Artichoke & Lemon Pasta

     There isn’t too much more that I love than a simple bowl of pasta dressed up just slightly with a little something special. It is the ultimate in comfort foods for me and I could eat pasta almost every day for lunch at work with no regrets. I would make it more often at home, but the spouse isn’t the biggest pasta fan and tires on it rather quickly, so I try for maybe twice a month or so.

     This pasta dish is a quick throw together lunch for one, or you could easily double or triple it for dinner for the family or for several lunches during the week. It comes together so quickly, that I’ll sometimes make it in the morning while I’m scurrying around the house getting ready for work. I try to heat up my lunch and store it in a thermos so I can avoid the lines at the microwave in the break room and the awkward conversations that brings. It is also super convenient to just grab my thermos and walk over to a local park and eat lunch outside – it makes for a great change of scenery.

Artichoke & Lemon Pasta
Serves 1 hungry person

Ingredients
1/3 – 1/2 Jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 bag Trader Joes Brown Rice Pasta
1/2 Fresh lemon

Optional Toppings
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can zest a bit of the lemon into the pasta
For a creamier pasta dish, add a bit of non-dairy salad dressing. I like Drew's All-Natural Salad Dressing and 10 Minute Marinade, Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn, 12-Ounce Bottle

Method
First... Boil your pasta according to bag instructions, drain, and return to pan. If you want this to be a cold dish, which is equally delicious, rinse your pasta in cold water for a minute or two.

Then... Remove the artichoke hearts from the jar and cut into quarters. Separate the layers and add to pasta. Squeeze the lemon, being careful to avoid seeds, into the pasta.

Finally... Stir well, adding any optional toppings you want, before serving immediately or packing away for lunch.

- Patricia

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Creamy Pasta Dinner

Just a quick post this evening to give you an equally quick recipe to make tonight. Yesterday's post where I raved on and on about Sabra's Hummus, I said that I would give you a great idea to use up the rest of the hummus once all the carrot sticks and chips in the house are gone. Hope you enjoy this soon, it's well worth it!



Ever since I stopped eating dairy I've missed pasta with cheese sauce of any kind and have tried various replacements for this craving. I tried doing the nutritional yeast route, but I purchased it from the bulk section of Whole Foods and it was contaminated from being near the flours and I would break out in rashes any time I ate a dish with the nutritional yeast included. I've also tried those almost unpalatable soy cheeses that turn gritty once they begin to cool down on the plate, but one my absolute favorite way to get that cheese fix I'm looking for is to add about one to two tablespoons of hummus right before I serve the pasta. It sounds so simple, but the creamy texture of hummus lends itself nicely to giving the pasta that cheesy texture I'm looking for.


Creamy Pasta Dinner

2 C cooked pasta shells (I use Tinkyada)
1 Tbs butter
1 clove garlic
1-2 Tbs Hummus
Italian Seasonings of choice
olives
cherry tomatoes

Once you have boiled your pasta, set it in a culinder to drain while you use the pot the pasta was boiled in to get your 'sauce' ready. Turn the heat off on your stove top and place the pot back on the burner. Add the butter and garlic to the bottom of the pan to melt and throw in the hummus once the butter is good and melted. Toss the pasta back in the pan and stir until all the shells are coated evenly. Sprinkle on any seasonings you might want and add five or six olives and a couple cherry tomatoes for good measure. Serve and enjoy!

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