Penne Ratatouille Bolognese

There is so much delicious vegan food here in Tel Aviv, my bank account is in serious danger!  Now that the holidays are over and we're getting settled into a regular routine, we've been cooking most of our meals at home.  

Last night I had some whole wheat pasta in the pantry that I wanted to use up.  I messed around and ended up with a delicious sauce, something in between ratatouille and bolognese.  In the US, "bolognese" generally indicates tomato sauce with meat in it, but traditionally bolognese is a sauce comprised mainly of meat with tomato added as flavoring.  So this is a mish-mosh recipe, but it's totally traditional as well. ;)

It's not a fancy recipe but it turned out so well that I had to share it!  

There's no way to make this pretty, but trust me, it was delish.

Penne Ratatouille Bolognese

8 oz penne

extra virgin olive oil, to taste

1 medium eggplant, diced to 1 inch

1 red bell pepper, diced to 1 inch

1 onion, finely chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetarian burger crumbles (I rehydrated plain dry TVP and it worked perfectly)

3 tablespoons dried basil, or 1/2 cup fresh

salt and pepper to taste

6-8 oz tomato paste

1/2 - 1 cup water

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

1 tablespoon tamari (optional)

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Make sure to use a huge pot of water, salted liberally once the water comes to a rolling boil. 

Meanwhile, heat a thin layer of olive oil on medium-high in a large, deep pan.  Once the oil is very hot, add the eggplant, season liberally with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes. Drain the eggplant on a paper towel and set aside.

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil on medium.  Once the oil is hot, add in the onions and garlic.  Cook for 10 minutes until everything begins caramelizing, then add the red pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes, then add in the TVP or crumbles and the basil.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes, adding a dash of salt and pepper.

Add in the tomato paste and work it through the crumbles to evenly coat them.  Add in about half a cup of water and see how everything looks- it should be the consistency of a sloppy joe or a chili, not a sauce.  Add more tomato paste if it is too thin, or more water if it's too thick.  Add in the toasted sesame and tamari, if using (not necessary but it gives the dish a little extra depth), and add the cooked eggplant back to the pan.  Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. 

Add the drained pasta and toss to coat.  Serve with bread slathered in (vegan) butter and nutritional yeast on the side for sprinkling.

Dinner on the balcony.  I'm having a nooch bowl at every meal from now on.

Notes and Thoughts:
-Adding some zucchini would be nice for next time.
-I'm still building my spice cabinet little by little (based on what I can translate at the store), I'd pick up some red pepper flakes next time.
-If you don't do pasta this would be delicious served over roasted potatoes, or even on it's own as a stew.
-If you are TVP adverse, you could sub in cooked brown lentils instead.

Healthy Vegan Friday- Breakfast Chow

Just as I was starting to feel better, AP decided to run out and pick up the flu.  Just to keep things interesting around here.  He's out for the count and I'm getting worn down again, and crossing all the fingers and toes that I don't come down with his plague.  And so, we venture into our fourth weekend in a row filled with naps, Netflix and takeout.

However, I'm definitely well enough to participate in Healthy Vegan Fridays this week!  This week I'm sharing AP's breakfast.  I make a batch of this granola every Sunday, and he eats it for breakfast all week long.  If you've been granola shopping recently, you know how ridiculously expensive it is.  $8 for a little bag of oats???  Not on my watch. 

My recipe is based on this one, but pared down and spiced up a bit.  With crappier pictures.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Chow

1/2 cup PB2 powder (you can use regular peanut butter or almond butter if preferred)

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1.5 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

1-2 teaspoon garam masala, depending on how much zing you want.

6 cups rolled oats

Dump everything except the oats into a huge bowl, and stir until fully combined.

PB2!  I love how it blends in sauces, much smoother compared to regular nut butters.

That's the good stuff. 

Once everything is combined.give it a taste, make sure you like it. Then add in the oats; add 3 cups, stir until fully coated, then add the other 3 cups and stir until it's all uniformly peanut buttery.

