Pumpkin Pasta with Easy Sage Alfredo Sauce

Tonight I made the pumpkin pasta I made last night. It cooked beautifully. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the pasta only needs to be cooked for 1 min once the water returns to a boil. I wouldn't say the pasta had an overly pumpkiny flavour, but it did have a nice light orange colour. My plan was to make a creamy sage sauce for a nice autumn twist on a pasta dish, but wanted to make sure it did not taste like spaghetti with Thanksgiving gravy. I was worried the kids would not like it but they gobbled it right up. Son #1 even rejected his usual bowl of cereal at bedtime and asked for more pasta. I don't think that has ever happened before.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb pumpkin pasta (I made fettuccine)

- 3 cloves garlic, skins on

- 3 tbsp margarine

- 2 generous tbsp flour

- 1 tsp sage

- 1/4 tsp thyme

- pinch of nutmeg

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups soy milk

- 1 cup firm silken tofu

INGREDIENTS

1. Cook pasta in rapidly boiling salted water for about 60 seconds, until soft but still firm.

2. While water is heating, make sauce. Dry roast garlic in a pan until soft. Remove from heat, remove skins, and chop.

3. Heat margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and bring to bubbling. Add garlic and spices and mix, then whisk in soy milk. Bring to bubbling, whisking regularly.

4. Add tofu and blend with a hand blender. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix with cooked pasta and serve.

Fresh Pumpkin Pasta

I have been meaning to experiment with a pumpkin pasta ever since pumpkins hit the store a few weeks ago. I finally got around to it tonight whilst baking bread. The recipe is super easy, though you need some strong wrists and a pasta roller and cutter. I have not cooked it yet (that will be tomorrow's dinner) but it rolled and cut perfectly. I have every reason to believe it will cook up nicely.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 1 lb of pasta

- 1 cup semolina flour

- 1 cup all purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/2 cup pureed cooked pumpkin

- 1-2 tbsp water

METHOD

1. Mix together flours and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Put pumpkin and 1 tbsp of the water in the center. Slowly incorporate the wet into the dry, making a rough dough, adding more water if needed.

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth dough (5 mins). It's going to take some elbow grease. The dough should not break apart or crack, so wet your hands if the dough seems too dry.

3. Roll into a log and wrap in a damp towel. Set aside for 20 mins to let the dough relax. Roll and cut as per usual.

A Note on Cooking Fresh Pasta:

Fresh homemade pasta does not need to cook very long--1-3 mins, usually, depending on the thickness. Monitor the pasta closely and make sure you don't overcook it, otherwise it will be mushy.

On Steaming Seitan in the Oven

We spent the holiday weekend with family at the cottage, and as you know my plan was to make a seitan roast with stuffing. I had to make a few changes, however. First, I went with a more traditional stuffing to be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike. As you can see from the pic above, I baked the extra stuffing in greased loaf pans (covered with foil) for one hour at 350 degrees. I do think the original wild rice stuffing is better for inside the roast, though, since it provides a nice contrast of taste and texture. Secondly, since I forgot my steamer at home, I had to change my method for cooking the roast. I suppose I could have just baked it, but last time I did that I found it got too dry. So, I came up with this contraption (the cottage kitchen is not blessed with a great selection of pots and pans). Although I used aluminum pans, ideally this could be done in a roaster. Anyway, I made the roast as per the recipe and wrapped it in heavy duty foil (I find the heavy duty foil is needed to keep the roast from bursting out), and suspended it over a loaf pan. I then placed the pan in a larger roaster, and filled the bottom of both pans with a few centimetres of boiling water (making sure it did not touch the roast itself). I then put the lid on and baked it for 1 hr. I then removed the roaster from the oven, removed the loaf pan, emptied the water, and baked the roast on its own for 30 mins.

The end result was a bit more "bouncy" than the original version, but I think that may be because I cooked the roast too long. I think the bake-steaming could be reduced to 30-40 mins. I had to seal up the roaster to keep the steam in, and that made it hard to check the roast. In any event, for those of you who don't have a steamer, this method may be of some use. It seems to me you could make sausages this way. As long as you can suspend the seitan above the water, a roaster can be a good steamer.

Come to the Table: A Book Review

Last month a rep from Rodale Books contacted me about reviewing Come to the Table: The Slow Food Way of Living on my blog. I agreed, so here it is.

Although the slow food movement started in 1989, it seems like the idea of locally grown whole foods is gaining more traction today than even before. A 2001 study concluded that the average piece of food travels 1,500 miles before it reaches your plate, a staggering number considering today's fuel prices and the cost to the environment. While this number has been disputed, there is no question that our food supply comes from countries far and wide. A trip to the grocery store will reveal garlic from China, and grapes from Chile. In response, the word locavore has now entered the lexicon.

The Slow Food movement is essentially combination of the organic and local food trends. According to Come to the Table, slow food is about countering industrialized farms by producing food via "ecologically sound and humane methods." The point, then, is to eat real food produced locally and organically.

Come to the Table is a collection of stories edited by Katrina Heron about farms in California that have adopted the slow food mentality and are trying to make a profit in a market economy dominated by factory farms. Combined with beautiful colour photos, these stories make you want to flee the city to get back to nature and in touch with the earth. Of course, the authors make no bones about the fact that it is back breaking work and certainly not a life of fame and fortune. Interspersed between the chapters are tips for living a slow food life, and brief explorations into the issues facing farmers like USDA organic certification. The book ends with over 40 simple recipes, in keeping with slow food philosophy.

Although the slow food movement is rather appealing to vegans (especially those whose veganism is tied to environmental concerns), slow food also embraces meat, egg, and dairy production. This raises several interesting questions that readers may want to discuss in the comments below. Does small-scale, humane, ecologically sound meat production negate the need for veganism? Would you eat eggs that came the kind of farm described in Come to the Table? Do these farms, while more attractive than factory farms, still perpetuate an ideology based on human dominance of animals? Do you oppose animal husbandry? What about the impact on health from saturated fat, regardless of how the meat and eggs are produced? Can the population really be sustained by small farms? The list could go on and on.

In the final analysis, Come to the Table is an interesting read, but I am not sure it is worth the $32.95 (CAN) price tag. While the farm stories are interesting, I would have preferred more practical tips on growing your own food. The information given is scant, and none of it particularly insightful (have your own herb pot, for example). The recipes are solid, but not worth buying the book for. While they do focus quite a bit on vegetables, there are also many meat and dairy-based recipes that are of little use to vegans. Curiously, one of the recipes calls for instant pancake batter, which doesn't strike me as particularly slow food-esque. Whether you buy the book or not, it is certainly worthwhile to tap into local food networks wherever you live. Support your local farmers' market, try to buy organic, grow your own, and try to eat food that remembers where it came from. That is what slow food is all about.

Happy Holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian readers! I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by family and so I will keep this post very brief. Enjoy your time with family and friends, and don't forget about my seitan roast if you are looking for good vegan eats. See you all on Tuesday! In the meantime, enjoy these pics from a recent walk through the woods.