Spaghetti and Sunshine

What a great combination.

Spring is here it seems, and the air is pregnant with warmth and possibilities...

I've been making the most out of it, and sitting outside to eat.

Lots of spaghetti in the house of veganini lately. Not sure why that is- Maybe because for me, it's pretty fail safe.

Olive oil. Onions. Garlic. Red chillies. Red capsicum. Carrot. Swiss brown mushrooms. Zucchini. Chickpeas(can). Whole tomatoes(can). Penne.

YUM! :)

Lentil & Carrot Penne

I made up this recipe the other night, because I had a hankering for lentils.

I wasn't sure what I was going to serve them with, ultimately I went for penne.

I later discovered, the sauce makes for a much more tasty, stand-alone soup.

Recipe for 2 serves of pasta + 1 soup OR 2 serves of soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry red lentils

2Tbs olive oil

1/4 green capsicum, chopped finely

1/2 onion, chopped finely

2 small carrots, grated

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup water

8 basil leaves, chopped roughly

1 cup stewed tomatoes (I use organic tinned)

3Tbs tomato paste

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1.Saute onion & capsicum with oil, in medium saucepan, on medium heat. Cook until golden.

2.Add carrots & garlic, and cook until fragrant, but not browned.

3.Add lentils, and stir well to coat. Add remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste.

4.Put lid on saucepan, reducing heat slightly, and allow to cook until lentils are tender- about 20 minutes.

5.Give small whizz with blender-stick-thinga-ma-jigga, retaining some of the chunk.

6.Serve as soup or over pasta- I say soup is best!

Cauliflower Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs

It's always a challenge, when you have a few lonely vegetables in your crisper, and not much else by way of ingredients.

I realised, despite good intentions- a lot of vegetables I buy, go straight from crisper to compost.

So, in the spirit of 'use what you have', this pasta was born..

I've been a bit bored with pasta lately- I know all my own tricks too well..

But this was something new, and it was really quick and easy to make- always a bonus.

I don't know if it was the addition of fuoco d'amore (Fire of Love) chilli sauce (actually a gift for my husband), but this dish was really a flavour notch above my usual pasta staples..

Makes 2 serves

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil

1/4 onion (I like red)

1/2 cup mushrooms (diced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

2/3 cup cauliflower (chopped into small florets)

2/3 cup diced tomatoes (I use organic tinned/canned)

1 tsp chilli sauce [I used fuoco d'amore (product of italy) but you can use any that contains real chillies]

2 Tbs water

250g(about) dried pasta (I used wholemeal penne)

2 Tbs breadcrumbs

2 Tbs pine nuts

2 tsp mixed dried herbs (I wanted to use 2 Tbs fresh parsley)

Method:

1.Put oil in a fry-pan on medium heat, and cook onions until golden.

Add mushrooms, until softened, then add garlic. Cook until garlic is golden but not brown.

2.Add cauliflower, diced tomatoes, chilli sauce and water, and stir until well combined. Cover.

3.Cook pasta, as per directions.

Place breadcrumbs, pine nuts and herbs on a lined baking tray, and place under the grill/broiler.

Keep an eye on them(I burnt one lot!). Toast til golden, then set aside.

4.By the time your pasta's done, your cauliflower should be nice and tender- if not, continue to cook until it is.

Drain pasta.

With your frypan on the still warm, hotplate, add pasta, and stir well to coat.

Stir in breacrumb mixture.