Pasta with Non-Artichoke Non-Marsala Sauce

Hi guys!

I'm back from an unintentional blogging hiatus taken due to things like finishing my doctoral research project (YES!!!!), finding a new apartment (can't wait to show you!), eating Native Foods several times per week, and fixing my kitchen sink which exploded in a terrible, terrible way (yep, time for a new apartment!)

Now back to regularly unscheduled programming!

I intended to make this Mushroom and Artichoke Marsala Pasta but what I ended up with was almost entirely unlike it, yet nevertheless, sensationally scrumptious.

You see, when I arrived at the store to buy frozen artichokes and marsala wine, the store was out. But it DID have a conveniently packaged "green bean sautee" full of green beans, red onion, and mushrooms and I knew there was a half-full bottle of cabernet sauvignon on my kitchen counter.

And thus, Green Bean and Mushroom Pasta in a Red Wine Reduction was born!

Ingredients:

Green beans, chopped

A few mushrooms, chopped

A small onion, chopped

A bunch of parsley, chopped

Olive Oil

Pasta (I used Rigatoni)

A splash of "cream" (or soy milk)

Red, red wiiiiiiiine (stay close to meeeee) (ok maybe I had a glass before writing this post)

Instructions:

Start cooking the pasta until al dente

Heat olive oil in a large pan

Add onion and sautee until almost translucent

Then add the green beans and mushrooms

Once everything looks nice and sautee-ey, add 1 cup of wine

Turn down the heat and simmer until almost gone

Drain the pasta, add to the veggies

Add the chopped parsley

Add a splash of soy milk and stir it all together

One of my dinner rules I try to stick to is to always include at least 1 green thing and some protein.  This dish was missing the protein so I crumbled up and sauteed a little tempeh in the pasta pot to mix in with the pasta.  If tempeh doesn't sound tempting, you could do the same thing with chicken (mmm cooked in the wine sauce) or serve the dish with some grilled salmon. I think i'll have to make it several more times and try it with all of the above!

Pasta with Tempeh

Happy Cooking!

Sesame Kale Macro Bowl

I have a little confession to make.  I'm a LOT obsessed with Native Foods!  Everything is so delicious that Matt and I have been known to go twice in a weekend!  And the carrot cake cupcakes are incredibleeeeeeee!!!!!  But my favorite part is how good I feel after eating there!

Part of my passion for cooking comes from having a stomach that makes things that are wonderful (eg. macaroni and cheese or chocolate chip cookies or a super burrito with sour cream and cheese) sound like a bad, bad, very bad day!  When I cook for myself, I get to use ingredients that make me feel maaaaahvelous!  And most things at Native Foods fit that description too (hence the few too many carrot cake cupcakes).

One of my favorite dishes is the Sesame Kale Macro Bowl.  It sounds so... healthy... and it is!  But it's also delicious. I have a love of all things pickled, so  I think the sauerkraut is the key.  I decided to make my own version and got the idea for the tahini sauce here!  Voila!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 cup quinoa

A bunch of kale chopped into bite size pieces

1 clove garlic, microplaned tiny (probably not a real word but you get it, right?)

The same amount of fresh ginger, also microplaned (tiny)

4 tablespoons of Tahini

A splash of apple cider vinegar

Sauerkraut

Tempeh cut up into bite-size pieces

Sesame oil

Soy sauce

Directions:

• Cook the quinoa/rice according to your usual method. (I do twice as much water as rice and add more if needed while simmering)
• Steam the kale
• Cook the tempeh in a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil until browned
• Mix the ginger, garlic, tahini, vinegar, and some water to thin it out
• Assemble your bowl!
• Rice on the bottom, kale on the next layer, sauerkraut next, tempeh, and drizzle your tahini sauce on top!

Easy and yummy. And nice to look at!  Drink it with a nice glass of wine and then, because you've been so very healthy, maaaaaybe some ice cream for dessert :)