Pasta Quattro

Winter is when we eat the most pasta. Probably too much! But here are a few tasty dishes we enjoy again and again...

Pasta w/Squash & Sage
Mushrooms

mushrooms:
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
8-10 medium mushrooms
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
4-5 dried sage leaves,
crumbled
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 kosher salt

squash sauce:
2 cups steamed squash
1/2 cup water or veg broth
1 T. olive oil
2 T. margarine
1/2 a bouillon cube
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Pasta or ravioli of your
choice.

This is a delicious way to
use fresh or frozen squash.
Steamed butternut squash
is fantastic for this dish!

First, peel, cube & steam
the squash. Or use frozen
thawed squash.

Next, wash the mushrooms.
Slice fairly thin. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium heat. Add mushrooms. Stir occasionally. After about 2-3 minutes, add the garlic and sage. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so, allowing enough space in between mushrooms for any liquid to evaporate. As mushrooms begin to brown and dry out, add cayenne pepper and lemon juice. You want the mushrooms brown, but not burned. Remove from heat and sprinkle with kosher salt. Set aside.

Start the pasta cooking while you prepare the squash sauce. Puree the squash in a food processor with 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth. You may add a bit more water if necessary to process. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium-low heat. Add the 1/2 bouillon cube and mash with fork and stir briskly to dissolve (do not allow to burn). Add squash puree. Stir. Add salt and sugar. Stir and heat through.

Drain pasta. Toss with a little margarine or olive oil. Pour squash sauce over pasta. Top with sage mushrooms.

Tomato Bac-un Pasta

1/2 box of pasta
1/2 package Smart Bacon
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
2 cups chopped, peeled
tomatoes, drained
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Here is a super quick dinner fix.
While pasta is cooking, peel apart half a package of Lightlife Smart Bacon strips. Slice or tear into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil & margarine over medium-low heat. Add Smart Bacon. Cook 2-3 minutes, flipping over pieces until lightly browned and slightly crisp. Add tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes or whole peeled tomato work well here, and I save the liquid for soups). Add a sprinkle of salt and a touch of cayenne pepper. Stir and heat through. Toss with drained hot pasta.

Ratatouille Couscous

2 T. olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled, sliced
1 T. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 zucchini or summer
squash, halved & sliced
1 onion, quartered &
sliced
8-10 mushrooms,
quartered
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 jar pasta sauce
1 box couscous (cooked according to directions)

This dish is pretty easy, but the vegetables do take a bit of time to cook properly.

Peel an eggplant, slice, and cut into strips. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add eggplant and salt, stir, and cover. Halve and slice a zucchini. Add one tablespoon of water to eggplant, stir again, cover. Quarter and slice a medium yellow or white onion. Add zucchini & onion to pot, stir, cover. Quarter the mushrooms, add to pot, cover. Chop a bell pepper into bite-sized chunks. Add bell pepper and 1/2 a jar of your favourite (or homemade) pasta sauce, cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stir, cover. Check every few minutes until vegetables are tender.
Once everything is in the pot, cook couscous in a separate small covered pot (takes only 5 minutes). Fluff couscous. Serve couscous and ladle ratatouille sauce over the top.

Lemon Spinach Pasta

1/2 box pasta
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. frozen leaf spinach
2 T. margarine
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. capers, drained
plenty of fresh black
pepper

Another easy peasy pasta dish for when you're in a hurry or don't feel like doing much cooking...

Cook 1/2 a box of pasta with 1 teaspoon salt added to the cooking water.
3 minutes before pasta is done (we like our pasta well-cooked, usually 12-14 minutes for standard shaped dry pasta, so around 10 minutes) add frozen spinach to pot and return to a boil. Drain. Toss with margarine. Add lemon juice, capers, & black pepper. Toss. Top with extra black pepper.

Eat in, Eat Out

Lots of great meals this
week--almost too much to
post! We ate well at home
and were out for dinner 3
times this week. Wow.

Saturday: whole grain pasta
with spinach, broccoli &
lemon pepper sauce; meat-
less meatballs; tomato slices;
beets w/Goddess dressing;
green grapes; blueberries.

Sunday: salad w/tomato &
balsamic vinegar; orange
slices; banana walnut bread;
spinach rice pilaf; red &
green bell pepper strips;
teriyaki tofu; peas & corn.

