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Aug 26, 2014

the jazzy vegetarian + scampi pasta




Last week I had the most amazing time with Laura Theodore on her radio show The Jazzy Vegetarian.

Laura is not only the author of the party-friendly, family-friendly vegan cookbook, Jazzy Vegetarian Classics, but she also hosts her own television vegan cooking show on PBS and Create Channel. I know! How cool! Check for listing, channels and times of her TV show HERE.

Laura is such a talented host, that she put me right at ease on my first live interview, even though I was scared to pieces and nervous as all get out! We shared some great tips for vegan cooking and just generally had such a fun time.

I’m pretty sure I jabbered too much and too long, but that’s nothing new to those who know me.
A few things I shared on the show were:

Frontier Co-op, an online retailer of some great vegan-friendly and animal-friendly products, such as seaweed, nutritional yeast, cleaning and hygiene products, spices and herbs and tons of other stuff.

If you become a buying club member on the Frontier Co-op Wholesalers, for a ten dollar membership fee, you can have anything over $250 delivered free of charge. The idea is to get others involved to reach the minimum, but I have found that at least once a year (sometimes twice or thrice) I have no problem attaining the $250 minimum all by my lonesome self.  

Laura also asked about egg replacers on the show and I shared a few ideas, but just recently No Meat Athlete posted a wonderful visual representation.




Lastly, I shared an easy recipe from Everyday Vegan Eats on The Jazzy Vegetarian, and it happens to be the cover recipe, which is a dish that can be ready in 15 minutes, Scampi Pasta with Asparagus and Walnuts. It has mild garlic flavor, a mild sea flavor, thanks to dulse seaweed, and the richness is tamed by fresh lemon juice. Really a delicious meal!






Scampi Pasta with Asparagus and Walnuts
Serves 4


Scampi, in the restaurant world, is a dish of shrimp sautéed in garlic butter and tossed with parsley and fresh lemon juice. In this version, dulse stands in for the flavor of seafood and the garlic-lemon sauce is tossed with thin pasta. This is a very fast meal, so get your pot of water boiling first.


Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces capellini or angel hair pasta or gluten-free pasta
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped raw walnuts
  • 1/4 cup dulse seaweed flakes
  • 1/4 cup packed finely chopped parsley
  • 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided sea salt and fresh ground black pepper


Preparation:
  1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Cool the pasta under running cold water, drain, and set aside.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and walnuts. Reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 5 to 10 minutes.
  3. Increase the heat to medium. Add the dulse, parsley, and asparagus. Cook, stirring, until the asparagus is partially cooked, about 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and continue to cook until the asparagus is crisp-tender, another 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the reserved pasta, and the other 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is heated through and the sauce has thickened.
  6. Season to taste with salt, plenty of black pepper, and the rest of the lemon juice, if needed. Serve hot.


CHEF’S TIP: If you have a wok, this is a great place to use it. Garlic or walnut pieces can be pushed up the side of the wok, out of higher heat, if any of them brown faster than the others. When the sauce is ready to be tossed with the pasta, you’ll have plenty of room to combine them.

From Everyday Vegan Eats by Zsu Dever. ©2014 Zsu Dever. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.



If you haven’t listened to the complete interview, catch it below or HERE. While you are on the BlogTalkRadio, subscribe to her channel and take the time to look through the archives of the show – so many great interviews and information to be discovered!

I’d like to thank Laura for having me on the show and for being so gentle with someone so obviously new to the process. I am so deeply grateful!





Listen To Food Internet Radio Stations with The Jazzy Vegetarian on BlogTalkRadio with The Jazzy Vegetarian on BlogTalkRadio


If you would like to win your very own shiny new copy of Everyday Vegan Eats, the lovely Somer McCowan of Vedgedout.com is hosting a giveaway right this very second  (contest ends August 29). She is also sharing my recipe for Chilled Sesame Soba Noodles. Here is the equally lovely picture she took of said dish:


Photo by Somer McCowan of Vedgedout.com





I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan FridaysWhat I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

     

7 comments:

  1. Laura is such a gracious hostess - and her radio show is a fantastic resource. Congrats for the feature!

    Thanks for sharing this beautiful dish at the Potluck, Zsu!

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    Replies
    1. I loved your appearance on the show, Annie! Yes, Laura, is definitely a fantastic host - especially with newbies like me.

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  2. Easy and so pretty! This needs to happen soon! yummmm

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  3. Hi, visiting you via Healthy Vegan Fridays. That dish looks WONDERFUL! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. My natural dulse powder just arrived... I tasted it out of the pack and am wondering how Jazzy Vegetarian compares it to a seafood taste, as I would say maybe a chemical, but bland chemical taste... with no hint of seafood.

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    Replies
    1. Dulse powder sounds interesting. I use dulse quite often, but it has always been flaked. I wonder if that is why it is the chemical/bland flavor? I would say that dulse flakes are sea flavored, like any other seaweed but milder, than say, kelp or nori. It should not be chemically OR bland. If you can get your hands on dulse flakes, give it a go. Don't give up on this delicious seaweed; it is much kinder in flavor profile that the more robust wakame or kelp. Good luck!

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu