Salad with Chevre and Fettuccine Margherita

Yes, I've been in the mood for pasta. Mmm.

Fettuccine Margherita

1 lb fettuccine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
28 oz can plum tomatoes chopped (I used one 28oz can crushed tomatoes)
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

cook fettuccine until al dente
heat olive oil in pan ... add garlic and red pepper flakes ... cook 2 mins
add tomatoes and wine and boil 2 mins
add cream and salt and boil 1 min
drain fettuccine and pour sauce over it ... sprinkle on the parmesan cheese
toss quickly and serve

Mmm mmm good.

Source for fettuccine recipe: Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin.

The Chevre Salad is simple ... I just thought I'd include it 'cause it was yummy.
Spring mix of greens tossed with a little fresh baby spinach
Red Onion
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Some sliced beets

Fettuccine with Asparagus in Lemon Cream Sauce

This was quite yum, but I think I'll add some onion and red pepper flakes for hotness next time. My personal preference is just for spicier sauces.

Ingredients:
3/4 lb fettuccine (I used spinach)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook the fettuccine until al dente in a large pot of boiling water.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and asparagus and saute, tossing constantly, for 2 mins. Pour in 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and cook for 5 mins. Combine the milk, cream, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over the asparagus and bring to a boil. Drain the fettuccine and return to pot with the cream sauce. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

I served this with a salad. Mmm mmm mmm. Lucas was too sick to really taste it, but I liked it so I'll definitely be making this again. :)
Source: Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So many new recipes ... so many forgotten photos. *le sigh* I can't seem to remember to take photos of anything lately. Ah well. Perhaps I will remember to take a pic of the fettucine with asparagus that I'm making tomorrow. (Well, later today seeing as how it's now 12:24am.) I'm wide awake thanks to getting up at 2pm today. haha. I had a fun New Year's Eve and a very relaxing New Year's Day today. I got up, made brunch for Lucas and I ... took a shower ... changed into my lounging/yoga pants ... and watched movies all day. Ahhh ... I love Jan 1st.

I'll probably be up all night and then exhausted at work tomorrow, but whatever ... :p

I got a new cookbook for Christmas (yay!) and I've already made several recipes and forgot to take pictures of all of it. LOL
The cookbook is Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. I made pumpkin muffins, veggie cream cheese, crunchy lentil salad, tomatoes stuffed with couscous, polenta with spicy eggplant sauce, and tomorrow I'm making the fettucine with asparagus in lemon cream sauce. yum!

I substituted my own ingredients for veggie cream cheese. I softened some low fat cream cheese in the microwave and mixed in some minced garlic and chopped basil. Why I've never done this before is beyond me! I think fat free cream cheese tastes kind of crappy but I hypothesize that it will taste delightful using these ingredients added to it. I went to two stores, but couldn't find fat free, so I had to settle for low fat. Thus, my hypothesis remains untested. heh. I'll work on that next week.

All of these recipes were delicious, so I would highly recommend this book! It is heavy on recipes that use cheese, but I just used less cheese than called for and substituted lower fat ingredients whenever possible. :)

Tofu Scramble

This morning, I made the tofu scramble recipe posted in the last entry. It was delicious! It was actually better than I had anticipated. Lucas even thought it was eggs. He liked it too. :) This is definitely going to be a regular occurrence for weekend brunch. Mmmmm.

P.S. Served with some grits and cinnamon toast. Mmm.

Going all the way...............

It's getting to the point that I am totally grossed out by all meat.

I was eating fish (e.g. see two recipes below), but that is an increasingly rare occurrance. I bought some tuna fish to make some tuna salad for lunch and I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I just had to throw it away. I wasted $1.99. I hate that. Thank goodness I also bought myself a yummy indian veggie microwave meal. I guess I'll give the other two cans to Lucas for lunch this week. yuck.

I also looked up some not-so-good facts about eggs. I really haven't concerned myself with cholesterol levels of foods because I eat mostly vegetarian (like 90% of the time). I do, however, enjoy eggs on the weekends for brunch. It seems that women really shouldn't eat more than 300mg cholesterol per day and a single egg has 220mg of cholesterol in it! ick.

Maybe I will try to make a tofu scramble this weekend. Of course, the occasional indulgence is OK ... and I probably don't come anywhere near 300mg per day on most days, but still ... I want to enjoy old age and travel my arse off!

So ... this tofu scramble sounds good and it doesn't call for nutritional yeast like most other tofu scramble recipes. (I am too lazy to search for this ingredient because I will rarely use it.)

Curried Tofu Scramble with Spinach
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 countainer firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch fresh spinach

Preparation:
Sautee the garlic and onion in olive oil in a large skillet. Allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion turns soft. Add remaining ingredients except spinach and cook, stirring frequently for another 5 minutes or so, until tofu is hot and cooked, adding more oil if needed.
Add spinach and cook a minute or two, just until wilted, stirring well.
Makes two servings of tofu scramble.

Nutritional Information:
Calories per serving: 236, Calories from Fat: 96
Total Fat: 10.6g, Saturated Fat: 2.0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 166mg
Total Carbohydrates: 21.7g, 7% daily value
Dietary Fiber: 8.3g, 33%
Protein: 21.0g
Vitamin A 340% RDA, Vitamin C 116%, Calcium 55%, Iron 9%
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Recipe Source: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/breakfastrecipe1/r/curriedscramble.htm

Lychee Martini

Photo source: Flickr

Ingredients:
1 can of lychees in heavy syrup
Your favorite vodka (mine is VOX)
Some ice

Method:
Put ice in a martini shaker, add 2.5 oz vodka, 2 oz of the syrup from the can of lychees, and shake. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a lychee on a cocktail stick.

These are trouble. Delicious and easy to make.

Israeli Couscous ... and a Pumpkin Pie

I made the Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots from Veganomicon (p.117). It was delicious!
Note if you live in Brooklyn: I got my couscous at Sahadis on Atlantic Ave.

I also made a pumpkin pie!

I don't usually bake, but I was feeling especially crafty last night.
I made the traditional pumpkin pie from Martha Stewart Living, Nov 2008, p.82.

1 9" pie crust
1 (15oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
pinch of ground cloves
Whipped cream for topping

♥ Preheat oven to 325°F
♥ Whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs, milk, and a pinch of ground cloves.
♥ Pour mixture into pie crust
♥ Bake for about 50 minutes

Yes, my boyfriend is spoiled. haha.