Summertime Tempeh Pasta

Okay, I'm being optimistic calling this summertime pasta. Mostly I just wish Vancouver would act like summertime. But if it was warm here, I bet I'd want to eat this.

This was pretty much born from me trying to clean out the fridge and make a healthy dinner from the remnants. I still have too many peas in the freezer so I knew I had to try and build a dinner around using peas somehow. I'm a big fan of pastas like this. They're easy, super flavorful and so good for you. You can really add whatever you happen to have on hand. I bet some chard or kale would be great in this. Some diced heirloom tomatoes added just at the end of cooking would be pretty awesome, too. Get crazy!

Just use whatever kind of pasta you like. I had some rice fettucini so I used that. I'd actually avoided eating it because I remember how gross and mushy rice pasta used to taste. When did rice pastas get good again? I couldn't even really tell that the noodles were that different from wheat noodles. That's kind of awesome. I do like to buy corn pasta sometimes, but I find that sometimes has a bit too much of its own flavor if you're making it with something that doesn't have really strong flavors already.

I didn't write down what I did when I made this, so this is just a guestimate, but really, you can't go wrong making something like this anyway. I think the fresh herbs really add something special to a simple pasta like this. You can use whatever you happen to have on hand. If you don't have any fresh herbs, no worries. Just use about a half teaspoon each of dried thyme and oregano. That'll do the trick.

Summertime Tempeh Pasta

1 block of tempeh, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic (or however much you like. I probably actually added way more than that because I'm a garlic fiend.)
a handful of shitake mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
about 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
pasta of your choice

Steam the tempeh cubes for about 10 minutes. You want to get it soft and remove some of the bitterness.

In a pan (cast iron if you've got it) over medium heat, heat the olive oil for a minute and add in the garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and tempeh and saute for 5 - 10 minutes or just until you start to get some browned bits on the tempeh. Add the broth, herbs and peas and stir. If you're using frozen peas, make sure to cook until the peas aren't frozen anymore! If you're not, just give the mixture a stir every minute or so for a few minutes until the peas aren't raw. Maybe about 5 -10 minutes?

Turn off the heat, spoon over pasta and serve. You might want to add some salt and pepper to taste. A dash of balsamic vinegar on top would also be pretty stellar. Maybe sprinkle on some nutritional yeast if you want a bit of extra zing?

Vegetable Lasagna with Cauliflower Ricotta

Anytime I tell James I'll make anything he wants for dinner, his response is almost always lasagna. It's one of those great dishes that can hide so many veggies and usually makes leftovers for at least a couple days. I don't know why I don't make it more often. It's not really all that time consuming and it's definitely not hard.

The beauty of a lasagna is that you can make it however you want. I usually throw in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge that need to be used up. It's never turned out bad no matter what I put in there, either. My usual lasagna recipe is a culmination of different things. One thing that I think makes it really stand out is that I always make my own sauce. It not only tastes better than store-bought, it's really simple and easy to make.

I also typically use Isa's recipe for tofu ricotta from Vegan with a Vengeance. I've tried other ways to make the "cheese" part of the lasagna, but that one is always a winner. That's why I was really excited to try the cauliflower ricotta recipe in Appetite for Reduction. I'm in love with caulipots, and I've recently discovered pureed cauliflower to be an excellent secret ingredient in creamy sauces and soups. Why wouldn't cauliflower also be awesome in lasagna?! It's like I'm discovering the wonders of the cashew all over again or something.

I decided to make the lasagna pretty much exactly like the recipe in the book. I'm loving everything in Appetite for Reduction so far so I figured it couldn't hurt to change up my usual methods a bit since I was already changing up the ricotta. One note if you're doing the same - I was using dried thyme in the red sauce, not fresh and since I was trying to multi-task a bit too much while I was cooking, I added 2 tablespoons of dried thyme. Yikes. If you're using dried, maybe go for 2 teaspoons. Fresh is always better if you can get it, though. I just forgot to pick up some thyme when I was at the market.

All in all, I think this recipe was great! I will definitely be using the cauliflower ricotta recipe again. You pretty much just roast some cauliflower then mash it together with some tofu and nutritional yeast and a few other things and wham! you have cauliflower ricotta. I think it would also be good to add in some fresh basil leaves like the VwaV recipe. I always love fresh basil in pasta dishes; it adds such a wonderfully fresh flavor.

