Pumpkin Pasta + Roasted Cauliflower & Red Pepper + a revelation (sort of)

Have you ever woken up one day & been surprised at what you’ve turned into?

That happened to me this morning. I realized that sometime between this week & last, I became a soccer mom.

A bona fide, mini-van driving, messy-bun wearing, chauffeuring soccer mom.

Not quite a revelation–it was sort of inevitable considering my brood, but

Here’s what I mean: 
3:20 kids come home from school, we sort through papers & I supervise (nag? nah…) chores & putting school stuff where it belongs
3:50 snacks–everyone gets what they want–Asher gets frozen bluberries but spills a bunch on the floor, need I mention I’m not thrilled, since they cost about a little less than gold per pound?
4:10 more tidying, kids playing

Where the crazy starts:
4:30 start prepping ingredients for dinner
4:40 help Amalia get dance clothes & shoes
4:42 get the kids in the car, take Amalia to ballet
5:05 arrive back home, cut up cauliflower, peppers, change Salem’s diaper, wash hands, continue dinner prep
5:22 throw vegetables in the oven to roast, put water on to boil for pasta,
put kids in the car again & take Hyrum to soccer practice (his first practice)
5:31 drop Hyrum off at practice (darn it, he forgot his water bottle & it’s 90 degrees out), go back home, throw pasta in water & turn the stove on low,
drive to Amalia’s dance class to pick her up
5:55 arrive back home with Amalia & other kids, drain water, remove veggies from oven
6:00 finish dinner prep, Joseph’s home! kisses.
6:30 Joseph gets Hyrum from soccer practice
6:40 we sit down & eat dinner. Ahhhhh.

Here’s the deal with this recipe.

It’s absolutely a meal in a bowl. But, had I more time, I would have added a simple green salad (red leaf lettuce + sliced cukes + baslamic vinegar to dress). The savory needs more acid & a green salad with vinaigrette would pair well with this dish. I didn’t get around to making a salad, but that was okay. This dish is super filling.

It also does well with a little (or a generous, if you’re like me) douse of a quality dark balsamic vinegar.

I once read a well known chef say, “More acid, not fat, that’s what most dishes need.” I agree. That said, kids may do well to have the noodles served separate from the sauce (serve sauce on the side, so they can try it on their own) & with a little melted Earth Balance or other non-dairy butter served over it.

For that matter, for kids, I suggest serving noodles, vegetables, & sauce all separately. My kids all ate it as shown in the photo, but I have one child who has trouble eating anything with sauce–he still ate it, but prefers noodles sauce-less. Since this sauce is packed with all sorts of good stuff (vitamin A, fiber, omega-3’s) it was non-negotiable.

My goal with all my meals is to keep it under $5 or less (this is one of the premises of my upcoming cookebook). Here was the breakdown for this meal. I got everything on sale (with the exception of the pumpkin) which is one of the reasons this meal came together–I had these ingredients & thought, hmmm, what can I turn it into?

1 red bell pepper, $.50
1 head cauliflower, $1.50
pasta, $2.00
walnuts, 1 cup, $1.00
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree, $1.00
chickpeas (I buy mine in bulk & cook from scratch & freeze), $.15
olive oil, 2 TBS., $.05

total: $6.20

A bit higher than my $5 target, but we only ate about half (maybe a bit more) so Salem & I will eat the leftovers for lunch for the next few days.

You can steam the veggies instead of roasting (to avoid the oil), but can I give a plug for the beauty of roasting? It brings out the veggies natural sweetness, makes the outside crispy, the inside warm & cooked. My kids love roasted veggies. A little oil goes a long way, but I think is absolutely crucial to producing a truly savory roasted veggie.

Most low-calorie veggies (not potatoes, which aren’t vegetables, but a starch) will roast at 325F for 30 minutes.

Here it is: vegan, gluten-free (but feel free to use wheat noodles if so inclined).