Sequestration Meal #596

 

I am trying to keep things simpler. The most complex thing about this meal was cutting stuff up. Although I chose all this food based on relative easiness of preparation, it turned out really well! This was also one of those "layer in the protein sources sneakily" meals, because I was in one of those "starch and veggie" moods.

So! We have here the so-called "Simplest Vegan Pasta Ever" from Lazy Cat Kitchen using Barilla Protein + spaghetti noodles, red Swiss chard sauteed with garlic, tomatoes, and walnuts from Lavender & Macarons, and yellow squash made in the style of Zucchini Italiano from Barbara Swain's Cookery for 1 or 2 (1978).

The sauce for the pasta is extremely simple--garlic, olive oil, capers, nutritional yeast, and fresh parsley--and I topped it off with some flaky sea salt. It was remarkably good as a meal component--I wouldn't say I even have a main dish here, but let me know if you think it's a "main"--though it did benefit from being served with some other flavors.

The Swiss chard recipe was challenging to follow, since it never said when to add the garlic. I should have figured that out earlier and cooked it before adding the chard, but hey, it turned out okay anyway! I just added it in with the tomatoes. Swiss chard is in season, so I am glad I picked some up. This isn't my absolute favorite way to have it, but the walnuts (ground up so they just blend in) were important in this whole layering-in-protein strategy. And it was still really good!

I knew I loved Zucchini Italiano with zucchini, so I figured it would be great with yellow squash. And of course it was! That recipe is very simple, too--I sliced the squash thinly with a mandolin, then cooked it in olive oil with garlic, salt, and oregano. When it was done, I added vegan Parmesan. It is really low fuss.

Really, as I said, the hardest part of this meal was cutting everything up. But cutting stuff up is labor that we shouldn't discount. I'm working on it.