Pasta Aglio Olio With Butternut Squash
I rocked Vegan Vednesday today, people! I didn't even have a MOMENT when I considered dairy or eggs or meat. Having a plan is the key.
Oatmeal for breakfast, soy milk hot chocolate, leftover pasta with chopped tomatoes for lunch. And then I tried a new recipe for dinner: "Pasta Aglio Olio With Butternut Squash" (NYT Cooking; subscription required).
I wasn't familiar with cooking an oil-based sauce like this, but it went off without a hitch, and my regular readers (all four of you or whatever, ha ha) know that for me, that's really an accomplishment!
You can see from the photo above that I reduced the amount of chili flakes to just a sprinkling, keeping my backup dancers' tastes in mind. As a result, the dish had no discernible heat. Also,
I think you could probably get away with slightly less oil. It didn't taste like too much oil, but I was thinking dubiously about the quantity as I ate it.
I was surprised and a tad disappointed that the squash didn't give the dish much flavor. The nut/lemon sauce made it all come together, but it was all very subtle. It was good, but not "wow."
I aim for a largely plant-based diet as a way to protect the Earth's environment, and this blog is for spreading the word and inspiring others if possible. This week, I joined some like-minded parents to pitch elementary school kids on another environmental goal: Zero Waste. We put together a school assembly that emphasized things that even kids can do to avoid creating waste - things like bringing reusable utensils to school, refusing straws at restaurants, capping markers so they don't dry out, and cleaning up spills with cloth rather than paper towels. We made it entertaining, and I have hope that those fresh little minds soaked it all up and will do better than the generations before them to make sustainable choices.
The assembly was the work of the Green Team at the school that my backup dancer attends, and we have other activities planned for the remainder of the school year, so stay tuned!
Oatmeal for breakfast, soy milk hot chocolate, leftover pasta with chopped tomatoes for lunch. And then I tried a new recipe for dinner: "Pasta Aglio Olio With Butternut Squash" (NYT Cooking; subscription required).
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| Why am I in a beret? WHY NOT?! |
I wasn't familiar with cooking an oil-based sauce like this, but it went off without a hitch, and my regular readers (all four of you or whatever, ha ha) know that for me, that's really an accomplishment!
 |
| Denuding a squash |
You can see from the photo above that I reduced the amount of chili flakes to just a sprinkling, keeping my backup dancers' tastes in mind. As a result, the dish had no discernible heat. Also,
I was surprised and a tad disappointed that the squash didn't give the dish much flavor. The nut/lemon sauce made it all come together, but it was all very subtle. It was good, but not "wow."
 |
| Nut/lemon sauce |
I aim for a largely plant-based diet as a way to protect the Earth's environment, and this blog is for spreading the word and inspiring others if possible. This week, I joined some like-minded parents to pitch elementary school kids on another environmental goal: Zero Waste. We put together a school assembly that emphasized things that even kids can do to avoid creating waste - things like bringing reusable utensils to school, refusing straws at restaurants, capping markers so they don't dry out, and cleaning up spills with cloth rather than paper towels. We made it entertaining, and I have hope that those fresh little minds soaked it all up and will do better than the generations before them to make sustainable choices.
The assembly was the work of the Green Team at the school that my backup dancer attends, and we have other activities planned for the remainder of the school year, so stay tuned!
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