And so it goes

It’s done. Just like that. Summer’s over. The most glorious 12 weeks of the year. Now I wait. And plan my winter escapes.

I have neglected you, dear readers, and I give you my heartfelt regrets that I simply had too many other things to focus on, namely healing. I am perhaps taunting you with this post which is a summer’s worth of recipes that I didn’t share with you 😢

Blackberry mint shrub

We’re finally an empty nest! Alec (aka Early Bird) has returned to campus for his senior year and Av (aka Second Mouse) heads to Oklahoma to play hockey. We’re planning trips to see both. We’re also doing some projects to repurpose space…I am very excited about a meditation/book nook and Matt can’t wait for his den (aka man cave).

Even the cats chill at the lake

My herb garden and tomatoes went gangbusters this year as we had a hot dry summer. The fake snakes worked too! Kept the critters out.

Fake snake works!

The Thai basil was particularly abundant, beautiful and fragrant in the planter. I used it in a simple cold sesame noodle salad.

Sesame noodles with Thai basil

Still need to do a salad with the nasturtiums. Did you know you can eat both the leaves and the flowers?? They’re quite zippy and peppery. All guests visiting the patio have sampled them. Will definitely plant again. They’re quite a prolific creeping vine once they get going. Beautiful and fun. I like getting people to try new foods 😉

I probably made a dozen pastas with different herbs. Pistachio mint pesto, sage pesto, tomatoes and basil, fresh tomato sauce (still my fav)

Pan roasted gnocchi with tomatoes and basil

Never too many tomatoes

Fresh tomato sauce still #1

I can never resist the baby potatoes and thin green beans at the Farmer’s Market too and they made a great Salad Nicoise. (No fish for me of course!). With a special treat of pink French wine 😉

For the salad, I was trying a new hard boiled egg technique that is supposed to make it “no peel”. Epic fail. Don’t believe everything you read on the Innerwebs! 🤣

Precracking the egg: bad idea.

Speaking of fish…Matt caught a personal record 50” 30+ lb Muskie on their river float trip. It’s scary to think this thing is swimming around! He’s spent a lot of time on the water this summer ❤️

Happy boy

I feel blessed that we have so many local vegetables to create with and love going to the Farmer’s market to get inspired with whatever is fresh. Zucchini, yellow squash and patty pan (such a treat!) make me happy. So do fresh onions and garlic. There’s really no comparison to the dry stuff we get in the store/winter.

All veg gratin. Needs flavor tweaks

Before

After

Am now feeling physically, mentally and emotionally stronger through Lots of self care, Time at the lake, enjoying the last few weeks with the boys, and of course swimming. I am writing a book about these last 2 years of parenting, and that has been fun and therapeutically fulfilling as well ❤️ I hope to get back posting recipes now that it’s fall. 🍁

If something here caught your eye, drop me a note and I will write it up for you 😇

Thurs night improv (lemon pasta with chickpeas-vegan)

It’s been awhile. The world has been noisy so I have been allowing myself the compassion to focus inward.

To simplify food lately, We’ve been doing partially prepped meals from 2 local spots—one, Seed Cafe, my favorite vegan place and the other Local Crate, which uses all local ingredients.

Both meal kits come with many ingredients prepped and the recipes are easy enough to make in 30 minutes. It’s been a good compromise to feel like I am still cooking but to not be fully immersed. If we’ve learned anything these last few months it’s the importance of being flexible!

Some highlights from those kits:

“B”lt and quinoa onion rings

Golden curry bowls

But today I felt the spark of creativity. Perhaps it was having the week off or the lovely 70 degree weather that inspired me to cook.

Only, it’s Thursday. There’s not much left in the fridge (we shop Saturday). I relish this kind of challenge—ala Chopped to create something fantastic from whatever is in the basket.

This pasta was just the trick of comfort food and hearty filling with the addition of protein packed garbanzos. It always satisfies me to use what’s on hand resourcefully. Nothing particularly magnificent but Matt praised me anyway: “Restaurant quality”…perhaps I will take on Bobby Flay. 😉

It’s a hearty dish that comes together quickly….just in time for winter. And hey, this is a more or less of type of dish meaning if you don’t have zucchini that’s ok, no green onions or parsley or rosemary that’s ok too. Cannellini beans but no garbanzos? It’s all good. Basically, layer some carbs. It warmed my soul.