Monday:
Canadian "Bacon" Quiche

1 lb. firm water-packed tofu
1 T. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. turmeric
1 T. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. olive oil
4 rounds veggie Canadian
bacon
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
2 scallions, diced
4 oz. vegan "cheese", grated
thinly slices tomato for garnish (optional)

In a food processor, puree first 5 ingredients until smooth.
In a saute pan, heat olive oil and briefly cook veggie Canadian bacon over medium heat until it just begins to brown. Remove it from the pan and cool on a paper towel. Add onion to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Add scallions and cook for 1 more minute.
Cut veggie Canadian bacon into 1/2 inch squares.
Grate the "cheese".
In a bowl, combine tofu mixture, "bacon", onion, peppers & scallions, & "cheese". Mix with a fork. Spread in an oiled round glass baking dish, smoothing top with a spatula. Add tomato slices on top for a garnish.
Bake in a 375 degree over 35-40 minutes.

Ryan's lunch: slice of tofu quiche; steamed broccoli; strawberries & kiwi; slice of banana walnut bread; spinach rice pilaf.

AJ's snack: saltine crackers;
pumpkin miso muffin;
grapes; broccoli; apple
slices; a carrot.





Husband's lunch: slice of
tofu quiche; broccoli;
strawberries & kiwi;
pretzels; 1/2 an avocado.




I veganized an appetizer from
a Pillsbury appetizer magazine
I got at the supermarket to
make these stuffed tomatoes:
avocado, cucumber, lime, salt,
cilantro...topped with Tofutti
sour creme mixed with a tad
of plain soy yogurt & a little
more salt & lime, garnished
with cilantro.

Tuesday:
Ryan's Mardi Gras lunch: rice; nori mask w/cucumber feathers; broccoli; "beads" made of peas, corn & purple grapes; a Thermos of pasta & bean soup.
AJ's snack (in his new coveted "pet" bento box): rice triangle w/black sesame; broccoli; mini banana blueberry muffin; soy cheese cubes; grapes; pretzels.

Nate's lunch: mini banana
blueberry muffin; rice ball
w/black sesame seeds;
peas & corn; broccoli.




We went out for haircuts
after school, then to Hana
Sushi for dinner as usual.
Nate loved "sleeping" on
their satin pillows and
watching the new water-
fall display.

The boys scarfed down
some oshitashi, 2 bowls
of edamame, inari, and
lots of sushi. Maia had
avocado from the
nigiri sushi.

One of the waiters just
dotes on the kids every
time we're there. He
made each of them
training-chopsticks out
of the chopstick wrapper
and a rubberband. Nate
became quite handy with
his for the first time...
until now he'd just stabbed
the sushi or used his hands.

Our sushi order usually
includes kappa (cucumber),
oshinko (takuan), and a
variety of permutations of
avocado.





Wednesday:
Garden Tofu Spring Rolls

12 spring roll wrappers
a few cups of salad greens
4 oz. Westsoy Garden Herb
tofu, sliced
1/4 of a red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of an english cucumber,
sliced
1 scallion, sliced in half and
lengthwise

Rinse spring roll wrappers
one at a time under
lukewarm water until soft
& pliable...you want them
rollable, but not so soggy
that they'll stick to your work
surface like plastic wrap. Rinse one and use it right away, finish a roll, then rinse the next, etc.

Place some greens, followed by the tofu, bell pepper, cucumber & scallion, and top off with a few more greens.
Roll starting on one side (like a burrito), fold over the top & bottom, then continue rolling the rest.

Ryan's
lunch:
spring
roll;
"cat"
rice
balls;
grape
halves;
orange
gel cup;
blood
orange
slices.





AJ's snack: grape halves;
rice balls; cucumber
slices; cubed garden herb
tofu.





Thursday:

Ryan's
Lorax
lunch:
rice;
broccoli;
salad
greens
(hiding
3 meat-
less
meatballs;
carrot &
takuan
Lorax;
takuan
& nori
tree
trunk;
red bell pepper tree; soy cheese letters. Not shown: side of strawberry applesauce.

I was running low on frozen rice...I actually reheated a rice heart that I didn't end up using for Valentine's week and spread it on the bottom of the bento, filling in the rest of it with the meatless meatballs and covering it with greenery. Since it wasn't as full as usual, I added a side of applesauce to make sure Ryan had enough to eat!

