Home Cookin'

 For the past month or so my little sister and I have shared what I shall playfully call "veggie solidarity" (in all seriousness, though, we're out to take over the world, you know).  In support of a friend, Katie has gone vegetarian for lent; in other words she is "going rogue" from her usual diet.  Except not in the Sarah Palin sense.  Because then we would have to be veggie mavericks.  Though we could totally pull it off.

What Katie calls the "action shot".

Since Katie is the one who gave me the loving nickname "Veggie Monster" and for the longest time meticulously checked the ingredient lists at the stores or before family meals to make sure they were "Veggie Monster" friendly, I wanted to make sure to show her that being a vegetarian still comes with lots of options.  Lots and lots of yummy options.  Ulterior motives may or may not include: 1) Also getting to eat said yummy food, 2) Hoping that my little sister will become a vegetarian for life; I have serious world domination plans, remember? One veg at a time...

Click for the full effect...You know you want to!

Katie also happens to be a lifelong lover of noodles.  On a cross-country family road-trip that happened when I was 12 and she was 8, Katie got what the family now lovingly refers to as the "Mac & Cheese Tour of America".  Instead of Mac & Cheese I chose to make an Asparagus Cream Sauce over Spaghetti noodles.  The very simple recipe (and my additions to it) are as follows, copied from "Quick After Work: Vegetarian Cookbook" (an awesome hand-me-down cookbook from a family friend):


3/4 lb. Fresh or frozen asparagus
1/2 C. Whipping cream
1/4 C. Vegetable stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Steam asparagus.  Cut off tips and set aside.
2. Puree asparagus stems with a little cream in a food processor. I also added two cloves of garlic at this stage of the process - a very excellent addition, if I do say so myself.
3. Transfer puree to a saucepan and add the remaining cream (in the interest of health I added the full 1/2 C. at this stage...to supplement the 1/4 C. or so I used to blend with the asparagus stems) and the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium heat to thicken sauce.  It was at this point that I added about 1/4 C. of freshly grated parmesan cheese to the recipe as well.  Season with salt & pepper.
4.  Pour sauce over pasta and garnish with asparagus tips and grated parmesan.

This would be the face of success...

And this?  This saliva-inducing picture to your left is why you go home for meals.  Well, actually, it's why I go home for meals.  And trust me, it's the meal you want to come home to, too! (Do I sound like an info-mercial, yet?)  Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese made by Mom.  Seriously, there is nothing better.  I don't think she'll mind me telling you that the recipe comes from Giada de Laurentiis and can be found here.  But you're gonna have to ask her if you want to know how she packs all the love into it (and whatever other modifications she's made).  It really might just be one of those Magic Mom (or Dad) things...

Veggie-ly Yours (really, they're endless),

The Veggie Monster