From our quiet corner of the world to yours, wishing you health and hope. ❤️

Lemon pasta with chickpeas

Lemon pasta with chickpeas (vegan)

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 green onions chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 medium zucchini, quartered and chopped
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• Pasta water, about 1 cup
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

Boil pasta. In the meantime, sauté zucchini in olive oil for 5 minutes on medium until just turning brown. Add chickpeas and heat through. Add crushed red pepper, garlic, rosemary and green onions, sauté 1 minute. Remove to separate bowl. Add 1/2cup pasta water and scrape browned bits from pan until loose sauce forms. Add lemon juice and zest. Add cooked pasta and additional water until pasta is well coated and soft (about another 1/2 cup water and 1 minute). Combine with zucchini-chickpea mix. Top with parmesan if desired.

Lentil meatballs (vegan)

So four of us in the house has been close quarters for the last 3 months. We were very thankful to get up to the lake last week for a change of scenery, with the trees just starting to bloom. It was gorgeous!

The weather has done its typical “cold” to “hot” transition with little temperate spring in between. But I am glad it’s hot and sending daily good karma for the outdoor pool to open in a few weeks (we’re just starting our reopening process). Please please please!

As per usual spring, I planted succulents and herbs. The war with the tree rats continues. We’re trying plastic forks to keep them from digging in addition to the fencing. Ironically the plethora of rodents has attracted a flock of crows that keep picking off the chipmunks, baby bunnies and squirrels. Nature is scary, but useful.

I used the basil on my pasta tonight to go along with the lentil meatballs. Honestly I forgot to check if the noodles were vegan. But I am seriously exhausted from all of the cooking. All the boys do is eat. It’s only Tuesday and we’re already out of bread, ice cream, and most of the fruit. We have ordered delivery ice cream twice now. Ridiculous.

Here’s comments from dinner tonight: “Ha ha, I ate my firsts as fast as I could so I could get the most seconds.” Defensive speed eating. Avery is world champion.

So the boys didn’t eat the vegan lentil meatballs but instead we tried Audrey’s porcupine meatballs. What a hit!

“It’s as if spaghetti and meatballs & bolognese had a cousin.”

I was pleased because it was easy to make ahead and reheats fast. They were fun to make and I understood the name once I saw the distinctive way the rice plumps up during cooking. 😁

I followed the recipe with one substitution: creamy tomato boxed soup. Closest flavor profile: vodka sauce. Definitely adding this to our lineup.

Hopefully you only have to make one recipe or the other. Soon enough my food terrorists will leave the nest and it will be just us two. Poor Matt will be eating lentil vegan meatballs all of the time. (I realize how unusual our eating habits are).

All in all I am glad we had this extra time during quarantine together. Even if Avery won’t be having a commencement or grad party. I forgive his spite eating.

Oh, and we’ve now ordered a half gallon of delivery raspberry chocolate chip ice cream three times.

Lentil meatballs (vegan)

• 1 can precooked brown lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil plus more for rolling (or avocado oil)
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 ounces tomato paste
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• Fresh herbs if you’ve got em, I used basil, oregano, parsley and thyme, 2 tbsp total

Sauté the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Puree lentils, tomato paste, walnuts, and panko in food processor until smooth but ideally with a few pieces of nut chunks remaining. Add onion/garlic mixture and seasoning . Pulse to combine. You may need additional breadcrumbs if your mixture is not clumping together.

Chill mixture for 30 minutes. Roll into 12 2” balls. Freeze for 30 minutes. Re-roll them and coat with oil (Avocado is my preference). They will be sticky. Place on tinfoil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, flip and bake another 15 minutes.

Eat them before the hungry boys get desperate.

Roasted tomato sauce

Fresh tomatoes are one of summer’s best gifts. I just want to bottle it up and save it for January to remember warmth will eventually return! Now’s a great time to stock up at the Farmer’s Market.

Both boys have started asking for cooking lessons and before Alec left, we were focused on some of the basics that everyone should master. Obviously pasta is one of them!

