MI PIACE

First, I must congratulate myself on receiving my FIRST official vegan cookbook. I've been hearing all the rave reviews, so I had to start my library. Viva La Veganomicon! I can't wait to start trying the different recipes. I will be filling you in, so make sure to check back and see!

Now, on to the weekend. Mi Piace is the name of an Italian restaurant that I LOVE in L.A. I was told by the servers there that "mi piace" means I like it. I figured it would be a good title for this posting because we are speaking of pasta! Veggie pasta that is! JJ makes this great veggie pasta that I love, so I guess I should have found out how to say "I love it" in Italian..anyway, you get the point!

Over the weekend we went to see some friends of ours and we brought along the meatless and cheeseless veggie pasta. They are both meat eaters but welcomed in the dish with open arms and it was a hit with them and their small children. See, eating vegan is not so bad after all! Please note that you can always "veganize" menu items at most restaurants, just specify no meat or dairy; that is how we're able to eat out at most establishments.

JJ'S VEGGIE PASTA:This is a very simple pasta to make. JJ includes onions, mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli and black olives. You of course, can use any variation of veggies that you choose and it will be just as delicious. First get a nice big pot to use. Bring some water to a boil for the pasta (be sure to salt the boiling water before adding the past in order to flavor it, we use sea salt). While the pasta is cooking, clean and cut your veggies. JJ uses one medium to large onion, two garlic cloves, mushrooms, yellow squash (skinned), zucchini (skinned), mushrooms and black olives in the pasta. JJ adds the onions, squash, zucchini and garlic first to a hot pan coated with extra virgin olive oil. After those items have cooked down and become tender, he adds the mushrooms. Once those have become tender, he finishes off with the broccoli. He periodically adds seasonings as the veggies are cooking down. Once the pasta has finished cooking, usually about ten minutes are so, he drains the pasta. Once the pasta has been drained of all the water, he returns the cooked pasta to the large pot. He then adds the veggies that have cooked tender (and the black olives) to the pasta in the large pot and then adds the sauce. He mixes all ingredients to get the pasta and veggies coated with sauce and then seasons to taste. There you have it, veggie pasta in a snap! Yummm...

THE PROCESS IN PICTURES:

I was so busy eating once we got to our friends' place, that I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product! We brought along a side salad and bread to round out the meal. If you're going dairyless, don't forget to read labels and buy bread w/0 eggs or milk!

THE DELICIOUS END RESULT! MI PIACE TO THE TENTH POWER!