White Beans with Sun Dried Tomatoes

For our wedding, a great friend recently gifted us with a vegan cookbook that I found this in.  This dish is amazing!  The sun dried tomatoes add an almost smoky flavor to the dish, and the beans make it very hearty.  It is also amazingly easy to make, so it is a perfect week night dish!  This would be great served over pasta or polenta.

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, either oil packed or dry, coarsely chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 zucchini, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fresh spinach
3 cans cannelloni beans
1 cup water
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh basil, thinly ribbon cut
salt and fresh ground pepper

If using dried tomatoes, soak them in hot water for about 30-40 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large sized saute pan.  Add the onion and cook until soft and transparent, about 5 minutes.  Add the squash and cook another 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, beans, water, sage, salt, black pepper and red pepper.  Stir to combine and cook for about 10 minutes longer.  Stir in the basil and serve!
* From The Vegan Table, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Creamy Farfalle with Cremini, Asparagus and Walnuts

If you are like me, you decided that any 'creamy' pasta went out with the word vegan.  Not now! With a little prep, an amazingly filling, satisfying, and truly creamy pasta dish can be all yours.  This is the ultimate in vegan comfort food, and is totally perfect for a cold night and sleepy time...not the 110 day that it is here now!

1 lb Farfalle or  Garofalo pasta
3 TBSP Earth Balance
1 lb Cremini mushrooms, thick sliced
1 lb thin asparagus, sliced in 2" pieces
1 cup vegan mascarpone cheese (see below - prepared ahead)
1 cup walnut pieces
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Mascarpone Cheese:
8 oz tub of vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 vegan creamer

About an hour prior to cooking, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, and creamer together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Quickly remove the cheese mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.  The mixture will quickly thicken and become a perfect consistency.

Once the cheese has thickened for about an hour, bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook your pasta.  When the water is boiling, salt the water well and add the pound of pasta.  Cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.  Drain and reserve about a 1/2 cup of pasta water just in case you need to thin the mixture at the end.

Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in the Earth Balance for about 5 minutes, until tender and most of the juices have evaporated.  Add the asparagus and cook until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the pasta and mascarpone, grating some fresh nutmeg on top before folding all the ingredients together.  If you feel the mixture is a little thick, add pasta water a little at a time.  I found that it was the perfect consistency without any water.  Add the walnuts and mix everything together well.    Season the pasta well with salt and pepper and additional nutmeg if needed.

Enjoy! Mmm...