Toddler Food -- Supper

Here is a typical supper meal for little R.

--Sweet potato quinoa balls, also consisting of peas, spinach, silken tofu, nutritional yeast and ground chia.
--Avocado
--Vegetable shell pasta (ingredients include beets, spinach, and carrot!)

I love that she went for the avocado first.

Orecchiette with Rosemary Carrots

This delicious recipe comes from my Real Simple magazine.  I would never have thought of this mix, but it turned out great!  I love this pasta shape, and the rosemary carrots were amazing with it.

Here is the recipe straight from Real Simple:

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound orecchiette or other short pasta
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted [vegan] butter
• 1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, rosemary, and ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Add the pasta, lemon juice, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the carrots and toss to combine.
4. Serve the pasta

Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes and Pasta

I went to the new farmers market in San Marcos on Sunday for two specific reasons:  1 -- I wanted heirloom tomatoes, and 2 -- I wanted fresh fruit.

Yes, I can get these from the organic section at Sprouts, but they are seriously not as good as the farmers market produce.  Yum.

Tonight I made a no-cook sauce for some whole wheat pasta.

1 large heirloom tomato, chopped into bite-size pieces
Green olives, sliced (as many as you want)
1/2 package whole wheat pasta

While the pasta was cooking, I blended the following ingredients in my tupperware chopper thing:

(about) 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
Few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves
(about)2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt

When the pasta was done, I first mixed the tomato pieces and green olives with the oily-basil-garlic sauce, then poured the entire tomato mixture into the pot of drained pasta and mixed well.

I added a little bit of black pepper and red pepper flakes.

Delicious!  A delightful, easy, simple summer pasta dish. 

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta

This always happens when I see Mac and Cheese on a menu or have to make it for the kids I'm babysitting:  I instantly crave this classic comfort food and HAVE TO MAKE IT ASAP.

Not only did I see it on the menu at Sublime in San Marcos the other day, but Mac and Cheese was featured on a local news segment in the morning.  The nutritionist was talking about how to make "Kid Food" healthier and still delicious.  She threw a bunch of ingredients in a pot, including butternut squash, and talked about how this dish could be totally vegan by just leaving out the butter and not adding the parmesan sprinkled on at the end.  Bingo.  That was what I was making for dinner.

I tried to find her recipe on the news station's website, but it must not have been updated yet.  I found this one from Oh She Glows instead.  It looked to be about the same.  I didn't title this dish as a "Mac and Cheese" because it wasn't as cheesy-tasting as some of the other ones I've made.  It was more just deliciously creamy. 

It is a bit time-intensive with roasting the squash and everything, but it was worth it in the end.  The dish was really good and flavorful.  I'm always suspicious of how my omnivore husband is going to respond to substitution dishes like this, but he loved it and ate a huge plate piled high with the creamy pasta.  We discovered that sprinkling some Tapa Tio hot sauce on it was AMAZING.  The spicy sauce complemented the sweet, creaminess of the butternut squash perfectly.  I only added two garlic cloves, and it probably could have used one or two more.  I also added some chopped Kale and chunks of the roasted butternut squash.

Zucchini, Sweet Potato and Spaghetti

 
Amy and Hugh gave us a huge zucchini fresh from their garden so I was excited to put it to use today.  What to make, what to make?  I wanted to do something different.  I surveyed my ingredients and came up with this pasta dish.  It was inspired from this website, but I took a totally different spin.

My tomato sauce ingredients:
1 whole tomato
Green olives
Black olives
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

I blended all that together in a food processor and set it aside while the spaghetti cooked.

In the meantime, I shredded the sweet potato and 1/4 of the zucchini (it was a really big zucchini) in my KitchenAid. 

Sauted the veggies in skillet over medium heat with vegetable broth, not oil.

When everything was ready, I just mixed the sauce, veggies, and pasta all together and served!

Very easy. 

And it was quite satisfactory for everyone in the household :)

Vegan Viewing Party

 My friend Tara came over to watch the season premier of one of our favorite shows.  We had been planning this for months -- we are both veggie-lovers and couldn't wait to have a totally vegan viewing party during this show!  I made the entree and salad, and she brought over freshly made green juice, chips, and homemade cookies with her amazing vegan frosting! 

The pasta dish I made is penne with garlic, onions, white beans, chard and grape tomatoes.  I read somewhere that it is traditional in Italy to serve pasta and beans when friends come to visit, so I thought this was a perfect dish to serve and enjoy with Tara.

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Pasta

I know it seems like I've been making a lot of pasta lately, but I do try to limit it to once a week or once every other week. 