It sounds easy enough, but there are a few techniques and tools that make for great pasta:

A spider for scooping pasta out of well-salted water. I prefer sea salt, and you should actually taste your water (before boiling 😉) to make sure it tastes like seawater. It takes more salt than you might think, but it results in more flavorful pasta. Remove pasta 2 minutes before “done” and finish cooking in the sauce that you’ve already started heating in a separate pan. This technique works even with store bought sauce.

This is the second tool you’ll need, a grabber to stir the pasta. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to finish the cooking and bind the sauce to the noodles. You can add as you go, more or less water until the texture is right. This works well with any non-cream based sauce.

This is the finished roasted tomato sauce, which is a beautiful color depending on the mix of tomatoes you use. There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of noodles with homemade sauce!

Roasted tomato sauce (vegan)

4 lbs fresh tomatoes, quartered

6 cloves garlic

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Toss cut tomatoes and garlic cloves in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast at 200 degrees for 6 hours. Purée in food processor or using hand blender.

Pasta with sausage, chard and ricotta (vegan)

This recipe has become one of Avery’s favorites. He’s even made it himself once! (And learned that when mom says “4 garlic cloves” she means chop them up, not whole 😉).

The sauce uses a classic Italian technique to make for silky and perfectly cooked noodles–using the pasta water to finish the cooking within the sauté pan with the other ingredients. It is practically fool proof.

We use vegan sausage and ricotta for this, which is a nice way to get some plant protein along with the carbs.

Any leafy green works, but rainbow Swiss chard is our favorite because it cooks fast but doesn’t completely fall apart like spinach. You throw it in the pasta pot for the last 2 minutes, which is another cheat making this recipe a weeknight favorite.

There are many variations on this recipe–changeout the protein or green, skip the ricotta or substitute parmesan, use any combination tomatoes–but the base sauce technique is definitely a winner for any experience level. So long as you remember to chop the garlic.

Pasta with sausage, chard and ricotta (vegan)

4 cloves garlic chopped

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 pint or more small tomatoes–we love brown Kumato, red grape and yellow Sunburst, cut in half

1 lb vegan Italian or Chipotle flavored sausage, sliced

1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves roughly chopped, stems discarded

1 lb pasta, tube shape preferably

1/2 cup or more ricotta (we like Kite Hill brand)

2 tbsp pine nuts

Roast the tomatoes for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees until juices start running and they begin to caramelize.

In the meantime, start pasta water.

Sauté sausage on both sides in 2 tbsp olive oil until brown. Remove from pan.

Put pasta in water and cook for 2 minutes less than instructions.

While pasta cooks, remove tomatoes from oven. Sauté garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute before adding tomatoes. Scoop 1 cup of pasta water into tomato sauce. Let simmer on low.

Add Swiss chard to pasta with 2 minutes remaining. Drain pasta and add to tomato sauce. The noodles will be al dente, and continue cooking for 2 minutes until tomato sauce finishes cooking noodles. You can always add more pasta water to the mixture. (Don’t dump it out until you finish the sauce just to be safe).

Add sausage back in. Top with ricotta and pine nuts.

Manicotti (vegan)

I was really hesitant about going full vegan on this recipe for manicotti, which is a winter comfort food for us. Let’s face it, it’s hard to substitute something that has as its main ingredient ooey gooey goodness with “feeze”. (All substitutes in our house now begin with F, as in “fake”. Ficken. Feeb. Feeze. We haven’t figured out what to do with Fish, except to say it wrong: Feesh. This is my first try with Feggs too).

But gosh darnit, it’s Sunday and I feel like experimenting while listening to the same 12 Christmas carols on the radio. I mean just look at these ingredients, doesn’t that look like the makings of a fantastic Sunday supper?!

Many thanks to Cathryn’s Kitchen for her recipe inspiration. The main uniqueness of this version is the crepes, which make the entire dish a silky texture, and how I have typically made manicotti. The crepes are a bit tedious to make but open some wine while singing to classic Dean Martin carols and it’ll go fast.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by the creaminess of the “rinotta” filling that had a nice lightness to it.

I added some chopped sautéed vegan Italian sausage to about half and would experiment with other additions next time too. I am trying out recipes for our Italian Christmas Eve dinner and now that I have a good substitute for ricotta, a whole new repertoire opened up!

Feel free of course to use the real deals, but you too might be surprised by the vegan substitutes.

