Zucchini Pasta...Vegan Chick-un Enchiladas...Zesty Tofu Wrap

I've made some pretty fun things this week...trying lots of new recipes. I've seen recipes in several places that use zucchini or yellow squash "ribbons" in place of pasta and I have been wanting to try it. I have been looking through Brendan Brazier's cookbook "Thrive" and this recipe was in it (except it used yellow squash, not zucchini but I had zucchini!). It turned out pretty yummy.

Summer Squash Fettuccini with Lemon Pepper Cream From Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier, p. 226
4-5 medium long yellow summer squash
1 tsp + 1/4 tsp sea salt, divided
2/3 cup cashews, soaked in water 1-2 hours
3/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp or more ground pepper
1 tbsp coconut oil (I used canola)
1 leek, thinly sliced (I used an onion)

Trim the ends of the squash. Using a hand-held vegetable peeler, carefully strip the squash, layer by layer, into noodle-like pieces and gather into a colander. Toss squash strips with 1 tsp of sea salt and place the colander over a large bowl to catch excess moisture. Let rest for 15-20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and press water out using a clean kitchen towel. Place the soaked, soft cashews in a blender with the water, lemon zest, vinegar, freshly ground pepper, and remaining 1/4 tsp sea salt. Blend for several minutes on high until a very smooth cream has formed. Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the leeks. Cook until softened, reduce heat to low and add the blended cream to the pan. Stirring constantly add squash to the pan and heat through. Serve immediately garnished with freshly cracked black pepper. When I made my April menu, I went through my binder of recipes that consists of all the recipes I have torn out of magazines, newspapers etc. There are so many recipes in that binder that I frequently forget to go through it and pull out new recipes to try. I found several to try for April, some of which were recipes I had made in my pre-vegan days that I wanted to veganize. The recipe for these Chicken Enchiladas was one of them. I remember them being very delicious and I hoped I would be able to create a yummy vegan version. Thankfully I was successful!

Vegan Chick-un Enchiladas
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 t garlic powder
1 8 oz package vegan chickun tenders (I used Trader Joes Crispy Chickun)
1 can chipotle diced tomatoes with chiles or 1 cup salsa
4 oz vegan cream cheese
2 T chopped cilantro
2 t cumin
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups white or pinto beans, cooked and drained
8 flour tortillas In a skillet coated with cooking spray, cook onions until soft. Add garlic powder, salt, cumin, cilantro and 1/4 cup tomatoes or salsa. Add beans and stir to combine. Add cream cheese and stir to combine thoroughly until all is incorporated. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook chickun tenders according to package instructions. Chop cooked chickun into small pieces and add to bean mixture. Spoon filling evenly into 8 flour tortillas, roll and place in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray (seam down). When all enchiladas have been filled, top with remaining salsa. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min or until tortillas are lightly browned. These were delish! I served them with corn and kale salad and a broccoli salad for a fabulous lunch!

Zesty Tofu Wraps with Olive Tapenade (recipe adapted from Cooking Light April 2002)

 Tapenade:
1/2 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives
1 t grated lemon rind
1 t oil

Wraps:
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
1 lb tofu, drained and pressed
1 large onion, sliced
 3 T balsamic vinegar
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T cider vinegar
1 T honey or agave
1 t rosemary
1 t oil
2 t spicy brown mustard
1/4 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
4 flour tortillas
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried

To prepare tapenade, add all ingredients to food processor and pulse to mince. Do not puree. Set aside. To prepare wraps, combine 2 cups boiling water to the sun dried tomatoes. Let stand 30 min. Drain and chop. Set aside. Cut tofu into slices. Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray. Add onion and cook until soft. Add balsamic vinegar and stir. Remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, add the tofu and 1 t oil. Cook until browned on both sides (flipping slices in the middle of cooking). In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, cider vinegar, honey or agave, rosemary, mustard, salt and garlic powder. Stir to combine. Pour over the browned tofu and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. To build the wraps, take a tortilla and layer it with 2 T of tapenade, 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, 1/3 cup onions, 1/2 cup spinach and 3-4 slices of tofu. Fold and enjoy!