Pasta with Asparagus, artichokes and spinach

Ok so this is my first post in a while. Truth be known I have been doing a lot of reviewing of what I  had considered VEGAN cooking. You see I am new to veganism and very much still learning. So I must say I am sorry for some of my prior post which were not entirely vegan but rather nice vegeterian dishes. It was a nice attempt at vegan, but what I have learned is that this is MUCH harder than it looks which is why I think vegans get such a bad wrap. People think we are crazy because manufactures HIDE animal products in the ingredients which make finding a 100% PURELY animal free product difficult to find.

So I have been doing a lot of ingredient reading and a lot of garden planting along with a lot of experimenting with 100% animal free vegetables. My wife giggles at me when I say this because of course vegetables are animal free. I just get so impatient with animal products in so many things you would consider not an animal product. My whole thing is I want to be healthy, I want to be vegan and I want to do so while shopping at a "normal" grocery store vs going to a speciality store which makes me crazy. I think people would be more apt to experiment with food in general if they can get what they need from their coroner market.

So here is an animal free dish, it is fresh as spring and has a great zest. I fixed it this mothers day for my family, my wife, grand-mother, mom and dad all came in. Ok my wife was already here but you get the idea.

My dad did not eat this he says he is not a fan of green. Ok not going to force this on him, I did make a nice lemon tarragon chicken for them and this dish as the side salad but my main dish.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 lemon
8 artichoke hearts fresh or can will do
1 tbl spoon EVOO
1 fresh rosemary sprig
3/4 fresh fava beans or snow peas (optional)
8 medium asparagus spears cut into 2 inch lengths
1 pound of wheat pasta with no animal product such as egg
1 small bag of frozen peas
3/4 cup tarragon leaves (optional)
1 small bag of fresh baby sspinach
(Parmesan cheese will make it vegetarian if used as a garnish)
1/2 cup or so of the pasta water so don't discard it
1/2 cup or so of vegetable broth
2 garlic cloves crushed and finely minced
1-2 tspn of lemon zest (optional)

Cook your pasta, once done drain well and place in a bowl over the spinach. The heat from the pasta will wilt the spinach.  Keep your pasta water you will need some for the puree.

While the pasta is cooking get your asparagus ready, pick 8 nice spears place in boiling water for about 2 min you want them crisp so don't leave them in the boiling water too long. After you remove them from the boil place in ice cold water, this will stop the cooking process, preserve the color and cool them down. Once done cut them into 2 inch segments and set them aside.

I used Artichokes from a can, they work just as well for me in this recipe. If you like you can also make them from fresh. Again I did not see the point for this recipe. Open can, drain and rinse the artichokes then cut in half and set aside.

If you are using another bean such as fava or snow peas then read them now. I did not choose to use any further bean as I wanted to keep this simple and fresh.

In a blender or food processor put your frozen peas in with 1 clove of garlic, add some salt if you like I didn't use any extra. Once the peas are pureed then add in some of the pasta water and vegetable broth. You want to add the broth mixture until you have a consistency of a loose puree or how ever you like it.

Lets make the dressing, in a measuring cup or some other sort of container put some EVOO tarragon, lemon peal, garlic and rosemary.

Now you can start to assemble, I like to put some puree on the pasta and lightly mix some. Then add in your vegetables artichoke, asparagus and any other bean you liked and drizzle with the dressing.

I got the origional receipe from bon appetit magazine and have modified it to my taste. The great thing about this receipe is that you can add or subtract anyting you like. I think next time I will add caper berries for some more savory flavor.

Calories per serving of Pasta with Asparagus, artichokes and spinach153 calories of Olive Oil, (0.08 cup)
116 calories of Whole Wheat Spaghetti, cooked (pasta), (0.67 cup)
80 calories of Artichokes, fresh, (1.33 artichoke, medium)
10 calories of Asparagus, fresh, (0.33 cup)
5 calories of Lemon Juice, (0.08 cup)
3 calories of Vegetable Broth, (0.17 cup)
2 calories of Tarragon, ground, (0.17 tbsp)
1 calories of Spinach, fresh, (0.17 cup)
1 calories of Rosemary, (0.25 tbsp)

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 6 - 8
• Amount Per Serving about a cup
• Calories: 377.1

• Total Fat: 19.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 325.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 47.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 14.7 g
• Protein: 12.0 g

My Vegan Cookbook

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=326341

Visit my online cookbook titled The Vegan Chef! So far just a couple of recipes but you will find nutrition information for each recipe!