This week I needed an idea for tempeh.  I hardly ever use the stuff, but it's so good!  I found the recipe of Food.com, and the link is below.  It was pretty easy to make and was delicious.  Even Will scarfed it down.  Earlier, as I was making this dish, he walked into the kitchen and looked skeptically at the soy bean chunks.  "I don't think I like tempeh."  He said.  Well, too bad for him.  It's what's for dinner.  Tempeh or nothing.

Needless to say, the tempeh went over well.  The broccoli with garlic was really good too. 


Click here for the recipe!

http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-tempeh-and-broccoli-rabe-with-rotelle-316836

Pasta with Tomato and Pepper Sauce

I looked up a couple recipes, and used them as inspiration to come up with my own.  I didn't measure anything, so if you want to make this, just use the following ingredients as inspiration and create your own delicious pasta dish!

What's in this:

Whole wheat rotini
Chopped onions
Thinly sliced yellow and orange bell peppers
1 fresh Roma tomato
1/2 can diced tomatoes
Salt, Pepper and Italian Seasonings

Serve with a nice, healthy green salad and enjoy!

Pesto Pasta

 
Alright!  We brought Pasta Sunday's back!  That has not happened in a long time, I must say.  I'm not sure why, but like I've said previously, I just have been in a very strange, uninspired mood with my cooking lately.

Anyway, on Friday I went to Seaside Market in Cardiff and they had samples of this stuff called "Chimpesto."  I never really got an answer as to why it's called that, but it's REALLY good, and totally vegan, so I had to buy some to make pesto pasta.  It's way easier than trying to make it myself, because, for one -- whenever I try to make pesto it just never turns out right.  I don't know why.  Also, I have bad luck with keeping herbs alive and growing in my kitchen, so I stopped bothering and rarely have fresh basil on supply.

I made half a package or whole wheat bow-tie pasta and when that was done, I added some hearts of palm and artichoke hearts, and piled on the "chimpesto."  I made some fresh garlic bread and sliced some heirloom tomatoes for the side.  Oh, and I actually did have a half-dying basil plant leftover from something else I made, so for garnish I added a nice little basil leave on the tomatoes.  Voila. 

Will thought I was actually making the pesto myself, and when he saw the package he said I cheated, but hello, that did not stop him from practically eating the whole pot and barely leaving any for me.  So I think there were no complaints coming from that department. 

Penne with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

This is a perfect summer dish.  Easy and light, and with fresh tomatoes from our patio garden!  Yes, our tomatoes have been successful this summer.  Unfortunately I can't say the same about our pepper plants.  We keep noticing that the peppers keep disappearing and one plant has even been completely stripped of stems and leaves.  Today I discovered the culprit.

GROSS!!  I was so mad and disgusted.  Will came to the rescue, extracted the monster with a pair of chopsticks and threw it over the fence.  Later, he told me he had contemplated eating it.  Okay, what.   That is NOT vegan.  At least this thing hasn't destroyed the tomatoes.


Anyway, back to the subject at hand, which is this wonderful summery pasta dish (sans caterpillars).  It was super easy to make, and Will said it's one of my best dishes ever.  I'll take that!

(Inspired from Whole Living Magazine)

Ingredients
2 cups tomatoes, cored and chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup olive oil
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Half a package of penne (I used corn pasta from Trader Joes)
Fresh basil
Chopped almonds
Sea salt

Mix the tomatoes, garlic and olive and let sit for at least an hour.

When ready, cook the pasta according to the package.

Add the tomatoes to the cooked pasta, stir well.

Sprinkle some crushed almonds and top with plenty of basil.

Enjoy!  It's very good.

Orechiette with Kale and "Sausage"

We missed Pasta Sunday, so I decided to make our pasta meal today on Tuesday.  It was pretty quick and easy to make for a weekday dinner and I just threw a bunch of stuff together.

This is what I did:

 Ingredients

1 package orechiette pasta (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1 Tofurkey sausage, chopped and diced into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup vegan chicken broth
2 cups fresh kale, chopped into bite-sized pieces

 Directions

Cook pasta according to the package.

Meantime, heat the oil in a dutch oven-style pot.  Add onions and cook for about five minutes before adding the tomatoes.  Stir all well and cook over medium heat.  Add the sausage, garlic, red pepper flakes.  Stir well and cook for about five minutes.  Add the broth and kale and simmer until the kale is soft.

When the pasta is done, serve it with a generous helping of the kale and sausage sauce.  I added a layer of marinara sauce underneath the kale and sauce, but that's up to you!

We sat down at our little table on the patio outside and enjoyed the delicious Pasta Tuesday dinner.  It was quite delicious and nutritious. 

Pasta with Sauce of Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives.

Sundays at our house are typically known as Pasta Sundays.  I usually like to experiment with different types of pasta and sauce for our traditional Sunday dinner.  I know all the pasta dishes I've posted on here look the same, but they are all unique and different.  Like snowflakes.  Or people.

