[Vegan MOFO] Mama Mia Monday - Comfort Classic & Pasta Memories

Lately Matt and I have needed some good ol' comforting. When I think of comfort food - pasta does come to mind along with chocolate and baked goods. After a crappy weekend I made Matt a simple lunch consisting of a dish we had a lot growing up.

Pasta with butter and cheese. My mom would make it with angel hair, but I like more noodle-y shaped pasta, so that is what I used. I swapped out butter for Earth Balance and nooch for cheese .I liked it growing up with something coated in bread crumbs - so I thought Matt would dig it with some Gardein strips. Don't mind the bite missing from the strip - Mar was my taste tester!

I have talked about this side dish before. My sister loved it growing up, it was her favorite. I have been thinking of my sister a lot lately so I had this dish in my mind as well.

What comfort food memories do you have when you think of family members? Do you make recipes in honor and memory of those no longer with you?

[Vegan MOFO] Mama Mia Monday - Simple Pasta Sauce

I recently bought the book The Glorious Vegetables of Italy - hoping it would inspire me and add more flair to my Italian dishes. First recipe I tried was the Simple Tomato Sauce - since it was cheap: I had garlic from the farmer's market, canned tomatoes, olive oil (always on hand!) and dried basil (I subbed the fresh for dried since Trader Joe's was my shopping store for the day and they do not have fresh basil ever...)

The sauce is good - a bit plain perhaps. I added a big pinch of nooch on top of the sauce with garlic bread (of course). The sauce calls for two cloves of garlic - I am thinking it needs 4 cloves or more, I did not really notice the garlic flavor. Also besides salt the only other spice/seasoning is basil. Next time it will get a kick of pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano.

I am still not done with the bags of organic pasta I got from Costco - good thing we like pasta! Also we scored more loaves of bread for garlic bread there this weekend! I never really had garlic bread growing up, bread from the oven at my grandmas would be olive oil and cheese...Mom would serve pasta with fresh bread from the store. Matt had garlic bread at home.Now we are all about the garlic bread! Garlic bread is now my comforting favorite!

[Vegan MOFO] Mama Mia Monday - Dreaming Of A Creamy Pasta Sauce

When I am trying to come up with a meal and nothing is coming to me I reach for one of the "Cooking With Trader Joe's" cookbooks. Cookbooks based around shopping/buying from Trader Joe's. That way - everything is in one store and it helps me get focused at creating a fuss free shopping meal by limiting me to one store. 
I picked orecchiette with creamy tapenade from I Love Trader Joe's Vegetarian Cookbook.
I am one to go for red sauces so I thought a creamy sauce would be a change. I swapped out the orecchiette for penne (I have it on hand) and had most of the other ingredients around (seasoning, almond milk and vegan cream cheese). I picked up the tapenade from Trader Joe's and went to work.
The sauce was not as thick as I would have liked, actually it was watery. I thought it would be a creamy white sauce, even with turning up the heat and letting it simmer longer I still had a watery sauce, I should have added some cornstarch or something thinking back on it. Also the sauce, since it was so watery lacked flavor. The salad with tangy sweet dressing and garlic bread saved it though. Mar did like the pasta - he meowed for more.
Not all dishes are winners. I wanted to try something new, I did and I learned (stick to red sauce!). Plus using up stuff in the pantry is a goal of mine: pasta and vegan cream cheese were on hand. Waste not want not right? Also good garlic bread and a simple salad makes every meal complete or can actually be a meal itself!