Nemo Roasted Veggies with Pesto over Spinach Spaghetti

We live in Southern Maine so of course we've spent the majority of the last two days homebound, shoveling, taking snowy walks to the Speckled Ax for soy lattes and the Works Bakery for a bagel with Tofutti cream cheese, and baking. I named the following recipe in honor of our dear storm, which has yielded a whopping 31.9 inches of snow, "Nemo Roasted Veggies with Pesto over Spinach Spaghetti." It was a real pantry raid since our last trip to Whole Foods did not take into account the impending storm. Nonetheless, we ended up with a cozy, quite satisfying meal!

Nemo Roasted Veggies with Pesto over Spinach Spaghetti

1 rutabaga, cubed
1 turnip, cubed
1 portabello mushroom, sliced into 1 to 2 inch pieces
1 sweet potato, cubed (skin on or off, you choose!)
1 fingerling potato, sliced thinly (could use more, but that's all we had!)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 package of spinach spaghetti (or a whole one...we tend to make portion sizes for 2 or 4 and you don't need a full package for that)
3 Tbsp Seggiano Raw Basil Pesto (this stuff ROCKS - you can find it at most Whole Foods)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 410 degrees.

Toss all of the veggies in a baking pan and coat with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 45-65 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before handling.

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain, and return to pot. Coat pasta with olive oil and  pesto.

Serve by placing pasta in a bowl and topping with roasted veggies. Voila! Take that Nemo!

Let's play catch up...

I apologize for my recent departure from blog-posting. Life has been quite the whirl-wind lately and, unfortunately, my blog has moved to the back burner. In recent news:

-I started a Cupcake Club of the Month with Salt and Pine Bakery and, in my first month, had 5 members! Members receive 4 beautifully packaged cupcakes delivered to their door once a month. Within days of the first delivery, I increased membership to 8. J and I also recently realized that the kitchen in our place may not be all that difficult to certify after a few minor enhancements (mainly dealing with the facet pressure/temperature and finding a suitable door so that the kitties can't come in). I'm excited to move forward and take my business to "legit" status. Have you seen my new logo designed by Derek Kimball of Last House Productions? It's beautiful!

-For a while there, J and I weren't doing much exciting cooking. We go through phases and the busier we are, the less inspired our meals become. I've realized that as my back feels better, I need to really focus on weight loss since I have increased mobility. So I've started going to one-on-one Pilates sessions at Springboard Pilates and I'm planning all of our weekly meal in advance again. Meal planning not only helps with weight loss because it tells you what to eat and when, but it also helps you save money so that you're not buying things without plans. Yay planning! And FYI - Pilates is amazing. I'm loving it so far and recommend taking one-on-one or really small classes using the reformer if you can afford it. It is costly, but in my mind, my body is a worth-while investment. My trainer knows a lot about back injuries and is excellent at paying attention to my facial and body cues and makes sure I won't re-injure myself.

-So since we started cooking planned meals, we've made some awesome things. Here's your recipe recap:

• On Monday we tried Vegan Yum Yum's Pan Fried Tofu, Kale, & Stir-Fried Noodles. The recipe was easy to follow and came out wonderfully. One thing I'll say about Vegan Yum Yum is that her recipes tend to be a bit intricate and can take some time, so if you're in a hurry, I don't recommend trying out her stuff. This dish used a wonderful marinade on the tofu and a dipping sauce based on the marinade.  

• Tuesday's dish was Post Punk Kitchen's Black Beans & Quinoa with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce. Again, a dish that took some time, so don't make this if you're in a real hurry. I also recommend using a food processor for the dressing, not a blender. At the time, we didn't have a food processor (just got one on Friday!) so sauces in the blender were a pain because everything just gets stuck on the blades and doesn't move. The dish was awesome though - we made it with a small hot chile instead of chipotles in adobe because we just don't really like that flavoring all that much. I also used cashews in the sauce because we didn't have any almonds.  

• Wednesday morning I set up the crock pot to make Fat Free Vegan's Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup.  One of my favorite things about cold weather seasons is using my crock pot. There's nothing like coming home from a really busy day to a home smelling like someone's been cooking and a meal ready to eat. The garam masala in this dish is a wonderful touch and makes the soup smell so delicious.  

• Thursday was Vegan Yum Yum's Pistachio Arugula Pesto with Penne & Sauteed Broccolini.  YUM! Just look at the photo on her website and you'll salivate. J made this dish and I think one of my favorite parts was the miso in the pesto. Such an interesting twist and it gave it a little bit of sweetness. We didn't have any arugula so we used spinach instead....soooo good. I'm curious to try it again with arugula, but it was really awesome with spinach. 

