Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Mac and "Cheese"

People are usually shocked when I say I've never had Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's not exactly a staple in Spain, and I guess the blue box and I never really crossed paths once I moved to the US. I have, however, had a few homemade versions of the classic which I thought were quite good, especially the baked ones. I mean, what's there not to like about pasta drenched in savory cheese sauce with a crunchy topping?

Well, most mac and cheese has a lot of dairy fat, you know, the kind that clogs your arteries and feels heavy in your belly. But it doesn't need to be that way, as I learned from Mark Bittman's recipe I read in the New York Times a couple weeks ago. By adding pureed cauliflower to the sauce he increases the amount of vegetables in the dish and makes it creamy with only 3/4 cup of cheese. Genius, as always.

Since Bittman's recipe sounded pretty tasty and was almost vegan I only had to make a couple changes. To give the sauce a fermented tangy taste, somewhat reminiscent of cheese, I used some miso and a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. (An aside, if you've never cooked with nutritional yeast please make the extra trip to the specialty grocery store and get yourself some -- it's worth it). To make the sauce even creamier and increase the protein punch I blended some silken tofu along with the cauliflower. Lastly, since I'm not a huge fan of beige food I added some chopped kale for color and an extra serving of vegetables.

It was DE-LI-CIOUS (and I don't use hyphenated all caps lightly). I know it's not really summery food and that it requires turning on the oven in this sweltering heat (hopefully it's cooler wherever you are than it is in NC!) but you need to make this soon. Like yesterday. I promise you'll be surprised something so healthy can taste so good.

Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Mac and "Cheese"
Veganized and otherwise adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe
Makes 4 generous servings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing the baking dish
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped into large florettes
• 8 oz / 225 g short pasta such as elbow macaroni, penne or rotini (I used a mix of the last two), preferably whole wheat
• 8 oz / 225 g silken tofu
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 teaspoons miso
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 cups stemmed and chopped kale
• 1/2 cup panko or conventional breadcrumbs

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 F / 205 C. Grease your baking dish with some olive oil and set aside. I used a 7 by 11 inch pan and Bittman recommends a 9 inch square pan, but really just use what you've got. Place the stock in a small saucepan with the bay leaves and heat until just before it boils. Remove from the heat and set aside. Fill about 2/3 of a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Salt the water generously, add the cauliflower, cover the pot and cook the cauliflower until very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and place it in the food processor. Fish the bay leaves out of the broth and add it to the food processor as well, along with the tofu, nutmeg, miso, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Process the mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

2.  Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for about half of the time the package specifies (in my case this meant cooking my penne and rotini for about 5 minutes). If you bite a piece of pasta in half the inside should still be chalky. Drain the pasta and add it to a medium mixing bowl along with the kale. Pour in the pureed cauliflower mixture and toss until everything is evenly mixed. Empty the contents of the mixing bowl into your greased baking dish, smoothing the top with a spatula or a spoon. As Bittman points out, you could make the dish ahead up to this point and then refrigerate it. Take the casserole out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you're ready to bake it and proceed with the recipe. Mix together the remaining 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

3.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the breadcrumbs have browned. Serve hot, with a few dashes of hot sauce if you'd like.

Black Bean, Mango and Couscous Salad with Jalapeño Dressing

Hey all! Sorry for not posting as much as usual this past week, but I was busy relaxing in Punta Cana. The resort we stayed, the Excellence Punta Cana, was fantastic. One of the best things about it was the seven restaurants on the premises, all of which had vegetarian menus. Despite the quality and the variety of the resort's food, I missed my kitchen. I tried to console myself by drinking copious amounts of coconut water,

 

hanging out by the wonderful pool,

and posing for some aerial shots (not as graceful I would like, but at least my calves look good).

Not surprisingly, I was able to push my yearnings for my kitchen aside and enjoy our wonderful vacation.  Now that we're at home, I find myself with a hankering for some Dominican foods, like the wonderful fruit we had at breakfast. Missing something no mater where I am! I just can't win! (I know, you can't possibly pity me so soon after my trip.) I decided to pick up some mangoes and put my tropical fruit craving to rest.

