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!