Hello. Food Network star chef Giada DeLaurentiis has an excellent recipe to add that wow factor to simple ravioli. Best of all it’s super quick and easy to make. Giada de Laurentiis has an informative website filled with tips, books and cookware. Be sure to register for access to her recipes including the fun and healthy Chocolate Apricot Bugs. Now back to the recipe, Brown Butter Balsamic Ravioli …

Ingredients:

- 18 – 20 ounces ravioli (butternut or pumpkin would be great for Autumn)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (or Earth Balance)
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt (Fleur de Sel would be great)
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts (or 1/8 cup Parsley or cook with Sage and remove it)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (or Daiya or other substitute)

And you thought it would be difficult. Perfect for an elegant dish on a special night after a hectic day. Don’t you think so? Enjoy!

video and recipe: thanks to Giada De Laurentiis and The Food Network

Trick or Treat?! Nothing but treats here today. These recipes work well for Halloween and the upcoming Holiday season. Do you like Heath candies? I hope so because chef and instructor Elise Fineberg has put together a sweet Heath style candy just for you.

Heath-like candy ingredients:

1 cup butter (or Earth Balance)
2 Tbsp. Water
2 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup (or Agave or Date Syrup)
1 1/2 cup Sugar (or Sugar substitute e.g. Coconut Sugar)
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
8 oz. Semisweet Chocolate
1 cup Toasted Almonds

also recommended:
Candy thermometer

Veg news has some more tasty treats in the form of Pumpkin Spice Cookies and Pumpkin Spice Frozen Yogurt. Enjoy. and Happy Halloween!

video: thanks to ABC Local

Raw kale chips are really popular! They also can be somewhat costly. Would you like an easy recipe that is healthy and at a much better price? Remember raw food chef Diana Stobo from a few posts ago? Here is an easy to make recipe. A food dehydrator is necessary and it takes a total of around 8 hours. So make plenty!
Specific recipe is at here at Diana Stobo’s site.

Ingredients:
Dino kale
Olive Oil
“Parmesan”

Parmesan:
Pine nuts
Nutritional Yeast
Sea salt

Here is another snack food recipe from Diana Stobo. This one doesn’t require a dehydrator. It similar to french fries. The fries are made from Jicama. Both of these recipes are simple and healthy. Perfect for the 4th of July.

Ingredients:
Jicama
Olive oil
Chili powder
Nutritional yeast
Salt

videos and recipes: thanks to Diana Stobo

Chef Diana Stobo has a very easy and simple to make recipe for raw Chocolate Macaroons. Macaroons are sweetened with Agave and a food dehydrator is required. Be sure to read about the chef’s story on her site. In addition to being a chef, she is a coach and the author of two books, Get Naked Fast and Naked Bliss.

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Heart Shaped Vacherines with semi-sweet chocolate, strawberries & mint from Chef Liz Ozanich

6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
dash of lemon juice
2 pints strawberries
3 Tbsp super fine sugar
2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely julienned
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chips or chopped)

*note: I haven’t had a chance to try this, but here is a vegan version of egg whites. If it does indeed work the outcome will be different. Thanks to The Good Baker for this recipe and instructions which are here.

Starch-based egg replacer

FOR EVERY TWO WHOLE EGGS, SIFT TOGETHER

1 Tbsp tapioca or corn starch
1 Tbsp potato starch
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp xanthan gum (if you have it)

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Mark Bittman makes a quick and delicious Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding. Enjoy.

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source: thanks to Diana Stobo, Liz Ozanich and Mark Bittman.

First up is an Orzotini from Hippy Gourmet. It’s a quick and easy recipe with few ingredients.

Also a delicious Leek and Mushroom Soup from Chef Luciano Pelligrini that takes a little time yet is worth it. This is very good for the cold weather. Coconut cream or agar agar can be used to substitute for the cream.

Ready for Valentine’s Day? Cupid is. Actually, Cupid is slightly early. Aside from a violin with music to serenade you, let’s see what tasty meal Cupid has cooked.

Angel Hair Pasta with Chanterelle Mushrooms from Deborah Dal Fovo

Ingredients:
7 ounces fresh angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more to garnish
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 shallot, finely minced (1 tablespoon minced)
1/4 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano or Daiya Vegan Cheese
Finely chopped flat leaf Italian parsley to garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black or white pepper to taste

And a nice drink to go with it that Cupid would truly approve of – the Persephone! From Emilie Baltz and Tomas Delos Reyes of Oral Fix Cafe.

Risotto with Peas

Roasted Root Veggies

Carrot Parsnip Soup or Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Poached Pears in Red Wine or Holiday Spiced Crème Brûlée

Merlot, Chardonnay or Zinfandel Rosé

Raw food lovers need not despair because there are drinks for you too – tea plus a substitute for red wine. While I don’t have any raw holiday recipes, chef Heather Haxo Phillips does. It’s an inexpensive manual for the Holiday season raw style. The drink recipes are a preview from the manual.

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Eolo Risotto with Peas

6 cups clear vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil or 1 tablespoon olive plus 1 tablespoon butter or earth balance butter
1 medium to large white onion finely diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon minced thyme or parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or 1/4 cup Daiya “Mozarella cheese”
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

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Bring stock to simmer over medium-low heat.
Heat onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
Add and stir Arborio rice, stir for 1 minute.
Add and stir the wine for 1 minute.
Add 1/2 cup stock until the liquid completely absorbed. Add the peas. Patiently, continue adding 1/4 cup stock until rice is firm but tender.
Stir in thyme, Parmesan or Daiya cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.

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Dr. Andrew Weil suggests this dish with substance, Roasted Root Veggies. This recipe as well as the next 3 are part of the Eating Well Thanksgiving Series from the New York Times.

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Soup’s on with Carrot Parsnip Soup with Parsnip Chips. It takes about an hour to make. Another excellent option is Roasted Butternut Squash Soup presented in a fun video from Chefs Eric and Olivier of Kitchen on Fire.

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Jeff Potter author of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food recommends this very quick and easy dessert, Poached Pears in Red Wine. I also like the Holiday-Spiced Vegan Crème Brûlée by award winning vegan chef, Chloe Coscarelli that is part of theEating Well Holiday Dessert Recipes from the New York Times.

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Andrew Peace Wineries of Australia has a few vegan red wines. Try the 2009 Peace by Peace Red which is a combination of Shiraz, Cabernet, Grenache and Mataro or the 2009 Masterpeace Cabernet Merlot. Hardy’s Wineries also in Australia offers a vegan white in the form of the Notting Hill Chardonnay. U.S.A. based Fetzer Wineries has a White Zinfandel Rosé.

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Bay Area Raw Foods chef, Heather Haxo Phillips has just completed a Holiday manual titled Healthy Holidays, A Survival Guide. There are more than 30 recipes including entrees, desserts, soups and drinks. Recipes includes Almond Stuffing, Rosemary and Thyme Soup, Holiday Nut Bread and Citrus Spice Flan. Healthy Holidays is available as an e-book or a spiral-bound paperback. As a special treat there is a preview of the cookbook that includes 3 free recipes: Holiday Nut Nog, Cozy Lemon Ginger Tea and Divine Red Wine – a beet-based substitute for red wine.

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photo and video credits: Hippy Gourmet, New York Times, James Thew, Heather Haxo Phillips