New Year, New Food

To kick off my New Year, I am leaning towards making some meals a little healthier.  I looooove food, so you know I can't give up all the good stuff.  But, I am going to try and make things lighter, better for all of us in this house.  Cooking this way is not hard, it's just that you have to be creative and willing to substitute ingredients in and out of a recipe.  That's not too hard, right?  The good thing about this dish I am getting ready to share with all of you, is that it's a pasta dish and who doesn't like pasta?  I switched out the meat and just used vegetables, a little wine and crushed red pepper to give it a little kick.  The family loved it, especially the hubby, he told me five times what a great meal it was!

Here is my take on a vegan/vegetarian Bolognese Sauce that I put together for dinner last night.   It's easy, and all in one pan.  The sauce is thick, rich, hearty and flavorful, and you will want to make it again and again.  Add whatever kind of pasta you like, I like linguine it's my favorite,  add some grated cheese (haha, who am I kidding, add ALOT of grated cheese!) before serving and um, um good!

Recipe below.

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A few main ingredients to start the sauce.

 Dice the carrots.....

 an Italian sauce is not complete without garlic....

 diced sweet onion....

 diced green and yellow zucchini for added taste and color....

 I used canned tomatoes, fresh basil, red wine and THE HEAT, crushed red pepper.

 All in one pan, doesn't get any easier than that!  Don't forget the fresh basil, there is nothing like the scent of fresh basil, it mesmerizes me.  Stir it all together....

 Drum roll please and here it is, cooking slowly (Rome wasn't built in a day), good flavor takes time to cook.

 About 1/2 hour before serving, get your pasta water going, cook the pasta and drain.

 Top that pasta with some Bolognese sauce and.......

 don't forget the cheese!  How awesome does that look?  Well, it tastes even better.

Vegan/Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 large carrots, small dice

1/2 large sweet onion, small dice

1/2 green zucchini, medium dice

1/2 yellow zucchini, medium dice

1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more if you like heat

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, or use 1 tablespoon dried

10 fresh basil leaves, sliced (chiffonade)

1 tablespoon sugar, more if you like a sweeter sauce, cuts the acid

1/4 cup red wine, not cooking wine

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound cooked pasta

Grated Parmesan cheese (or use vegan cheese)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but do not brown it.  Add the carrots and onion and sweat them until tender.  Add the zucchini and cook for two minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, crushed red pepper, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, parsley, basil, sugar, red wine, salt and pepper, stir to combine.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour. Toss with your favorite cooked pasta and top with grated cheese.  

Totally Tasty Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

My mother always made the best homemade vegetable beef soup.  Everyone would stop by the house for some to take home, when they knew she had made it.  My mom would have huge pots of soup cooking on the stove, enough to go around, and then some.  I have made it many, many  times over the years, you could never improve hers, just make it different.  I made mine the vegetarian way today, that's right, no beef and all vegetables.  All you need is a big soup pot, a cutting board and a sharp knife, to make this hearty soup for dinner on those cold Fall and Winter nights.  This is how I made it, recipe below.

I started with a base of crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth, you could also use vegetable stock.

 I got everything going in the huge soup pot that I have.  Doesn't that look good!

 Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 ribs of celery with leaves, sliced

1 turnip, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of  black pepper
6 cups of water
3 medium - large potatoes, cubed, leave skins on

1 - 32 oz. box of vegetable broth or stock

1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 - 15.5 oz. can of cannellini beans, rinsed

1 /2 small head of green cabbage, chopped

6 stalks of fresh kale, chopped

1/2 green zucchini, cubed

1/2 yellow zucchini, cubed

1 - 14.5 oz. can of yellow beans, use fresh if you can find them

1 - 32 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

5 - 6 sprigs of thyme, pull thyme off the sprigs

8 basil leaves, sliced

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion, celery, turnip, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Add the water, potatoes, broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beans, cabbage, kale, zucchini, yellow beans, mixed vegetables, parsley, thyme and basil.

Lower the heat to medium-low, leave uncovered.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 - 3  hours.  Serve piping hot with a loaf of fresh Italian bread or a Baguette.  Will keep for 4 - 5 days in the refrigerator.  Also can be frozen, thaw before reheating.  If soup thickens add a little water.