Manicotti (vegan)

Crepes

• 1c flour
• 2 “eggs”
• 2/3c water (in addition to the water for the vegan eggs)

Blend all together and let sit for 30 min.

Filling

In the meantime, mix up the filling.

• 16 oz medium firm tofu
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 6 oz “mozzarella” cheese
• 2 oz grated “parmesan”
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together (and add other fillings as desired, such as vegan sausage).

Make the crepes by heating 1 tsp olive oil over low heat. Add 3 tbsp of batter and spread using the back of the ladle. Cook about 1 min and flip to finish another minute or so until the entire crepe takes on a translucent quality.

Fill with 3 tbsp of filling and repeat (this made about 18 crepes).

I used jar spicy marinara for the sauce, putting just enough to cover the pan before layering crepes on top and covering with remaining sauce. Bake covered for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Finish with chopped fresh basil.

Rosemary roasted red pepper pasta (vegan)

Thanksgiving is one of those days when people have their expectations–of the food and the rituals like football, drawing names for Xmas gifts, the favorite nap spot, etc.

It’s best not to mess with tradition. But maybe add a new one?

I thought about what we might make for vegan options to bring to my in-laws, who would be preparing the usual turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and cranberries. It would be mostly for Av and me, but I didn’t want it to feel like we were being rude by eating an entirely different meal.

Hmmmm. Mac and cheese seemed like a good option. Many families have that as part of Thanksgiving but we never have. I liked not having a comparison to hold against it.

If I have learned anything about cooking vegan it’s better to play to the strengths of the ingredients rather than making a “fake” version of the original. Cheese (“feeze”) is definitely one of our least favorite vegan options. The texture isn’t quite right.

So I looked up some recipes and found a roasted red pepper pasta made with cashews. I made a few adjustments based on the butternut squash lasagna I make, including steeping rosemary in the almond milk, and toasting it in with the cashews to bring out some of the oils.

I ended up adding lemon juice and some crushed red pepper flakes to brighten up the sauce. This was the first time I had used nutritional yeast powder and I like the depth it added. I baked this, but it could also be eaten immediately.

Alec ended up eating a large bowl later Thanksgiving night…with Sriracha. He’s grateful for the break from college dorm food. 😊

Rosemary roasted red pepper pasta

• 2 lbs elbow macaroni
• 3c unsweetened almond milk
• 12oz whole raw cashews
• 1 large onion diced
• 6 cloves garlic chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 12 oz roasted red peppers (about 3 large if you roast them yourself)
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp Crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Panko breadcrumbs

Bring the almond milk to a simmer and add one rosemary sprig. Turn off heat and let steep for an hour. Remove as much of the rosemary as possible (it’s ok if a few leaves remain).

Toast cashews in sauté pan with remaining rosemary sprig. Crush rosemary to bring out oils. Let sit while preparing pasta and sauce.

Cook pasta, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Sauté onion in oil until soft, add garlic and cook another 2 min. Add roasted red peppers, continue cooking briefly until heated through. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and nutritional yeast.

To bring sauce together, purée cashews in food processor (remove rosemary). Add red pepper mixture and process until smooth. Slowly add almond milk.

Pour sauce over noodles. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with panko breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Late summer veggie orzo salad

I have always loved the challenge format cooking shows, where competitors get a basket of miscellaneous stuff and have to quickly make something fantastic.

Our house is sometimes like this when we are nearing the end of the week and due for a grocery shop. I love the challenge of figuring out how to pull something together and the thrill of when it’s actually good.

This pasta salad could be made with a variety of things, substituting what you have on hand (different veggies, shape pasta, lemon for lime). I will say that adding a green of any kind is a nice change of pace and certainly adds some nutrients.

It also helps to have adventurous eaters (or just really hungry ones) to try out the experiments! 😉

Late summer veggies orzo salad

• 12 oz orzo
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/3c olive oil
• Zucchini, sliced lengthwise in quarters
• Yellow squash, sliced lengthwise in quarters
• 2 ears corn
• 2 large handfuls mixed greens, arugula or spinach

Cook orzo and rinse. Mix together dressing of lime juice, olive oil, dijon and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Toss orzo to coat. Add in greens. It helps if the pasta is slightly warm to just wilt them. Grill zucchini, squash and corn for 10 minutes. Chop squash and slice kernels off of the cob (let it cool first!) Add to salad and toss to combine.

