Spring Green Onion Pasta with Asparagus

We've been making our own pasta lately and it really transforms Italian eating.  I have been singing its praises ever since Christmas, when we got our pasta press.  If you have one sitting in a dusty cupboard, dig it out!  If you don't have one, this can be made by hand but it is a bit more labor intensive.

We made this delicious pasta last week and I wanted to write down a few notes about it before I forgot.  This is less of a "recipe" per se and more of some general guidelines.

Spring Pasta With Asparagus

The Pasta

Green Onion Pasta (devised and crafted by Barry!)

(We use this basic recipe.  The key to eggless pasta is to use semolina flour and knead it a lot!  A KitchenAid works wonders here!  You can add a lot of seasonings to the pasta.  This time we added about a cup of chopped green onions.  Often we'll add herbs, garlic, sundried tomatoes, etc.  The possibilities are endless!)

The Toppings

Steamed asparagus spears

Zest of one lemon

Slivered basil leaves

Carmelized onions

The Dressing

Juice of one lemon

2 TBSP olive oil (I added in a dash of truffle-flavored olive oil as well)

Salt

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

Fresh Eats

Our first heirloom tomato this season - A Striped German!

Veggie wraps with the siblings - colorful and full of flavor!  Definitely worthy of a more permanent place in our meal rotation.  Components: tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, lettuce, onions, green peppers, carrots, green hummus, vegan cheese sauce, and spinach wraps!

Gifted quail eggs (Thanks Maribel!).  They became a delicious mini omelet that we used as the first course of our date night meal :)

Garden Meals

Just a few pictures from what we've been cooking lately.  As you can see, there have been lots of tomatoes around here these days!  Also pictured are plums (which were quickly made into plum jam), leeks, peaches, and fresh herbs being made into a yummy lasagna.  The garlic sauce on top of both the lasagna and the pizza is the same incredible stuff that I posted about last week - what a revolutionary sauce it has been!

Lasagna in the making

A new backyard friend!

A cute slipper tomato!

Tomato hats!

Four pounds of backyard produce about to be roasted and made into tomato sauce!

Garlic Cream Sauce (Vegan)

I have a confession to make.  I've been holding out on you.  I haven't yet shared this incredible, amazing, delicious, over-the-top garlic cream sauce that I found.  I first described it as akin to an alfredo sauce - but I think it's better than that because it's vegan and doesn't feel as heavy.  We've eaten it in some form or another almost every week since I found it!  It has showed it's creamy self on many things: pizza's, lasagna's and more.  But this baked pasta dish takes the prize.  Mixed with sun-dried tomatoes (my favorite!), spinach or peas, and pasta, this vegan cream sauce almost makes me want to become an opera star so that I could sing it's glories to the world!

Creamy Garlic Sauce

Adapted from Sweet Beet and Green Bean

2 whole heads of garlic, roasted

1 block silken tofu*

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 tsp salt

onion powder, cayenne, paprika, pepper, etc to taste

Breadcrumb Topping

2 pieces stale, hardened bread

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1-2 TBSP McKay's Chicken seasoning

1-2 TBSP Brewer's yeast

1 TBSP garlic herb seasoning

Directions

-Roast the garlic as follows: wrap the whole head (unpeeled) in tin foil and then bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.  Remove and open the tin foil package.  Once cool, the individual bulbs of garlic squeeze out very easily.
-Blend garlic, tofu, oil, and seasonings until smooth.
-Mix with pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, and greens (spinach, peas, etc).  Place in baking dish.
-Coarsely blend all breadcrumb topping ingredients.  Sprinkle on top of pasta dish.
-Bake at 350 F just until top is slightly browned.

A few notes:
*I've used regular tofu and it works well, just not quite as creamy
** This sauce is endlessly versatile - I've added tomato paste, sundried tomatoes and the oil they come in to the sauce before blending (in lieu of the canola oi) and it makes the sauce into a delicious tomato garlic cream sauce.
***The pasta will absorb quite a bit of the sauce while baking.  To counter this, I only bake it for a short amount of time and, if making a large dish, I'll double the sauce.  It's also handy to save aside a little extra for spooning on top if things get too dry.

Roasted Vegetables

I love one-dish dinners.  They're filling and simple.  One of my favorites that I go to when guests are coming or I'm feeling the need for a wholesome, veggie-packed meal is Roasted Vegetables.  It's vegan, gluten free, nutritious, and super yummy.  Plus, I try to use vegetables that I don't often eat - parsnips and beets being two examples.  Most vegetables take on a flavor that's hard not to love when they are roasted.  I usually make this as a main course but you could have it as a side as well, just simplify it and don't include as many types of veggies.

The chopping process can take a little bit of time, but the simplicity of the ingredients really shine through.  You could easily prep your vegetables ahead of time as well.  Here's a rough outline of how I go about the process.



Pick Your Vegetables: Sometimes I make the mistake of trying to have too many types of veggies.  3-5 varieties is best.  Sometimes it's nice to go with bright, contrasting colors (see last photo) while other times I try to have more muted, neutral colors like the one below.



Make a basting dressing: That's basically a fancy name for what I mix the vegetables in before roasting them.  This helps the vegetables to caramelize as well as giving them an additional depth of flavor.  It usually consists of the following:

• olive oil
• lemon juice
• salt/pepper
• seasonings (garlic herb, thyme, rosemary, basil, a dash of cayenne)
• Seeds (sesame, sunflower, etc.  You can add these before or after roasting.)

Plan your baking times: Not all vegetables bake at the same rates.  I normally start with my root vegetables (potatoes first) that will take longer and then move on to the softer veggies such as onions, asparagus, or peppers.  I also check a roasting chart such as this one or this one.

Baking method: Roasting is accomplished at around 450 F.  There are two ways to go about roasting your veggies.  One is simpler and the other improves caramelization.  I've used both methods but I usually prefer the second if I have enough time.

1. Start with your longer-cooking veggies and then add in the other veggies as needed.  For example, start with your potatoes, which need about 30-45 minutes.  When 20 minutes has passed, stir your potatoes and then add your carrots and onions.  After another 10 minutes, add your asparagus.   By the end, your pan will be very filled.  This has pros and cons.  It is easier and less time consuming.  However, a higher vegetable to pan surface ratio increases the delicious caramelization that occurs when the vegetables are in direct contact with the hot surface of the pan.  This can be enhanced by using the second method.
2. Place vegetables on several cookie sheets.  Avoid overcrowding them.  Remove each vegetable type after they have roasted and add in the next type on it's own.  This method is the best for flavor and caramelization.  Sometimes I'll combine two different vegetable types if the roasting times are similar.  When everything has cooked, you'll combine all the different veggies and reheat for just a few minutes more. 

Ways to find Green in Southern California!

We've been eating a lot mexican food these days. It's cheap, it's quick, and it's tasty! There have been lots of new things to try but the basic building blocks are always the same: tortillas or chips topped with beans and whatever fresh items we have on hand. Usually, it's a lot of green!

After spending some vacation time at home this summer, we've been missing the lush woods of the East. SoCal is quite a few shades away from green. But we've been working on finding ways to put green back into our lives; we go hiking next to creeks and spend lots of time down in our little garden. But another way is through the food we place on our table!

Clockwise from top: Cilantro, green peppers, limes, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, tomatillos, and more green peppers.

I also tried my hand at some homemade salsa verde. It was delicious!