I usually eat mango straight up or in a smoothie. Today, though, I was in the mood for something spicy, which is how I thought up this couscous salad. It brings together the sweetness of mango, the acidity of tomato and lemon, the heartiness of black beans and a nice jalapeño kick. As a wonderful bonus, it comes together in under 15 minutes.

Black Bean, Mango and Couscous Salad with Jalapeño Dressing
Makes about 4 servings

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 15 oz / 425 g can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice, about the juice from 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 jalapeño, seeded if you don't like heat
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Optional: 1 avocado, diced

1.  Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and the couscous. Give the mixture a quick stir and remove the pot from the heat. Let it sit covered for about 4-5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and transfer it into a bowl along with the mango, tomato, bell pepper, cilantro and black beans.
2. Blend the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, lemon juice, garlic and jalapeño until smooth. I used my Magic Bullet Blender for this but a mini food processor would work great too. If you don't feel like dirtying your large blender or food processor, you could always just finely mince the garlic and jalapeño, or pound them with a mortar and pestle, and whisk all the dressing ingredients together.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss it. Serve the salad room temperature or chilled. If you're going to store this salad don't add the avocado ahead of time or it will oxidize; toss it in right before you eat the salad instead.

Semi-Homemade Sundried Tomato "Cheese" Ravioli with Arugula Pesto

This meal isn't exactly diet food. Actually, it's the exact opposite. I don't know why I decided to cook such rich food last Friday, the day before we left for an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Oh yeah, I forgot to let you all know I'm on the beach right now. In. The. Caribbean. I'm probably sipping a fancy beverage in paradise right now and will be doing so until Friday the 13th. I made sure you'd barely notice my absence by writing a few posts ahead of time and scheduling to upload automatically this week.

But enough about exotic locations and Blogger's handy features. Let's get back to the food. You may remember that in my vegetable dumplings post I mentioned using wonton wrappers to make ravioli, as recommended in this Saveur article. Well, ever since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about whipping up my own semi-homemade ravioli. I decided to stuff them with a sundried tomato almond "cheese" this time, but I intend to experiment with other, perhaps lighter, fillings. Topped with some peppery arugula pesto, these ravioli were most certainly a delicious stick to your ribs meal.

Sundried Tomato "Cheese" Ravioli
Makes 16 very large ravioli or about 4 servings

• 1 1/4 cup almonds, soaked for 12 to 24 hours (the longer the better) and drained
• 1 teaspoon miso 
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (I used the kind packed in oil)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 32 wonton wrappers (make sure you get the kind without eggs)
• 1 batch Arugula Pesto

1.  If you're a little OCD like me and would like a smoother "cheese" you'll want to peel your almonds. This isn't as terrible as it sounds. Once they've been soaked most of the skins just slip off if you apply a bit of pressure. Don't sweat it if some skins won't budge. A little almond skin never hurt anyone.
2.  Place the almonds, miso, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, pepper, basil and oregano in the food processor and whiz until it forms a uniform paste, scrapping down the sides if necessary. Add the water and blend for about another minute. Toss in the sundried tomatoes and start the motor. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in through the feeding tube. Continue to process the "cheese" until the oil and the tomatoes are mixed in uniformly.
3. Place two wonton wrappers on a plate or cutting board. Dip your finger in some water and moisten the outer 1/2 inch or so of each wrapper. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in one wrapper and cover it with the other wrapper so that the moist parts touch. Using your hands, apply pressure to the outside of the raviolo to seal in the filling. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan or plate. Repeat the process for the remaining 15 ravioli. As you can see from the penny comparison in the picture, these ravioli are king and queen sized.

4. Once your ravioli are assembled, you can either freeze them or cook them within a couple days. To freeze them, place them on a plate in the freezer, making sure they don't touch, for about 30 minutes. When they've hardened somewhat you can put them in a bag or container and keep them in the freezer until you'd like to use them. You can place frozen ravioli directly in boiling water without thawing first. If your ravioli are still fresh, cook about 6 of them at a time in a large pot of boiling water for approximately 4 minutes or until al dente. Carefully remove the ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon. Serve topped with some warm arugula pesto or another sauce of your choice.