Tonight's pasta delight was:
"Corn-Rigatoni with Sauce of Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives."

This is what I did:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 can Trader Joe's green pitted olives, sliced
Spices of your choice, to taste (I used red pepper flakes, lemon-pepper, garlic salt, oregano, salt and pepper)

1 package pasta (I used corn pasta)

While the pasta is cooking, make the delicious tomato sauce.

First, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in pan and saute the onions and garlic until slightly browned.

Second, add the tomatoes and tomato sauce, spices, artichokes, and olives.

Let simmer on low heat while the pasta finishes cooking.

When pasta is done, serve all together with a side of salad!  Done!  Dinner is THAT simple.  But oh, so delicious.

Easy Peasy Pasta and Caesar Salad

Here's two more amazing recipes from my new favorite cookbook, Chloe's Kitchen!  I'm finally having some more time to cook during the week, so I am excited to try more of Chloe's recipes!  So far everything has turned out really well.  I followed these two recipes exactly according to her directions, so I'm just going to copy and paste from her cookbook.


Caesar Salad with Maple-Wheat Croutons
Maple-Wheat Croutons
6 slices whole-wheat bread, cut into 1/2 cubes (I actually used gluten-free bread here, but that's up to you)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss bread cubes with oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper.  Spread the bread cubes in one layer onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until crisp and lightly browned, turning with a spatula every ten minutes.  

Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup soft tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 table spoon apple-cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
--In a blender or food processor, combine tofu, oil, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, miso, salt, and pepper.  Process until very smooth.

To serve, chop up some romaine lettuce, mix with Caesar dressing and add capers and maple croutons!
Yum!  Caesar Salad without the anchovies!

Now for the pasta.  We loved this!  In the cookbook, it's described as a pasta salad for traditional Italian events, but I served it warm and it was delicious.  The next day I tried the leftovers cold as if it were a salad, but decided that with gluten-free pasta, it just doesn't taste good cold.  So, if you're using corn pasta like I did, this is better served warm.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

1 small new potato, red or white, peeled and quartered
1 pound pasta (I used Trader Joes corn pasta, rotini)
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 heaping teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup cold water
2/3 cup olive oil

Place potato in a small saucepan and cover with salted water.  Bring to a boil and let cook until tender.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and let potatoes cool completely.

Cook pasta according to package.  Add frozen peas to the boiling pasta right before draining.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.  Transfer pasta and peas to a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile, combine cooled potatoes, garlic, tomato paste, mustard, capers, oregano, basil, salt, and water in a food processor.  Slowly add the oil in a thin stream and process until smooth.  Toss pasta and peas with sauce, and adjust seasoning to taste.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.  (Remember, I served mine warm/hot and it was great.)

Will ate two huge helpings of both the Caesar salad and pasta, he loved everything so much.  It also might be a fact that I have a husband that is the best eater ever, but it's still nice to see someone enjoy my food as heartily as he does!  :)  This is a guy that loves to eat his steak and potatoes, so I think we can take this as a good sign that he loves my vegan, gluten-free cooking so much! 

Pasta with Beet Sauce

This one was inspired from a recipe in Whole Living Magazine.  Click here for the original recipe or follow along below: 

Ingredients:

1 package baby beets from Trader Joes 
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped, crushed tomatoes
Red pepper flakes to taste
Sea salt to taste
8-10 oz Corn Pasta Spaghetti from Trader Joes

1.  Make spaghetti according to package.  Drain, and save 1 cup of the pasta water.  

2.  Microwave beets for about 20-30 seconds.  Blend beets, garlic, walnuts and tomatoes in a food processor or blender.  Season with the salt and red pepper flakes. 

3.  Mix beet sauce with pasta water and add to cooked spaghetti.  Stir well and serve immediately.  Sprinkle fresh, ground pepper on top and enjoy! 


I would never have thought of putting all this stuff together, but it was delicious!  The original recipe doesn't call for garlic, but I think it's necessary to offset the sweetness of the beets.  I liked it.
 

Pasta Alfredo

This is a recipe I've been wanting to try forever from Vegan Yum Yum.  It's called Hurry Up Alfredo and its supposed to look like this:

I followed the recipe exactly, but for some reason mine had a nice orangy-chedder-cheesey look to it rather than the nice white-creamy look. 

And I forgot the basil.

No matter!  It still tasted amazing and delicious.  I've never had real Alfredo sauce, so I can't compare, but The Husband loved it and said it was better than the real thing.  (I said, "This is REAL, what are you talking about?")  It was super easy to make, which is perfect for those late evenings after getting home from a long day at work.  I used whole wheat rotini pasta, but I'm guessing this would go really well with potatoes, rice, or steamed veggies.  It's a really good cheesey-like sauce for things like that.

