Dinner at Random: Four Easy Meals

I haven't been blogging as much as I would like, but I did take pictures of some of my easy meals to post. These are some random inventions that have made their way into staples.

1. Cheesy Broccoli and Pasta
I have grown to love nutritional yeast as a cheese alternative to macaroni 'n' cheese inspired dishes. It has a great flavor, is easy to work with, and gives you that thick consistency that you want with old school dishes. I basically make the pasta as normal, but steam the broccoli over that pasta water as I cook it. Then I place 1/3 C of nutritional yeast, 1 T of Arrowroot powder or flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/3 C water into a pot. Heat for about 10 minutes stirring until it becomes thick to your preference. (In a pinch the micro works too) Pour cheese mixture and broccoli over the drained pasta and mix well. Sometimes I just use this cheese over broccoli.



2. Couscous, Spinach, and Tomatoes
This is a quick and easy lunch or dinner if you are starving or just don't have time to bother. I place 1/2 C wheat couscous in a bowl and then heat water in a kettle. When the water is boiling, I cover the couscous, add spinach leaves and tomatoes and let sit. For more flavor you can add a broth cube to the mix. Sometimes I simply put a dab of oil in this and sprinkle with salt. Once the couscous is done mix well.


3. Quinoa, Arugula, and Chickpeas
Really easy meal. Cook 1/2 quinoa for about 20 minutes in 3/4 C water until the water is absorbed. Use a broth cube if you want more flavor. Once the quinoa is finished, add the arugula and chickpeas and warm through.


4. Greens, Beans, and Onions
Though lately I have been steering clear of beans in every meal, this is a great way to dress up your greens for a healthy side or, as I've done here, as the main event. Saute 1/2 onion in olive oil and add water if it begins to stick. Add your greens (any type, kale, swiss chard or even spinach) some garlic if desired and red beans. Saute until greens are slightly wilted (the less cooked the better for you!) and the beans are heated through. I sprinkle this with a dash of low sodium soy sauce and it's good to go!

Tomato Pesto

My vegan friend Jennifer got me hooked on the fabulously beautiful blog Vegan Yum Yum, which I totally recommend, though it makes my messy blog look like a third grade craft project entirely created in blue-green crayon. Among the fabulous recipes, I must thank Lolo for teaching me how to chop an onion correctly so that I can now enjoy hacking into those tearjerkers as much as I love eating them. She also has some fab tips on food photography, which, as you will note, I am not so good at taking to heart. In any case, despite how inept this online masterpiece makes me feel, I love her blog and book (aptly entitled VeganYumYum) so much, that I really can't feel bad for long.

So, as I was writing, one of my few vegan friends sent me a link to a magically quick and creamy recipe for Tomato Basil Cream Pasta. I loved it, but in a quick pinch to replicate it one day when I was too lazy to turn on the computer to seek it out anew, I came up with this Yum Yum inspired tomato pesto that had me going for seconds! Plus, this is a really rich way to take care of those tomatoes that are just about ready to go.


TOMATO PESTO

Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes quartered and squeezed of seeds
1/2 C pine nuts
1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes
1/8 C fresh basil
2 cloves garlic chunked
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt

• Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water for about 15min to rehydrate.
  
• Add all ingredients into a food processor and process until well integrated but still chunky.
• Mix with your favorite pasta!
  

I loved this recipe and found myself counting down the seconds until leftover lunch the next day. So, whip up some of this and start checking out the much more refined culinary creative force of Lolo's version!

Carbohydrate Crisis - Gnocchi, Ravioli, Fettuccine

I received a hand-crank pasta maker for Christmas. This could have been a wonderful boon to get me in touch with my Italian culinary roots, a machine that might forever destroy my relationship to boxed pasta!

Well, as it turns out, I am not the culinary scion of the family, so I can still enjoy the ease of cheap spaghetti. My pasta adventure was not complete failure, but the ravioli tasted more like spring rolls and the fettuccine felt like rice noodles - maybe I was just yearning for Thai food? In any case, the gnocchi were delectable, but they were also the only recipe that did NOT involve the crank!

I enlisted the help of my good friend Nina who patiently watched as I slowly became a walking white mass of flour. So, let's get this mess started!

Delicious Potato Dumplings of Goodness otherwise known as Gnocchi

Ingredients:
4 big potatoes
2 C Flour (Bread or wheat flour is good)
dash of salt

This is the easiest recipe in the world. You will never have frozen gnocchi again!

• Bake the potatoes in the microwave or in the oven.
• As soon as they are done, peel them with a knife (they basically fall apart) but watch your fingers!
• Use a food grinder to mash up the potatoes.
• Place the mashed potatoes onto a floured surface and sprinkle some of the flour onto of the potatoes. Add your dash of salt.
  
• Knead together.Keep adding flour until it acquires a doughy consistency.
• Roll out the dough into long strips with hands.
• Cut strips into 1.5" pieces. You can press them with a fork if desired.
  
• Place the cut gnocchi in boiling water until they float.
• Savor!

Now the difficulties ensue, but all-in-all our creations were delicious!

Cashew-Tofu-Ricotta-Sun-dried-Tomato Filled Ravioli and Fettuccine

Filling:
1 package extra-firm tofu pressed
1/3 C semi-re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes (soak them in boiling h20 for 15 min)
1/2 C raw cashews
olive oil

Ravioli and Pasta dough:
1 C Flour
2 C Semolina Flour
3/4 C water
olive oil
1 tsp salt

Filling:

• Place tomatoes, cashews and a drizzle of olive oil into a food processor. Process until a paste is formed.
  
• Crumble tofu into the mix and process until smooth adding a bit more olive oil.
  

Ravioli:

• Mix the flours, water, olive oil and salt together in a bowl. Mix/knead until an elastic dough forms.
  
• Let the dough sit for a half-hour in a slightly oiled bowl covered by a towel.
• Cut the dough into threes, take one piece, return the others to the covered bowl.
• Lightly flour the small piece of dough and form into a rectangle. Run through the thickest setting of the pasta maker.
  
• Fold the sides in and repeat on the thickest setting. Do this three of four times.
• Reduce thickness and crank the dough through one time, and repeat thinning the dough with each new setting until desired thickness is reached. I went too thin and would suggest that the third to last is best for ravioli.
  
• When the dough is to your liking, cut rectangle sheets to use for both fettuccine and ravioli.

Ravioli:

• Place small spoonfuls of the filling close to one side of a dough sheet. Fold the sheet over filling and press down.
• Use a ravioli cutter (or teacup in my case) to cut out the ravioli form.
• Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.
• Place finished ravioli in boiling water until tender.

Fettuccine:

• Basically you just need to run the sheet through the fettuccine cutter of the machine, make pasta nests and sprinkle with flour until ready to use.
  
  
• Cook for only about three minutes until the noodles separate.