Fettuccine with Zucchini and Cashew Pesto Sauce

I'm gonna keep this simple because otherwise I'll never actually post.

Basically, I've been on a huge veggie puree kick.  Most recently, I decided that I must be able to make some sort of sauce out of zucchini.  Not WITH zucchini, but OF zucchini...like as a base.

And so I did.  It is entirely vegan (not that I personally care as I am not vegan myself, but could be helpful to note) with the exception of the sprinkle of parmesan cheese I chose to put on top.

No cream. No cheese.  No butter...but still REALLY good, even good for you!

Ingredients:

• Handful of diced onion
• 1 small zucchini, diced (but sticks would work fine)
• Handful of Kale
• Small handful of basil
• Handful of cashews (I used unsalted)
• A few splashes of olive oil
• Package of vegetable fettuccine
• T pureed garlic
• Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

• Make the pasta, reserving about 3/4C of the pasta water (I cooked my pasta with some garlic to add flavor)
• Sauce:
• Saute up the zucchini and onions with garlic, a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper, for a good 10 minutes or so (zucchini should be very soft)
• Once done, add kale, basil, cashews, and sauted zucchini/onion to a food processor (mine is a super awesome, really easy to use and clean mini) and puree that jazz  
• Mix the pasta, reserved pasta water, and pureed sauce and eat!

Brussels and Kale Salad

I've always been a bit afraid of brussel sprouts...well at least ever since observing Calvin's disdain in one of the many Calvin and Hobbes comic books I own.  He's a pretty reliable source. Despite this, more and more my friends have been poking and prodding me to try them.  I had to admit, raw at least, they do look pretty cute...like little heads of lettuce.

Then it struck me.  I like lettuce...in salads...SALAD!

And thus the idea for this salad was born.  It's real simple...basically just sub in some raw brussel sprouts and kale for lettuce and keep all the rest of the fixings as you like.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

• Handful or so of raw brussel sprouts, cut in half (although you can break em up more if you like)
• Couple handfuls of kale
• Croutons (I chose the casesar variety)
• Handful of dried cranberries
• Handful of glazed walnuts
• Splash of creamy caesar dressing (I like Newman's Own)

How to:

• Just toss it all together.  Like I said, pretty simple.

And there you have yourself a pretty dang healthy salad that is also good.  Using regular lettuce you miss out on a lot of nutrients, and the same is true of cooking kale and brussels so...try this and win.