Arugula Pesto
Makes about 1 1/4 cup

• 3 packed cups arugula
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil or other light tasting vegetable oil

Toss the arugula, nutritional yeast, pecans, garlic, salt and pepper into the food processor and blend until a uniform paste forms. Scrape down the sides of the food processor, start it up again and slowly drizzle in the oil through the feeding tube. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Pasta with Mushroom Sauce

"I'll make you dinner." Who doesn't look forward to hearing those wonderful words when they're sick? I certainly thought it was the best thing Austin could have said to me last night, when I was feeling like I had the plague. When he asked me what he should make, I told him I was craving mushroom spaghetti. He responded he'd be happy to make it if I told him how. So, in between coughs and sneezes, with a tissue in my hand, I walked him through this mushroom pasta from the couch.

It wasn't the easiest process, especially since were weren't exactly on the same mushroom sauce page. "I'm throwing in a whole onion!" "Noooo, use only half *cough* *cough* *cough*, please." "Fiiiine". I don't want you to think I sniffled all of his contributions though. At one point he asked "Should I add some white wine to this?". I answered, "*Aaaaachoooo!* Wine sounds great, but make it red if we have any. It will go better with the mushrooms". And so it went. After about 40 minutes I had a delicious bowl of pasta in front of me. I quickly took a picture and dug in. Full of gratitude, I turned to Austin and said "Thanks, babe. I couldn't have done it better myself".

Pasta with Mushroom Sauce
Makes 3 servings

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 oz / 340 g cremini mushrooms, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 small onion, diced small
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 15 oz / 425 g can diced fire roasted tomatoes, including their liquid
• 1/2 fresh tomato, seeded and diced small
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• About 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 13.25 oz / 375 g box of spaghetti or the same amount of another pasta
• Optional: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and almesan to garnish.

1.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Toss in the mushrooms and cook them stirring occasionally until they're brown, about 12-15 minutes. Add the garlic and onion, sauteing them for around 5 minutes or until softened. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook until it has reduced in volume by about half.
2.  Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for as long as the package indicates. Meanwhile, add the canned tomatoes, fresh tomato, salt, oregano, black and red pepper, if using, to the sauce. Turn up the heat to medium high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has reached your desired consistency, about 10 minutes in our case. Turn down the heat to low until your pasta is ready.
3.  When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it into the sauce along with the parsley. Cook over medium heat until the pasta is heated through. Enjoy immediately, with an optional sprinkle of almesan.

Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic Spaghetti

As I was cooking tonight I said to myself "how have you not blogged about sun dried tomato and garlic spaghetti yet?". It's my favorite way to eat pasta. Ever. I was first introduced to it when my mom started whipping it up for my parents during a childhood phase when I refused to eat pasta covered in anything that wasn't my mother's red sauce (I would immediately dismiss any other sauce as inferior).  Once that bratty stage was over, I tried and fell in love with this deliciously garlicky pasta. It became one of my staple meals in college, for good reason. It's super quick, spicy and comforting -- three fantastic qualities in almost any dish.

Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic Spaghetti
Makes 3 large servings

• 1 13.25 oz / 375 g box spaghetti or other long pasta
• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 heaping cup julienned sun dried tomatoes (I used the kind packed in oil)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
• Optional: A generous sprinkling of almesan 

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a couple teaspoons of salt. Toss in the pasta and cook per the packages directions until al dente.
2.  When the pasta is about 5 minutes from being done, heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Toss in the sun dried tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for another 3 minutes.
3.  Drain the pasta well and add it to the saute pan with the rest of the ingredients, stirring to coat each spaghetti strand in the garlicky, tomatoey goodness. After about 5 minutes, or once the pasta is piping hot, transfer to three plates and serve with a sprinkle of almesan.