-On Friday, J and I went to Portmouth, NH and had dinner at The Friendly Toast. They've got a lot of vegetarian options, but not so many vegan ones. You can have things modified though...they're totally open to that. And nothing beats the decor in there :)

-Saturday we had a delicious brunch at Local Sprouts. J had a VLT - a vegan version of a BLT with tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and their homemade vegan mayo. I had the sweet and sour tofu sandwich and we shared a little bowl of their vegan mac n cheese. Yummers!

-Today I received the sad news that my family cat Pumpkin passed away over the weekend. My mom got Pumpkin back in 2006 from Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeberg where she volunteered. He was such a fluffy little cat and we were told that he was an adult...but as it turned out, he kept growing and growing and growing into a 15 pound cat the size of a small dog! He was the most cuddly cat I'd ever had and enjoyed spending an upwards of 10 minutes kneading your chest every night. He loved to jump really high in the air to catch toys and would run after me as I walked across our dining room, pawing at my feet.

After my mom passed away in 2007, my step-father kept Pumpkin until he had to give him up in 2010 because the apartment he was moving into wouldn't allow pets. I tried to take Pumpkin in but my apartment was very dark (I was living in an awful basement apartment) and my kitty Ellie was being extremely dominant and Pumpkin just was not happy. So my friends in Boston offered to take Punky and he's been living with them for the last year or so. They've given his such a wonderful, loving home and I'm so happy he lived out his time with them. I feel just awful that we've all lost him so soon; he was only maybe 6 or 7 years old. In any case, he will be sorely missed by many and I am deeply saddened to receive this news. It's times like these when you realize just how meaningful our relationships with our companion animals become. After my friend called me in tears, I grabbed both of our cats and gave them more hugs than they could stand.

We will miss you, Pumpkin.

The Vegan Zombie

Have you heard of these guys?? Oh man, if you haven't checked them out yet, DO IT. So far Justin and I have tried out 2 Vegan Zombie recipes and they have been delicious. Plus, how much fun is it to pull your laptop into the kitchen and cook to a video? It's fun. Trust me. Last night we tried their Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo - here's the video:

We omitted capers (didn't have any) and added some broccoli and a little more white wine and it came out great. If you're expecting a cheesey taste - don't. You could add in some nutritional yeast if that's what you're looking for but I don't really think it's necessary. It's a flavorful sauce that's thick and creamy; come on guys, you don't need cheese!

We've also tried out their black bean burgers which have got to be the best ones we've ever made. They held together really well (and we didn't need egg - yay!) and were SO flavorful. Plus, as usual, the video was hilarious and fun to watch while we were cooking them up. Here's some shots, courtesy of Justin:

Burger Veggies

Frying up the burgers

Zombie Burger Sammich :) 

On top of it all, I love their concept that those who eat meat must be zombies - I mean, it's sort of a no-brainer. People who eat meat eat flesh of other living beings...zombies eat the flesh of other living beings. Beware of zombies! 

Laptop Lunchtime!

Herb salad mix with tomato, summer squash, crimini mushroom, kohlrabi, sunflower sprouts, and balsamic; amazing pasta creation made by Justin last night (recipe will follow this evening); fresh local blackberries from our landlady's friend's backyard.

I've told you guys about Laptop Lunchboxes before, yes? Well, I'll repeat myself and say that this is one of the best investments I've made in the last year. It's small and easily transportable, comes in a variety of colors, has awesome little containers so you can make more interesting lunches, cuts down on lunch trash (no sandwich bags or disposable utensils), and it's BPA-free! Win! I think it ran me about $20 at Whole Foods during back to school season (which is coming up...) and after a year it's still good as new. There are many other lunchbox/bento options and Laptops has a million different designs and color choices. You can order them online or find them locally. Think about investing in one and cut down on your lunchtime trash! 

14,800 animals saved...but Paula Deen goes on kicking

200 animals a year. We save an average of 200 animal lives per year by going vegan. So, if I live a long and healthy life and make it to 100 years of age, I will have saved 14,800 animals. This fact is beautifully satisfying.

I thought about this statistic last night as Justin and I watched a DVR'd episode of Next Food Network Star. Three things really irked me about this week's episode - well, three major things, I'm sure I was disgruntled by other things too: 1) Paula Dean 2) Tofu bashing 3) Standard vegetarian meals.

