Fusilli with Green Lentils, Root Vegetables, and Parsley-Caper Puree

I cannot believe there was a time when I used to put bottled tomato sauce on my pasta. It's been years, but I still kinda cringe thinking about it.

Spring is approaching rapidly, so I'm trying to make unfamiliar recipes from the "Winter" section while it's still cold out. Tonight I opted for this pasta dish, which is truly delicious. I made it once a few years ago but then forgot about it. Silly me.

The sweet parsnips and carrots blend perfectly with the tangy lemon, caper, parsley sauce. And to make the meal even better, Jack also includes lentils that have simmered with garlic and bay leaves.

Flavor, nutrients, protein, and easy to make -- we're giving tonight's dinner 4 stars out of 5. Sometimes meals can weigh me down, but I feel great after this one.

Spaghetti with Asparagus, Tomatoes and Lemon

I decided to try another dish from Jack Bishop's cookbook, The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook. Since I like asparagus but have only grilled it, I thought this recipe would be good for our pasta selection this week. I love that Jack has you cook the asparagus for a minute or so in the boiling water, remove it, and then cook the pasta in that same pot. He does the same thing with a pasta and broccoli dish in A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.

It's an easy dish to make as long as you read through all the steps and plan ahead, and the flavors are nice and clean. I don't think it's as good as Jack's Linguine with Leeks and Tomatoes, but it is still tasty.

I probably won't make this dinner again until summer -- it would be a perfect dish to eat on the patio. I'm giving this one a rating of 3.5 stars.

Soba Noodles with Chard and Raisins

Ok. That's a fine looking picture! Dr. Sanjay Gupta would once again be proud -- so many colors! I opted for Rainbow Chard, which is just gorgeous. Each of the stems is a different color. You can see in the picture how some of the pieces are red and some are yellow, for example. One great thing about this recipe is that it calls for the whole chard piece, not just the leaves. You saute the chopped stems and then steam the leaves until they wilt.

We loved this dinner. Like last night's entree, I haven't made this one in years. My blog is motivating me to make a wider variety of recipes. Thanks to ME for that! :)

Though Tommie wanted to give this one a 5, I'm going to go with a 4. The flavors are fabulous -- raisins, chard, pine nuts, olive oil, green olives, garlic, and red pepper flakes combined with soba noodles. I went with wheat and buckwheat noodles, and they tasted great. My only issue with the dish was that the noodles were extremely starchy, which made a mushy sort of texture. I rinsed them after boiling them as directed, but maybe I need to stir them around the next time when I rinse. Something to work on...

Orecchietti with Spicy Broccoli

If you want an easy pasta dish, this is a great choice. You only have to chop broccoli and garlic, and heat them up with a couple other ingredients while the pasta is cooking.

I thought the flavors were distributed perfectly, but I have a head cold, so there is a distinct possibility that I over-salted. Tommie will be home soon to let me know. My guess is that I did, but as my taste buds are on strike, the salt to everything else ratio seemed good to me.

I'm giving this dish a 4.5. It's surprisingly tasty and extremely easy to make.

Rigatoni with Cauliflower, Curry Powder, and Coconut Milk

Why do I keep eating past the point of being full when I know it's going to make me feel uncomfortable afterward? Oh right. Because the food from this cookbook is so fracking tasty.

This is a nice, different kinda pasta dish. The flavors blend together beautifully: spinach, lime juice, coconut milk, curry powder, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and the ubiquitous salt, all combined with rigatoni.

My only complaint, as I have with most pasta dishes for that matter, is the cleaning factor. Our kitchen is a mess right now. Regardless, this one is worth making.

We're giving tonight's dinner 4.5 stars. It's extremely delicious, but as Tommie says, it's not "magical" like some of the other dishes in the book. Let me know what you think if you make it.

Black Sesame Noodles

She shoots, and she scores!!!!!

OK. The first thing you might wonder is "Black Sesame Noodles?" Yes. I couldn't find black sesame seeds, so I went with the oldy but goody white sesame seeds. And, the only thing I'll say about that is, that I wish I put more in, because, um, YUM!

I'm gonna tell you some of the flavors, but just know that it's super easy, even though there are a lot of components. You basically throw a bunch of stuff in a food processor, shred some veggies, and cook some pasta.

So here goes: fresh ginger, garlic, carrots, cucumber, radishes, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot pepper, some other odds and ends, and then top it off with fresh cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. Yummmm-frickin-y.

Clearly, tonight's dinner gets the full 5 stars. I actually did not get a second serving, because I wanted to leave room to have a slice of my freshly baked bread tonight for a snack. Food just tastes so much better when you make it from scratch.

Linguine with Leeks and Tomatoes

Crazy news: I used a different Jack Bishop cookbook! I was in the mood for a new pasta this week, and so I visited Jack's The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, and found this recipe. Tommie and I are thrilled that I did, because this dinner rocked.

Aside from the linguine, there are only a few ingredients: leeks, extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, fresh thyme, and of course, salt and pepper. The hardest part of the recipe was finding enough thyme to use from my garden, as it's getting colder and colder here, and my herbs are ready to fly south for the winter.

Neither of us wanted to put our forks down. I over-ate, and then still got depressed when I realized my stomach was about to rebel on me if I didn't stop eating. Therefore, this dish also gets the full 5 stars. We've eaten some good food this week. I hope I can keep it up!

Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto

Wow. This recipe is a keeper. First time making this pasta, and I love it. I was turned away in the past because it calls for Parmesan cheese, and it also seemed like a lot of work.

Wrong. The only chopping was snipping parsley leaves from the stems. I seriously took the lazy route and purchased broccoli already prepped rather than having to cut it myself.

As to the Parmesan, I made this a vegan dish, so that Tommie wouldn't have to be subjected to The Cheese. Instead, I added two tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the pesto (processed with all the other ingredients). I think it completely worked: thicker consistency and more flavor. Go me.

Tommie won't be eating this one until late tonight, so I'll be curious to hear if he agrees, but I'm giving this Penne 5 stars. I was definitely sad when I had to put the fork down. (I actually kinda ate a little more than I should, which is another giveaway.)

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Dried Cherries, Chard and Walnuts

We make this dish fairly often because it's hearty, tasty and healthy. In fact, it is the perfect carbo loading meal if you are an endurance athlete. Swiss chard (in this case rainbow chard) is extremely hearty, so when you combine it with the complex carb whole wheat pasta, you are fueling your body well. Add some garlic, dried cherries, and toasted walnuts, and now it's just plain tasty.

We give this dish 4 out of 5 stars. It's a wonderful meal, but a 5 star meal has to be one where I'm a little sad when I feel that my stomach is full, and I have to put down the fork. I wasn't sad tonight -- just happily sated.

Fresh Chinese Noodles with Spicy Cabbage

Right off the bat let me state that I took the linguine option. Jack Bishop's recipe calls for fresh Chinese noodles (hence the name), but he states that linguine works fine too. So, I took the lazy option and just went with linguine.

This dinner rocks. I love the taste of Chinese food, but everything I get from restaurants is so heavy, that I can't eat it. This has all the flavor of a Chinese meal, but with only two tablespoons of roasted peanut oil. Two teaspoons of chili-garlic sauce were enough kick for me -- anymore would have been too much. Hubby would most definitely disagree with that point. Dumping the whole jar wouldn't be too much heat for him. But I digress.

Fun meal. Easy to make. Very tasty. Has protein (albeit only a small amount). I give this a 4.5. Don't know why I don't give it 5 stars. Just a gut decision. (Get it? Gut? It's about food...)