Our idea of what constitutes "food" in American culture has become so skewed that it is almost unrecognizable. Our supermarkets are packed with products whose ingredients include unpronounceable chemicals, dyes, bacteria, and growth hormones. They are irradiated without our consent and contain GMOs.It's time to bring back FOOD. Pure unadulterated organic RAW food.This blog is a documentation of my continuing journey on a plant-based lifestyle.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Unholy Creations of Italian Goodness...

Ah, if only there were such a thing as virtual 'smell-o-vision- because the aroma of sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and faux oven-baked lasagna has been a constant in the apartment. Seriously, it smelled like when my Mim used to make big pans of Baked Ziti. Mmm, cheeze, saucey, love!  It's like a big warm hug of deliciousness.

Lasagna alla Maiorelli:


Mmm, Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms:


Italian food in general is so simple to prepare which makes it that much more difficult to recreate well. The secret? Keep the sauce simple: tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, a little garlic, dried spices and finish off with a touch of good olive oil and chopped basil and parsley. Do not, under any circumstances, puree the rest of the ingredients with the fresh parsley and basil. It muddles the flavors and turns the sauce green. And the ricotta? Culture/ferment it. That's it. It's amazing, spectucular, and really freaking good.

Lasagna, post-dehydration:

It's entirely difficult to abstain from eating the whole thing. You start with small slivers and before you know it there is absolutely nothing left...Oh well, guess I just have to make more, darn!

I also made a whole stinking bunch of cookies while on hiatus. I'm obsessed with the Almond Amaretto Tecchino herbal coffee so that was my inspiration for these cutesy cookies of almond ameratto goodness. A little Almond extract and you've got yourself a sweet little treat; it's almost too easy!  

Almond Amaretto Cookie Dough Bites:


These were so soft, chewy, and almond-y. I think next time I might add some of the actual tecchino to the dough to make it taste more like the coffee. yum, yum, yum!

7 comments:

  1. Almond amaretto cookies bites look great!!! Love soft and chewy cookies!

    Pure2Raw twins

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  2. that lasagne looks so good! any hopes for a more specific recipe?

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  3. um yeah! those amaretto bites sound so freakin FAB! YUMS! & the lasagna... definitely lookin' like an eat your heart (in a GOOD way) out kinda meal. great job, girl-girl! =)

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  4. Yum yum! And yeah, that lasagna looks sooooo tasty! You planning on clueing us in on how to make it? ;) If not, that's cool. Thought I'd ask because it looks so wonderful!

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  5. Thanks for using our product to make these cookies! If you email me the recipe, and your mailing address, I'll send you some free Teeccino!

    Best,
    Emily - Teeccino Marketing Manager
    emily@teeccino.com

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  6. Beautiful! You are making me so hungry:)

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  7. Nice lasagna sauce tips! I'm guilty of blending in my herbs, but I'll try stirring them into the sauce next time. I love me some Italian food. Big time.

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