I added some zucchini, carrots and shitake mushrooms to the spinach as well. Again, you can really add whatever veggies you want, I'm sure it'll be fantastic. Though I'd be unsure how peas would go in lasagna. It would probably still be good, but maybe a little unexpected, I guess. I also added some sliced garlic-stuffed olives to the top since I couldn't be bothered to pit any kalamata olives that day. It was a really nice addition, actually.

One more thing: At our house, no lasagna is complete without some capers sprinkled on top. I highly recommend doing the same. You'll never go without again. 

Cajun Beanballs over Angel Hair Pasta

I finally got my copy of Appetite for Reduction.  After reading the entire thing, I'm even more excited to start cooking from it.  This book reminds me so much of Vegan with a Vengeance.  The recipes aren't complicated and everything requires mostly whole foods that are easy to find no matter where you might live.  I have a feeling that I'll end up making just about everything in this one just like I did with VwaV.  

I think my favorite thing about Appetite for Reduction is that Isa made not only awesome recipes, but recipes that I can easily put together after work without planning to eat dinner at 10pm.  That rules.  I like good food that comes together quickly.  So yay for a healthy selection of quick to prepare stuff.

The first thing I made was the Cajun Beanballs.  I love the beanballs from Veganomicon so much that they've gone into my regular rotation.  I have some recipes that I make once a year or so and some that I make much more often.  Beanballs have my heart.  I've actually been craving them lately, too so it was an easy decision to try the black bean and tempeh cajun beanballs from this this cookbook.

These beanballs are baked instead of pan-fried, which right there puts a huge load of good for you into them.  I love tempeh and any excuse to find new ways to prepare it is a win for me.  They're so tasty and they hold together no problem.  James says these are his new favorite beanball.  He likes the other ones, too, but apparently these hit it out of the park.

I also really love the idea of dumping the zucchini into the boiling pasta to cook those two things together.  A great idea and it saves from having to wash an extra pot.  As a bonus, when you dump the pasta and zucchini into the colander, it all gets mixed together pretty evenly which is kind of cool.  I had never considered combining steps like that before, but I love it!  I also love the addition of veggies to what is usually just pasta, sauce and beanballs.  Don't get me wrong, that's still awesome, but this is a great way to integrate some extra veggies. 

So far I say way to go, Isa!  I can't wait to make some more awesome stuff from this cookbook. 


I apologize for the crappy photo, by the way.  I took it with my phone and didn't do any color correcting.  

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Buttery Sage Sauce

I used to have a subscription to Bon Appetit magazine.  I can't remember why I let it run out; I had been receiving that magazine every month for at least ten years.  I've been vegetarian or vegan for all of them, too.  I know there are some veg*ns that don't like reading some of the mainstream food magazines.  I totally get that.  For me, it's more of a source of inspiration.  As I'm reading the magazine, I'm not thinking that the thing on the page and in the recipe is beef, but seitan or tempeh.  I'm not reading about milk and cheese, my gears are turning with ways to make similar sauces and desserts and things using tahini and raw cashews.  The funny thing is that I actually stopped subscribing to Vegetarian Times because they were starting to really annoy me with how much cheese and eggs they were using in what seemed like every single recipe.  It just got old after a while.  Hey, guess what VT?  Eating fresh, whole fruits and vegetables is good for you and much less artery clogging than that crap.  Sheesh.

Anyway, I was at the checkout in the grocery store, waiting patiently in line.  I always read the magazine headlines for amusement while I'm waiting.  I don't usually know who the trash magazines are talking about, but it amuses me just the same.  There are really about 4 headlines, insert names here.  As I was scanning, I noticed the October issue of Bon Appetit had an amazing looking apple pie on the cover.  Yum!  The fall and winter issues were always my favorite anyway so I decided what the heck and on impulse, I bought it.  What a great decision.  I have made a bunch of recipes inspired by this issue.  A few of the recipes inside are already vegan, too.  Way to go, Bon Appetit!


One of the recipes that I've made my own that I've liked the most is the Butternut Squash Gnocchi.  I've only ever had gnocchi a few times and I've never tried to make it.  I try to eat with the seasons as much as possible so this sounded perfect.  Let me tell you, this is one delicious dish.  It was a bit time-consuming, but most of it was spent waiting for something to cool, not actually doing much of anything.  It's actually quite easy, too.


