Breaking Bread!

One of the important elements of fellowship-koinonia is the practice of sharing a meal with friends, family, fellow believers, and others who may need a meal. We were blessed to have my boss and his family over for some koinonia recently. It was a really fun night. I cooked which for those of you who know me well should not come as a surprise. I made pasta, which of course would not be at all unusual either. The fun part came in the fact that my boss's wife is a herbivore! Vegetarian...Vegan even! This caused me a challenge I had not faced before but was glad to try! I wanted to share the menu with everyone.

Menu:


Appitizers:


Nonnie's Tomato Salad
Fresh Lettuce Salad

Main Dish: 


Veggie Pasta with Oil and Garlic Sauce

Side Dish:
Garlic Bread

Dessert: 
Fruit Salad


This is a great menu for any family that wants a "healthy" night to try something new. All food was delicious and easy to prepare!

Fresh Lettuce Salad:  -                       Prep time 5 min.                                            Very easy!
A blend of Romaine, Iceberg, and Radicchio. Topped with craisins, mushrooms, sliced red onion, croutons, and choice of dressing, we used a balsamic vinaigrette to stay in the vegan theme.

Nonnie's Tomato Salad -                    Prep. time  60 min.                                          Easy!   
I learned how to make this dish from my Nonnie (Grandma) and nothing says summer quite like it! One of our family favorites!

1 - medium to large white onion.
2 - Fresh Roma Tomatoes
1 - Medium Cucumber (pealed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5-7 fresh sweet basil leaves (fine chopped)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of water

Cut onion in half. Then cut each half into 8 wedges (similar to cutting a pizza). Put into a medium size mixing bowl and add salt. You will "cook" the onion by squeezing it with you hands for about a minute. The onion should become softer and translucent as it reacts with your hands and the salt, it will also become "juicy". Add sugar and mix well by hand. Dice the tomatoes into bite size pieces and add to bowl with onions. Thinly slice cucumber and add. Add all other spices and mix by hand. Add oil, vinegar, and water, stir with a spoon. Cover and regenerate for at least 45 min. before serving.

Garlic Bread -                                       Prep time - 15 min.                                      Very Easy!


This one was tricky at first...love love garlic bread but it usually covered in butter and cheese. I came up with this great alternative.

1- Loaf of Italian bread ( You can get from bakery at local store)
3/4 Stick of Fleischmann's OLIVE OIL spread (sold by the butter) leave out on the counter to soften!
2 cloves of garlic
Garlic powder
Dried crushed parsley flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cut loaf of bread in half to form a top and bottom. Cut olive oil spread in two equal parts and place in the center of each half of the bread. Press a clove of garlic onto each half of the bread. Spread the olive oil spread and garlic evenly over bread. Sprinkle each half generously with garlic powder and  parsley. Bake for 8-12 minutes ( I usually put in the bread just before the pasta hits the water and take out as the pasta is draining) Slice and serve!


Veggie Pasta with Oil and Garlic sauce  Prep time - 35 min.                                Moderate! 

Often referred to as "Poor-man's Pasta", pasta with oil and garlic packs a ton of flavor in a simple dish that I learned from my Grandfather. Basically pasta with oil, garlic, and fresh herb "pesto"-ish dish is the basic building block. I have modified the recipe to make "Seafood Pasta" and pasta carbonara.  But this was the first completely veggie pasta I have made.

2-3- Roasted Red Peppers (you can use canned or jarred if you don't want to roast them on your own)
1 - small to medium yellow squash
1 - lemon
1-  small - medium white onion
6-8 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil (plus more if needed)
2 Lbs of  pasta ( I used Barillia Rigatoni noodles, farfalle or mostacholi would work well too)
1 dash of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
oregano, basil, salt, and pepper
1 can of vegetable stock

 In a large stock pot begin heating water  for pasta, add 2 tablespoons salt to water. Take garlic (except one clove) out of husks thinly slice and set off to the side. Begin making sauce by starting with lemon; zest the entire lemon, set he zest off to the side for later. Cut in half and squeeze juice in a large skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO to skillet. Add one clove of garlic pressed.  Chop onion, not a fine chop but not big pieces either. Add to skillet over medium heat, begin to cook until they become translucent. Add sugar and turn heat to medium low, continue to cook until onions are caramelized. Add dash of balsamic vinegar to deglaze pan. Saute chopped yellow squash for about 2 minutes. Add vegetable broth and roasted red peppers (chopped) and spices/herbs. Cook until reduced over medium low heat. Add pasta to water per directions on packaging. About a minute before draining pasta add lemon zest and sliced garlic to sauce.  After pasta is drained put into a large serving dish, add sauce over the top and toss together. If needed add extra EVOO to pasta. (Veggie pasta so no cheese, however, grated Romano is excellent with this dish)

The other fun news is this is a highly customizable dish, you can use capers instead of lemon zest, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, whatever you like...just put it in at the right time so it doesn't over/under cook!

I had a blast cooking for a Vegan, I hope you enjoy the menu and some great fellowship with friends!