Leave no oat uncoated.

Spread the chow on a nonstick pan, and toss into a 350F oven.

Make sure it's spread out evenly. 

Let the granola go for about 15 minutes, then take it out and stir it so it doesn't burn.  Put it back in for another 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on it- every oven is different!  My oven takes 15 minutes, stir, 5 minutes, stir, 5 minutes, done.  It's an old crappy oven though, so your mileage may vary.

Finished!

Bam! A week's worth of fancy granola for pennies.  I even got a swank cereal box from Ikea.

Suck it Whole Foods.

That's all I got this week- hopefully by next week this family will be back in full swing.  Or at least weaned off our humidifier addiction.

Back from the Dead

Well well well, time flies when you are bedridden and doped up on sizzurp.

I've been sequestered in the house for the last two weeks, allowed out only to be poked and prodded by various doctors.

Thoroughly irritated.

Hiding my face from the paparazzi

It started out as just a virus, but thanks to my shitty compromised immune system it quickly upgraded to full-blown pneumonia.  As awesome as the Humira is for keeping my AS symptoms in check, it makes it a hell of a lot easier for non-serious shit to morph into crazy shit.

I managed to avoid hospitalization thanks to my wonderful nurse AP, who diligently monitored my breathing, but it was pretty gnarly.  I was sleeping sitting upright on the couch and couldn't go 5 feet from the humidifier.

Today was the first day I've left the house at all since Tuesday's rheumotologist trip.  We grabbed a zip car, ran some errands, and then swung by Veggie Grill for some grub.  I haven't been eating anything substantial while I've been sick, so it was super exciting to sit down to a healthy, delicious meal!

Bombay bowl!  Kale, quinoa, roasted veggies, beans and green curry sauce.  Not pictured: a piece of chocolate chip cookie and a kickass strawberry lemonade.

Tonight I'll be making lazy pizza for dinner.  Thaw some frozen homemade dough, top with sauce, vegan cheese and veggies, and you're good to go.  It's a small step but it's nice to be getting back to normal.  Once I stop wheezing and am back to my daily Pup walks, I'll be much happier.

Um... what?

Leave me alone, I'm waiting for Daddy to come home.

For once I don't ruin my mom's picture with a grouch-face.

I will miss the extra cuddles he's been giving me.  Even though they've all been a ruse to try and eat my used tissues, I've been enjoying them.

Weekend Under the Weather

It never fails.  I rarely get sick, but when I do, it starts to hit me on Friday evening, carries through the weekend and miraculously I am cured by the time I have to head to work on Monday.  As much as it blows to have a weekend ruined with no work-from-home pj time, I am hoping tradition holds firm, because I have a busy day at work tomorrow and I still feel like shit.

Yesterday I didn't leave the house at all, but I did manage to cook up some comfort food.  Lunch was rice bowls with pickled carrots, greens and mushrooms sauteed in garlic and tamari, avocado, and a drizzle of hot sauce.

Avocado makes anything good.

We were going to order out for dinner, but nothing sounded as good as chili cheese dogs, so that's what I whipped up.  Seriously, you could put staples and krazy glue on an apple-sage Field Roast sausage, and it would still taste bomb.

Tater tots are a vegetable, as is ketchup, because tomatoes.  I got no excuse for the Vegenaise tho :/

When I am feeling sicky, Pups tends to hang out and give me extra cuddles, which is nice.  Either he can tell I need a little extra TLC, or he suspects I'll be less lax in guarding my food.  Especially when I'm eating avocado and nooch on toast.  We've recently discovered that avocado turns him into a Tasmanian devil of joygasms.

He ain't dumb, he knows avocado is where it's at.

Today I was feeling a little better, so we ventured out to Veggie Grill for lunch.  I have not been there in years, and forgot how much fun it is to be able to order anything I want off a menu!

Santa Fe chicken sandwich, whoot!

