Squash and Zucchini Spaghetti - vegan/ vegetarian/ GF/ soy free

There is just something about growing and eating your own produce. It makes me feel centered and part of something bigger than myself. And it is delicious! 

I was given a HUGE zucchini from a friend's garden (if you grow em, share em!) and I had picked some HUGE yellow straight neck squash from my own garden.

Use a spoon to de-seed the squash and zucchini. Then use the large holes on a box grater (be careful!) to make the noodles. I kept the skins on because of the nutrients, but I have known others to peel before. 

Once you have the veggie shreds, then take as much moisture out of them as you can but getting a cheese cloth or a towel (or paper towels, but they break easy), and wrap it around the shreds and gently squeeze out the water.

Then heat about 3 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Then add the shreds. Cover and toast over the stove for about 10 mins on high heat, tossing often with tongs, and adding more oil as needed.  Once it is cooked through drain again, this time over the sink in a colander. 

For this dish I then added a can of whole kernel corn, and topped with a simple spaghetti sauce.

I cannot tell a lie - I could have eaten the whole dish myself. But I did not, I shared it with my family.

It was so good, and it was VERY health too!

Enjoy!

Love Beka!

Basil flatbread pizza - vegetarian/ vegan

I have a fun fact for you: Papa Murphy's is awesome. 

They are the take and bake pizza company that is all over the US. My family love's their pizza. 

http://www.papamurphys.com/Home

What we love even more though is their crust! I am not sure if you have ever made pizza dough at home, from scratch, but it is a chore. And good luck stretching it unless you are a professional pizza spinner. I have tried many times, and it always is a half flat bread half thick crust squareish mess. Not worth it. Then we had an epiphany from a friend.... Papa Murphy sells their crust! Already made, spun, stretched, and on a baking round! Any size for only 2$! 

We will never go back. Plus it's vegan. Winning!

So we stopped by and got two this week. We made one into a deliciously delightful pizza that was half vegan (me and my son) and half not (my husband). 

Vegan side : pizza sauce, then fresh broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives. Then we had some vegan sausage (I usually don't do vegan meat, but we were celebrating some good news) and smothered the whole thing in vegan cheese (treat).

The non vegan half had all the same except no broccoli and dairy cheese. 

It was so good. Trust. 

Then with the other pizza crust we made a vegan flatbread.

We picked about three cups of fresh basil and one cup fresh oregano from our garden. We blended that, 8 cloves of roasted garlic*, and a half cup of extra virgin olive oil in a blender to make the pesto spread.  You can add olive oil as needed.

Once the spread was evenly on the dough we sliced four roma tomatoes and put them on as well. Then we sprinkled with Italian seasoning* and popped it in the oven. 

We baked it at 425 for about 15 mins (checking and rotating at 10).

And it was DELISH! Oh my. So good. And so easy too!

Enjoy!

Love

Beka

* I toast the garlic cloves in the dry outer skins in a skillet over the stove. I toast them, shaking the skillet often, until each one has several dark dots. Then you crush them with the side of a knife, and the outer skins just come apart from the meat of the garlic. Enjoy their dance moves!

* Italian seasoning is a blend of dried oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and garlic.