Almesan
Adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terri Hope Romero's Veganomicon
Makes about 3/4 cup

• 2 tablespoons raw or toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

1.  If your sesame seeds are toasted, skip this step. If they're raw, as mine were, toast them in a dry pan over medium heat until they're light brown and fragrant, which should only take about 5 minutes.
2.  Combine all the ingredients into a blender (or in my case, a Magic Bullet -- the shaker lids are so perfect for this!) and whiz until completely pulverized. Sprinkle over pasta, pizza, salad or whatever else your little heart desires.

Fire Roasted Tomato Couscous with Chickpeas

Some nights I really don't feel like going all out and spending three hours in the kitchen, slaving over some involved dish. I want something quick, delicious, nutritious and comforting. Years ago, those were the nights I opened a jar of sauce, threw it over some pasta and called it a night. While there's nothing wrong with that, it's possible to make something way more interesting in the same amount of time. The recipe I bring you today uses mostly pantry fare (let's hear it for less chopping on lazy days!), a few fresh ingredients and comes together in under 20 minutes.  The best part is that this couscous tastes and looks much more time consuming than it is. So please, go forth and fool your dinner guests.

Fire Roasted Tomato Couscous with Chickpeas
Makes 4 servings

• 1 28 oz / 795 g can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained and liquid reserved
• 1 15 oz / 425 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts, cut into strips lengthwise then sliced widthwise
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Optional: Nutritional yeast for garnish

1.  Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until they start to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
2.  Pour 1 1/2 cup of the tomato liquid (if you forgot to reserve the liquid from the tomatoes you could use broth or water) into a small pot with a lid. Bring it to a boil then add the couscous, 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Give it all a quick stir, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit covered for 4-5 minutes or as long as the couscous package indicates.
3.  Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 teaspoon of black pepper and red pepper flakes to the leek mixture and cook for 5-7 minutes or until everything is warmed through. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add it to skillet along with the parsley, tossing to evenly distribute all the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve hot or at room temperature, with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast if you'd like.

Asian Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing

Pasta salad is a picnic and potluck favorite. The thing us, the mayo-coated stuff isn't really that safe to eat after it's been sitting out of the fridge for a while. That, and my aversion to mayonnaise, is why I prefer pasta salads dressed with oil and vinegar. The first type of pasta salad that I ever had was, surprise surprise, my mom's. She makes a killer Mediterranean-style one that is so loved by our family friends that she gets tasked with making at almost every potluck. I guess eating her version for so long made me think of any pasta salad that differed from it as exotic. Not using penne or rotini? Wild! Tossing it with a peanut butter based dressing? Crazy! Using veggies other than tomatoes, celery, peppers and onions? Insane! I've come around though and now I embrace, and then devour, all vegan pasta salads equally.

The salad I made last night reminds me of a vermicelli salad I used to have at Dalat, in Worcester, MA, and of the Thai noodle salad at Chai's, here in Durham. The dressing however, sets it apart from those other salads. It is light on the oil thanks to it's avocado base, and has plenty of acidity from the vinegar. The recipe I've provided for it is, of course, just at template. I chose to include more Asian flavors --ginger, sesame, garlic, rice wine vinegar-- but you can vary the seasonings to suit your taste. For example, if you like to make a Mexican version, you might want to check out Gena's avocado fiesta dressing over at Choosing Raw. I'll bet that giving this a try will convince you to step outside the oil and vinegar box more often.

Do you already make all sorts of crazy pasta salads and dressings? If so, please share your favorites with me.

 

Asian Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing

For the salad
Makes 5 large serving

• 4 1/2 oz / 130 g vermicelli or angel hair pasta, cooked until al dente per the package directions
• 6 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 1/2 head red cabbage, cored and cut into thin strips
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
• 1 loosely packed cup of chopped cilantro (less if you're not obsessed with the stuff)
• 1 cup of dry roasted peanuts

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Chopping up the pasta roughly into thirds (by putting a bunch of it on a cutting board and making two cuts, no fancy work here) helps it mix better with the rest of the ingredients. Toss the salad with the avocado dressing below (I used all of it), or another dressing of your choice, and enjoy.

I suspect this salad will get even better as it sits in the fridge. Guess I'll have to wait until lunch to find out.

