What is good food?

This is something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. Obviously there is no one answer to this question and that perhaps makes it an interesting question to really delve into as a personal exploration.

I suppose for me, good food is food that we enjoy making and sharing with people we care about. I really love simple food, that does not have a lot of ingredients, but those few ingredients are fresh and delicious and (this is cliche) warm.

That's probably how I would put it.

I will always associate pasta with warmth and home. Even more so now that I am preparer of the food at my home. Pasta is a loving food.


And spaghetti is my favorite pasta, hands down.

1 box of whole wheat spaghetti
10 oz of cooked white beans
16 oz or so of chopped tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic chopped fine
oregano
3-4 chopped kalamata olives
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan (optional)

Great with a Columbia River Valley(OR/WA) Riesling or a Willamette Valley(OR) Pinot Gris.

Delicata Squash is My Hero...

...and my favorite new veggie.


I picked up some delicata squash for the first time this year actually by mistake. I went to the market looking for spaghetti squash and blindly believed the labels the market had put up.

Lucky for me I had never bought spaghetti squash before, so I didn't know what to look for. I brought the squash home and roasted it in the oven. When I sliced the cooked squash in half I quickly realized that this was not spaghetti squash at all and I had to change the plan for dinner. I chopped up the squash and made a yummy mild curry with tofu and veggies. It was delicious. So the next day I roasted the rest of the squash and we had it as a side. What a lovely vegetable. Sweeter and firmer than pumpkin, but not as dense as butternut squash, and so easy to prepare.

Why do we not see more recipes calling for this yummy treat?

No offense to butternut squash fans out there, but butternut squash can be very dangerous.

Both my husband and myself have sliced our fingers handling that massive gourd.


But not anymore!


Delicata Squash has saved the day.


Monday I roasted up a couple of them beauties and smashed their sweet flesh along with some melted (vegan) butter, rosemary, nutmeg, brown sugar, vegetable stock, salt and pepper. I tossed this with some whole wheat spaghetti, put it all in a casserole dish and topped it with some more herbs, bread crumbs, a little olive oil and some caramelized onions. Baked it for 30 minutes and we were in heaven.(This is an adaptation of a Veganomicon recipe based on what I had in the house!)


I'll bet it delicata makes for a great pie too.

Something to try this Christmas :)

Simple Pasta Supper

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with tomatoes, onions, garlic and white beans. Yup, that's a whole clove of garlic just sitting there on the plate.


(and a very nice glass of red!)

Green Goodness Pasta

A twist on the usual pesto pasta dish.

As usual -I made it healthier with more vitamins/minerals than the usual fare.

I love whole wheat pasta and I love incorporating walnuts into the pesto in place of pine nuts.

The broccoli tastes great with the pesto and adds a great texture to the dish.

This serves about 3-4.

Have with a green salad ( of course!)


You'll need:
1 pack of whole wheat spaghetti
1 pack of frozen broccoli
Grated cheese for serving

Pesto:
1/4 cup Walnuts
2 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of olive oil
pinch of salt


1. Put on a pot of water for the pasta - cook pasta as you prep the pesto. Add pack of frozen chopped broccoli to the pasta water for the last 4 minutes of cooking.
2. Chop the garlic in the food processor
3. Scrap down the sides of the processor and then add walnuts to the processor and chop.
5. Add Basil and cheese - repeat.
6. Slowly add oil - and blend until smooth but not watery.
7. Spoon pesto into the serving bowl and add about 1/3 cup of the hot pasta water to the pesto - blend.
8. Pour cooked pasta and broccoli into the pesto and blend with thongs.
9. Serve with grated cheese!

yum