Mexican Pasta

A lot of the same ingredients as the Minestrone Soup but in different amounts and with some spiciness.

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 2 cups of pasta, mostly cooked (it will finish cooking in the sauce)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
•  Parmesan cheese (or Cotija cheese if you can get it)

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a pot.
2) Add the onion and cook until it is translucent, about 3 minutes.
3) Add the leeks and carrots until they soften a bit, about 3 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper.





4) Add the jalapeno, pasta, and tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
5) Allow to cook until the pasta is cooked and carrots soften.
6) Serve with cilantro and Parmesan.

Minestrone Soup

A good soup for when the weather is just starting to get cold. Even better when reheated!

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 leeks, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 can of beans (I used kidney because it was all I could find)
• 1/2 a cup of parsley, chopped
• 1 bag of spinach, chopped
• marinara sauce
• water or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of cooked pasta

Directions:

1) Heat 4 TBSP oil in a pot.
2) Add the onions and let sweat until they become soft (you may need to add more oil to prevent burning).







3) Add the leeks, carrot, potato, salt and pepper and cook for a few mores minutes, until they begin to soften.








4) Add the beans, parsley and spinach until the spinach wilts.








5) Add the stock or water (to cover), and add half as much marinara sauce.
6) Simmer until the vegetables are soft.
7) Add the Parmesan cheese and pasta and cook until the cheese has mostly dissolved and the pasta is warmed.

 So much soup...

Japanese Cucumber

Too vinegary on toast for me, but good with pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• vinegar
• soy sauce
• 1 TBSP sesame oil
• 1 TBSP sesame seeds
• 3 slices of ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed once with a knife (unnecessary to cut into pieces)
• pasta, noodles, toast, rice

Directions:

1) Cut the cucumber into chunks.
2) Place into a container you can keep it in overnight or for a few days.
3) Add 2 parts soy sauce for every 3 parts vinegar (I estimated with my eyes).
4) Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds, ginger and garlic.
5) Serve with pasta, noodles, toast or rice.

Avocado Pasta

Amazing. I just ate two plates of it.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz of pasta
• 1 avocado, pit and peel removed
• 1 TBSP lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Cook the pasta. Reserve some of the water.
2) Mash the avocado, lime, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper.
3) Mix together the avocado mixture and pasta, using the water as necessary to smooth the sauce.

The avocado could have been put in a blender, but I don't have one and I enjoyed the chunks.

Peanut Noodle Salad

Recipe taken from here, and I like it a lot more than the other peanut sauce recipe that I made earlier.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz pasta
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 2-3 tsp chili sauce
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced thin
• 1 stem of cilantro, chopped
• peanuts

 Directions:

1) Cook the pasta.
2) Mix the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce together.
3) Drain the pasta out of the water and mix in with the sauce.






4) Mix in the green onions, carrots and cilantro.
5) Top with peanuts to serve.

Spicy Noodle Salad

 Recipe taken from here.

Ingredients:

• Noodles
• 2 TBSP sesame oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP red pepper paste
• 1/4 cabbage, sliced thin
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1 carrot, sliced thin
• 1 cucumber, sliced thin

Directions:

1) Cook the noodles and run under cold water until they are completly cool.
2) Mix in the sesame oil.







3) Mix the lemon juice, soy sauce, honey and red pepper paste well (honey and red pepper paste are thick). Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
4) Mix the sauce into the noodles.






5) Add the vegetables and mix again.

Teriyaki Tofu and Peanut Noodles

Recipe taken from here.

Ingredients:

• 1 block of tofu
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/4 cup + 1 TBSP white sugar
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 TBSP vegetable oil
• 8 oz pasta
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp chili paste
• 1/3 cup reserved pasta water
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

1) Place the tofu between layers of paper towels on a plate and place a heavy pan or brick on top for 30 minutes.
2) Mix the 1/3 soy sauce, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp grated ginger and garlic together.
3) Slice the tofu into cubes and put it in a shallow bowl.








4) Pour the sauce over and let sit for 1 hour.
5) Flip the tofu and let sit for another hour.
6) Put the vegetable oil in a pan and heat.






7) Add the tofu and cook for 5 minutes on each side, until it starts to change color.
8) Cook the pasta.







9) Mix the peanut butter, chili paste, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1TBSP white sugar and 1 tsp grated ginger.
10) Add the pasta to the peanut butter mixture and add the reserved pasta water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.




11) Add the carrots, pepper and green onions.

Bruschetta Pasta

I saw the recipe for this on the Food Network in Zambia and have never bothered to look for it online because it is so simple!

Ingredients:

• Cooked pasta
• Mozerella
• Cherry Tomato
• Basil
• all of these can be in whatever ratio you prefer them in

Directions:

1) Cook the pasta.
2) Cut the mozerella into cubs, the tomato in half and the basil into slices.
3) Toss the pasta with the mozzarella, cherry tomato and basil.

Garlic and Parmesan Pasta

National Garlic Day! And I really wanted butter pasta, so I made this!

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 cup pasta
• 4 garlic cloves (I should have used more...)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup Parmesan plus extra for the top

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 175C on broil.
2) Boil water for the pasta.
3) Add the pasta.









4) At this time, heat the oil in the pan.
5) Chop the garlic and put it in the pan.







6) Add the butter when there is about 2 minutes left on the pasta.







7) Strain the pasta and add it to the  pan with the garlic and butter.
8) Add the Parmesan cheese.
9) Put into an oven safe bowl and add more Parmesan cheese.
10) Place into the oven and cook for 2 minutes.