vegan mofo day 1 - pasta pomodoro

pasta pomodoro
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

I'm attempting to post our vegan meals for the entire month of October as part of Vegan Mofo 2009. I can't make any promises or guarantees since having a 2-month old and a 3-year old can sometimes get pretty hairy! But, we'll see how it goes.

Expect to see mostly pictures of our meals as I'm mostly cooking from cookbooks these days...and expect easy-peasy and kid-friendly meals. But (!), for the meals I just throw together, I'll post my "recipe!"

So, to kick it off, here's our dinner from tonight: a simple pasta pomodoro. We had impromptu dinner guests who needed to be at an appointment only 60 minutes after we arrived at our house, so the meal had to be uber-easy and uber-quick!

Ingredients

• pasta
• minced garlic
• diced heirloom tomatoes
• basil, chiffonated
• olive oil

Toss cooked pasta with olive oil.

Add minced garlic and toss.

Top with desired amount of chiffonated basil and diced tomatoes. Add salt to taste (optional) and enjoy!

Baked Mac 'n' Cashew Cheese

Adapted from VegNews (January-February 2008). We spent so much time in the kitchen this past holiday, we decided to make something quick and comforting, so VegNews' Mac 'n' (cashew-based) Cheese recipe totally caught my eye! We got very positive responses at Candice's Christmas Eve gathering (including kudos -- in the form of actual consumption -- from Mac 'n' cheese connoisseur Tyler). Definitely a keeper.

Our modifications were minor: more garlic and less cooking water used.

Ingredients

• 2 tsps. sea salt
• 8 ounces macaroni (we used fusili)
• 4 slices of bread (we used sliced francese), torn in to large pieces
• 1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. Earth Balance buttery spread
• 2 tbsp. shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 c. red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 c. carrots
• 1/3 c. onion
• 1/4 c. cashews
• 3/4 tsp. garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. paprika

Cook macaroni until al dente.

Using a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing sliced bread to a medium-fine texture with 2 tbsp. margarine. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and 1 c. of water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.

Process cashews, salt, garlic, 1/3. c. margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne in a blender.

Add softened vegetables and cooking water, as needed, to the blender and blend until perfectly smooth.

In a large bowl, completely coat the pasta with the blended cheese sauce.

Spread the pasta into a 9x12 casserole dish.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dust with paprika.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.

Serves 6.