Vegan Treats from Sprouted Raw Foods

Our daughter Noele has been introducing us to vegetarian and vegan foods, so I had to stop at the vegan treats booth we saw at the Mahoney's Farmer's Market. I find vegan food oddly wonderful, and the treats from Sprouted Raw Foods were no exception. Don't let "raw" and "vegan" scare you away. These restrictions push their proponents to make the food with extra care.

Sprouted Raw Foods has both sweet and savory lines. We came home with a kale and onion crisp that was striped with green kale. It was rich, slightly salty and featured the kale flavors well. It paired nicely with a cheese plate, but don't tell the vegans we used them that way. We also got a cranberry citrus nut cluster. It was a bright and slightly tart granola; a great cookie replacement.

Do take the chance to visit them. Besides the good food they are helpful and friendly. I took my picture moments after spilling my coffee all over the booth (sorry). See, still a smile.

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Noele has been extending her vegetarian repertoire with some great vegan recipes. She shared a vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe with us that she really enjoyed. We weren't able to find the raw cashews, so we substituted the walnuts we had.

Ours didn't come out tasting like Alfredo, but it did taste good, more like carbonara. I think you can see in the picture how the nuts didn't chop into a butter like I think the cashews will. We bought some raw cashews today and will try it again soon.

We put the sauce on a fun, flower shaped pasta. It is called Primule Mediterranee from Pasta Di Stigliano. Gail also sauteed a vegetable mix of celery, zucchini and tomatoes that was really wonderful.
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Makes 2 c sauce

½ c plus raw cashews
Salt and pepper to taste (1/16 t)
½ t ea onion and garlic powders
1 ½ c vegetable broth
2 T olive oil
1 ½ T cornstarch

1. Pulse nuts with seasonings in food processor.
2. Mix broth and oil in saucepan; temper in cornstarch. Stir into saucepan; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Pour thickened broth mixture into cashews; pulse to puree.
4. Serve over cooked fettuccine.

A Review of Czech Food From a Vegetarian Viewpoint

Here's a little link love to my daughter's blog. She wrote an article about her initial thoughts on food in Prague. Good thing she has gelato.