Asian Carrot Noodle Pasta

It might be time for me to start cleaning it up again. Lots of desserts lately. No desserts while traveling except a really delicious blend of pineapple soaked with vanilla beans that I haven't been able to recreate yet. I tried, but my guess is the stuff I ate in France had sugar in it. I digress....all that to say I wanted dessert when I got home, now I've had it, so it's back to brightly colored vegetables. My body loves them just as much. It's really my head that craves the sweet. Of course, carrots are sweet, so who am I fooling?

This pasta dish is inspired by Meredith Baird and modified to my taste. It's full of color, nutrients and flavor. A lovely blend of carrots, cabbage and shitake mushrooms. Perfect for a summer day. It's so beautiful it almost looks like dessert.

Asian Carrot Noodle Pasta:

Pasta:
5 carrots spiralized through a spiral slicer
1/2 head of purple cabbage thinly sliced
3 T. black sesame seeds ground
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt with dulse chips in grinder

Marinated Shitakes:
3 c. thinly sliced shitakes
2 T. coconut aminos
Juice of 1 lemon

Marinate mushrooms in other ingredients for at least 15 minutes.

Pasta Sauce:
1/2 c. raw tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T. white miso ( I use a garbanzo bean miso. Miso isn't raw, but it is a living food)
2 T. sesame oil
1 c. water
Himalayan sea salt to taste

Blend all ingredients except water in a blender. Add water as needed to thin the dressing to a pourable consistency. You may only need 1/2 c. of water, or maybe even less. Use your own judgment to create a consistency that you like.

Assembly:
Drain the shitakes from the marinade. Toss the noodle base mixture with the drained shitakes. Start slowly with the dressing. Begin with 1/4 cup. Toss noodles and see if this is enough dressing. If not, add more. You will have more dressing than necessary for the noodles, so go slowly. Use extra dressing for a  green salad tomorrow.

Garnish with cilantro and black sesames seeds.