Vegetable Pasta

Whole foods – 7:30 at night. Determined to make a good, hearty vegan soup, until my father happily reminded me how LONG soup took to make. It was cold, my mom and dad were hungry, and I was running out of options. I quickly thought in my mind of what to make, and it hit me. What about a nice bow tie pasta? The pictures in my head said it was a good idea, and the way it turned out made me glad I thought of it!
Things you will need:
• Broccoli (a head or just frozen in a bag - whatever makes you comfortable)
• 1-2 carrots
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tofu (optional)
• Olive Oil
• Whole grain bow tie pasta (or just any type of bow tie – whatever you prefer!)

Looks good, right? Follow these instructions and ill tell you exactly how to make it! 

I started by turning the stove to simmer, putting a frying pan on the panel I chose. While that was heating, I cut thin slices of onion, and cut them up not too big, but not too small. Then, I grabbed some garlic, tore off all the skin and cut it into small pieces. 

After that, I got out my broccoli and cut it up just so there was a little bit of stem but a lot of the green 'bush'. While that sat for a second, I covered the bottom of a large pot with water to steam the broccoli in, setting the heat on simmer. It doesn't matter if you just put the water in or not, put the broccoli in first. Put a cover over the top, trapping the heat. 

As that's steaming, start a boiling pot of water to put the bow-ties in.

Return to your frying pan, putting a lot of olive oil in. Grab the mushrooms, onions and garlic and toss it all in the pan! Put extra olive oil on top of everything (if you want to add tofu, cut it up in small squares and toss that in too!).

Make sure you watch the broccoli, and leave it in for about 7-10 minutes. Stir it around a couple of times so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom, add more water as necessary. Watch the mushrooms, too. You don't want those to burn! Leave that in until the onions are turning a little gold around the sides. 

Add the pasta when the water boils, and wait about 5-6 minutes for that to cook. Stir and watch everything properly! 

Once the pasta is done, drain it. Same goes with the broccoli! Make sure you don't over cook the broccoli, otherwise it will turn mushy and gross. 

Take little parts of the pasta out of the drainer, and put it in the pot putting just enough olive oil on, not so it pours down and coats the bottom but just enough to add flavor to the pasta. Repeat doing that, until all the pasta is gone (or however much pasta you want). Add in the mushrooms, garlic, broccoli and onions as you go.

Once everything is mixed, take out your carrot and rinse it. Peel the skin off of the carrot and put it in the trash so you can have the carrot raw. Shave the carrot onto the pasta, mix it in, and serve!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at: thevganteen@gmail.com

I hope this meal is wonderful!
-Ilana xo

More pictures of this meal: