Vegan MoFo Post 2: A Tale of Two Pastas

Kale and Walnut Pesto

This was the first time I've ever had/prepared/cooked homemade pesto. It certainly won't be the last. Pine nuts are too expensive and generally I only keep dried basil in the kitchen. Here is the product of one cheap vegan.

Kale Walnut Pesto:
1 large bunch of kale
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped rather finely
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (you could use soy Parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

Note: I wanted my pesto to be greener after adding the nutritional yeast, so I added a couple handfuls of spinach, as well.

Seriously, do I need to give instructions for how to prepare a pesto sauce? Blend, god damn it. Then serve over 2 cups of pastaof your choice. I chose brown rice rotini.

Artichoke Chik'n Penne

This was beautiful. I could probably eat this multiple times a week for the rest of my life and not be bored with it or dwell on the repercussions of my carb consumption. Noms.

Artichoke Chik'n Penne:
2 cups penne pasta
1 8 oz jar artichoke hearts
2-3 cloves garlic
1 package Light Life chik'n strips
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs basil
salt and pepper to taste

Drain the artichoke hearts and saute the garlic in the juice from the jar. when garlic starts to brown add artichokes and lemon juice. Saute for about 5 minutes then add remaining ingredients. Serve over pasta. Add a few dollops of Earth Balance to your pasta so the noodles aren't so dry.

bleh.

I haven't been in the mood to cook AT ALL lately. I've been living on a steady diet of Amy's burritos and ramen noodles; I'm not particularly proud of this. But, good news. I did make a trip to the grocery store today to load up on a lot of produce. More good news, my mom finished planting her garden today which means I shall have fresh basil, red peppers, cucumbers, and squash viddy viddy soon!

Since my last post, I've made another General Tao tofu plate, served over rice this time, and some VWAV mashed potatoes with punk rock chickpea gravy. Comfort food, glorious comfort food! I chopped up some kale and mashed it in with the potatoes, too. I also had to spell out k-a-l-e for the cashier at the grocery store so he could ring me up. Oh, Huntington and its inhabitants.

Kale Chickpea Mash

I know I've mentioned about a hundred times, but a majority of my meals are based on what produce I have that is about to go bad. I just threw this together in a matter of minutes, and it was soooo good. I really need to do more meals like this, where I just improvise. I feel a bit silly posting this recipe because it's too easy.

Kale Chickpea Mash

Ingredients:
2 tbs EVOO
3 tbs minced garlic
1 bunch of kale
1 can garbanzo beans
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp onion powder
salt to taste

Saute minced garlic in olive oil on medium-high heat until it turns golden brown, carefully as to not burn it. Add the kale and stir, preferably with tongs to coat the kale in the oil and garlic. (You may need to add a few tbs of water.) After the kale has wilted a bit, add the garbanzo beans and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Begin mashing the chickpeas. I use a fork because I don't like them mashed too thoroughly; I still like some chunks. Garnish with some additional nutritional yeast and NOM.