Yum-Town USA

Grocery shopping is easier and more exciting under dietary restrictions, especially those as strict as veganism and 100-mile diet. It truncates impulsive purchases of unhealthy snacks by the register at Hobby Town USA, or that huge block of cheese that's on sale, and keeps you meandering through the produce section much longer. So far, vegan is awesome- we'll see how long I can keep that up.

Recipe searching through cookbooks on the other hand is not so much fun. Every time we think we hit the dinner jackpot- we spot one or two restricted ingredients that just don't translate with their vegan substitutions. Ergo, I broke down and purchased The Whole Foods Way (100% Vegan) by Christina Perillo. There are tons of well organized recipes wrapped up in a not-so-flashy package. Three hours after purchase, I was SO glad I listened to the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" as I was scraping every last gram of pasta sauce onto an amazing dish of fusilli. 

Below is her original recipe (copied from her website) but we used oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (because they were considerably cheaper that day) and only cut them in thirds. We saved the oil it was packed in to have a tasty infusion on hand and sautéed the garlic in with the tomatoes instead of using the olive oil. Also- we used what we had for substitutions; sherry for mirin, almond milk for soy milk, firm tofu for solken tofu. The almond milk made the sauce a touch sweeter which paired awesome with the tomatoes but my arm is still a bit sore from whisking the firm tofu into a saucy texture! 

The professors of manhood couldn't handle two meatless dinners in a row so I marinated chicken breasts in olive oil, lime juice, cumin, oregano, fresh chopped parsley, and salt for 20 minutes before baking them at 350* for 30 minutes. I would have like to have marinated them longer, but time flies when you're young. 

Fusilli with Mushrooms, Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomatoes - Series 5  A curly pasta is ideal for a dish like this one because it stands up well to the vegetables and traps the creamy, rich sauce in all its little nooks and crevices.  What You'll Need 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced 2-3 cups mixed wild mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, button), brushed free of dirt, then thinly sliced sea salt 10-12 asparagus spears, sliced into 1-inch pieces 4 oz. sun-dried tomatoes, not oil-packed, thinly sliced 1/4 cup mirin 1⁄2 cup soy milk 4 oz. silken tofu small handful fresh parsley, minced 1 pound fusilli Instructions Heat oil in a deep skillet and saute garlic for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Saute until tender and most of liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add mirin; boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Combine tofu and soy milk with parsley until blended. Stir into skillet and season lightly with salt. Simmer until liquid is reduced to sauce consistency, about 8 minutes. While the sauce simmers, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente. Drain well; do not rinse and transfer to a large bowl. Spoon sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Makes 4-5 servings. Our Meals, Ourselves