Pasta Puttanesca and the Culling of a Cookbook

Some cookbooks are born bad. They look great, the recipes have potential, but each time a recipe is tried and the results are eagerly anticipated, the food creation is disappointing or even inedible. Such is the case of Big Vegan by Robin Asbell. She's a well known chef, food writer, and the author of two other cookbooks but this one just isn't working for us.

For lunch today I made a one pot rice curry which is now in the garbage.

This book is heading out the door. But before it does, there is ONE recipe that must be copied as it is terrific. So no, not all the recipes are bad but if there is only one in every ten, it becomes a big risk to keep trying them out. You may find the book awesome (it's on sale at Save-On-Foods at the moment if you want to give it a try) but it's not for us. If you want our copy, let me know before Tuesday night and I'll save it for you to try. If no-one cries out to save it, it will jump in the box for Big Brothers and Sisters that is being collected on Wednesday.

Pasta Puttanesca (Street Walker Pasta)

1 pkg whatever pasta you like

2 tsbp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 roasted red pepper halves from a jar, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
2 tbsp tomato paste (buy this at Med Market in tubes)
2 tbsp capers
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt

Cook your pasta.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and fry until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook about 3 minutes. Don't let the garlic brown. Add all the other ingredients. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce simmer until thick. That's it!

Garlic Pasta with Tomato, Avocado, Artichoke and Spinach Sauce

Corey calls this a good "shoulder" season dish because when avocados are in season, tomato and basil are not. However, the tomatoes don't have to be fresh out of the garden flavourful because there are other flavours that are strong and the tomatoes just complement the dish. The garlic pasta cold be made for any other dish or could just be eaten as is without any sauce at all.

Nutritional yeast is a vegan fridge staple because it is used in many dishes. It is also a slight source of B12 which is important for vegans although a B12 supplement (chewable or sublingual taken three times a week) is also a must for full vegans. B12 is not found in many vegan foods apart from this inactive yeast and fortified breakfast cereal (have you checked the sugar content and salt content in those? EEK!)

Nutritional yeast has a nutty cheesy flavour and can be sprinkled on pasta to give a cheesy flavour if you don't think too hard about it. We have tried to make "Mac-n-Cheese" with nutritional yeast and although the two recipes we've tried swear that it's amazing, we've not been fooled. Still a must-have ingredient because a small amount is worth adding to the recipes that call for it. It's not a star actor but it's excellent in supporting roles.

Garlic Pasta with Tomato, Avocado, Artichoke and Spinach Sauce

1 pkg pasta of your choice
salt and a dollop of olive oil for the pasta water
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp tamari or low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 clam-shell grape/cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 avocados (softer make a creamier sauce, firmer leaves more chunks in your sauce), sliced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into quarters
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
fresh ground black pepper
salt

Get the pasta cooking in salted and oiled water. Mix the 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, yeast and tamari together in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the other 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Toss in the onion and cook until the onion starts to brown around the edges. Toss in all the vegetables (yes tomato and avocado are fruits, I know. Don't be difficult.) and the basil. Give the mix a good crack of pepper and a good pinch of salt. Mix gently to not break up the avocado too much. Put a lid on the frying pan and turn off the heat. The spinach will wilt and the veggies (fruits) will heat up. Just leave the frying pan alone now. You can give the sauce a stir when you are dishing it onto the pasta.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and rinse it. Put the pot back on the burner on low, toss the pasta back in and pour the garlic mix into the pasta. Mix all around and let it start to sizzle a bit. Once it's heated up (don't let it burn, stir it frequently but this will only take a couple minutes), dish into bowls and top with the sauce. You can sprinkle more yeast on it to add more of a cheesy flavour but we just cracked a bit more pepper onto ours.

It seems odd to heat up avocado but this was really tasty. I have another recipe for stuffed avocados that I want to try but I have to go get more avocados. And for those of you who don't eat avocados because they are fattening, don't be silly. The oil in avocados is great for you. And if you only eat avocados at this time of year when local veggies and fruits aren't available then it doesn't matter how many you eat. I probably eat 3 a week on average for the month of January and February. I don't bemoan my avocado weight. And what about that "choose whatever fast food sandwich you eat to put in here"? You think the avocado is going to affect your weight?

You need to be honest with yourself if you truly want to make a difference for yourself!