Penne w/ Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto

This is really why I made the sage pesto.  I cheated and bought butternut squash already prepared from Trader Joe's.  Can you blame me?  The protein and complex carbohydrates from the whole grain pasta and mushrooms provide a heartiness that will fill you up quickly.  The combination of flavors in this recipe are pretty amazing, each distinct. 

So Yum!

Ingredients:

8 oz. whole wheat penne
2 T refined coconut or safflower oil
1 1/2 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cut up
2 shallots, diced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms (baby bellas)
1/2 cup  sage pesto
pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook penne according to package directions, Al dente, and remember to salt the water.
In a large skillet, heat oil.   Cook squash about 6-8 minutes with cover (sort of frying and steaming at the same time).  Stir in shallots, mushrooms, and pepper and cook until veggies are tender, about 5 min.  Remove from heat and set aside.
When pasta is done, drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.  Return pasta to the pot (or a large bowl), stir in the sage pesto and squash mixture.  Add some pasta water if it seems too dry.  Um, yah, you know what to do next!

This recipe shared on Amee's Savory Dish

Sage Pesto

I find fresh sage to be delightful and a nice deviation from basil.  It has a musty mint and woodsy flavor.  Works well over penne rigate or with veggies.  Love it.  Try it.  

Recipe inspired by Skinny Bitch:

Sage Pesto:
1/4 cup whole almonds
2-3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cup fresh sage leaves, rinsed
3/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, rinsed
1/4 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
*I used extra light in flavor olive oil to not over-power the sage

In a food processor or blender, combine almonds and garlic and pulse to roughly chop.
Add the sage, parsley, salt, pepper, and soy milk and pulse to chop.
With the motor running, slowly stream in the olive oil until combined.
Consistency will be slightly liquidy, rather than creamy.   Refrigerate to thicken.

Open-faced Grilled Italian Sandwich

This open-faced sandwich is similar to your average meatball sub, only ten times better!  I couldn't believe how delicious this turned out; I just had to blog about it.  I didn't use a recipe, just what I had on hand.   I bought some tomato-basil bruschetta in a jar, but regular spaghetti sauce would work just fine.  Promise me you won't use meat or cheese in this meal.  I want you to know how amazing it is without animal protein!

click photo to enlarge

Here's what I used:

Earth Balance butter
2 pieces of whole grain, whole wheat bread
Bruschetta in a jar, or regular spaghetti sauce, whatever you have!
Extra firm tofu (I used teriyaki flavored baked tofu from Trader Joe's cuz it tastes like chicken)
Pesto sauce
Italian seasoning
Vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast

Grill both sides of the buttered bread and 6 tofu slices
Instead of mayo, use pesto sauce to spread on the toast
Layer the grilled tofu slices and bruschetta on top
Sprinkled with Italian seasoning and nutritional yeast

This was so bomb, I had to pour myself a glass of wine to drink it with!  I didn't use a fork, either.  Trust me, you'll love it!

Pizza My Way!

My family has 'pizza night' on Fridays.  I don't eat restaurant pizza because of the cheese and sodium etc.  But I want pizza too!  My thought was to buy my own ready-made crust and make my own pizza.  I was surprised and disappointed to read that store-bought pizza crust lists "cheese" as an ingredient in the crust. Why do they do that?  (always a good idea to read labels so you know what you're eating).  I finally found a whole wheat pizza crust recipe that has ingredients I can live with (it does have white flour and a bit of white sugar) and tastes amazing.  It was super fun and easy to make.  I used my pesto sauce and veggies to top my pizza.  Enjoy!

Pesto Sauce

In my next post, I will share a pesto pizza recipe to go with this pesto.  So stay tuned!  Now a word on Nutritional Yeast.  I use this in several recipes calling for Parmesan cheese.  It mimics the look, texture and taste of Parmesan.  Nutritional Yeast is not the same as live yeast you buy to make bread. I've only been able to find it at Whole Foods.  I buy it in bulk and store it in the fridge.  It contains vitamins, minerals, protein and folic acid.  It has minimal sodium and saturated fat (1% or less!) and zero cholesterol.  You can't say all that about Parmesan.  Of course you can buy pre-made pesto, but it has so much sodium and other yuckies that clog veins.  Give this a try;  it tastes even better than store-bought and it's fun to make.  Thanks toVegan Heartland for this simple and delicious recipe:

Ingredients:
Makes about 1/2 cup of pesto

2 cups basil leaves, rinsed
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped a little
2 T nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt and pepper
If you like heat, add a dash of cayenne

Place all ingredients into food processor or blender.  While blending, stream in good quality olive oil.  Not sure how much because I do it by consistency, but it's about 1/4 -1/3 cup.  Enjoy on pasta, pizza and as a sandwich spread instead of mayo!