I'm going to give the recipe for the sauce I made here, too, but I have to say that I wasn't overly thrilled with how that turned out.  It was WAY too buttery for my liking.  I stayed pretty true to the Bon Appetit recipe for this part, but next time I'm going to make a creamy sauce using raw nuts or something instead of this.  I still have a bunch of gnocchi in the freezer so I'll be sure to post whenever I improve on the sauce.


That brings me to another point.  This is going to make a truckload of gnocchi.  I put half of it in the freezer so I'll have it for later.  You'll probably want to just half the sauce if you're doing that.  It makes a ton and unlike how I feel about most sauces, you'll want to go light on it.


Butternut Squash Gnocchi


According to Bon Appetit, this makes 6 servings.  They also give a good tip: "For perfect gnocchi, don't work the dough too much and add as little flour as possible.  It's okay if the dough is a little sticky."


1 1-pound butternut squash
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 12-14 ounce russet potato, peeled, quartered

¾ cup nutritional yeast, divided

150g silken or soft tofu (about half of a Mori-Nu pack or one of these)

1½ teaspoons nutmeg (freshly grated if you've got it)

1 teaspoon salt

1¾ cups (or more) all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut the squash lengthwise in half; discard seeds. Place squash halves, cut side up, on baking sheet and brush with oil. Roast until squash is very tender when pierced with a fork and browned in spots, about an hour and a half.  Cool the squash a bit so you don't burn yourself.  Peel the squash as best you can.  Break it into chunks (either with your hands or a knife) and put it in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Transfer it all to a medium sized pot.  Turn the heat to medium and stir constantly until the juices evaporate and the puree thickens, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  Take 1 packed cup of the puree for the gnocchi.  You can use the rest for something else.  Soup maybe?

Meanwhile, cook the potato in salted water until it's very tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain.  While the potato is warm, mash it using a fork or a potato ricer.  Don't use a processor or mixer for this step or the potato will get all gluey and you don't want that.  Take 2 cups of mashed potato for the gnocchi and use the rest for something else.

Process the tofu with a tablespoon of water in either a blender or food processor until it's smooth.  Mix the squash, potato, ½ cup of the nutritional yeast, tofu, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.  Gradually add 1¾ cups flour, kneading the mixture gently in the bowl until it holds together and is almost smooth.  If it's too sticky, add more flour by the tablespoonfuls.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface; knead gently but briefly until just smooth.  Divide it into 8 equal pieces.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Sprinkle the parchment lightly with flour.  Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a ½-inch rope. Cut the rope crosswise into ¾-inch pieces (I found that to be about the width of the back of a fork).  Working with 1 piece at a time, roll gnocchi along the back of a fork dipped in flour, making ridges on 1 side with the tines.  Transfer gnocchi to the baking sheets.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and chill at least 1 hour.  You can do this up to 6 hours ahead if you need to.

Working in 2 batches, cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling, salted water until it's very tender, about 15 to 17 minutes.  Gnocchi will float to the surface before being fully cooked so don't be fooled!  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the sam parchment lined baking sheets.  Cover loosely and chill for up to 8 hours or go ahead and put it in bowls or on plates if your sauce is ready.

Buttery Sage Sauce

½ cup (1 stick) Earth Balance

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage

A couple of handfuls of shitake mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the Earth Balance over medium heat.  Drop in the mushrooms and saute them for about 5-8 minutes.  Add the sage and pine nuts, cook for another minute or so.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and ladle over the gnocchi.  Alternately, you can drop the gnocchi in the pan and warm it up in the sauce and spoon it out all together if you want.  

Sprinkle with the remaining nutritional yeast and enjoy!

Yo Momma! No Wait... Mac Daddy!

Yay Veganomicon! I made the Mac Daddy last week. Yum, yum, yum! No, it doesn't taste like cheese and it doesn't really taste like Kraft Dinner, but it does taste freaking fantastic. If you're making this for just yourself, you might want to put on some elastic pants because it makes a lot. The recipe says that it freezes well, but for some reason I can't see myself suddenly having the urge to unfreeze pasta. Maybe I'm just weird. Well, yeah, I am weird, but that's other issues...

