May 27th

Tonight Dom made me dinner based on his go-to dish. It was sooooo good and spicy. I love the addition of the artichoke instead of the chicken. Since it’s his dish, I thought I’d let him tell you all about it and what it’s been like eating more vegan than usual this month. Here’s Dom’s guest post:

First, I’d like to say that I’m very happy for Melly and her decision to explore a vegan diet. I know her reasons whether they be moral, physiological, philosophical, or even emotional and I respect them, even if personally I don’t always agree with them. I have tried to be as supportive as I possibly can whether that means a little more research before going out to eat or modifying a home cooked meal, the result is usually eating a little greener, and usually a little healthier than I would have normally. Thankfully, the vegan food I have eaten has for the most part been delicious, especially when Mel prepares it. On this night however I was to cook which meant I had to modify a particularly favorite dish of ours. This has been a staple of Mel’s May: substituting ingredients in a dish in order to veganise it. At times this can be a little tricky, but for the most part it isn’t that difficult and allows for some creativity and new flavor experiences. The dish I made is derived from a dish my sister used to order in a restaurant, and she introduced me to her version of it. It’s a simple bowtie pasta with chicken and snow peas. There are no, and has never been any measured recipe for this dish and my sister and I make it differently, and honestly it is different every time I make it.

Dom’s Spicy Bowtie:
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomato pesto, garlic, various sweet peppers, various hot peppers, bowtie pasta, artichoke hearts (canned), snow-peas, zucchini.

Tonight I simply mixed about 2 tablespoons of olive oil with three tablespoons of pesto. I used a sundried tomato pesto which doesn’t contain any cheese or dairy. Sometimes I use a 1:1 ratio with the oil and pesto. I put in a healthy amount of minced garlic, I think three cloves. I added a liberal dose of cut up peppers, green, red, and my favorite orange. I also put in two different hot peppers; some people (myself included) prefer this dish when very spicy, just add what you have a tolerance for. When I don’t have hot peppers I just substitute a hot pepper sauce, but it’s never quite as good.

To this sauce I add the freshly cooked pasta, (always cooking more than I need because the left-overs are even better than the first time around). Usually I would now add the chicken but tonight I used artichoke hearts which actually turned out to be quite a revelation and the perfect example of discovering new flavors. Finally I put in the uncooked snow-peas to the hot mixture. This meal is both quick and easy to prepare and makes a great lunch the next day. Finally, it should be noted that this meal goes great with a fruity white wine or if you are feeling especially happy, two white wines. It’s been our experience that you don’t have to worry about dessert with this meal because you end up eating too much of it.