Vegan Momma

Pan Fried Zucchini & Raw Tomato with Roasted Yellow Bell Pepper & Mango Sauce

I must have been out of my Vegan mind to make this dish. I rarely make fried foods it’s not very healthy and I think people, in westernized countries eat entirely too much of it; however, today I had a few friends over for lunch since they aren’t Vegan I wanted to make something that was similar in taste and texture to meals they normally eat. I didn’t want to scare them off by making things “too weird”. I decided on pan fried zucchini along with a raw pasta salad.

Tomatoes

I never made it (fried zucchini) before but I had fun creating a recipe. My daughter chopped up the tomatoes. They were succulent, sweet, and packed with flavor. I picked them from the garden this morning.

In fact everything, except the mango, was freshly picked from the garden today. The mangoes came from my uncle who lives in Florida. He gave me several while I was vacationing in South Carolina last week. I’m truly thankful that I have so much fresh produce a few feet away not everyone is as fortunate. I give a lot of my produce away.

Anyway while I created the dish, I became inspired to create something else. I don’t know how it will turn out so I’m not saying anything about it. I’ll be making it later this week. My friends loved this dish and I’ve been “told” (yeah they sort of threatened me) to recreate this dish for the next time. “The next time?” I replied, “What makes you think I’ll be cooking for you again?” They knew I was joking since I love cooking & uncooking.

What’s in the batter?
The zucchini coating was made of corn meal, wheat flour, freshly ground flax seeds, freshly ground black peppercorns, coriander, and a hint of basil. I added the zucchini to the batter.

Flax Seeds Are My Egg Replacer
How did I get the batter to stick to the zucchini? I ground four tablespoons of flax seeds mixed with one cup of water. Why? When the flax seeds are wet, it forms into a gel. Think of it as a Vegan egg replacer. Also, Flax seeds are a great source of omega 3’s. Honestly I don’t think you get too many nutrients once it is fried so I lightly sprinkled the fried zucchini with a mixture of ground flax seeds, basil, dried onion, garlic, and tomato. It’s one of my homemade herbal blends.

Aiyana, my daughter, proudly displaying her food design

Budding Artist
My daughter decorated the plates. I had to take a picture of one before it was demolished, and she even added the sauce around the plate. I pureed the roasted yellow pepper and added two very ripe mangoes to it to kick up the sweetness. Raw pasta accompanies this meal.

Cucumbers

Get Your Drink On
What did we have to drink? Fruit smoothies? Of course I felt slightly guilty about the above menu so I made a smoothie out that consisted of apple juice, fresh cucumbers, and watermelon. They are all natural laxatives and this truly healing drink is delicious.

Upcoming Vegan Feast
Hmm next time they stop by (later this week) maybe I should make some Vegan hush puppies, greens, and black eye peas, or as my friends call it “Vegan Soul Food” I make sure to make a lot so they can take home leftovers. My two friends are business owners, like myself, and we get together a few times a month to brainstorm and just spend time with each other since we “get” the struggles and triumphs that go along with working for yourself.

Oh by the way you can make an excellent natural hair gel from flax seeds.

Brainstorming
I took a half day off of work this morning Actually I still worked I just wasn’t stuck behind the computer or making products. What have I been doing? Gardening with my daughter, and hanging out with my friends. I’ve included pictures of the produce I picked, throughout this post clicking on the picture will take you to a larger one. They will open in another window.

Zucchini

My zucchini get huge there not the kind I see in the store. I give a lot away. People always ask How did they get so big? I tell them lots of love and garden chats, lol. I also use natural compost and the insect repellent which I make myself is all natural. One of these days I’ll create an all natural gardening line but for now I’ll focus on natural skin & hair care products.

Zucchini

Hopefully, you get an idea of the size of this “small zucchini” from this shot.

Bell Peppers

[tag]vegan, Pan Fried Zucchini With Tomato and Roasted Yellow Pepper & Mango Sauce, tomato, raw food, pasta,nutrition, diet, health[/tag]