Twisted Puttanesca

Torcetti pasta is already a little twisted spiral of a pasta, but takes on a whole other dimension when added to this twist on puttanesca sauce.

Inspired by my last jar of 2010 CSA tomatoes and 1/2 a package of local (from Poughkeepsie, NY) "My Brother Bobby's Salsa" that I got at Whole Foods, I whipped up a twisted version of hooker pasta. This salty sensation is the perfect antidote to a well earned mild hangover.

Twisted Puttanesca

1/2 lb tubular or well structured pasta such as torcetti or penne or heck, spaghetti

2-4 cloves garlic

1 TBS olive oil

1 big jar whole tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh salsa

1/2 cup cooked black beans

2 TBS capers

10 pitted black olives (I used kalamata) - that cherry pitter comes in handy...

1/4 cup red wine

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Sautee garlic in oil in a sauce pan. Add tomatoes and break them up a bit, add salsa, beans, capers, olives, and wine. Simmer until heated through and pasta is done. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat.

I don't add any additional salt or sugar to the sauce because the tomatoes were already salted, I salted the pasta cooking water, and the olives and capers are salty enough. The beans weren't technically salted, but I cook them with kombu so they are tasty enough on their own as well.

Spring veggies - Ramps & asparagus

Determined to eat some actual vegetables, I stopped into Whole Foods on my way home from work. I was a little unsure what to do with the ramps, so I roasted the bottom oniony part and sauteed the greens with some red swiss chard.Roasting with the bits of ramp are asparagus, fennel, green beans, and a portabella schroom.I also roasted a few blue potatoes and made a cashew, lemon, yogurt, tahini, miso sauce.
Yum!

Cheesesteak Gyro

OK, so scratch that New Year's resolution where I blog about things other than tofu rancheros and vegan cheesesteaks. The cheesesteak is what I'm havin' for dinner and I felt the need to chime in with a post.

It's my usual cheesesteak technique, but with naan/pita bread (seriously, it's both.) I can't always find the Tofutti cheesesteak slices, but when I do I make sure to grab them. The cheese is Daiya mozzerella and there's onion, pepperoncini, Vegenaise & sriracha. I forgot the oregano, but that's usually on there, too.

It's not unusual for me to be behind the curve on good TV, so I've been catching up on Bones. It's streaming on Netflix. Yay!

Even better, Bones star Emily Deschanel is a vegan superstar.