A goat cheese or vegan goat cheese/chevre is a nice touch of tangy too.

I can’t believe it’s meatless Bolognese (vegan)

So the thing about change is that it requires flexibility and curiosity. Changing how you eat after 20+ years is kind of a big deal. You really have to think and act differently. As in, be mindful about food rather than fall into autopilot. It’s hard.

We started the boys early on trying new foods and basically expected them to eat like adults from very early on. If they didn’t like something, fine. But they had to try it. Multiple times.

So the vegan thing is just taking that to another realm. Mostly it requires ME to change. I have to adjust favorite recipes, find new ones and shop differently. Mostly it’s fun and I am enjoying experimenting.

We try some things and add them to the buy again list–like cashewyogurt–and others–like tempeh bacon–will need to grow on us. But every week I have tried something new, a new product or a new technique.

There are an incredible number of fantastic plant-based products out there. Avery is never going back to regular milk from his barista smooth Almondmilk. (And no this isn’t paid product promo).

This vegan bolognese was a wild success. “Mom, you can make this every week!” And the best part is that it doesn’t take 3 hours of simmering (plant protein doesn’t break down the same way animal protein does).

There are a couple of secret ingredients in this–wine and cinnamon. Plus it’s important to cook the mirepoix before adding the meat, then garlic and herbs, then tomato paste. (If your sauce sometimes tastes bitter it’s probably from uncooked tomato paste. It only needs a minute or so but removes the sharp bite).

Oh, and the only reason to make bolognese in July is a state swim meet: Go Aquajets, Power of the team!

Bolognese sauce (vegan)

• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 celery stalk diced
• 4 garlic cloves chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 package ground meatless crumbles
• 14oz veggie sausage
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 15oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup veggie broth
• Salt and pepper

Sauté veggies in olive oil until soft. Add “meats” and brown. Getting a nice crust adds depth of flavor. Add garlic sauté 1 min. Add tomato paste and herbs, cook 1 min. Add diced tomatoes, sauce, bay leaf, cinnamon, red wine and veggie broth. Season with salt as it simmers about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Serve over pasta.

Roasted butternut squash rosemary lasagna

When I crave lasagna, I generally don’t think vegan–getting rid of the meat is the easy part, it’s all that cheese holding the layers together that’s hard to replicate. And I haven’t yet found a really good nondairy cheese that both melts well and holds up in the oven in a dish like lasagna (suggestions welcome!)

So when my sister served this lasagna at a recent family celebration, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s based on this butternut squash garlic lasagna recipe.

I fully admit that I did not go all vegan on this, but used real parmesan. I would have liked to try again with nondairy parm before posting this, but probably won’t get a chance before we’re done with winter roasting weather here in Minnesota.

That’s good news, it means that I am looking forward to roasting corn outside on the grill…soon!

Roasted butternut squash rosemary lasagna (almost vegan)

• 12 par-cooked lasagna sheets
• 1 Butternut squash, cubed (buy the precut cubes if you can, about 6-8 cups)
• Olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 cups nondairy milk (I used unsweetened coconut)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 4 tbsp nondairy butter
• 1 cup nondairy creamer (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 4 tbsp flour
• 4 oz parmesan
• Salt

Toss squash cubes in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, depending on how big you cut your cubes and how “roasted” you like your vegs.

Bring milk to a simmer and steep rosemary for at least an hour. Remove sprig.

Sauté garlic in “butter” 30 seconds, add flour and stir until the roux is browned, about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in milk mixture and cook until sauce is creamy about 10 minutes. Add squash. I really smashed my cubes into the cream sauce since I wanted a smooth consistency. Depending on how roasted your cubes are this may require a bit of elbow grease 😉 I liked the extra depth of the well roasted squash. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer lasagna by putting 1/4 of sauce on bottom of pan, top with 3 noodles, sprinkle with cheese and repeat 3 more times with the top layer as noodles. (I used more layers than the original recipe, which made it have a bit more structure.)

Pour cream over top and remaining parmesan (this too is a change from the original recipe as the “whipping” of almond milk will result in a giant mess but try if you insist 😉).

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 40 minutes until noodles are soft. Cool before cutting.