Marijah Stewart

#tastytreatstuesday

I would love to become a vegan, but it will never happen in my wildest dreams. I’ve accepted that. I do naturally prefer vegetarian fare, always have (did somebody say CARBSSSS?!) but every now and then I’m having a filet, people. I just can’t turn my my back on a good filet mignon (sorry, veg heads!). Oh, and no CHEESE? You must be kidding. No chez = no fun, for me. But I am totally intrigued by the will power of vegans and their inventive, sometimes delicious and surprisingly flavorful recipes. This happens to be one of them.

This recipe was totally adapted from Oh She Glows (who originally peeped it from Vegan Yum Yum), but I made it my own simply based on the fact that I follow zero directions in life.

WHAT TO GET

• Whole wheat spaghetti: 1/2 box is plenty! (I learned this the hard way. Will be eating this dish for a month, because I made the whole BOX. Damn, dry pasta is misleading…) – $1.40
• Raw cashews:  a little pricey, but you’ll have nearly the entire box to use for future recipes or for a healthy snack! — $7.89
• Fresh basil – $3.29
• 1 fresh tomato – appx. $1.00
• 1 can tomato paste – $0.60
• Salt, pepper, garlic (minced or fresh, whatevs) and olive oil: you should have these in your cabinet! – $0.00

• TOTAL COST: $14.18 — can’t beat that! 

THE PREP 

So easy. Even I made this one happen.

Bring a large pot of water (salt to taste) to a boil.

Chop your tomato and add it to the blender (or food processor, if you are like Marijah and have no patience for details or directions — whatever appliance it takes to pulverize that shiz, use it), along with 1/2 cup raw cashews, 1/4 cup water and 1 tbsp. tomato paste. Blend until smooth.

Add your whole wheat spaghetti to boiling water and cook pasta according to package directions. Mine took 6 minutes. Holla!

Meanwhile, saute olive oil and garlic (1-2 tbsp.) in a large skillet for a few minutes on low heat. Just a few minutes.

Pour the sauce from the blender into the skillet, stir, and bring to a simmer. Add salt (be generous!) and let it cook for 4-5 minutes, watching closely. I added a dash of white wine to thin out the consistency, but this is not necessary. I probably leaned toward including the wine in my recipe simply because this step incorporated liquor, which I have been deprived of for the last 4 months thanks to pregnancy, and so I felt like I was living on the edge by doing so. Use your own discretion here.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to in the pot. Remove sauce from heat and stir in some chopped basil, however the hell much you want to add — go nuts, and fresh pepper.

Gradually add pasta sauce to spaghetti.

Stir and serve!

Sidenote: If you’re not hell bent on being a vegan, this dish would be superb with a little grated cheese to flavor. Just sayin’!

Now, Mangia!