Pasta Primavera

Everyone I know eats meat. So when our daughter and her fiancé come over we usually grill. Bob grills hamburgers for everyone else and either portobello burgers or bean burgers for me. Last night I didn't feel like burgers so I said I would make some pasta primavera. I was pretty intimidated since her fiancé is a chef. Oh, and have I mentioned that I don't really have a recipe for this? Ugh! So I just started grabbing everything I could think of that I've had in primavera sauces in restaurants and started chopping! He couldn't see how I was going to get a rich enough sauce without using butter. Not only did he like the sauce, but he got seconds! He never guessed my secret for a thick, rich sauce either, I had to tell him! It's the chopped mushrooms! They almost melt into the sauce making it thick and rich!

Pasta Primavera

1 yellow squash, cut up
1 zucchini, cut up
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cut up
Oregano
Basil
Vegetable broth
4-5 oz crimini mushrooms, rinsed
2 jars pasta sauce
1 pkg whole wheat linguine, cooked

Place all vegetables except mushrooms in a Dutch oven. Add seasonings to taste. Cook on medium heat, add about 1/4 cup vegetable broth. Cover and cook until vegetables start to get soft, adding a little broth if needed.

Put mushrooms in a food processor fitted with an "s" blade and process until the mushrooms are the size and texture of ground beef. Add the mushrooms to the vegetables and stir. Add the pasta sauce, cover and cook on medium heat. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower fire and simmer until vegetables are soft (to taste) and flavors have blended.

Serve over linguine pasta.

Tip: Save the mushroom stems in a freezer bag and use it to make stock when the bag is full!

Tomatoes and Pasta

I like pasta with different sauces. This is one I made up as I went one night when Bob and I were hungry and I didn't feel like slicing and chopping to have something good to eat. This is a quick meal as is, but if you want to slice and chop a little, grab something from the fridge and go for it!

Tomatoes and Pasta

1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or 1 can drained and rinse
Pasta (elbows, penne, spiral, etc.)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, combine other ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. When the tomatoes are cooked, add to cooked and drained pasta and mix. Now all you have to do is eat!

Cheesy Sauce

All of the cheese sauce recipes I've seen so far are made with cauliflower or soaked cashews. I love cauliflower but sometimes I just don't want to deal with the gas later. And I really don't want to make a habit of eating nuts since I need to lose some weight. So I've been wondering how can I make a cheesy sauce without either of those ingredients. I went to the kitchen tonight to steam some potatoes (I like steamed better than baked in the microwave and it's just too darned hot to cook them in the oven!) I realized that, like cauliflower and cashews, the potato is a neutral taste. So I steamed an extra potato and made this sauce and I love it! Since I started eating a starch based diet, I've been very happy with simple tasting things. Please feel free to tweak according to your own tastes.

Cheesy Sauce

1 medium baked or steamed russet or gold potato
1 cup plant milk (less if you want thicker sauce)
1 cup nutritional yeast
Salt, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste

Peel the potato, cut it into chunks and place in a blender. Pour some plant milk just until about 1/2 to 3/4 of the potato is covered. Add the nutritional yeast and blend on high. Add more milk until the sauce is the consistency you want. When I want it kind of thick like a real cheese sauce I add a little less milk. Taste and add a little salt if needed.

Note that this sauce thickens up in the fridge.