We are car-less, so the round trip of walking and training tired me out.  I did manage to muster up the strength to make AP's lunch for the week, the worlds laziest bento boxes.  Nava Atlas' carrot muffins (I used cashews instead of walnuts, and did 1 cup white flour/1 cup oat flour), a cream cheese dipping sauce and an apple sauce.  Just dropped the cup right in there, too tired to do anything fancier.

Whatever, "finished" is better than "perfect".

I spent a large portion of the weekend in the tub, soaking my sore muscles and breathing in steam.  Pups parked by my side every minute of every soak.  You know, to keep an eye on things.

I got my eye on you...

 

Good thing I have such a good nurse!

What Vegans Eat

This is a week in the life of a vegan eating regular food- trying to be healthy but not obsessing about getting in 7 vegetables per meal or eating 0% fat or only eating what I was able to hand-gather from my organic woodland garden, or whatever.

Note: all days include lots of water, and various green/black/floral teas- I'm a bit of a tea hoarder.

Monday

-Free bagel day at work! I chose a whole grain bagel topped with SmartBalance Light and blackberry jam.

-Root vegetable curry from the slow cooker for lunch

-Silk yogurt to hold me over til dinner

-Tempeh, avocado, spicy mustard and spinach on sourdough with the last of the tortilla chips

Tuesday

-Smoothie with soy milk, spinach and a frozen banana

-A few sea salt and vinegar chips 

-FEAST! Team lunch out and we ordered. Everything. They. Had.  The vegan selection of which was pickled veggies, Brussels sprouts, chips (it's a British pub, gotta use their lingo) and veggie sliders (without the dairy-containing buns). It was a late lunch, and I was so stuffed afterwards that I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.

Wednesday

-Smoothie with soy milk, spinach, a frozen banana and some frozen pineapple, which was a nice fresh pop of flavor.

-Free lunch day at work!  Today was Thai food; I had rice, pumpkin curry, tofu and green beans.
-Silk yogurt (it was on sale, can you tell?)
-Dinner was a solo affair as AP is travelling until Saturday, so I made myself some tater tots in the toaster oven and grilled a sandwich with tempeh, spinach and Daiya cheese.

This pic was before I doused everything in ketchup mixed with Vegenaise.  Yum.

Thursday
-Silk yogurt with homemade peanut butter granola from Minimalist Baker (minus the chocolate chips, I think those are pretty pointless in this recipe.  And plus some spices).
-Leftover veggie curry with brown rice and salad- not too much as I was still full from a late breakfast.
-Handful of pretzels to tide myself over til dinner.
-Epic failure of an avocado pasta dish!  I tossed that dish and just had a Boca chick'n patty on an English muffin.  The Thomas brand are not vegan but most of the off-brand ones are.  Mine are Safeway Extra Crispy.

We had a house guest on Thursday evening!  A sweet pit bull had found her way to my office. She crashed with Pups and me for the evening; luckily we were able to reunite her with her mom the next morning.

Friday

-More Silk yogurt and granola for breakfast

-Too nervous with work/puppy stuff to eat lunch, snacked on some BBQ Lays.

-Late lunch/early dinner was macaroni with nutritional yeast cheezy sauce, Yves pepperonis, and lots of wilted spinach.  No pics because this was not a photogenic dish at all- but it was comforting with a creamy/spicy flavor.

Saturday

AP comes home tonight!

-Not really hungry for breakfast, so I nibbled on a little granola with soy milk.

-Lunch was leftover macaroni from last night, even better the next day!

-Chocolate milk snack! Soy milk blended with a frozen banana and some cocoa powder.  Simple and not overly sweet. 

-Tonight, we will have a sushi feast when AP gets home featuring 4 rolls: avocado, fried tofu with red pepper, spicy tofu with carrot, and macadamias with spinach and vegan cream cheese.

Time to do some dishes, cook some sushi rice, and cuddle that Pup until his dad comes back home to us.