For the dressing
Makes approximately 2 cups 

• 1 medium to large avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, other vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon miso (I used red miso)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3/4 cups water, more if you'd like it thinner or less if you'd like it thicker
• 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped
• Optional: 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or Sriracha sauce

Put all the ingredients into the food processor or high speed blender and whiz until smooth. Toss with your favorite salad. You could also use make this recipe as a dip for some raw veggies; just use less water.

Pesto Pasta with Spiralized Zucchini and Carrots

Every summer our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box includes lots of zucchini and squash. Searching for new things to do with them, I learned about spiralizers. These nifty tools allow you to make noodles out of different kinds of vegetables. The one I have sells for at about $30 and comes with three different attachments that produce thick noodles, thinner noodles and ribbon cuts. Unlike flimsier models, it's sturdy enough to cut through harder veggies such as carrots, sweet potatoes (you could make your own curly fries!), and beets. Not ready to commit to a spiralizer just yet? Well, fear not; you can use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips summer squash or carrots. While the results won't be quite the same, you'll at least get an idea of what's possible with vegetable noodles. 

When summer squash are in season, we use our spiralizer to make heaping plates of veggie noodles. Tossed in raw marinara or pesto they make for wonderful light dinner Since it's not that time of year yet and we're still craving warm and heartier food, we sometimes bulk up conventional pasta with an equal volume of veggie noodles. This is a great way to sneak in some vegetables while also cutting the calories of a heaping bowl of spaghetti almost in half. If your sauce is flavorful enough you probably will barely notice that half of your dish is made up of vegetables. I mean, just look at the picture below and try to identify the zucchini noodles. Pretty hard, huh?

Pesto Pasta with Spiralized Zucchini and Carrots
Makes 2 servings

• 1/2-3/4 cup of vegan pesto (recipe below)
• 4 oz linguini, spaghetti or other long pasta
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 medium zucchini, spiralized into thin noodles (you can use a vegetable peeler for the noodles if you don't have a spiralizer)
• 1 large carrot, spiralized into thin noodles

1.  Make one batch of vegan pesto. Depending on what type of pasta you're using, you could do this while the pasta is cooking.
2.  In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Salt it, add your pasta, and cook per the package's directions until al dente. Drain the pasta.
3.  Heat the pesto in a pan over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add the pasta, the spiralized zucchini and carrots. Toss until the pesto is evenly distributed and the pasta, zucchini and carrots are hot.

Vegan Pesto
Makes about 1 1/3 cups

• 3 cups packed basil, washed and dried
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup almonds, raw or toasted
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup canola, light olive oil, or other light-tasting vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1.  Put all the ingredients except the oil in the food processor and run it until they're all very finely chopped. This will take a few minutes and you'll probably have to scrape down the food processor with a spatula a couple times.
2.  Through the small opening on top of the food processor, slowly stream in the olive oil while the food processor is running. Keep processing the mixture until you have a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the seasonings or the amount of oil until you reach your desired consistency.

Mom's Tabbouleh

For as long as I can remember, my mother has regularly made tabbouleh. I imagine this was one of her go-to dishes for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's an ideal dish to prepare on the weekend to eat over several days after because it keeps very well in the fridge. It is also perfect for Madrid's numerous warm months, when you need a side that is heartier than a conventional salad but still light and refreshing. Lastly, if you use couscous instead of bulgur wheat it comes together in a snap. This short cut hasn't changed my opinion of my mother's rendition of tabbouleh. Over the years I've had many different renditions of the dish, some probably more authentic than my mom's, but the one thing that has been missing from all of them is the taste of home.

Mom's Tabbouleh
Makes 4-6 servings

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots or onions
• 1 heaping cup of halved grape tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
• 1 bunch or about 1 cup packed parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch or about 1 cup packed mint, chopped
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (I used 1 1/2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1. In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt, 1 tablespoon of oil and the couscous. Remove from the heat and stir quickly. Let the couscous sit covered for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the parsley, mint, tomatoes and shallots to a large salad bowl.
3. Right in the measuring cup, mix the oil, lemon juice, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and cumin. Mix the dressing vigorously until emulsified.
4. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add it to the salad bowl.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until it's evenly distributed.
6. Optionally, cover the salad and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to a few hours to let the flavors develop.