AJ's snack & Nate's lunch:
mini pumpkin miso muffin;
grapes or strawberries;
broccoli; a pickle; meatless
meatballs.

Nate was very excited to
choose what picks to put
in his lunch. He made sure
that both his meatballs had
an apple fork.

In the evening we all went to
the elementary school's birthday
celebration for Dr. Seuss. The
boys all signed their names on
a poster that was going to be made
into a giant birthday card.






After that they listened to stories read by the staff. Ryan was excited that his teacher was one of the people reading. The Cat In The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 were also there.

Friday:
Ryan's lunch: pbj burger sandwich; Lake Champlain dark chocolate; a carrot; green beans; fruit salad.

No Luck for the Irish!

Nothing went right on Monday! After fixing all green bentos for the boys St. Patrick's Day snack, my husband left them in the car so the boys were stuck with school pretzels...and I can't even show them off because my camera seems to have lost 2 days worth of photos!

Tuesday's photos were also lost. My husband was the parent helper in Ryan's class and brought strawberries and homemade oatmeal raisin cookies.

Wednesday:On wednesday my husband was parent helper in AJ's class. I made his favourite mini pumpkin muffins. Ten kids gobbled up 2 dozen of these in no time, along with some banana halves.

AJ has this funny thing he does--he'll come up to you and poke your cheek gently and call you a "pumpkin muffin". For preschool I make sure these are nut-free. Just leave out all the "optional" ingredients for nut-free muffins or bread.
Another thing...while I do sometimes use canned pumpkin, or leftover steamed Halloween pumpkin, any squash will do. My favourites are red kuri squash or butternut squash--they give a bright orange color to the muffins. I cut a red kuri squash in half and bake it open sides down on a foil-lined baking sheet for 40 minutes or so, then remove the seeds and rind. For butternut squash I peel, seed, cut into chunks, and steam for 20-30 minutes until soft and mashable.

AJ's Pumpkin Muffins

1/3 cup margarine or butter (I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 to 1.5 cups pureed pumpkin or other winter squash
3 T. milk (any kind) or water
1 t. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground allspice (optional)
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 T. raw cane juice crystals
1/4 cup pecan halves (optional)

Melt or soften margarine in a large bowl. Add brown sugar and mix until creamy.
Mix in mashed pumpkin, milk, & vanilla.
Add the next 6 dry ingredients. Mix well.
Add walnuts and stir.
Pour into greased muffins tins or loaf pan (I spray with olive oil). Sprinkle tops with sugar crystals. Sprinkle or decorate tops with pecan halves.

Cooking times:
mini muffins - 20-25 minutes - makes 3 dozen
regular muffins - 30-35 minutes - makes 12.
loaf - 45-50 minutes - makes 1 loaf...may need a few extra minutes if omitting nuts.

Ryan's snack: 2 mini pumpkin muffins, a strawberry, cucumber slices.

Thursday:
TLT sandwiches and grapes made a wonderful "picnic" lunch. Fakin' Bakin smoked tempeh strips replace traditional bacon. The rest of the sandwich imitates the BLTs at a Brooklyn, NY diner that my father loved:
Toast the bread. Spread your favourite mayonnaise on one side, spread the other side very lightly with peanut butter and sprinkle on a tiny bit of garlic powder. Then add the tempeh, tomato slices, and crisp lettuce (I used romaine). These are sooo good, Ryan even made up a song about them during his lunch.

Dinner: "Asian Cucumber Salad" from The Accidental Vegan (with half the dressing and mirin in place of honey), rice, spicy baked tofu, bok choy cooked in the style of "Snow Peas with a Hint of Pork" from Seductions of Rice, and a vegetable gyoza. Seductions of Rice has some really fantastic authentic tasting recipes. The boys went back for thirds or more of this dinner.

After dinner I went out to buy jellybeans and socks at Target. Who would have thought I'd bring home these goodies! Spiral picks, flexible Easter picks, some cute cupcake liners, & a Dyno Bytes sandwich cutter. They also had some pastel silicon baking cups and mini heart-shaped silicon baking cups.
No school on Good Friday. I almost forgot! Last year we showed up anyway, wondering why it was closed.