Let's go backwards -

The contestants were asked to prepare meals for cast, crew, writers, etc. of the show Cougar Town starring Courtney Cox. They were put into pairs and asked to cook a certain style of food depending on the group they were cooking for. One group was assigned the stylists/hairdressers/make-up artists, etc and they were told that normally these people are vegetarian. First of all, anyone can be vegetarian and by restricting this dietary assignment to this group, the show was perpetuating a stupid stereotype (I'm not saying I don't think they should cook vegetarian meals; I'm just offended that it was assumed that only the stylists would require this type of meal). So the two contestants, of course, felt a bit lost. The male in the team says, "I'm going to think outside the box and make them something really good because they're always getting jipped." What does he make? PASTA with veggies and cheese. Yes, a pat on the back, very creative. The female contestant makes a salad with roasted pumpkin seeds and other various accouterments. Nice, but pretty boring.

Next, this team of two men is asked to prepare food for the writers. It needs to be classy and organized, because apparently this is what writers want....I'll leave that one alone. One of the contestants can't find ground chicken or beef at the store, so he buys tofu. And then he proceeds to BITCH the entire time about how hard tofu is to cook, how no one likes it, how he's crazy for using it. Paula Deen, a guest judge, and Bobby Flay approached his table as he was cooking and both turned their noses up at the dish (lettuce leaves stuffed with a tofu mixture), saying that he made a bad choice by choosing to tofu as a main ingredient. Here comes a rant - brace yourselves - tofu is one of the easiest ingredients to cook. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It takes on the flavor of anything you pair it with; you can serve it with multiple textures and consistencies, and it's incredibly healthy for you (lower in cholesterol and fat than meat products). This guy is supposed to be a good chef, yet he had no clue how to work with tofu. And I feel like this is standard. Justin and I make some amazing tofu dishes and we are not professionals. I was originally rooting for this contestant - now he's at the bottom of my list.

And finally, Paula Deen. Is there anyone in the world more anti-veg than she? As she paraded around the various food tables she made comments about vegetable dishes saying, "You need to throw a stick of butter on there" and scoffing at the tofu, "If I made tofu for my husband, he would say get the tofu-outta-here." The comical part is that, when she tasted the tofu dish, she acutally liked it! Go figure...apparently tofu can taste good. In summary, that woman is an abomination.

Okay. I'm done.

On a lighter note, before becoming absolutely disgusted by the show, I made a delicious dinner for Justin and I and surprised him by having it all set up in our back yard when he got home. It was composed of Farmers Market goodies and some awesome finds at the Portland Public Market House. Sometimes we're so cute it hurts.

Kale, strawberries, black bean tempeh, portebello cap, tomatoes, avocado, and our favorite CabSav, Pine & Post

Dinner waiting for Justin in our backyard: Pasta with portebello, tomato, kale, garlic, and herbs and an herb salad with cucumber, carrot and strawberries. And of course, some Pine & Post. And yes, I made the easy vegan pasta dish - but in my defense, we don't make pasta often and our cubbards are going bare so there weren't many other choices!

Cookies, Cookies, Curry, and Udon

This weekend was a doozy. I had a spinal injection done on Friday and, although I should have been off my feet for a majority of the weekend, I had things to do! In the last week I've had 3 baking orders come in for shipping this week. It all just hit me at the same time. So on Saturday I just worked for an hour or so, then laid down for a while, then worked for a while, then laid down...you get the picture. It was pretty annoying and made the baking take SO much longer. By Sunday evening I had completed batches of my vegan Mud Puddle Cookies, Treasure Chest cookies, sugar cookies, and had the dough ready for Linzer Tarts chilling in the fridge.

Vegan Mud Puddle Cookies

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Vegan Treasure Chest Cookies

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

So in the interest of making things easy for dinner, I turned to my favorite recipe source, Post Punk Kitchen. I brought up Isa's Broccoli Curry Udon recipe and got to work. A few changes - we didn't have any red onion, so we used shallot instead and I don't like my onion crunchy like she suggests so I cooked it until it was translucent. I added about a cup of edamame and a handful of mushrooms and yellow bell pepper for some color, texture, and sweetness.

I made it just like she suggested, but next time I may just throw it all in the wok instead of cooking everything separately. It's still a super easy recipe, either way, and very quick to throw together. 

