inspired by the Baba Ghanoush, typical sauce of Middle Eastern regions, today revisited for you: the garlic is rubbed directly on bread, to flavor it, and, instead of mint, I’ve used a mixture of sage and thyme leaves, fresh from my small aromatic garden.
Beauty as food feeds us, but on other levels. When our eyes meet something beautiful that express harmony, we experience pleasant sensations and our inner state changes …. With Gusto Vegetariano one of our purpose is to express beauty, as well as create healthy and tasty recipes. For me, personally, the creative phase of a dish begins when I’m inspired by something that has a beautiful “form” (I always browse magazines and cookbooks full of beautiful photographs) … Yes, when I create a new plate I start from getting inspirations from beautiful pictures or beautiful things in nature wich I’d like to reproduce in the kitchen. Then, according to the present season, I think about which vegetables I can combine to get a balanced and healthy dish. Finally I put together all the ingredients creating something similar to that “form” that inspired me in the first phase. So I did for this salad: inspired by a picture of a summer recipe, where the predominant colors were green and yellow, I combined raw and cooked vegetables to get this beautiful “summer” effect ☺
Melon is really one of my favorite fruits. In summer my body feels more the need to eat foods rich of water. The colorful salad I’m sharing with you today can be a creative idea to combine this fruit with seasonal vegetables and basil, more fragrant than ever, in this time of year. Enjoy your meal 😉
This week my father’s sister, aunt Rosa, came to visit us: always full of energy and with a good humor, she looked at me and said: “Let’s make friciddi” …. …
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Another sweet recipe to reuse scraps of a juice extractor … Last week we saw the possibility to prepare a homemade oat drink. Today we are going to find out together how to reuse oat scraps, cooking these excellent vegan cookies … I’m sure, you will be amazed to discover how good they are ☺
For those who are looking for a good alternative to cow’s milk or for those who want to make some lighter preparations, such as béchamel, crépes, pancakes … here is a vegetable drink with the right characteristics: do you remember almond milk? http://www.gustovegetariano.com/en/almond-drink/ Well … even the oat groats, after a few hours soaking, can be transformed, with a juice extractor, into an excellent drink.
Now you just have to choose the best way to use it 😉
It will also happen to you, occasionally, to forget some vegetables at the bottom of the refrigerator drawer, which are not so fresh and crisp as when you bought them. You find them there, in that anonymous paper bag and while you open it, your curiosity mixed with worry, turns into regret … You never have to despair, there are so many ways to reuse and transform something does not seem to have a future ☺ This is one of the simplest way: a fresh juice. Combine carrots, two apples, one lemon and ginger and you will feel gratified, drinking a good and refreshing juice. Happy for being able to give a creative answer to the question: “What am I doing with this?”.
It will also happen to you to find yourself in the kitchen with no idea of what you’re going to prepare for dinner, and especially with an empty fridge and a few fresh raw materials available. Well today, I’ll give you a new recipe for a spicy chili, that needs only a few ingredients. A vegan version that with a white rice or a piadina, as in this case, allows you to obtain a unique and complete dish. If you have no time you can use canned beans, while if you have more time you can proceed as described in this case starting with dry beans. Enjoy 😉