Our Veggie Kitchen

I took my first outdoors, after 6pm picture of the year. It was a beautiful, warm spring-is-finally-here sort of day. Much of the day was spent in the green house repotting sage and echinacea and snapdragons and tomatoes and peppers and nasturtium and three tiny lavender that I'm not giving up on. And dinner was a perfect cap to the day. I had grilled asparagus and cantaloupe and bread and pasta.

This pasta sauce is striking. It's got canned and sun-dried tomatoes with plenty of thyme and miso and a squeeze of lemon juice. For some time, I've wanted to create a sauce that had the strong flavor of sun dried tomatoes without being overpowering. After a few test batches, I came up with this.



Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
1 lb dried pasta
3 cups boiling water
1/3 cups raw cashews
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tbs miso
6.3 oz oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained (4 oz drained)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
15 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)

Bring a pot of water to boil. While the water is heating, combine all ingredients except the can of diced tomatoes in the blender.  Add three cups boiling water and blend thoroughly until the sauce is smooth and creamy.  Add the undrained can of diced tomatoes and pulse for a few pulses.  Pour over the cooked, drained pasta and let set for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

 5 Servings:  536 cal (16g fat, 84g carbs, 16g protein)

A note about blenders and hot water:  I have a KitchenAid 5-Speed Blender.
It's a monster:  heavy duty, huge capacity and blends everything--and i love it.  But I've also had a $20 Oester and a stop-gap $7 blender off brand blender.  They all do the job.  There are two keys with blenders and hot liquids.  First, Take the center piece out of the lid and cover the lid with a paper towel.  When you blend hot liquid, it builds up pressure and will explode.  With the center piece out, there's no pressure.  Second, don't overfill your blender.  I try to keep the blender no more than 1/2 to 2/3 full.  Smaller batches always blend better anyway.

My sister was in town last weekend and I wanted to treat her to a nice Indian meal. Since she detests anything spicy hot, I went with Moong Dosas, roasted potatoes, mango chutney and Channa Saag.  I love cumin and spinach together and the spices and textures blend perfectly together in this dish.

I make this quite often when I'm planning an Indian meal. It's pretty quick to make, it reheats well and it tastes really good.  Except for a few grams of fat, it's also quite healthy.



Channa Saag
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded & minced
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin seed
3 tomatoes, grated
3 10 oz packages spinach, thawed, drained & chopped
15 oz chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp salt
2.5 oz coconut milk (1/2 of a small can)
1 cup soy yogurt

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seed and cook until the seeds begin to pop. Stir in the onions and saute until they begin to caramelize. Add the peppers and garlic and saute until the garlic is aromatic. Add the remaining ingredients (salt to taste), and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer

6 servings: 246 cal (10g fat, 29g carbs, 10g protein)