Low Fat Oatmeal Cookies

If you are like me you eat healthy most of the time, you workout 4 or more times a week but every now and then you want or even crave something sweet. BUT you don't want to undo all the hard work you have put into the week.

Today I made up some low fat VEGAN oatmeal cookies, I find these to be a wonderful way to treat yourself and not throw off your hard work for the week.

Donna who is by no means vegan is my tester for most of my recipes, sometimes to her delight sometimes not so much, but gives these cookies a 9 on a scale of 1-10. These cookies are as easy to make as they are delicious to eat.

What you need:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flower
1 Cup Rolled oats but not the instant kind
1/2 teaspns baking powder
1/2 teaspns cinnamon
1/4 teaspns nutmeg
1/2 Cup molasses
4 Tblspns corn oil
2 Tblspns water
1 1/2 teaspns vanilla
1/2 Cup walnuts coarsely chopped
1/2 Cup raisins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Place the flower, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir together and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the molasses, oil, water and vanilla together. I like to put the oil in first so the mixture comes out of the bowl easier. Oh and don't forget the water the first time I made these I forgot and while they will come out ok, and have the same flavor they will be dryer. The water is going to make these cookies retain their moisture.

Once all the wet ingredients are mixed together well add to your dry ingredients and mix well, add the nuts and raisins and incorporate throughout. I tried these a number of ways the first time I spooned out a heaping teaspoon of mixture and made flat disks, I have also spooned out a tablespoon and made balls and even placed all the mixture onto wax paper and made a roll then cut out disks. Whatever you go with make all the cookies even so your cooking time is even. I would say start with no more than a tablespoon of mixture and cook for 10-12 minuets or until lightly browned but still moist.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, you can keep for up to a week in the pantery.

Bon Appetite!

Nutrition Facts Low Fat Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
20 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		116.9
Total Fat		5.2 g
	Saturated Fat	0.6 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.1 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		15.9 mg
Potassium		165.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate		17.1 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.5 g
	Sugars	7.2 g
Protein		1.9 g

Vitamin A	0.0 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	4.1 %
Vitamin C	0.3 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	3.4 %
Calcium	2.9 %
Copper	5.1 %
Folate	0.8 %
Iron	4.3 %
Magnesium	6.5 %
Manganese	12.6 %
Niacin	0.9 %
Pantothenic Acid	0.8 %
Phosphorus	2.0 %
Riboflavin	0.7 %
Selenium	2.3 %
Thiamin	2.4 %
Zinc	0.9 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Mixed Veggies, Roasted Brussel Sprouts... OOOoooo So Good!

Tonight's dinner was a little hope a lot praying and a whole bunch of trust in cooking experience. I know your thinking oh no this can't be good but in fact it was delicious. Scale of 1-10 a solid 8.

So what is it you ask, well I came home from working out at the gym feeling like I have a healthy start on the evening and wanted to keep that going. So I took a look in the fridge, found the following: 

2 large porta bella mushrooms

1 medium yellow squash

1 small to medium sweet potato

1 head of cauliflower

1/2 medium or 1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1ear of corn

1 cup sweet pea pods

3 Mexican red peppers

1 pound brussel sprouts
1/2 cup vegitable stock

What I did, take the brussel sprouts cut the ends off each then cut each sprout  in half. Place into a deep roasting pan and drizzle with EVOO and balsamic vinagor then place in a preheated oven at 350 for about 20 min. When you take them out you can sprinkle garlic salt over them and serve. If you've never liked brussel sprouts your not alone, when not cooked correctly these can be repulsive. THIS recipe is my go to recipe each mouthfull of sprouts is delectable! You won't be disapointed!