After dinner, I whipped up 2 batches of my vegan royal icing and got to work icing the first coat on my sugar cookies for a 4th of July cookie order that needs to be shipped by tomorrow at the latest! Eeep! Cutting it close. I was up until midnight icing these guys. This evening I've got to put the finishing decorating touches on them - I'll get a MUCH earlier start than last night - let them dry all night, get up early and package them and then I should be all set.

And then it's off to finish the Linzer Tarts (probably on Tuesday night) and get that package out the door. Phew! I shouldn't complain; I'm always trying to drum up business, which is really hard when you're just starting out, and I'm so thankful for friends who think of me when they want a vegan treat, are having a party, or need to get a special present out to someone. I'll just need to take it easy for the rest of the week to make sure my back heals properly!

And that leads me to asking for your help - I'm on a quest to find a really excellent nutrition/health book that talks about vegan nutrition but also gives suggestions for how various foods/herbs/supplements interact with our bodies and how we can be more in-tune to getting our bodies what they need. I want to learn this stuff and really understand what's going on in my body and how I can make myself feel more healthy. I'm only 26 and sometimes I feel like my body's trying to fall apart on me. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Failed Italian Genes

I was excited all day long to make Vegan Stoner's Kale Stuffed Shells tonight. The biggest change we made to the recipe was using manicotti instead of shells. This was NOT a preference, believe me; for some reason we couldn't find the large shells anywhere at Whole Foods. We got water boiling, threw in the manicotti, and got to work on the stuffing. The stuffing we created, I must say, was incredibly delicious. We made several modifications including adding fresh cut tomato and using Italian Seasoning instead of All Purpose Spice. After the noodles were done, we laid them out on paper towels to dry.

Stuffing time. Disastrous. I had hoped my Italian genes would kick in and stuffing manicotti would be second nature to me. Wrong-o. It took both of us, me holding the noodle opened and pinching one end shut, my fiance spooning filling into the little opening, me cursing every time I put them in a pan because some (or most) of the filling would spurt out. Frustration, indeed! Filling was splattered on the top of the stove, and bits were falling to the floor, much to the chagrin of our cats. Stuffing shells would have been SO much easier!

After stuffing the manicotti noodles, we added a step to the recipe. We covered them with a nice jar of tomato sauce and stuck them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. As they baked, I made a nice fresh salad from kale, dandelion greens, yellow pepper, mushrooms, cucumber and carrot, while my fiance made a nice vinaigrette to pour over it. 

Although stuffing the manicotti noodles was a fiasco, this dish was pretty good. We liked the flavor of the kale paired with nutritional yeast and the ricotta-like textured tofu. The tomatoes added another layer of sweet flavor against the bitterness of the greens in our salads. We will try making this again - but next time, with SHELLS! 

Spicy Noodles With Shitake Mushrooms And Mustard Greens

I knew tonight was going to be a hectic one, so as I was leaving work I jumped onto VegWeb to find a quick and easy recipe for dinner. Ta Da - Spicy Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Mustard Greens. We made a bunch of modifications, listen closely:

-Much less rice noodles because 10.5 ounces is A LOT!

-Sans green onions just because we didn't have any

-Dandelion Greens instead of Mustard Greens because Whole Foods didn't have mustard ones

-Serrano chilies because WF didn't have the Thai chilies

-Braggs instead of soy sauce

-Vegan Mushroom Sauce 

-Asian Garlic Chili Paste instead of Sweet Chili Sauce

-No mint leaves

-Added veggies: edamame and broccoli

-Added seitan 

We made it with more liquid so that it was more like a soup and it came out really well - nice and spicy. My fiance didn't like the greens, I of course loved them. I love the slightly bitter taste of them paired with the spice and the sweetness of the carrots. 

I was perusing on of my newest favorite blogs, Vegansaurus, which led me to the blog The Vegan Stoner. This blog is fantastic - all simple, yummy looking recipes with beautiful photos and adorable doodles. The creators are currently working on a cookbook and I'm super excited to see it. We will certainly be trying some of their recipes in the next few weeks! 

Should we serve...pasta?

Tonight my fiance and I have invited his mother to dinner to tell her we're engaged. My family already knows because the live 9 hours away, but my fiance wanted to wait until we got the ring to tell his mom, and well, here we are!

