Lemon Basil Pasta

This pasta is an easy, quick, one-pot meal from Everyday Happy Herbivore. I thought it was refreshing and tasty, but in the future would add more lemon (probably zest) for a bigger zing. I served it with roasted asparagus and a simple mixed greens salad with blackberry vinegar.

Lemon Basil Pasta
8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (or rice spaghetti to make it gluten-free)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons capers
black pepper, to taste
1 basil leaf for garnish (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. A minute before pasta is done, add the tomatoes to the cooking water to cook with the pasta. You want the tomatoes to soften only slightly.
2. Drain and rinse the pasta in cool water briefly.
3. Return pasta to the pot and add the lemon juice, fresh basil, and capers; mix to combine. You can add more capers if you like the taste.
4. Garnish with fresh black pepper and a basil leaf.

I served a small amount of pasta on a plate loaded with veggies!

Bottom Line: A fairly basic but light, tasty pasta dish sure to please any crowd.

One Of My Favorites

Happy Sunday, everyone! I love Sundays because...well, they are like everyone else's Saturdays as I typically have Sunday and Monday off. But also, I love Sundays because my fiance and I are free all day to spend the day together.
On a typical Sunday we will do something outdoorsy in the morning. Today we went for a dive at the Marine Room in La Jolla, which was enjoyable and relaxing. Then, after a quick Costco run (I'm overly excited about our new label maker!), we headed home for nap time followed by meal time. The extra time that I have on Sundays allows me to make something extra special for us. Tonight I made one of my favorite (so far!) vegan recipes, Zucchini-Quinoa Lasagna.
This recipe is great for a lot of reasons: it is extremely easy; it is packed with protein and highly satisfying; it can soothe any Italian-food craving; it doesn't even use noodles** - unique AND gluten-free; and, for ex-ricotta lovers like me, it doesn't make you miss the real thing! It takes a bit of time only because of cooking time for the quinoa and baking time for the lasagna, but it is a low-maintenance deal! It can also be easily customized - I added a bunch of broccoli, cut into small florets, into mine because I love veggie lasagna; you could also try meatless ground if you wanted, although it isn't necessary for upping the protein.

**I did use noodles this time around, per fiance's request =) But I LOVE the recipe even more with zucchini, as called for!

Zucchini-Quinoa Lasagna
2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into twelve 1/4-inch thick slices
1 tsp. salt
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped (I leave this out because I don't prefer parsley, but to each his own!)
2 tbs. non-dairy cream cheese, optional (I leave this out as well)
1 25-oz. jar marinara sauce (this is what the recipe calls for, but I ALWAYS end up needing at least another 1/2 jar! I would recommend having two jars on hand just in case)
1/2 cup shredded nondairy cheese, such as Daiya Mozzarella, optional (I also need nearly a full bag of this, since I love gooey, "cheesy" lasagna)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place zucchini slices on a bed of paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, cover with paper towels, and let stand to release moisture while preparing quinoa.

Bring broth, quinoa, tomato sauce, onion, and oregano to a boil in saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and stir in basil, parsley, and cream cheese, if using.

Quinoa mixture about to boil, already smelling fantastic!

Spoon 1/3 cup marinara sauce over bottom of 8-inch square baking dish. Blot remaining moisture and salt from zucchini slices, and lay 4 slices over marinara sauce in pan. Spoon half of quinoa over zucchini, and cover with 1/3 cup marinara. Repeat with 4 more zucchini slices, remaining quino, and 1/3 cup marinara. Top with remaining 4 zucchini slices, remaining marinara, and shredded cheese, if using.

Baking time

Bake lasagna 30 minutes, or until zucchini is tender and top is bubbly.

Finished product.

Bottom Line: A healthy, protein-packed meal sure to please even the pickiest of palates!


Recipe found in July/August 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine; originally created by and posted on peasandthankyou.com.

Back to Basics

Okay...I'll admit it. With a cringe I will say that tonight I literally had NO pots or pan to cook with, as we have seriously lagged on taking care of dishes these past few days. I know, ew! So we decided to go with a quick and easy staple meal, no recipes needed, that we have relied upon since becoming vegetarians years ago. A quick scrub of a few pots and we were set to go!

Whole Wheat Rotini with Marinara Sauce
1/2 bag whole wheat rotini
1/2 jar organic marinara sauce (I buy mine at Trader Joe's)
1/2 white onion
1 tsp crushed garlic

Add rotini to boiling water and cook as directed. In a separate sauce pan, simmer marinara sauce and add in onion and garlic (I like to do this for added texture and flavor...the more veggies you add the better, in my opinion!). When pasta is done, pour sauce over pasta. You know the drill!

Roasted Broccoli
I find that roasting broccoli rather than steaming it gives it much more flavor and, depending on how long you cook it for, an interesting slight crunch. You can adjust the seasonings however you like...I like to use a little garlic powder, some fresh garlic, and some garlic salt. Yes...I adore garlic =)

All you have to do is: preheat oven to 400 degrees; grab a roasting pan and drizzle ~2 tbsp. olive oil over a few cups of broccoli so it is fairly well covered (I prefer to err on the side of more than less oil, but that's just me); roast for 15-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you would like the florets to be! The end! So easy =)

Garlic Bread
Sense a bit of a theme here?!! Anyway, the garlic bread was just a way for us to use some extra whole wheat hot dog buns we had, but it is always a delicious addition to a meal. Just spread some Earth Balance butter on it, top with some crushed garlic and some garlic salt, and broil for a few minutes. I like to use real garlic as it imparts a sweeter, more heady flavor to the bread.

Okay, so at this point I feel a little silly for even having typed all of this out as it is quite basic. But just to prove how easy it is to go from empty-pantry, guess we'll get takeout night to healthy Italian meal I will publish =)

Just like mom used to make!

Bottom Line: A quick, easy, ultra-familiar meal you can make with things probably already in your cupboards. It is, however, lacking a bit in protein. I usually like to add vegetarian crumbles (my favorite is by Gardein) or veggie meatballs to my sauce to solve this problem. I didn't have any around tonight though so went without.