For the rest start with the sweet potato and cauliflower as these are going to take the longest. Peal the sweet potato then cut into cubes, place into a wok with EVOO and cook on high heat. Cut the cauliflower down into shoots and place these into the wok.Cook for about 10 min on high heat then add the vegtable stock. The stock will help soften these vegtables.

 For the yellow squash cut it into cubs and toss in the wok let all the veggies now in the wok cook for about 5 min while you prep the onions and garlic. For the onions cut into pices, mince the garlic. 

Once the first set of veggies start to brown and the sweet potatos are tender toss in the onions and garlic. Once the onions start to become translucant toss in the mushrooms and sweet pea pods, Mexican red peppers and corn. simmer for about 10 min. 

This was an amazing grouping of veggies the peppers added flavor but not much heat, if you want it to be hotter or spicer then you can add more to your liking.  

VEGAN RESTURANT

Okay here is the Menu for this VEGAN resturant! Spiral Diner and Bakery, LOVE that this exists! This is a must visit location for me this weekend, and I will let you know what I think once I have gone.

Eating Out - Asian Mint

Okay while I LOVE to cook and experiment, sometimes I just want to sit and enjoy the company of my family and not cook. One of our favorite restaurants is Asian Mint, we like to go to the one located at 75 and Forrest but there is another located on Oak Lawn in Highland Park. We like the one on Forrest because they have a more relaxed feel than the one in Highland Park. Plus the Highland Park location is very small and feels cramped.

One of my FAVORITE dishes is a Stir Fried Rice, Yellow Curry with Tofu and Veggies. I ask for this dish to be specially made vegan style which means of course no eggs, dairy or meat. So they oblige me and give me the best stir fried rice you have ever put in your mouth. WOW what flavor!

Donna ordered Kung Paw Chicken with tofu, which was fantastic with the Tofu! Just goes to show you that ANY dish can be made specially for you VEGAN style!

Next time I go it will be Stir Fried Asian Veggies and Tofu which is also a favorite of mine. For now Bon Appetite!

Vegeterian spaghetti that taste like the real thing?

Okay so I have the most amazing wife EVER!!! Get this I walk in and not only has she made dinner, again, she made SPAGHETTI!!! Well if you know me you know Italian is a basic food group which makes going vegan challenging. Spaghetti is her speciality and the thought of not having it again was well distasteful.

She had plated the spaghetti, had a salad, a reasonable glass of wine along with garlic bread. Now I know what you are thinking YUMMY and CALORIE CITY! Well you would be mistaken my friend on the calorie city part anyway. She found items that were not only vegan relatively low in calories, so this entire meal was not only worth having but figure friendly.

Lets start by discussing the noodles she found a company called Ronzoni Smart Taste with added calcium, vitamin D and fiber with 170 cals per serving. The "meat" was by Morning Star called Meal Starters this was 80 cals per serving. Add her sauce ingredients and you have spaghetti for around 300 cals and it's not a frozen dinner! Sorry no way I could ever give this recipe out as it is a true Italian secret. There is no way I want anyone called Vinnie or someone with a last name of Sarafini coming after me to have any discussions on family secrets. I love the ocean but in no way do I want them to take me swimming with the fishes if you get my drift... Kidding.

The bread is 35 cal per slice with a spread made by Best Life added to that was of course garlic.

So what she said she did to ready the "meat" was to add some EVOO, a necessary step since this product has no actual animal fat. Brown the "meat" and use as you would any other ground beef, chicken or turkey. Make your spaghetti sauce as you normally would, again friends sorry cannot give the actual recipe on this one.

I am sure by now you are wondering, as I was seconds after entering the door, how this is going to taste. Well let me be the first to say, you absolutely could not tell the difference. Wow what a statement! Well okay there is a difference, but not in taste. The difference for this meal vs. the original beef laden, high fat content, calories out the wazoo meal is that right now I don't hate the fact that I ate it, I am not sleepy, bloated, burping or weighed down with a heavy lump of animal content in my stomach. BRAVO!

Not your tofu and carrots of vegan times gone by but a great way to enjoy meals that are tasty, low calorie and simply devine to make and eat. BON APPETITE!