Now, as you may or may not have figured out, we like to cook. And his mom isn't close minded when it comes to food, though it does sound like she's not especially open to eating a meal made from meat substitutes (i.e. Tofurkey, seitan, veggie burgers, etc.). We sat on the couch around midnight looking through VeganYumYum and VegWeb trying to find inspiration. I found that we kept leaning toward pasta dishes, which is what she normally serves us when we visit her house. I think pasta tends to be a default vegan dish. It's easy and filling and doesn't have to involve cheese or dairy. We were leaning heavy towards VeganYumYum's Pistachio Arugala Pesto with Penne and Sauteed Brocolini, when I turned to him and said, "We need to show her that vegan dishes are more versatile and cook something other than pasta."

He remembered when I had made him stuffed peppers when we first starting dating and we agreed this would be a more interesting dinner choice and would show his mom that we don't just eat pasta! My stuffed peppers incorporate quinoa, TVP, salsa, sauteed veggies and bread crumbs. They're really yummy. In addition, we're going to make a nice big herb salad and I'm going to try baking a Mediterranean olive loaf from The Joy of Vegan Baking. For dessert, I'm going to test out a new From Scratch & Sniff cupcake idea - ginger cupcakes with bosk pear filling, dipped in chocolate ganache, topped with vanilla icing. Yum!

I've got a full day of cooking ahead of me so I'd better hop to it. I'll share my stuffed pepper recipe later; I don't normally measure the ingredients so I'll pay attention when I make it today and try to give you some more exact instructions!

Satisfaction!

I just spent the morning playing with our Wii Fit -- yes, it does make exercising fun for those of us who hate, hate, hate it. I'll admit I haven't been using it every day as I had planned, but I am using it at least 2-3 times a week, which justifies the purchase :) I am happy to report that when I stepped on the board today, I discovered that I've lost 8.5 pounds since starting to use it on the 3rd, the day we switched to vegan eating. I haven't been doing a lot of exercise because I have a herniated disk that has decided to be unruly again, but I have shoveled a few times and again I've been using the Wii Fit on and off....I think though, I need to credit the loss with being vegan! My goal is to lose 20 pounds within 6 months- which I've done before in much less time- but the goal is to not think of it like a diet, but as a way of life.

It feels so gratifying to know what's going into my food; to know that the ingredients I'm cooking with are fresh and the majority of them unprocessed. I'm feeling healthier, more alert, more active- and it feels good! I'm still at the point where I'm craving cheese and desserts, but I think if I just continue to avoid cheese for a few months it will become a thing of the past and as for desserts, I'm learning not to deprive myself, but to concoct healthier alternatives like fruit salad or a mug of hot chocolate.

Last night I was starting having only eaten a muffin I grabbed on the go (which was not vegan, but I was in a rush and unfortunately most places don't have vegan options) and an apple all day. My boyfriend suggested we us our second "out to dinner" pass (we get 2 a month- a decision made to save money and to make eating out a special thing rather than a habit). He passed out on the couch and I wandered into the kitchen to search through the cabinets for inspirations.

We had a butternut squash left over from the Portland Winter Farmer's Market and a recipe in Vegan on the Cheap for Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash. I bit my lip and wondered if I should risk making it. My boyfriend is NOT a fan of lentils, though I prepared a lentil soup for him last winter that he loved and said was the first time he'd had them and liked them. Looking around our empty fridge and cupboard, it looked like this was my only option.

I'm glad I took the risk! He loved it and so did I. It's a great recipe though it does take quite a while to prepare which isn't optimal when you're as hungry as I was! Nevertheless, here's the recipe with a few modifications (the writer of this book LOVES garlic, and I'm Italian too but I don't need to ward of vampires for a month!). Enjoy!

Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash adapted from Vegan on the Cheap


1/2 cup green lentils
1 med. butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded (this takes forever and I'd suggest just buying on that's already dismantled at the food store)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced (she uses 4...I used 1, try what you'd like!)
2 tsp crumbled dried sage (I'm going to try using fresh next time as I think the flavor will be...well fresher!)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup veggie stock (make it yourself!)
12 oz linguine

Bring a pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add lentils, return to boil and then reduce to low. Cover & cook until tender, about 45 mins. Drain & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 & lightly oil a 9x13in baking pan. Cut the squash into 1/2-in dice and spread in the pan in a single layer. Drizzle with some more oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast until tender, turning once halfway through, about 30 mins. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat some oil. Add onion, cover and cook about 5 mins. Add garlic and cook about 30 secs. Stir in the sage, tomatoes, and cooked lentils. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 5 minutes. Stir in the squash and keep warm over low heat, adding more stock if needed for a saucelike texture.

In a large pot, boil salted water and cook the linguine over med-high, stirring, until al dente about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the lentil-squash mixture and toss gently to combine. Serve hot.