It was just me for Meatless Monday! today.

I was hungry for pasta, which I rarely eat, and I wanted to keep it simple and fast.

I also didn’t want to shop for any ingredients. So, Meatless Monday! was a really low carbon footprint meal.

Let me also add that the peanut butter which I use is a no sugar added, natural brand made from roasted Valencia peanuts; that’s it!

I scavanged the pantry and the freezer for what was available.

I just happen to have a basil plant on my patio.

I am sure that there is a better peanut sauce recipe but I improvised with what I had.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta

1 cup frozen peas

5 scallions

1/2 cup broccoli florets

Sauce:

1 Tbspn peanut butter

1 Tbsp Bragg’s Aminos

1/2 lime, juiced

1 Tbspn crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

Method:

Boil the pasta.

Chop the veggies.

Mix together the peanut butter, Bragg’s Aminos, lime juice and crushed red pepper.

Place veggies in the colander and pour linguini and water over veggies and allow to drain.

Mix the sauce and chopped basil into the pasta, mix and enjoy!

I like the idea of gently “scalding” veggies with the pasta water. It brings out the flavors of the veggies and warms everything nicely.

Just me, dining al fresco!

A cool cucumber salad with red onion complimented this meal and tamed the heat a bit.

Meatless Monday! has become an event around here.

Often, I’ll have guests and serve cocktails.

The children are always looking forward to what the day will bring.

Today, I gave careful consideration to Meatless Monday! and decided that trading meat for copious amounts of cheese, eggs and cream wasn’t truly in the spirit of what I was trying to achieve.

The carbon footprint of Meatless Monday! could be improved.

Today’s meal is vegan.

It is a healthy and complete one pot dish.

You can look at it as a kind of cleanse from a weekend of dining out and a fresh start to the week.

The kids rolled in on a rainy cold afternoon and asked if there was something hot to eat.

This rice pilaf got rave reviews from my girls.

Ingredients

1 cup brown basmati rice
2 cups water
1 large carrot
1/2 white onion
3 scallions
4-5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large saute pan add olive oil, garlic, onion, carrots, rice and pine nuts.

Allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Then add corn, peas and scallions.

Allow to simmer a few more minutes then add water and cilantro and allow too cook until the rice is tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with more cilantro

I woke to a cold and snowy day and considered the possibilities.

I had thoughts of stew, like when I was a child. The kind that came from a big pot on the stove which mom made in the morning anticipating children who would be stuck in the house all day; a snow day.

Well, since becoming a vegan it is dishes like these that I miss the most; the kind which come from big pots and are swimming in gravy.

Then I considered, “what was my favorite part of those meals?” The pearl onions!

I loved those sweet slippery gems. For that matter I loved all the veggies and remember pushing dark beef bits to the side.

The gravy would be the tough part. I’ve kind of avoided this kind of thing as I am not a big fan of “substituting” processed fake meat products for meat.

This was really easy, just a bit labor intense.

I started by boiling the pearl onions; skin and all, in water for about 3 minutes.

Remove them and run cold water over them then cut off the root end. Gently squeeze and the “pearl” pops out.

Set those aside and prepare the mashed potatoes and keep them warm until you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil
6-7 carrots chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic sliced
4-5 cups of baby bella mushrooms halved
3-4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp vegetarian stock / bouillon
5-6 cups of water depending on your desired thickness
1 cup of peas
1-2 cups pearl onions (depending on your preference)
Pinch or so of dried Tarragon

Method:

Put the oil in the pan and start adding garlic and carrots

Allow them to sauté, add the tarragon

Add the mushrooms and the pearl onions and allow to continue cooking

Mix the water and the cornstarch and add to the pan

Add the vegetarian bouillon

Add more water if necessary

Allow to cook until everything is tender and serve over mashed potatoes.