November seemed to be a slow month in the kitchen at my house. I must confess, the cook (those) books recipe challenge I set for myself hasn’t been going exceptionally well. I tried a few new meals last month, but not many, and very few exactly as written. Which, of course, was the challenge.
I promise that December will be all about cooking. There will be several new recipes that are challenge approved to start out the new year. In the meantime, here are a few of the November meals I tried that passed muster.
I tried roasting brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar (a new one for me) and served them with turkey sausage, sauerkraut, roasted beets and tomato.
I also made a new carrot soup recipe based on Terry Walters recipe in Clean Food.
I started with the basic soup as written but I have to confess I wasn’t sold. It was good, but a bit bland for my taste. So the next day I added some spinach, chick peas, miso paste and curry powder and got the punch I was looking for. And as with most soups it became even tastier in my thermos for lunch at work the next day.
And of course, I tried some noodles. I was attempting to clear off my desk to make room for present wrapping and I found in a (rather large) pile of recipes a page I had ripped out of a magazine years ago for noodles and tomato paste. I thought really? That seems to be too simple to be true. The first time I tried it, I thought, m’eh, okay, not great. The next time I added some chili flakes and it was glorious. It was a great way to get some carbs after a workout and oh, so very, very simple. The best part is that the potential variations of this recipe are endless. By adding some protein and greens you would have a complete meal in minutes ideal after a day outside playing in the cold.
Spaghetti with Tomato and Chili’s for one
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 can tomato paste
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- kamut spaghetti noodles
- parmesan cheese
Method
- Fill a pot with salted water. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions.
- While noodles are cooking heat oil, garlic and chili flakes in a large saute pan. Be careful not to burn them.
- When garlic is soft scoop in tomato paste and combine.
- Drain noodles, reserving a spoonful or two of the pasta water. Pour noodles into sauce. Combine
- Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
Honestly. That’s it. Enjoy, and please, let me know what recipes you are trying!