Spear Me! Vegan Asparagus Pasta Toss 1-2-3 (Why I Vegan Blog)

I can barely stand watching the spring asparagus slowly go from "Isn't it lovely" to "OMG--call the produce police and pull that out NOW!" So I found a bundle of spears that were calling me to put them to good use and together with some chopped onions, fennel, mushrooms and vegan Italian sausage made for a ridiculously yummy meal! I hope my step-by-step photos will entice you to give this vegan pasta a go!

So first, saute the onions, 6 cloves of minced garlic, chopped fennel bulb and added last (to preserve their "crunch")--the asparagus spears--all cooked in some olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, dried Italian herbs, then add a bit of lemon zest, white cooking wine, veggie stock and some arrowroot slurry and you are nearly done! Meanwhile, the pasta you work with is up to you--I just use whatever's in the pantry.

I like to cook my 'shrooms separately--in a mixture of Earth Balance Butter and a dash of balsamic vinegar. And then leave them alone for about fifteen minutes.

I sliced up and browned some vegan Italian Sausage--again, by itself, then you add this to the pasta dish when you are ready to serve. So we had a few more dishes to wash, but totally worth giving this dish a pan for each part--just enlist some kitchen patrol help.

I am not a famous vegan blogger. I consider myself one of the lucky fools who dithers away tirelessly on her laptop for no other reason then to entertain herself. Well, that and keep track of vegan food stuffs from my very humble, small kitchen. Plus, I am not really a joiner. I run. I am dog mom. I garden. I knit. I read. I cook. I spend time with hubby. I march to the beat of my own drum. The only "we" that applies there is the part with the hubby and dogs. You know that saying, Do what you love, the rest will follow? What "rest"? I made it clear in my introduction to Vegan Thyme nearly a year ago, Hey, cooking is something I do every single day--thus, I thought a blog might be fun (because, let's be honest, there isn't a whole lot of anything else I do everyday that most people would find even remotely interesting to read about. Maybe some, but few.) That's not the point, the point was, I stumbled into this quite by accident, and had no expectations of it whatsoever. And personally, I found that whole "Profile" stuff I had to create a bit off-putting. So you readers of Vegan Thyme are the rare few who may find a snippet of "more personal" information scattered throughout these pages, but please don't ever think you can go to my "Profile" and learn all there is to know of Vegan Thyme--you won't.

I also hoped to convince some "carnivore" types to try a vegan meal out for crying out loud! Animals and activism for animals has run through my veins for quite a few years now. And some of my activism spirit will, on occasion, spill over on these pages. Yes, and even cause me to get pissed off and share my ire with "readers"--even educating a few out there on why eating meat is cruel, why being mean to animals is cruel and why we should take some folks out and school them on this whole--"treat the least of those amongst us with the most kindness".

Otherwise, I am here to support--well, me. I wanted to have a record of the vegan food we ate--that's all. Oh sure and my life's journey is scattered in here, too. I'm getting old--documentation of life is very helpful at this age. (And I HATE scrapbooking--OMG, I could do a post on that alone!) If I had "followers", "readers" "friends" come along, that was just a plus and over and I really didn't mind one way or the other how it all turned out. Though I will say, I have found many of the "regulars" to my blog quite pleasant, supportive and hilarious at times--it is rewarding in some strange way I haven't quite put my finger on yet. Some I would not know if I ran smack dab into them on the street. Some, I would totally know because they too have their blog worlds with "head shot" pictures. How all this impacts me is Maslow's hierarchy related or something--I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. The "connections" with "readers" was an unexpected added bonus--and a nice one to boot.

So, I received some "feedback" from a blogger who graciously shared some blogging "tips" with me. Thanks, I wrote back. And some other sentences. For anyone that really knows me, you probably can guess other things that srpung from my lips. We can all use a bit of "direction", "edit" help in our lives. I guess that's the beauty of being in the blogosphere. And thick skin has its perks. Because in all honesty, a bit of the "comment" left me going "Ouch". Which, I am like, Oh for crying out loud! Why "Ouch", Kelly?--it is just a suggestion, don't be so overly sensitive! Snap out of it! I've been toe-to-toe in boardrooms with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, I don't intimidate nor scare easily. But my feelings do get hurt and I do sometimes wither like a shrinking lily--running to the closest restroom to cry like a newborn, refresh my makeup and face the bastards head on again! Because, when I "snap out of it" sometimes I find either anger or a good run healing. When those options are not available, a cold, hard stare also works in a pinch. Nonetheless, the comment and suggestion was noted. Nuff said.

I don't want to blog and feel like it's work. My vegan cooking stuff  or "vegan grub" is pure joy (well most of the time--exceptions being failed baking attempts)--but most of the time, I really do have fun here. Life is too short to not have fun. Plus, I enjoy bloggers who provide me with laughter and snarky comments to feed my soul. And several of you do feed my soul.

Well, this is my recipe for that amazing pasta dish up there. I took step-by-step photos of this one because it was so riculously easy, I didn't want the ingredient list to overwhelm. We had this as a leftover dish--YUM!

Vegan Asparagus Pasta Toss

pasta of choice--get the water boiling for this--adding salt to water, set timer--save some of the water!

Prep the veggies and sauce:

1 bunch apsaragus spears sliced about 1" long--good ones! (*store them in the fridge in water if you aren't using them right away)

1 onion chopped

6 cloves garlic minced

1 fennel bulb chopped (only white part not the green stalks)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup white cooking wine

1 1/2 cups veggie stock

1/2 stick of Earth Balance Butter

2 teaspoons arrowroot mixed with 3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs: oregano, basil, whatever you have--fresh herbs would work well, too

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (can omit if you want)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (can omit if you want)

3/4 cup of cooking water from pasta

I find cooking the pasta first helps get a lot off my mind--plus I can use some of the reserved pasta water in my sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and fennel. Next, add minced garlic. Cook until onion begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Next, add white cooking wine, turn heat to high and allow wine to absorb--takes about three minutes, turn heat back down to medium. Next add the veggie stock and cook oven medium heat for about 10 more minutes. Add your herbs and seasonings. Next, slice up the butter into pieces and add to mixture, whisking to incorporate. Whisk your arrowroot with the water, then add to mixture. Add pasta water to this--if you've already cooked the pasta. If you want more sauce--keep adding a bit of veggie stock. To thicken this, add more arrowroot mixture. But keep the heat low--and it will thicken up after each addition. You have some flexibility with flavor and sauce amount here--I just kept adjusting this to my own taste. Turn heat to low, and the sauce will thicken a bit. 

Prep vegan Italian sausage:

1 package vegan Italian sausage, sliced about 1/2 " thick

2 tablespoons safflower oil (I like browning things in safflower oil because of its high heat capability)

Heat oil in medium saute pan. Add sliced sausage. Brown on one side for about five minutes. Turn over, brown on the other side. Remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate. 

Prep mushrooms:

1 package mushrooms of your choice--sliced thin

2 tablespoons Earth Balance Butter

dash of balsamic vinegar

In a medium saute pan, heat the butter, then add the mushrooms. Step away from the pan and let those babies sweat it out and get nice and brown like mine did. You can stir them, but not until about ten minutes after they've released their juices.