Here's the recipe:  I just sprinkled some black pepper on right before serving, because who doesn't love some black pepper?


Copy and Pasted from Veganyumyum.com


Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings
1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

"Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!
If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!"

Rosa's Pismo Beach

I'm spending the weekend with G in Pismo Beach and we went to Rosa's last night for yummy Italian food.  They had a lot of veggie options on the menu, but I chose the Summer Pasta without chicken.  It had mushrooms, tomatoes, and basil in it and it came out to the table steaming hot -- just how I like it!

I was very pleased with my meal it and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone interested in authentic Italian cuisine.

Italian Night

Tonight was pasta night and I didn't make it!  I was so pleased to come home to a house smelling of garlic and spices and to see my husband whipping up an Italian feast in the kitchen!

He loves bringing out his Italian roots and making a good pasta dinner for us, and I am more than happy to oblige. 

Tonight he made tomato sauce from scratch and we poured generous servings of it over corn spaghetti from Trader Joe's.  It had big chunks of tomato, onion and garlic in it, as well as fresh basil, thyme and oregano.  These are just the things I could pick out, because he won't share is secret recipe.  :)     

This stuff is amazing an gluten-free.  I think it tastes just like regular pasta, if not better.  I like it better than rice pasta because it doesn't get mushy. 

He also made fresh garlic bread by slicing a loaf of French bread, spreading it with Earth Balance and slices of fresh garlic!  How yummy and delicious!  I love when The Husband makes Italian food!  He is amazing!

Creamy Avocado Pasta

I came across a fun vegan blog the other day called www.ohsheglows.com

The author is Angela, and she shares delightful stories of her life and some amazing vegan recipes.  So far I've tried two of them, the first one being this Creamy Avocado Pasta.  Any time I see a way to change up a pasta dish, I'm eager to try it out.

Here it is:

Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 2-3 garlic cloves, to taste (I used 3 and it was quite garlicky, but if you are not a big fan of garlic use 1 clove)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• ~1/4 cup Fresh Basil, (probably optional)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta (I used 3oz of spelt and 3 oz of Kamut spaghetti)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.
Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.

(Note:  I used rice pasta spirals)

Spicy Tempeh and just a bunch of Veggie Goodness

So this was new.  I have never made any dishes at home using tempeh.  To be honest, I think I've actually only ever had the stuff twice before and the first time I did NOT like it.  The second time it was okay, and I thought I would be willing to try it again.  Well, I bought a package of the stuff at Sprouts and tried it out tonight.  It was actually really good!  I think homemade food is always the best though. 

This meal was inspired from a recipe in the cookbook, Veganomicon.  I followed their recipe for the spicy tempeh sauce and then did my own thing for the veggies.  It all topped a plate of corn pasta and was a delicious, filling dinner!  The Husband ate like it was his last meal or something, and went back for seconds, so that's always a good sign.  So far, the meals in 2012 have not failed!  I'm looking forward to a new year in veggie cooking!

Spicy Tempeh and Veggie Goodness over Corn Pasta

Spicy Tempeh (adapted from Veganomicon)
1 (8-ounce) package tempeh, cubed
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Place the tempeh in a large pan on stove.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes and oregano.  Pour over the tempeh, stir to coat, and cook over medium heat until it starts to simmer, lower heat, cover and let cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the tempeh is tender. 

Veggie Goodness to go with Tempeh
 In a separate pan, saute the following ingredients:

(First...)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 shallot, sliced
(after five minutes, add..)
6 shitake mushrooms
5 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 head of broccoli, chopped into bite-size pieces
(stir and finally add...)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
(Let all simmer for about 8 minutes)

Broccoli-Almond Pesto

Happy 2012!  It's New Year's Day and time for another amazing meal from the January issue of Whole Living!  Seriously, this magazine has given me so many great recipes over the last few days!  Also, after tonight's dinner I have decided I'm going to use rice noodles way more often now!  They are so good and just as good, if not better, than regular wheaty pasta!  Maybe I'll be more gluten-free in 2012 since that seems to be a big trend right now, whether you have allergies or not.  We shall see...

Here is the recipe for this dish from Whole Living Magazine:

The only thing I did differently was add a little bit more basil, but that turned out fine.  This was easy to make and really delicious, so you need to make this for yourself ASAP.  Happy New Year!

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, florets and sliced stems
• 6 tablespoons sliced toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 8 ounces medium rice noodles

Directions

1. Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook broccoli florets and stems until bright green and just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. (Reserve water.) Roughly chop 1 cup cooked florets; set aside. In a blender, puree remaining florets, almonds, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Add olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
   
2. Return water to a boil and cook rice noodles according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, drain noodles, and return to pot. Toss with pesto, adding reserved pasta water until creamy. Top each bowl with chopped florets, small basil leaves, and remaining almonds. Season with pepper.