White Bean and Spinach Pasta

In keeping with my recent theme of quick and healthy meals (with greens), here is an Italian dish that is delicious in its simplicity.

INGREDIENTS

- 450g whole wheat rotini

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 1 large garlic clove, minced

- 1/2 cup marsala, or red wine

- 1 15 oz can canellini beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 28 oz can can diced tomatoes (juice and all)

- basil (fresh or dried) to taste

- salt and pepper to taste

- 3 cups baby spinach (or more)

METHOD

1. Cook pasta in salted water until just about done (leave it a bit underdone so it can suck up the sauce).

2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 5-7 mins, until translucent. Add garlic and sauet 1 min more.

3. Add wine and beans and mix well. Let bubble and reduce for a few mins. Add tomatoes and mix well. Season to taste with basil and salt and pepper.

4. Drain pasta and return to pot. Return pot to medium heat. Add in sauce and spinach. Bring to bubbling and let cook for 8-10 mins, or until pasta and spinach has fully cooked and sauce has reduced. Serve.

Black Bean Noodles

So much going on here lately. The battle to keep our community school open continues . . . hard to say if we are making progress. I also broke my KitchenAid mixer, which means I had to close down the bakery. I was planning to stop when the baby came in June, so this just hastened the inevitable. There was no way to knead everything by hand and still make money. It's still sad, though, because I really enjoyed baking for the neighbourhood. But, there is still plenty of other things to do, which means quick and easy meals like this are always welcome.

INGREDIENTS

The amounts are up to you, depending on how many mouths you have to feed.

- noodles (I use an eggless chow mein noodle)

- broccoli, but into small florets

- minced garlic

- tofu, cut into cubes

- black beans, rinsed and drained

- black bean sauce

- hoisin sauce

- green onions, sliced

METHOD

1. Cook noodles as per the directions given.

2. While noodles are cooking, heat a wok over high heat. Add a few splashes of water along with the broccoli. Stir fry broccoli in the water for a few mins, until it gets tender but is still bright green (add more water when needed).

3. Add garlic and tofu and fry for a few mins, adding more water, if needed.

4. Add cooked noodles to the pan, along with the beans. Add enough sauce to your liking. Heat through. Add sliced green onions, stir well, and serve.

Channa Saag

This is something I put together in my quest to get more kale into my diet. As far as I remember, channa is the hindi word for chickpeas, and saag means spinach. This dish is packed with all sorts of nutritional goodness, and even though they protested at first, the boys ate all their greens.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced

- 1 large garlic clove, minced

- 1" piece of ginger, minced

- 4 large tomatoes, chopped

- 1 tsp garam masala

- 1 tsp coriander

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tbsp chili powder

- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

- 3 cups chopped kale (though stems removed)

- 3 cups chopped spinach

- juice of 1 lemon

- 1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Heat oil on a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions for 12-15 mins, until nicely browned. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 mins.

2. Add tomatoes and spices and bring to bubbling. Cook for 5-7 mins, stirring regularly, until tomatoes have reduced to a paste.

3. Add chickpeas and kale and cook for about 5 mins, until kale is tender. Add spinach and cook 2-3 mins, until tender. Stir in lemon juice and yogurt.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adjust spices to your liking, and serve.

Creamy Dijon Dill Potatoes

Just a quick post tonight. The past week has been absolutely insane. First, the trustees are trying to shut down the boys' school--the oldest continually operating elementary school in northern Ontario. We have hosted several meetings (with plenty of vegan baking to go around), and have spent a lot of time organizing, writing letters, etc. Here is the website dedicated to saving the school if you are interested. In the midst of it all, our basement flooded with all the melting snow. That was fun. Of course, today we had a snow storm and the temperature has dropped below zero. Ah, spring. And then there are the stacks of essays to grade . . . . There is no better time for fast and easy food. I made these potatoes to accompany the maple barbecue tofu.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb baby yellow potatoes, halved

- 2 tbsp margarine

- generous tbsp Dijon mustard

- 2-4 tbsp plain soy milk

- 1/2 tsp dill (or more if you like the dill)

METHOD

1. Boil potato halves in salted water for 8-10 mins, until softened but not mushy. Drain.

2. Heat margarine in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Fry potatoes for 5-7 mins, until golden. Add mustard, 2 tbsp of soy milk, and dill and mix well. Add more soy milk until desired creaminess is reached. Serve.

Maple Barbeque Tofu

A few weeks ago I installed the Canadian Living app on my iPod, hoping it would provide some good recipe ideas. To my surprise, I have been bookmarking just about every recipe of the day. Today's recipe is based on a pork recipe, and it caught my interest because it used maple syrup. I was a little disappointed that the maple syrup flavour did not come through in the end--it would be cheaper and just as tasty to use brown sugar. This is very simple and very tasty.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg of extra firm tofu, cut into triangles

- oil

- 1/2 cup chili sauce

- 1/4 cup maple syrup, or packed brown sugar

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

- 1/4 tsp chili powder

METHOD

1. Heat thin layer of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Pan fry tofu about 5 mins per side, until golden.

2. While tofu is cooking, whisk together remaining ingredients. When tofu is done, add sauce to the pan and bring to bubbling. Cook for about another 5 mins, until sauce has thickened and coats the tofu.