Marinara "Pasta" and Alfredo "Pasta"

All day I heard a violent buzzing like an insect trying to get out of the window. I finally located the source of the sound. A poor bee stuck in a spiders web right up in the beams of my kitchen. I got there just in time as the spider was on top of it weaving more web around it. I picked it off and took it outside and tried to get off as much of the web stuck to its body and legs as I could, using a small piece of twig, then placed it onto a flower so it could drink up some nectar and revive. I adore bees. This Spring I have found lots of huge dead bees laying on the top floor of my house. It makes me worried as the bee populations are coming under serious attack from invading viruses and chemicals we use to spray our fields...we rely on them to pollinate the majority of our crops. In China huge swathes of the bee population are dying out and people have to hand pollinate miles and miles of pear trees. I'm researching bee keeping so I can get a few hives in the near future and try and help our little furry friends along...

The sun has been hot today. Tending to the endless gardening plus writing, researching, sketching new painting ideas....... and suddenly I got really hungry. Sometimes I love spending hours in the kitchen making Gourmet heaven but today I have far too much to do and too little time.
My smoothie with added ground flax seeds from breakfast kept me going all day until this evening. I was thinking of the old days and how pasta used to be my quick fix dinner. So I decided to rustle up a raw version and here it is. Total energy bliss food:

2 Different sauces:

Rich Marinara with Black Olives AND Creamy Alfredo Basil Sauce

“Mock” Spaghetti made with courgette (zucchini) processed through a spiralizer. Check out how they work. Google for info to buy one. The Metro brand linked above, "The Garnishing Machine" is the cheapest one. If you cant get hold of a spiraliser use a grater and try to grate courgette into the longest pieces as possible grating lengthways down the grater.

Marinara Sauce: (serves 2)
3 tomatoes, cored and de-seeded.
1 medium spring onion

Half a medium red bell pepper de-seeded and chopped
1 small clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of chopped basil

1/4 a peeled and chopped apple
Large pinch of salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of Tamari (optional)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes in Olive oil (or dried ones soaked for half an hour in a cup of water. (Keep water in case you want to make sauce more liquid).
1 tablespoon capers.

To MAKE:

Spiralise 1 courgette per person and place into 2 equal size bowls.
2. Place all ingredients except capers into a food processor or blender if you dont have a processor and blend until the sauce is almost smooth.
3. Mix with the spiralised courgettes, sprinkle with capers and a sprig of fresh parsley.
4. Serve onto one half of a plate and garnish with Olives of your choice.

Creamy Alfredo Sauce:

Small handful of Cashew Nuts (If I know I am going to make this before hand, I soak and rinse the cashews for 2 hours. This time around I only soaked them for 1o minutes whilst I was preparing the Marinara sauce as I only decided last minute to make it).
Small handful of Pine nuts.
Stalk of basil leaves (small handful in hand) then shred.
1/2 - 1 cup of water
3 washed and thinly sliced Shitake mushrooms
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
I small tsp Miso paste melted in a cup with a small amount of hot water from the kettle to dissolve.
1 tsp Onion Powder ( optional)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg (Optional)
½ clove of garlic crushed

Add all ingredients to the blender and blend really well. Add more water if you want a runnier sauce. Taste test. Add more salt or herbs if required.
Pour over the second bowl of spiralised courgette and mix well. Add the Shitake mushrooms and mix in carefully.
Serve onto the other half of each plate. Garnish with shredded fresh basil leaves.

This recipe is really filling, especially if you combine having both sauces. The nuts in the Alfredo are really satisfying.

Serve with the Vitality Circle’s crunchy Olive & Flax seed flat breads. (Recipe coming soon)

If you make enough sauce you will have enough to put in the fridge for the next day. All you have to do is spiralise another courgette and add sauce for an instant meal!

Also, this picture below was my dinner last night. I absolutely love raw beetroot and fennel. I have some in the garden but it wont be ready to pick just yet, so I have to make do with supplies from my local bio shop for now. I have a ton of parsley growing in pots and had to do something with it, so I made a rich parsley dressing and drizzled it all over these finely sliced raw veggies and mixed in lots of fresh herbs like chives and marjoram.

Have fun in the Spring sun... The more alkalised you are, the better you will feel... I'm off to do Yoga and Pilates now. I'll post some tibetan morning exercises here soon. A lovely way to wake up and start the day.

Love Kate x