It confused me. Then the smell of patchouli and a sort of militant air began to creep up my spine.

And now here I am, pretty high on the vegan bandwagon but trying to figure out a way to share the concept and why it’s so darn good for you (with supplements) in an accessible, dare I say…fun? way.

Far too long a lead-in to sharing a picture of tonight’s rockin’ dinner that will please all the palates in our house:

Faux chicken (Gardein mandarin orange crispy chick’n) sesame quinoa noodles with snow peas and crisp cucumbers. Vegan, peanut-free (but tastes peanutty because of sunbutter and sesame oil), lots of garlic, bit of organic shoyu soy sauce, a few drops of stevia concentrate, and 1/2 cup sesame seeds tossed in. So. Good.

My inspiration tonight: an old favorite recipe from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins (you may know their The Silver Palate Cookbook), Sesame Chicken and Asparagus Pasta. Just tweaked it vegan, alkaline (sunflower butter instead of peanut butter, stevia instead of brown sugar) simple, and with on-hand ingredients popular with the littles.

Ingredients:

• one package linguine (Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta is one of my favorites)
• a few handfuls snow peas, and any other veggies you like (cucumber, carrots, broccoli, or asparagus work well), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbs coconut oil for sautéing
• 1/2 large cucumber, preferably organic
• 1-2 packages Gardein mandarin orange crispy chick’n or new Teryaki chik’n strips (feel free to omit; I include for my meat-nostalgic fans)
• 1/2 cup (or more, to taste) raw sesame seeds

Brown Gardein chick’n in tablespoon (more if needed) coconut oil. {Coconut oil, unlike most others, does not become carcinogenic when heated…which is nice.} Add some or all of included sauce packet, followed by sesame seeds to coat.

Prepare linguine. Meantime, lightly sauté veggies in tiny amount of coconut oil or in nonstick pan/wok — or steam. If you steam, blanch your veggies quickly to stop the cooking. You want your vegetables to maintain crispness in the center and vibrant color; this means they still have nutrients! You’re juggling a lot at the range now, but it’s so lovely when it all comes together.

Raw yum sauce:

• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1/4 cup organic Tamari (gluten-free)
• 1/2 cup natural sunbutter or raw almond butter, creamy or crunchy – your preference
• optional—3 cloves garlic (we love garlic)
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
• 3 drops stevia concentrate or tablespoon organic coconut palm sugar

Prepare sauce in food processor by combining sesame oil, tamari, garlic, sunflower seed or almond butter, and stevia or palm sugar to taste. Blend/pulse until smooth and set aside. Wash and slice cucumber into bite-sized quarters, peeling skin if not organic.

When linguine is al dente, drain and add sauce immediately. Toss to ensure coverage. Cut chick’n into bite-sized pieces and add, followed by all your veggies; cucumbers last.

Garnish with diced scallions and more sesame seeds if desired. Scallions may be more popular with adults. 🙂

Have fun with the recipe; mine is almost always a little different based on what I have on hand – but the cucumbers are mission-critical.