Summer Spaghetti with Corn and Tomatoes

The year I went vegetarian, 1996, I received Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone as a Christmas gift from one of my co-workers. And I’ve been using it regularly ever since. Again, not a vegan cookbook but there is plenty in here for vegans. I come back to this recipe just about every summer when corn and tomatoes are at their peak. I’ve used corn pasta in the past, but this time I used whole wheat spaghetti. The recipe calls for a little cheese which I just ignored although I did sprinkle some fake parmesan on top.

Oh, and there at the top, corn muffins with that coconut Earth Balance. Need more delivery systems for that spread.

Polenta is easy!

I don’t know why I always thought polenta was hard to make. Maybe it’s just made out to be a big pain in the ass. In reality, it’s not that bad. You need to whisk steadily as you add the cornmeal, but after you’ve got it all in there and the lumps are worked out, you really only need to stir every so often. Not constantly as some recipes would have you believe. And talk about budget food! I mean, how much is cornmeal?

This is the Polenta with Fresh Corn recipe from The Vegan Gourmet. I took advantage of the fresh white corn at Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market and even super-sized the corn by using 3 ears instead of two. I also was able to make use of the sage I have growing outside my kitchen. On top is a bit of Daiya cheese that we didn’t even bother to melt. And some roasted asparagus and summer squash.

Not Cooking

Here are some more tasty raw goodies we’ve been munching on.

Moroccan Carrot Salad from Raw Food Made Easy

morocca carrot salad

Walnut Paté spread in celery sticks, from Raw Food Made Easy

walnut paté on celery sticks

Just some red bell pepper strips

red bell pepper strips

Carpe Diem Carrot Almond Paté Nori Rolls from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine

carpe diem rolls

Aiyah’s Garden Living Corn Chowder from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine

living corn chowder

So, is this stuff any good? The next pic tells that story.

clean plates

Food on my desktop

There are a few photos cluttering my desktop that I keep meaning to post. I say cluttering, but it isn’t like I ever see my desktop. It’s all open apps and exposé around here.summer spaghetti with corn and tomatoesThis is Summer Spaghetti with Corn and Tomatoes from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison.  I’ve had this cookbook for over ten years but still find myself going back to it. Yeah, it’s not exactly summer around here but sometimes you need to step away from the roots and indulge a little. I considered using canned tomatoes but was able to find some nice grape tomatoes and they were lovely. It also gave me a chance to use the Sunergia Soy Feta I picked up at Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe. I never expect soy cheese to be spot on, but I found this to be a nice substitute. It doesn’t quite crumble like feta, but shredding works fine. And the smell seemed to have that requisite cheese stink. The little cardboard outer package for this has been sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for me to blog about this forever. I’m glad I can finally throw it in the recycling bin.stir-fried bok choy with roasted peanutsThis is another one from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone, Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Roasted Peanuts. To make it a main dish, I rehydrated some fake chicken pieces I picked up from the Asian market a while back. I can’t remember which variety of bok choy I ended up using. I tend to just choose whichever one looks good that day, or even a different sort of green. I think this might have been Shanghai bok choy though. This always comes out nice, but this time I actually used the called for peanut oil instead of just canola. It really does add flavor so I recommend doing that.posole with red chile podsOh, and another one from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. If I’d paid attention I could have said that once at the top, eh? This is the Posole with Red Chile Pods. We’re lucky enough to have a number of hispanic markets around here where you can find a bunch of different dried corn varieties. Here I used a red one. The base for this soup is very simple. It’s the condiments that really make it. Here I have cilantro, avocado, soy feta and a lime wedge piled on top. There are more suggestions in the recipe, but this combination suited me just fine.