Pasta Primavera

I am the worst about letting vegetables spoil in the bowl on our dining table on in the crisper drawer in the fridge. It used to drive my sister crazy when we lived together. Now that Justin and I have got more vegetables hanging around each week, the likelihood of 1 or 2 going bad before I get around to using them is even higher. Not so this week! Enter: Pasta Primavera.

An assortment of odds and ends I had in my fridge and a few things I got at the store on the way home:
According to wikipedia, pasta primavera can contain almost any kind of vegetable, although I suppose it'd be nice if you stayed true to the name and used mostly Spring vegetables. I used zucchini, mushrooms, a mild hatch chile, red bell pepper, broccoli, red currant tomatoes, garlic, onion, and even some fresh okra.

--I spent most of my prep time chopping vegetables, so you could get some pre-chopped ones from the store and it would really save you on time.--

Saute the onions; add the garlic; then peppers and mushrooms, then okra and broccoli. Turn down the heat and cover for a few minutes to let the okra and broccoli soften just a bit without burning. Uncover and turn the heat back up to medium-high and add the zucchini. Season with black pepper and a little bit of salt. Add the tomatoes at the last minute just to warm them.


Toss whole wheat pasta with a tiny bit of olive oil and some chopped fresh basil. Top with your veggies and just a sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan cheese. (It really tastes better if you grate it fresh from the block yourself rather than buy it already grated) If you've got the time, adding some toasted pine nuts will really add to the flavor. Toast a handful in the oven (or toaster oven) at 350 for 6-8 minutes, or in a heavy pan on the stove until they smell fragrant and turn toasty brown.

The makings of a beautiful sandwich

I continue to be amazed at the ability of so many restaurants to mess up something as simple as the veggie sandwich. Perhaps they subscribe to the same philosophy as Korean airlines: Vegan meal = the most bland and boring food one could possibly imagine. No wonder people think you need meat and cheese to make something taste good.

Here are the makings of a veggie sandwich I threw together last week:

-Whole Grain bread: I like the Seeduction loaf at Whole Foods

-Whole Grain or Stone Ground Mustard: Thinly spread on both slices of bread

-Roasted Veggies: I used 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, cut in half and then sliced lengthwise and a small potato in thin slices. If I have a red bell pepper, I love to throw that in as well. Sprinkle with some black pepper, a little cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper (depending on your spicy tolerance), a generous portion of freshly minced garlic and a couple of slices of onion (just for flavor). And here's the key to making it more healthy: instead of using salt and oil, toss the veggies with some tamari (a low sodium version of soy sauce). Roast at about 400-425 for 20-30 minutes. You want the veggies to be tender but not mushy.

-Hummus: We like the flavors with peppers mixed in. I find the spiciness of the peppers is a great balance for the smoothness of the chickpeas. This week's flavor of choice was Green Chile.

-Avocado slices: A must. And don't be stingy. If the avocado is small, use half of one per sandwich, it it's large use about 1/4 per sandwich.

-A leafy green veggie. On this particular day I used Romaine. Depending on what we have, I like to use spinach, chard, or even kale.

Pile it all together and you'll have a better veggie sandwich than lots of restaurants.

The finished product: