Going green is easy when a plate of pasta like this one is presented to you! This whole dish actually came to me after I was lucky enough to find Tripolina pasta at the Unico store a few weeks back. Tripolina pasta are basically long, thin versions of lasagne noodles that are  hearty and delicious.

Along with perfectly cooked Tripolina pasta, this bowl of green goodness includes fresh green veggies like zucchini and snow peas. I took advantage of some frozen veggies I had on hand as well including sweet peas and lima beans for extra texture and flavour. Everything is dressed in a light and delicious pesto sauce and served with a squeeze of lemon that really finishes the dish off perfectly. 

Want to go green? Head to the RECIPES page!

HAPPY VEG

Happy Monday everyone! With the start of a new week comes a new recipe for me to share with you all. My love for potatoes is once again brought into the spotlight with my first recipe of the week. I always have potatoes on hand in one form or another and I can usually think of a million ways to cook and serve them. Potatoes with a side of potatoes? Yes please!

GOOD TO BE GREEN PASTA

This pasta dish celebrates being green. Green vegetables offer a variety of nutritional benefits and free radical fighting antioxidants so a dish like this makes it super easy to eat your greens. Along with the most gorgeous pasta I found while visiting the market, this dish includes fresh and delicious zucchini, snow peas, summer peas, and lima beans along with a light pesto sauce that is absolutely delicious. Being green is easy with a dish like this!

It's hard to start the day with such disturbing news but here it is. Arkansas is very close to passing the ag-gag bill which would be a direct attack on the rights of people who expose abuse in these industries. The bill allows the owners / operators of these industries to charge whistleblowers who expose indecencies in their industry. Basically, all of the hard work undercover activists do to expose animal cruelty will be under attack. 

It's most alarming that any state would want to stop the exposure of shady activities. Why in the world would you want to penalize someone for standing up to something that is so obviously wrong? This ruling doesn't apply only to the animal industry either, nursing homes, hospitals, and schools will also fall within this ruling. Anyone who attempts to expose activities that reflect badly on the company will risk being persecuted by the company itself. 

This ruling is going to deter people from speaking out against injustices for fear of being persecuted. These "whistleblowers" are the reason that so much undercover abuse has been exposed and without them, indecencies in these industries will go unrecognized. Sadly, this is the will of the government in Arkansas.

Does this not imply that this must happen often? The solution to dealing with all of the problems is to gag the people who are exposing it? That's hardly a solution! How about thanking them for exposing problems that would otherwise go unnoticed? What a disgusting idea to think that people who fight for what's right within their industries would have to fear persecution for speaking out. Why not attack the problem versus attacking those who expose it?

I am really hoping this bill doesn't make it all the way. It's a scary thought to say the least.


HAPPY VEG

Blended soups are probably my favourite variety of soup. I love that all of the flavours really come together and the soup becomes so abundantly flavourful and creamy. It's such a treat to enjoy a bowl and you can blend together so many varieties of soup as well. The possibilities are quite endless.

I've got a creamy potato and broccoli soup that really made my stomach smile. I decided this time to reserve 1/4 of the soup prior to blending so that there would be a few pieces of broccoli and potato floating around. Sort of reinforcing what you're enjoying in this blended soup. It's such a cinch to toss everything in the slowcooker and wait patiently for a beautiful soup to finish. 

Enjoy the soup with a hearty roll or croissant for dipping and finish with a drizzle of whipping cream and pepper flakes for a little welcome heat. ENJOY!