Sun-dried tomatoes are one of my favorite things on this planet. So are mushrooms. So is basil. What I am trying to say is that this recipe is one of my favorite things. Vegan Sun-dried Tomato Pasta. Even saying it makes me happy.

Whenever I run into an overabundance of tomatoes I almost always choose to dehydrate them instead of bottle them. It’s by far my favorite way to eat them. Sometimes I put them in oil, sometimes I don’t. But they are always delicious, and this creamy pasta is a great way to use them.

If you don’t have your own dried tomatoes lying around (yeah, I’m not always that lucky either) they are pretty easy to find at your favorite grocery store. The only thing I want to mention is if you think you don’t like sun-dried tomatoes, the taste can be drastically different between brands. I have run into a couple of brands that I don’t love. So don’t give up on them just try a different brand!

I use cashews to make a creamy base for the dressing of this recipe. Soaking the cashews before blending them helps them to get super creamy.

There are a few options for soaking:

You can soak them for 1-4 hours at room temperature.

You can soak them longer if needed in the refrigerator (I often do this as part of my meal prep). Doing an overnight to 24-hour soak gives the creamiest texture.

You can soak them in very hot water for 10-15 minutes.

Or if you are short on time you can boil them for about ten minutes.

But if I am feeling like upping the protein or saving some money I will use white beans. They work well but they don’t get quite as creamy as cashews.

Part of the joy of sun-dried tomatoes is their chewy texture when you bite into them. It takes just long enough to chew them that the flavor has exactly the right amount of time to entertain your taste buds. I LOVE pairing them with oregano and basil.

I like this pasta best with a good linguini. I’m not saying that I will hunt you down if you decide to use a different type of noodle. I have tried it with several different types of noodles depending on what I have on hand and they all work. But if you can, go with the linguini. The shape and texture compliment the sun-dried tomatoes well.

This recipe is flexible. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use dried or leave it out. You can leave out the mushrooms if mushrooms aren’t your thing. You can add in other ingredients as well. This pasta would be delicious with added spinach and toasted pine nuts.

There are a few steps to this recipe but I still consider it simple. You can have it all ready in the time that it takes to cook the noodles.

Just put the noodles on to cook and while they are doing their thing start sautéing the onions and garlic. Once the onions and garlic are cooked add all the sauce ingredients together and blend them up.

I like to blend about one-third of the sun-dried tomatoes into the sauce to make sure their flavor spreads throughout the whole dish. If you get sun-dried tomatoes that have been packed in oil it adds a beautiful dimension to the dish. It also prevents your pasta from getting too dry. If you prefer to go oil-free add a splash more almond milk to keep things creamy.

Bonus Tip: When I reheat any type of pasta dish as a leftover, I always add a liquid, like almond milk or water to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

At this point, I like to slice the rest of the sun-dried tomatoes up into long slices to add in at the end. Trust me, having the bigger chunks of sun-dried tomatoes mixed into the pasta is pure happiness.

There is still time left waiting for the pasta to finish cooking, so I slice up some mushrooms to saute before adding everything back to the pan.

Question: does anyone else find slicing mushrooms on a wooden chopping board therapeutic? It helps me chill better than a hot bath and a good book. Seriously, if you ever find me in a tizzy just send me a case of mushrooms and a good knife! I know it’s weird, but we can still be friends, right?

Once the noodles are done cooking you can combine them with the sauce, mushrooms, and sliced sun-dried tomatoes. Throw in some lemon zest and a handful of fresh basil. Finally, top with your favorite vegan parmesan (I like this recipe) and you are ready for a romantic sitcom worthy evening.

My four-year-old could barely wait for me to take pictures of this creamy pasta with sun-dried tomatoes before she dug in! What about you?

I blame this grapefruit pomegranate kale salad on the baby I am growing. A few months ago I started having intense pregnancy cravings for pomegranate seeds. My soon to be angel of a sister-in-law brought me some pomegranates from her tree in California and boy were they satisfying! After that, I started eating one every couple of days just by smacking all of the seeds into a bowl and eating them with a spoon. It was pure heaven.

In an attempt to vary my nutrition a bit more, I put together this grapefruit pomegranate kale salad which stars the pomegranate and a few of her closest friends: grapefruit, coconut, and pecans.  You guys, it’s good. Make it. Eat it. Love it!

Check out this article for detailed instructions on how to deseed a pomegranate

Let me know what you think about this recipe in the comments below!

As we passed by the bakery during last week’s adventure through the local grocer, my kids asked for an orange cranberry muffin. I was in the middle of breaking the ‘don’t shop while hungry’ rule—and frankly, I was starving. To make things worse, I’m a total sucker for anything that involves an orange-cranberry combination. I can’t resist the delightfully bright union of sweet and tart flavors. It didn’t take long for me to give in and buy one... for each of us.  They weren’t anything amazing, but they satisfied my craving.

On the drive home, I thought about how perfectly the flavors of orange and cranberry compliment each other, and I wondered if I could enlist the flavor to liven up vegetables instead of always resorting to dessert. Yes, I do think that muffins are a dessert, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them for breakfast once in a while! That is how the idea for this Brussels sprout salad was born—and it’s a pretty amazing concoction.

This would be a great salad to take to a barbecue.

If you are not familiar with Brussels sprouts you can read more about them here.

To get started you need to shave all your Brussels sprouts. I know it seems like it is a lot of work but it gives a great texture to the salad and is well worth it.

Start by trimming off the end of the Brussels sprout. When I am eating Brussels sprouts raw I trim more off than I do if I am going to cook them. The end softens when cooked but is pretty tough to eat raw.

Then you cut the Brussels sprout in half lengthwise.

Next, lay each half on the cutting board cut side down and slice the sprout in thin slices similar to shredding cabbage. This is the most time-consuming part I promise!

This would be a good time to toast your almonds. This isn’t a crucial step but I really think it rounds out the salad and gives it more depth. Also, it will keep better.

The dressing is where the orange flavor plays into the salad. The recipe calls for juice and zest from a fresh orange. If you only have orange juice add a little extra in place of the zest to make sure and get a strong orange flavor.

Add the orange juice and white wine vinegar to your mayonnaise.  You could sub in white vinegar or coconut vinegar if you don’t have white wine vinegar. You could also use apple cider vinegar but it might overpower the orange flavor a little bit so use less than what is called for.

Add the spices to the dressing along with the orange zest if using and whisk it together

Add the dressing and the rest of the ingredients to the Brussels sprout salad.

Mix everything together well and enjoy! Because Brussels sprouts are a sturdy green this salad will last a couple of days in the fridge after the dressing is mixed in.

Do you enjoy the pairing of orange and cranberry? What are some of your favorite ways to experience this flavor combination?

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