Roasted Pasta and Aubergine Bake

Thursday is always the day I use up left overs in the fridge, as Friday is shopping day. I had the following left overs

'Cheesy' Fondue
Mushrooms
Whole Aubergine

Queue a Pasta Bake!

Roasted Pasta and Aubergine Bake (Serves Two)



150-200g Pasta
100g Mushrooms (about half a pack)
1 Aubergine
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
Fresh (1 tbs) or Dried 1 tsp dried Basil
Either 1/4 - 1/2 cup vegan cheese grated or 1/4 - 1/2 cup cheese sauce/fondue

• Slice aubergine and either grill or pan fry with a smidge of olive oil until softened*
• Cook pasta till just soft in plenty of salted water
• Drain pasta and add back into pan
• Add tomatoes, mushrooms and basil. Bring up to a low simmer to soften mushrooms very slightly.
  
• Assemble pasta bake in medium sized oven safe dish as follows, 1/3 Pasta mix, half aubergine, 1/3 pasta, remaining aubergine, cheese, pasta. Visual text diagram at the end of the instructions
• Bake for 15-20 mins at 200C/390F. If it browns too early, cover with foil

Pasta (1/3)
Cheese/fondue
Aubergine (1/2)
Pasta (1/3)
Aubergine (1/2)
Pasta (1/3)

Verdict: Very nice. Next time I might put some breadcrumbs on the top, mixed in with soy cheese for a little added crunch. Throw in whatever veggies you have to hand.

*I used a griddle for the funky char marks

Other Eats

Breakfast was very dull. Cornflakes and soy milk

Morning Snack - Mushrooms, sautéed with a little tomato/chilli dipping sauce and some spirulina added for the trace minerals, served on toast. This had a very odd taste. I shan't be trying it with mushrooms again!


I also made some Cherry Schnapps (American Style) but more on this in tomorrows post

In the evening I made some avocado mouse. I would post this, but it always looks like a big poop in photos, so I won't.

Modified Kale Pasta Eats

Firstly, Hello to anyone coming over from the link on For those of you who don't know what Operation Beautiful is, please visit the site. The primary aim is to tackle 'Fat Talk' by sharing positive notes in public spaces. It goes further than this though, and in my opinion, empowers all through the acceptance that appearance is subjective, and we are all beautiful.

Now, onto the eats!

Since first trying 'Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut and Kale Pasta' recipe from The Dolce Vegan, I've eaten it regularly, possibly around once a week. This is for three reasons

1) Its a very good way of eating my greens that even my Husband likes
2) I'm overwhelmed with Kale, grown in a container in my front garden
3) It's very, very tasty!

However, the original recipe calls for tomato juice, which we don't often have in the house. The recipe calls for a can of tomato juice, of a size I've never seen in the UK. This meant buying a carton and freezing the left overs, which never works.

Necessity being the mother of invention, I've tweaked the recipe a lot to make it more of a 'store cupboard + Kale' type of thing.

Adapted Kale & Tomato Pasta - Serve 2


Pasta for Two (150g)
Bunch of Kale, Chopped (About 2 big handfuls)
Can of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tbs Tomato Purée

2 Tbs Peanut Butter
1/2 Tsp Garlic Purée
1/2 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce (Tabasco is fine)

1) Cook the pasta
2) While the pasta is cooking, put the chopped kale, tomatoes and purée in a small pan. Bring almost to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 8 minutes
3) After 8 mins, add the peanut butter, garlic and hot pepper sauce, stir
4) Leave another 2 mins, drain the pasta and mix it into the tomato mixture

Finn!

Don't be tempted to skip the tomato purée, this really thickens up the sauce and gives it a tomato tang which is otherwise missing.

Pasta with Pinenuts - Picture Only

Hmmmmmm.... I love basil, a lot.

A simple sauce of tofu, basil, sundried tomatoes and garlic, over tagliatelle with toasted pinenuts.

Last time I made this the tomatoes were a bit tough, so I soaked these ones overnight in some water. It really softened them up.

