where's the beef?

One way that I try to eat a little healthier, and stretch the grocery budget a bit, is to prepare a vegetarian meal once or twice a week.  Jim has a great appetite, and what I prepare needs to taste and look good, as well as be fairly hardy.  My go to?  Pasta, of course.  And I like using ingredients that can add a meaty flavor and texture to a good pasta sauce.  Mushrooms do a great job of that, as does eggplant.

Today, I'm focused on mushrooms.   I use crimini mushrooms for just about everything I make with mushrooms, because they are only slightly more expensive than white button mushrooms, and I think they have a lot more flavor.  When I want them to bring some texture to a recipe, I slice them in little wedges, rather than slices, but pre-sliced mushrooms would work just fine, and will save some time.

As usual, I am fixated on slicing my garlic wafer thin, about four cloves, but a tablespoon of chopped garlic will work just fine.  One thing I do when I slice garlic, is toss the little ends that I hang on to while slicing into a few tablespoons of olive oil, to infuse the oil with garlic.  That makes a simple and delicious garlic bread.  Just toast slices of crusty bread, and brush them with the infused oil. 

For a quick, tasty marinara sauce, simply heat a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium heat, and toss in your garlic.

you want the garlic soft and fragrant,

but you don't want it to brown much

Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to the oil as well, and cook, stirring for about 3 minutes.  Add 8 ounces of cut mushrooms, and cook with the garlic mixture, until the mushrooms begin to color.

with this kind of flavor and texture,

who misses the meat?

Once the mushrooms have colored a bit, add about a cup of wine and a tablespoon of dried onion flakes, and simmer for about five minutes, to reduce the liquid a bit.  Now it the time to introduce tomatoes to the party.  I've used whole canned tomatoes, as well as diced tomatoes.  If you are using a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes, get in there and squish them up with your fingers before adding them to the pan.   I really love Muir Glen's fire roasted tomatoes with no added salt, and my store does not carry them as whole tomatoes, so I used two smaller cans of diced tomatoes.

I like the roasted flavor of these tomatoes,

as well as the fact that I can control the salt content

Once the tomatoes are in, I simply let the sauce simmer, while I bring a pot of salted water to the boil for the spaghetti.  

the sauce is full of texture and flavor,

and only needs to simmer for about 20 minutes

By the time I have cooked the noodles the sauce has reduced a bit, and the flavors have mellowed.  If it gets a bit too thick, I simply thin it with a bit of water.  Just before tossing it with the drained noodles, I throw in a little handful of minced parsley, which adds color, and a bright green flavor.  Topped with a bit of grated Parmesan, and served with some crunchy garlic bread and a salad, who needs meat?

 I like the noodles gently coated with the sauce,

rather than drowning in a big pile of sauce

I like to up the ante a little by using noodles that are a little higher in fiber and lower in carbohydrates, but I am not a fan of the brown color and weird texture of whole wheat pasta.  So I was really glad when pasta companies started coming out with pasta that looks and tastes like the old standby, but has fewer carbs, whole grains, and more fiber.  My favorite is pasta made by Dreamfields, but Barilla's Plus, and Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest are quite good, too.