The 1st of Veganuary!

In November I celebrated my 5th year as a vegetarian! But did I celebrate... no. Honestly, I probably didn't even cook. I've had a BAD case of kitchen burn out. Where the thought of even walking near your stove makes you want to groan and fall to the ground in full "boneless" toddler meltdown style. 

You know what kitchen burn out leads to... junk food, fast food, just total crap typically. And this really has to stop. I'm staring down the barrel of 40 this year and I need some changes. So I decided to kick off 2015 by joining Veganuary! Veganuary is pretty much what it sounds like... being vegan, in January. 

You should absolutely go to the website and read about the origin, the reasons why you might want to join in, and TONS of helpful links, tips, and recipes. Find them on Twitter @WeAreVeganuary and visit and like their Facebook page Veganuary

So I'm going to resurrect this sadly long dead blog and chronicle my adventures. My highs and lows. 

My first recipe is from Yup, It's Vegan. Her recipe is super easy to follow, it comes together fast so it's perfect even for busy nights. 

One Pot Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca with Chickpeas & Artichoke

Just throw everything in the pot, just like she tells you. The 1/2 tsp. of pepper flakes give it a kick, be sure to adjust it to your preference. 

 

Right after it finished, just give it a quick toss to fully stir everything around.

And, you are ready to eat! Seriously, no meat or dairy needed. It's crazy good. 

If you decide to try Veganuary, it's not too late. Don't let one day stop you.  If you like spaghetti squash come back tomorrow for Day 2!!

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Vegan Pasta

I've made pasta from scratch before, about 12 years ago. I was hungry for pasta but had none in the pantry. I had all the ingredients, except for eggs, so I searched out a vegan alternative. I don't have a nice Kitchen-Aid mixer or pasta machine, so I did everything by hand. Here is the recipe:


1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups water
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
if you are making filled pasta, you can add 1 tsp oil to the mix.

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add water and oil. Blend with a fork till dough clumps start to form. Then dump out onto counter sprinkled with flour and start to knead the dough. This process might take 5-7 minutes (maybe longer) by hand. Then I split the dough into two and worked with one half at a time.




Rough the dough out as flat as you can. I tried, but it wasn't as thin as I'd like it to be.




Then take a pizza cutter and cut the strips of pasta out of the rolled dough. Don't make them too thin or they will break when drying. If you make them too thick it will take longer to dry and cook later.




Hang the strips to dry. You can do this over a kitchen towel over a cabinet door or back of a chair. If you have a nifty folding clothes drying rack, that will work well too. Repeat with your second half of dough. Allow them to dry. The recipe I had says 20-30 minutes, but my pasta wasn't rolled thin by a machine so I just let it hang in the kitchen till it was time for dinner (about 5 hours after I made it) and some pieces were still a bit moist.



At this point you can cook it in boiling water. The recipe said 2-3 minutes. Again, my pasta was thicker so it was more like 5-6 minutes just to make sure it was cooked through. If you want to make this ahead, dry it and then store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it. I choose to mix it with my favorite jarred vegan pasta sauce and added a bit of parmesan cheese (I know it's not vegan, you can add your favorite vegan cheese, or none at all)




Review: Yum! The only complaint was that I didn't make enough. My youngest usually doesn't eat sauce on her noodles - just cheese and butter, but she ate it tonight. I guess I will be making this again real soon!

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Chicken & Spinach Tetrazzini

I've said in the past that I tried not to use a ton of faux meats but this recipe was so worth it and everyone loves it and wanted more.

16 oz spaghetti noodles6 tbs butter
2 garlic cloves 
4 tbs flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
pepper to taste
4 cups milk
1 cup grated parmesan (I didn't use this much)
1 package grill style chicken strips, cooked and then diced into smallish pieces
fresh spinach, as much as you want. chopped
2 lg carrots cut in 1/4 slices and cooked




Cook pasta, drain


Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender. Stir in flour, salt, spices. Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens.


Add cheese, chicken, spinach and carrots; cook until spinach is tender, stirring constantly.


Serve chicken mixture over pasta. Sprinkle with a bit of parm and serve.





~Venus

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