I think next time, I'll put less garlic in... and maybe some chili powder.. because I like a little heat :)

Broccoli Pasta - In a Lemon Sauce (Recipe)

Well, cheap/close dated food should never be ignored.. it's a fact of life. Kredit Krunch* So, when there was a hoooooge head of broccoli in the coop for 25p, I thought 'yeah, I better had'

My other half isn't too fond of broccoli when it tastes like broccoli, so generally if I have broccoli it needs to be fairly well spiced. Last week having made Broccoli with Garlic and Chili last week, I fancied something different. Anywhoo, I remember some blue soy cheeze at the back of the fridge that needed eating. See, the tough thing there is the cheeze it already moldy... how do you know it's gone off? ;)

Anyway - Easy Pasta Dish - Broccoli with a lemony sauce

One head of Broccoli
Pasta for two (About 150g)
200ml Stock
1 tbs Arrowroot Oil (Instructions Below)
1 tbs flour of choice
Juice and Rind of 1/2 Lemon (Unwaxed please!)

Optional 60g Soy or real blue cheese

1) Cook Pasta (I used macaroni) for 7mins
2) Separate broccoli florets and add after 7 mins
3) Cook for another 5 mins
4) While the broccoli is cooking, mix arrowroot oil and 1 tbs of the flour of your choice in a small pan
5) Start heating, and slowly add the stock until mixed in
6) Bring to boil
7) Add lemon
8) Simmer for 1 min
9) Drain Pasta/Broccoli, return to pan and add lemony stock
10) Sprinkle with cheese/soy cheese if liked

Now, you might be wondering about the arrowroot oil. I don't like too much fat in my diet, so I often use arrowroot as a sub for oil. To make, mix 1Tbs of arrowroot with 500mls of water, bring to a boil and simmer until it takes on an oil like appearance. This will last about a week in the fringe, and gives a slippy, oily gleam to that looks a lot like oil.

And, a Bonus Cat Picture (BCP), because cats haz flavar too.

* I'm working on the theory that the K makes it less scary, and more like Krispy Kreme, which as a vegan is an odd thing to find comforting ;)

A Chilli Spring Day - Recipe included

Well, would yah guess it… the Bank Holiday was overcast and gloomy, then the first day back to work sunny and bright.

Work was work…. Had someone else in the office with me today, so it felt a little more lively. I left at five, as I needed to be home on-time to join my OH in taking Maisie to the vets to have the growths on her ears looked at… the vet cleaned out Maisie’s ears, and told us that she thinks the growth is benign… so all good.

Foods

Breakfast
Toast with Brown Rice Breakfast from How it All Vegan

My top tip for this is to spread the toast with vegan mayo and ketchup, then place then spread sides together and pop into a toaster bag (the sort for making toasted sandwiches) and reheat for a moment. This stops it getting slimey and cold by the time you have finished eating. Now top with the brown rice mixture.

Morning Snacks
Nakd Coco Loco Bar

Lunch
Avocado and salad sandwich, spread with hummus
Smoothie - Made with Orange, Apple, Beetroot and dark salad leaves

Smoothie looked very, very odd, but tasted lovely. Not beetrooty at all though.

Dinner
Broccoli and Pasta in a Chilli Garlic Sauce

From Ready, Veggie, Cook

Recipe
175g Wholemeal Pasta
1 head of Broccoli - Cut into small florets
½ head (4-5 big cloves) of Garlic, Sliced
75mls Veggie Stock
½ - 1 tsp Crushed Dried Chilli Flakes

Place Veggie Stock in a small pan. Add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes. Heat up until gently bubbling. Then, place on the lowest heat on you hob.

From Ready, Veggie, Cook

Start Pasta boiling in unsalted water. After 6-8 mins add chopped broccoli and cook for a further 3-4 mins until broccoli is bright green.

Drain pasta and broccoli mix, retaining about two tablespoons of the boiling water.

Put back into pan. Tip the garlic, chilli stuff in. Pour the retained water into the garlic pan and swirl around, tip into the pasta pan (This ensures you get all the garlicky goodness) mix up an heat a moment, then serve.

Yomp it up!

This was lovely, even though the Brocolli had really seen better days. Meh, you are simmering it for 3-4 mins, do you think you'll notice if it's a tad yellow?

Dessert
Co-op Blackberry and Apple Pie

This is nice, but not tart enough. Good to find a vegan pie though… so I’m not terribly upset.

From Ready, Veggie, Cook

Snack
Slice of fruit loaf, Toasted

And in a few mins I’m going to start prepping for breakfast. Slowcooker Chilli Beans. How awesome is it to wake up to a hot, tasty homemade meal? I love doing this one on in the slow cooker as it means all I really need to do in the morning is put some toast in the toaster, and slop beans onto the toast when done. Sure, I could do baked beans on toast, but really, that’s not the same!