garlicky squash pasta

trying to figure out what to do with all that summer squash? make a pasta sauce! (you’ll probably need a food processor/blender, just a heads up. if you don’t already have one, go search for one at your local thrift store, they have plenty, trust me!)

• roast one bulb of garlic in 1/4 cup oil for 30 minutes at 350F.
• meanwhile, finely dice up 3-4 medium-large squashes. you should have enough to fill one of those circular baking pans you usually make a cake in. place all the diced squash in that. 
• when the garlic is done, pour the oil into the cake pan, mix it all together, and throw the squash in the oven for 20 minutes. leave the bulb of garlic out to cool. put a box (3 cups) of smallish pasta on to boil. (you can also put some cherry tomatoes in the oven to roast now, too, like we did!)
• when the squash timer goes off, transfer it to a food processor with 3 cloves of the roasted garlic, thyme, oregano, a heaping pinch of salt, and lots of freshly ground pepper. blend until it’s smooth. (you may need a little more oil to help it move along, depending on your food processor.)
• the pasta (and tomatoes, if you did that) should be done by now. mix together the sauce and pasta, and serve hot! 

ours made about 4-6 servings, and we were pretty hungry. the sauce is rich and creamy, and the tomatoes juicy and sweet - the perfect dinner! enjoy :)

“sayonara, summer” dinner

for the fresh cucumber salad above, toss together:

• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 4 small-medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 apple, sliced
• a few splashes balsamic vinegar and soy sauce
• salt, pepper, and garlic

for the almond “parmesan” topping (which you can sprinkle over just about anything):

• place 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, a few pinches salt, and some garlic salt/powder in a plastic bag.
• crush the nuts with your hands and/or a rolling pin until they’re small bits (but not yet powder!) and mix everything together.

this pasta was absolutely one of my favorite foods i’ve ever made! it’s creamy and cheesy without any soy creams or processed products. it takes a little bit of time, but it’s totally worth the effort.

1. roast 1 peeled bulb of garlic in olive oil at 350F for 35 minutes.
2. scoop out the insides of four medium squashes, and coat the cavity with a mixture of olive oil, salt, and brown sugar. roast at 350F for 35 minutes.
3. chop up 5-6 small red potatoes and place in a pan with the squash insides, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. put in the oven with the other dishes, and let it cook for 45 minutes to one hour.
4. once you take out the squash bowls and garlic, pour out all the excess oils into a separate dish. let the garlic cool for a few minutes, then mash 2 cloves and spread it onto the potatoes in the oven. pour out any excess oil in the potato pan into that “oil” dish. turn the oven up to 450F and continue to cook the potatoes until they’re tender and crispy.
5. put a pot of water on to boil. once it’s at a rolling boil, put in a box of spiral pasta and some fresh green beans. let cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
6. take that “oil” dish and add in basil, salt, and pepper. once the pasta is done and drained, pour in a couple tablespoons of the oil mixture. mix in the potatoes and squash insides until everything is creamy and broken up together.
7. put the pasta mixture into the squash bowls and enjoy!

like our fancy stuffed pears, this is the kind of meal you might make when you’re trying to impress a small gathering of people, without doing a ton of hard work. most of the labor of this meal is just waiting around for it to be done, so it’s not really “work.” it’ll serve 2-3 people, so either double the recipe or add on some sides, like rice and/or some nice sauteed veggies.

1. about an hour before you start this, press a block of tofu. this will make the texture more chewy and substantial.

2. roast some garlic. (take an entire bulb of garlic, remove the outer skin, and chop off the top inch , revealing the cloves inside. place the bulb inside a muffin tin or in a ramekin, to keep it steady. drizzle olive oil over the top, and roast in a 350F oven for 30-35 minutes.)

3. while the garlic is roasting, marinate the tofu in a mixture of veggie (or mushroom) broth, salt, a dash of liquid sweetener, and spices of your choice.

4. take out the garlic, and let it cool. slice an onion into bite-size strips. slice 2 lemons. place the onions on the bottom of a baking sheet.

5. slice the tofu in have width wise, so you have two “burger” sized pieces (rather than “hot dog” sized pieces, if that makes sense.) then slice those into triangles. take a clove or two of the roasted garlic and smear it on top of the tofu pieces. place the triangles on top of the onions, then add the lemons on top.

6. drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt & your favorite herbs over top of the whole pan. (the herbs we used for this were oregano, sage, thyme, and thai basil.)

7. take one medium-sized squash, slice it in half lengthwise, and coat the flat side with a mixture of olive oil, sea salt, and brown sugar. place on the pan flat side up.

8. bake at 350F for at least one hour, or until the tofu is crispy on the edges. flip the squash halves over halfway through cooking, to crisp up the insides.

serve hot and enjoy!