Operation-Clean-Up Stir-Fry

I'm going to be honest: I didn't really feel like stir-fry last night. I sucked it up though, since I had to use up a bunch of veggie odds and ends that were sitting in the fridge, getting sadder looking by the minute. Operation-clean-up stir-fry is like a finger print: yours and mine won't be the same, since we're each dealing with our own veggies scraps. Even though the ingredients may vary, the method remains the same: quickly saute the veggies over relatively high heat, stirring often; then add your sauce; cook off some of the liquid and serve.

For the love of all that's delicious though, don't cook the life out of your veggies. For a stir-fry, they should still have some crunch and brightness to them. You can serve your veggies over rice or with noodles, for an equally satisfying meal.

Operation-Clean-Up Stir-Fry
Makes 3 servings

• 6 oz / 170 g rice noodles
• 3 cups dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1/2 of a medium onion, sliced 
• 1/2 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 heaping cup sugar snap peas
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 plus 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, less you're not a huge fan of heat
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 heaping teaspoon of grated ginger
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons of canola or peanut oil

1. Cook your noodles until slightly shy of al dente since you will be sauteing them later. Drain the noodles and then rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. Soak your dried shiitakes until tender, then drain them. The mushrooms I used only needed about a one minute dunk because they were already sliced. If your mushrooms aren't sliced, you'll have to soak them a while longer, remove the woodsy stems and slice them.
3. In a medium pot, boil your cauliflower for about 2 minutes, just to get rid of that harsh bite.
4. Mix the soy sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil, water and grated ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
5. In a wok, large skillet or (in my case) a paella pan, heat the canola or peanut oil over medium-high heat. Toss in the veggies that take longer to cook -- the carrots and the bell pepper -- and saute for about 3 minutes.
6. Add in the shiitakes and saute for another 3 minutes, or until they start to get slightly brown in some spots.
7. Toss in the garlic and onions, cooking until the onions start to soften, which should take 2-3 minutes.
8. Mix in the cauliflower and the snap peas and saute for another 3 or so minutes.
9. Add the noodles and mix them with the veggies. After a couple minutes, add the sauce mixture and cook stirring until the sauce coats all the veggies and has been absorbed by the noodles. Serve, garnished with some extra dried shiitakes if you'd like.

Pasta for Hookers

Legend has it that Southern Italian prostitutes would lure in customers with the aroma of pasta puttanesca. After a hard day's work, they would then gather around a table and enjoy the deliciously salty, spicy and comforting dish. Now I'm not suggesting that you quadruple this recipe and start a happening brothel. You could, however, take a page from the prostitutes' book and make someone's hard day better by serving them the culinary equivalent of a warm hug.

Pasta Puttanesca

Makes 2-3 servings

• 8 oz / 230 g of linguine or other pasta
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 12 oz / 340 g of grape or cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes (either packed in oil or just rehydrated), chopped
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of capers 
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable broth (in a pinch you could use water or white wine)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 fist full of parsley, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Optional: "almesan" (or Parmesan)

1. In a large pot, bring your pasta water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. 

2. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the onions and the garlic and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent or about 5 minutes.

3. Add in the sun dried tomatoes, capers, olives, black and red pepper, oregano and basil. Saute for about a minute. 

4. Toss in the tomatoes and the vegetable broth. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down, which should take around 10 minutes. You can help this process along by using a potato masher to break up any larger tomato chunks. Taste the sauce for salt. You may not need any since olives and capers are usually quite salty.

5. By this time your pasta should be cooked. After you drain it, add it to the sauce, stirring to make sure all the pasta is coated. Cook for a couple of minutes. 

6. Add the parsley, stir and serve. I topped my pasta with some "almesan". The original recipe is in Isa Chandra Moskowitz's  Veganomicon. It is basically just ground almonds, sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. I modified the ratio of the ingredients a bit, used lime zest instead of lemon and added some nutritional yeast. It tastes surprisingly close to the real thing.