I ate my Mac Daddy plain first and then the next time I decided to add some steamed broccoli and Emeril's Essence. (I forking love that stuff sooo much.) I like to try things just as they are the first time I eat them and then start getting crazy later. I would have added more than just the broccoli, but I got busy and kept forgetting when I was at the market. No worries, that just means more variations to try next time. It might be a little while before I make this again, though. Not that it wasn't good, but I ate this for almost a week. Next time I'll make a half batch, that'll be a better portion size.

I did love the nooch sauce. The crumbled tofu was one of my favorite parts. It added a nice depth of flavor and texture. The thyme in the sauce was also a nice touch.

I am loving making all of the new recipes in Veganomicon. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, do yourself a favor and get one. You won't be sorry.

Super Easy Pasta

So probably everyone already has a version of this, but I'm going to post this recipe anyway. Why? Because I'm crazy like that.

One day I had nothing exciting in my pantry and the market was already closed for the evening. I pretty much just had a few random things in my fridge, so I threw them all together and out came this very delicious pasta. It was so freaking easy, too. Seriously, even your friend who swears s/he can't make ramen can do this. And even better - you can impress your friends and neighbors with your mad cooking skills.

I had my director of media capturing (as Roman likes to call himself these days) take these pictures. Because really, aren't food blogs better with pictures? No? What?! You there - you're outta here, buddy! Of course we all like pictures... sheesh.


Super Easy Impress Your Friends/Date/Family Pasta

Half a block of tofu
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 or 2 cups of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh is fine. How much you add is dependant upon how far you're trying to stretch this and how tomatoey you want it. When I use canned, I like the Eden Organic Diced Tomatoes with Basil and I add the juice along with the tomatoes.)
1 teaspoon dried Oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh
2 Tablespoons capers
1/2 Cup chopped Kalamata Olives
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
angel hair pasta
1 Tablespoon or so nutritional yeast per serving

This recipe can be made on the fly, which makes it tofu's friend. And tofu likes to have friends. I always forget to drain my tofu, so I love not having to think about that for this. Instead of draining it, you're going to break it up into pieces and squeeze the crap out of it. What should it look like when you're done? Ah, you're in luck - I have visual aids.

It should look like this when you're done squeezing it. This is actually really great for getting aggressions out. Pretend like this is that asshole that always likes to taunt you with his meat when you go out to eat. Take that, you insensitive bastard! Oh, how he'd hate being compared to tofu. You can get another layer of satisfaction out of that. See! Cheaper than therapy!

Now add the olive oil to a frying pan on medium heat. After it's just starting to warm up, add the tofu and stir, stir, stir to distribute the oil. Keep stirring over medium heat until the tofu starts to turn a nice golden color. Uh oh - action shot!



Now add the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the oregano, stir for another minute or so and then add the tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and capers. Guess what it's time for now? More stirring! Stir that sucker up until everything is incorporated. You might want to put a lid on your pan if you're getting tomato splatters, but keep stirring every so often. You'll want to let this cook for about 10 minutes. Lower the heat if things in the pan are boiling violently. It should look sorta like this at this point:



I used two cans of tomatoes for this one, so it's pretty juicy. That actually seems to make the best leftovers, though because it helps to rehydrate the pasta if you're also reheating that. I like to take this to work for lunch the next day. As long as you keep the pasta and sauce in separate containers until you're ready to heat it up, it reheats marvelously.

You're almost ready to eat. It's all so very exciting. I use a big metal spoon thingie (not the kind you eat with, the kind you use to spoon things out of pots and onto your plate, silly) to divvy this out. Usually two full spoons per bowl works out nicely for me. But hey - this is your pasta, add as much or as little sauce as your little heart desires. Sprinkle the nutritional yeast on top and ka-bang! You've got a quick and easy dinner that's endlessly yummy. Well, except that I guess it does have an end when you've eaten it all... but I'm sure you'll want to make more so that makes it not endless anymore until you eat that...


Sometimes when I'm feeling like kicking it up a bit, I'll add some chopped up sundried tomatoes or maybe some sauteed seitan or tempeh or some other types of olives in addition to the kalamata.

Speaking of kalamata olives - these are usually sold with the pits still in them so you have to slice them in half, take the pit out and then chop them up. However - there are a few brands that sell them already pitted (like Mezzetta). Lucky for me, the area of town I live in used to be Little Italy so there are a ton of little Italian markets around. If you're not lucky enough to be able to find pitted kalamatas and you're intimidated by pitting them (it's really not that hard, though) you can substitute regular black olives. But keep in mind that this will change the flavor a little bit.