Creamy Pasta with Chard

"So... what do you eat?" is a pretty common question that not only vegans, but also vegetarians, hear.
It's pretty sad that our society has become so meat-happy that, for some, the thought of losing this precious calorie source is unthinkable.
I find no lack of diversity in my diet. But I can understand that, when growing up on hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese, the thought of no animal products can be difficult to grasp.
I have given up many childhood meals to pursue a vegan lifestyle. 100% willingly, and 100% happily.
Although I do sometimes long for those comfort meals I would eat all the time when I was younger, the thought of eating one disgusts me.
There are, of course, a few things that I can still have. Pasta being one of them.

I remember when I was younger, my dad would make pasta once a week, every week for my sister, brother, and me. I loved it... I would saturate my pasta with olive oil, salt, and parmesian cheese.
Not quite how it is anymore, but the memories are still there.

I still love pasta with olive oil (now with garlic and broccoli instead of the cheese, though), but I love creamy pasta dishes, too. A bit more decadent, but definitely worth having ever so often!
Prior to becoming vegan and finding interest in food preparation, macaroni and cheese and the occasional fettuccine alfredo were the only creamy pasta dishes I enjoyed. Now I've learned to branch out.
Here's a tasty pasta dish that leaves me unsure where exactly to categorize it. Although it has a slight cheesy flavor, it is in no way a vegan mac and cheese attempt. It's just what it is- a pasta dish!

Ingredients:
1lb Pasta (I prefer corkscrews, but used rotini... any will work of course :P )

1 Tbsp vegan butter
1/3 C water (Use leftover pasta water if possible)
1/3 C pasta sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1/3 C nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 C soy milk (unsweetened, plain), or to preference
Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 (or a whole one if you want) bunch chard

1.) Get the pasta cookin' :D
2.) While the pasta is boiling, mix the mustard with the mayonnaise and add pasta sauce, nutritional yeast, cumin, and garlic powder.
Get the chard washed and chopped up.
Once the pasta is finished, take the needed water before draining and add to the sauce.
3.) Return the pasta pot to the stove, and on low heat, melt the vegan butter. Return the pasta, and mix in the sauce. Add the soy milk to your preference.
4.) Add in the chard. Stirring ever few moments, let the pot sit to allow the chard to wilt.

This pasta reheats very nicely, simply add a little bit more soy milk and heat on low heat over the stove :)

Enjoy!

Nature sure knows how to trick...

After spending a long weekend in Disney World, with warm, sunny, 80 degree weather each day, I was rather reluctant to return to the chilly New Jersey air. Arriving back at our school at 10 pm, still wearing shorts and a sombrero from Epcot
s Mexico, I was surprised to find the weather was rather tolerable.
Only a few days later, it picked up to the 70's- which was quite delightful, to say the least.
A few more days spent in the 60's, wildflowers begin to sprout, I begin to anticipate Spring even more than I had been, and then... I wake up to see snow on the ground... What an awful trick Mother Nature has played.
And now we're getting a Winter Storm Warning?? In Spring!?
I thought I would be done with sweatshirts, warming foods, snow boots...that soon, the farmer's market would return, and I could focus on eating more raw. That I would be able to get back into the garden, but no... It's still only March after all.



So I spent today making chili, to prepare for the dreaded Spring-snowstorm.
This recipe is one my uncle taught me how to make. I love it, and it has become one of my favorite meals. It does take a while to make, but it is definitely worth it.
One thing I love about it (and soups and stews too), is that you can change it so easily. Everything is to preferance- whether you want cayenne in it or not, how big you want your chopped peppers to be, the type of beans or grain you want in it, hwo spicy it will be...
It's hard to go wrong with chili, since you can change it up however you want! :)


Yummy Vegetarian Chili:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Large Onions, chopped
4 Bell peppers, any color, de-seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)
2 Carrots, chopped
1/2 C shredded carrots
4 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin (more or less to taste)
1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 C pearled barley
1/2 C rice
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 bunch fresh Cilantro
4-5 C water
3 cans of kidney, pinto, or black beans, or a combination
1 14 oz can Plum Tomatoes
1 can non-GMO (organic) Corn
1 14 oz can diced Tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash cayenne (optional)

1.) In a large pot, heat the oil on medium-low. Add the garlic and onions, and let simmer for a minute or so. Add the peppers, chopped and grated carrots, barley, rice, crushed tomatoes, cumin, parsley, cilantro, bay leaves, and 4 cups of water.
Cover and let simmer for 2 hours, stirring every so often.
(2) Add in the extra water if it gets too thick.
3.) Rinse the beans, and add them, the plum tomatoes, diced tomatoes, corn, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if adding) to the pot. Stir them in, and cover the pot and let it cook for another 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionaly.
4.) Let cool before storing in the fridge, and taste test it to make sure you don't need to add any more spices. And you're done! :)



This recipe will make A LOT, so it should last for a little while... ^.^