Meatless March

Happy Vegan Vednesday! There were two opinions in my household about " Butternut Squash and Green Curry Soup " (NYT Cooking; subscription required). According to one opinion, the soup was "good," but the people who held that opinion were clearly bananas, because the soup was excellent. I'm not the only one who thinks so - the recipe has a five-star rating and 145 comments on NYT Cooking. Note that you will need to skip the fish sauce to make it vegetarian/vegan. What were the some of secrets of its success for me? Homemade veggie stock - I always have some ready to go in the freezer, and thaw it quickly in a pan right before I need it, if I've forgotten to stick it in the fridge the day before. Dried ancho (poblano) chiles, which aren't very spicy at all. You will need fewer than the recipe states, because they are big - and the more finely you can slice/dice them, the better. "Thai Kitchen" green curry paste, which also isn't very spicy, ...

I'm always on the hunt for good alternatives to meat-based meals. As we know from yet another study , the global food system is a big contributor to climate change, and food from animals causes more environmental harm than plant-based foods. Yesterday, my hunt took me to the depths of my own freezer. I had two tubs of roasted butternut squash in the freezer, left over from previous recipes , and the moment had arrived to defrost the stuff and put it to good use. First, I adapted a NYT Cooking recipe, " Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta With Kale " by Sarah Jampel. I seized the opportunity to use vegetables I had over-bought earlier this week: broccoli and bok choy. It was also a chance to use up some really dreamy ricotta (thank you Baker Street Market !) that was a day past its expiration date but still good. Very, very good indeed, actually! Cheesy Baked Butternut Pasta with Veggies (serves 3-4) 8oz pasta (shells, penne, etc) ~1.5 cups veggies - kale, bok choy, broccoli, etc -...