Veg out with vegie pasta

This winter has felt long and bleak. Like many fellow winter haters, I have been over indulging in comfort foods, and my lazy butt just doesn't wanna move.

If, like me, the thought of getting into a swimsuit this coming summer induces panic and images of a beached whale, try cutting a few calories by cooking up this delicious yet healthy sauce. This makes lots of sauce, which I freeze in small portions so that I can have a quick and healthy meal any time.

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
100g button mushrooms, chopped
1 zucchini, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
a handful of fresh basil, torn
100ml tomato juice
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
tobasco, salt and pepper

First, heat a smidgen of olive oil in a large, non-stick pan. Throw in the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured.

Next, add all the other ingredients, stir, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until everything is tender to your liking. In particular, make sure the carrot is cooked.

If it's not thick enough, simmer without the lid until it reduces to your preferred consistency.

That's it! Serve on pasta with fresh basil on top, or try serving it with brown rice, on steak or chicken, or any way you like!

Faux Lasagna

So, you made a gigantic batch of bolognaise sauce, and you don't want to eat spaghetti bolognaise for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks, so what should you do with it? Well, my recommendation is to freeze it in small batches so you can make meals quickly and easily on those lazy days. But if you want a change from the old spag bol, here's something you can try with the sauce.


I like to call it a "faux lasagna". I can't make a real lasagna because I don't have an oven. So here's what I do.

I boil up some regular pasta, such as a penne or spirals.

While that is boiling, I make the bechamel sauce. To do this, I melt one tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan, and add one tablespoon (or slightly less) of flour, mixing it in and cooking for about a minute, making sure it doesn't burn. Then I turn off the heat and slowly add one cup of slightly warmed (in the microwave) milk, whisking as I go. Once that's all added, I add salt, pepper and nutmeg and return it to the heat, stirring all the while as it heats up. It needs to continue cooking and being stirred for about 5 minutes. Then, I turn of the heat, add some grated cheese to melt in there, and a little more nutmeg.

Once the pasta has cooked, I drain it and add my leftover bolognaise sauce, heating it through briefly to make sure everything is hot.

Then, I load the sauce covered pasta into small ramekin dishes, or otherwise, one large casserole dish. I top it with the bechamel sauce, and a little extra grated cheese. I let this grill in the toaster oven until the cheese is all golden and melty.

This is such a quick and easy way to use your leftovers and get that yummy lasagna taste with minimal effort!