Cold Sesame Noodles

This dish is a warm-weather favorite in our house. The noodles get better and better over a few days in the 'fridge... if they last that long. Chili paste gives them a little zing, but they're truly not spicy as far as my palate is concerned. Serve 'em up with some freshly sliced cucumbers or sugar snap peas.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Chinese egg noodles
• 2 TBSP peanut oil
• 3 TBSP dark/toasted sesame oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 TBSP freshly grated ginger (depending on how much you enjoy ginger)
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tsp red chili paste- I've used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and had good results
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 3 TBSP rice vinegar
• 6 TBSP hot water
• 1.5 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

To Make

1. Cook the noodles to al dente, according to package directions. When cooked, drain and rinse noodles until room temperature.
2. Put noodles in a large bowl, making sure that all of the water has been drained. Toss them in the sesame oil to keep them from sticking together.
3. Heat the peanut oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the scallions, garlic, ginger, and chili paste until soft. Stir in the brown sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and water. Mix until the peanut butter is blended in and the sugar has dissolved. 
4. Toss your noodles in the peanut butter mixture and stir in the toasted sesame seeds. 
5. Chill for a few hours and serve.

Chilled Tortellini Salad

On a hot summer day, there are times when a warm meal just won't do. This cold, hearty salad is perfect for when you're looking for a meal that'll fill you up without turning your home into an oven. Make it the night before you plan to eat it so that the tortellini can marinate and all of the flavors can meld.

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 8 ounces tortellini, cooked according to package instructions
- 8 ounces of your favorite hard cheese (I love using sharp cheddar!), cut into small cubes
- 1 large bell pepper, diced (I like using red, orange, or yellow)
- 1/3 cup olives, pitted and sliced
- 3 cups of your favorite salad greens (spinach, lettuce, arugula, etc.)

How To Make It
1) Put olive oil, vinegar, dry mustard, oregano, basil, and minced garlic in a bowl. Blend well using an emersion blender. Set aside.
2) Place hot pasta in a lidded container, pour your marinade over it, and invert/gently shake container
several times to coat well.
3) Cool the mixture to room temperature.
4) Add cheese cubes, pepper pieces, and the olives.
5) Invert/shake again to coat all ingredients.
6) Chill for several hours, ideally overnight.
7) Right before serving add your fresh greens.

Pasta Lentil Bolognese

This recipe became what I like to call... accidentally vegan. Translation: Laura forgot to add milk. It was delicious though, and it is nice to have a recipe that can be good with or without animal products.

The recipe comes from the April/May 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. My in-laws gave us a subscription as a gift, and there's a lot of inspiration to be had by looking at all of their culinary creations. They describe what a bolognese sauce is with the recipe too, which is nice: Bolognese sauce is a rich ragout that simmers for hours, coaxing flavor from aromatic vegetables and texture from at least one form of meat. Our plant-based version honors it's roots with steady preparation (thankfully quicker than several hours!) that persuades sweet notes from caramelized vegetables and soft yet sturdy chew from meaty lentils. A splash of milk (OOPS) towards the end of an hour-long stovetop stay rounds out the zip of the tomato-based sauce.

Now, without further adieu, I give you Pasta Lentil Bolognese...

Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 small celery stalks, diced small
- 1 small fennel bulb, diced smal
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (I used one head of garlic instead)
- 2 TBSP white wine vinegar
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup lentils
- 28 ounces canned, diced/chopped tomatos
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- 8 ounces pasta
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

How To Cook It
1) In a large Dutch oven or saucepot, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion, carrot, celery, fennel, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until released water evaporates and brown bits begin to form on bottom of pot, about 15 minutes. Add vinegar and scrape any brown bits from bottom of pot as liquid evaporates. Stir in broth, 1 cup water, lentils, tomatoes, oregano, parsley, and basil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2) Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and set aside.
3) Add milk to bolognese and continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Baked Meatballs

Do you have omnivores in your life? I do, and I cook meat for them. Where my son is concerned, it's a matter of choice: When Gavin is an adult, he'll choose what diet he wants to follow. In order for it to be a real decision, he'll need to be able to digest meat. Sure, he could get all of the nutrition he needs from an octo-lavo vegetarian diet like I do, but as anyone who has eaten a big hamburger after giving up red meat for a significant period of time can tell you: It's not going to be a picnic digesting the thing. So, Gavin will eat meat as a little boy. If he trends like his mama he'll get sick of it by the time he's in middle school, and he can learn how to have a healthy diet without it. If he follows in his daddy's footsteps, I'll need to invest in a good set of steak knives. Either way, it'll be his choice.

Now, where others (including my husband) are concerned, it comes down to this: I do not feel that my status as a vegetarian means that others around me should/must follow the same path. You'll encounter some "Vegan-gelicals" out there, but I am not one of them. Vegetarian food is tasty and nutritious, and you're missing out on a great meal if you poo-poo food when it doesn't have cow, pig, chicken, fish, etc. in it, but if you feel you want to eat meat-- eat it. My only request to my omnivore friends is to look into where your meat and animal products come from. Purchase them from local, responsible, humane, and (ideally) organic farmers; do not support the factory farming industry.

Phew! Quite a soapbox speech that was. On to the recipe. These meatballs have been endorsed by Gavin, who cleaned his plate, and Greg, who said that they were "tasty".

Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 TBSP red wine, plus a little extra
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (either from a container, or made with stale bread you've got laying around)
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano

How To Cook It
1)  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Get a big bowl, and mix together all of your non-meat ingredients until well-blended.
3) Using your hands (or gloved hands), knead the beef into the mixture.
4) Roll meat into balls (this recipe should make about 15-20) and leave in the bowl.
5) Heat up a little olive oil in a large oven-safe pan with a lid.
6) Once the pan is hot (but not scorching... olive oil has a low smoke point), add the meatballs and brown for a couple minutes.
7) Add a splash of red wine to the pan, immediately cover with the lid, and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
8) Serve over pasta and red sauce, sliced up on a pizza, on a salad... be creative!

Balsamic Tortellini Over Fresh Baby Spinach

Ever wondered what tastes better on tortellini than tomato sauce? Balsamic vinegar of course! This light dinner or lunch entree has a small ingredient list, but packs a delightful punch to the taste buds. You'll be making a quick and easy reduction of balsamic vinegar with a little butter and sugar to coat the tortellini. Delish!!

Ingredients
- 20 ounces cheese tortellini
- 1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
- Spinach (about 8 ounces would easily be enough for four people)
- 3/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP sugar

How To Cook It
1) Pour the balsamic vinegar into a nonreactive pot (ex: stainless steel, enameled, ceramic, glass, etc.).
2) Start to heat the vinegar on your stove and stir in the sugar until blended.
3) Bring your vinegar mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to medium/medium-low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) Stir in the butter, and continue to simmer on low heat for an additional 5 minutes or so.
5) Remove your reduction from the heat. The mixture will thicken a bit as it cools.
6) Meanwhile (while your balsamic is simmering away), cook your tortellini for about 6-8 minutes in boiling water.
7) Drain the tortellini (don't rinse it!) and return it to the pot you used to cook it.
8) Pour the balsamic reduction over the top and stir gently to evenly coat the tortellini.
9) Toss in the parmesan cheese throughout.
10) Spoon the warm pasta over a waiting pile of spinach.