Thursday, July 29, 2010

Veggie Pasta

Last night's dinner was half delicious and half flop. The delicious part was the veggie pasta that I threw together. I've been reading where people have been putting squash in their pasta, so I decided to try that out last night. I used some whole wheat pasta for this dish. Of course I didn't measure the pasta, but it was enough to make 2 servings. Here are the other ingredients that I used.

1 diced roasted red pepper (the kind in a jar with olive oil)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
15 cherry tomatoes (halved and de-seeded)
1 yellow squash (sliced and chopped)
1 zucchini (sliced and chopped)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp of garlic powder

Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Preaheat a non stick skillet with olive oil. Add the chopped yellow squash, zucchini and minced garlic. Saute until pasta is done. Drain pasta and add to the the squash mixture in the non stick skillet. Add a little more olive oil (enough to lightly coat the pasta), cherry tomatoes, roasted red papper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Let this simmer on low for about 10 minutes to marry with the pasta.



Okay, the flop part of the meal was the bar-b-que tofu that I made. I have to admit it has been my least favorite way that I have had tofu. I am trying really hard to like tofu, but it is really hard for me to get beyond the texture. So far my favorite way has been fried. I also liked the egg-not salad. I haven't been too fond of the others. I felt like I was eating bar-b-qued rubber last night...lol Don't get me wrong, the taste was good, it was just the texture that was throwing me off. I think I will try scrambled tofu next. I hope I like that better. For the bar-b que tofu I used Sweet Baby Ray's bar-b-que sauce. I let the tofu marinate in the sauce all day, then I sprinkled it with Corky's dry rub before putting it in the oven on 325. I cooked it for about 20 minutes then flipped it and added a little more bar-b-que sauce and dry rub. I then cooked it for another 20 minutes. I ate half the tofu that was on my plate...the trash got the rest. :-( I don't like to be wasteful, but no one else would eat it. Hey, on the positive side....the pasta was delicious! :o)

~Peace~

5 comments:

  1. i made a recipe like that last year on my blog - called 'fresh veggie pasta'. i also included cabbage!! crazy, i know! yours looks yummy. sorry about the tofu. :(

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  2. Fresh veggies and pasta are great together -- your combination sounds delicious.

    It took me years to learn how to cook tofu the way I like it. Do you like tofu in restaurants? Maybe you just don't have a taste for tofu. Scramble is a great way to eat it, though, so give that a try. Another favorite of mine is broiled tofu.

    Usually I freeze mine, then thaw and press it to help with the texture and make it firmer, but if you mentioned yours was rubbery I doubt that is the problem.

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  3. I used to hate Tofu, but now I love it. Maybe if you cut your slices thicker and cook them less it will be more tender.

    Your pasta looks amazing!

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  4. Hello! I found your blog through someone else's blog list and checked it out, so I thought I would say hey. Your dog is very cute, and looks like an interesting character. :)

    I agree with Michele's tofu advice in the comment above. You should also try the scrambled variety as well. My favorite way to make tofu is on the grill, so it gets nice and crispy on the outside and stays tender on the inside if you want it to.

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  5. HAve you tried pressing the tofu before cooking? (in a tofu press, or on a plate with weight on top) This makes the texture much firmer. Or, you can slice it and freeze it on a cookie sheet. (Bag the slices after they're frozen.) Freezing changes the texture dramatically and makes it chewier. Defrost and squeeze out the tofu before cooking. (You can defrost it under running water.)

    The pasta sounds great!

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