Foodie Friday!

Happy Friday Friends! I can’t believe its Friday already! This weekend will be bitter sweet because I have to pack up my apartment. I’ll be saying farewell to my Art Museum accommodations for the summer to live with folks just outside the city. In an effort to look on the bright side, I am spinning it as an 8-12 wk vacation from the hustle and heat of the city during which I get to save money and build my personal practice before teacher training this fall!

Anyway, back to the point of the post, FOOD!!

This weeks Foodie Friday is dedicated to Wednesday night’s dinner, a sweet summer pasta that is a perfect balance of healthy and hearty  – great for when you’re secretly depressed about moving out of the city and craving comfort food like mac & cheese.

To be honest, this dish is best cooked with helping hands, but totally doable on your own…big thanks to Phil who has been stepping up in the kitchen recently (maybe because he knows he wont have to for awhile 😉 )

Summer Squash & Zucchini Pasta w/Tofu and Parmesan 

• 2 zucchini
• 2 squash
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1 large clove garlic
• 4 tablespoons butter (salted)
• 1 cup sweet white wine
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 block extra firm tofu
• sm. block Parmesan (about 1/2 cup grated)
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat pasta

Start by preheating oven to 375 & firing up the grill. Drain the tofu and wrap block in kitchen towel to remove moisture. Set aside the tofu and chop zucchini/squash length wise (long strips). Toss veggies in 1 tbsp of EVOO & season with salt & pepper. Grab the tofu and cut into cubes, toss in 1 tablespoon of EVOO, season with salt and pepper and place on baking sheet to cook in oven. Next, a pot of water for the pasta – cover & place over high heat. Then mince onions and garlic & toss 3 tbsp butter into a saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and cook down until opaque before adding garlic and continuing to cook until browned. Once browned, add remaining butter & cup of wine, reduce heat to medium low, add seasonings and stir occasionally. As sauce cooks, and pasta to water. (While this is going on, your helping hands will be out grilling your veggie strips just enough to get a char & add some flavor but still slightly firm. If you don’t have helping hands you’ll want to grill the strips after putting the tofu in the oven and then come back and start the sauce.) While pasta is cooking chop veggies into smaller pieces. Remove the tofu from the oven & once the pasta is done, drain and toss with sauce. Add the veggies to the mix and grate in about 1/2 your cheese. Top with crispy baked tofu cubes and then grate remaining cheese over each dish.

The directions may sound a bit detailed but it took Phil and I less than 30 minutes from start to finish to whip together this delicious dish! What’s even better is this serves four so we had amazing leftovers yesterday (A little tip if you’re not eating it all at once: after adding veggies to pasta & sauce, portion out what you wont be using before adding cheese, topping with tofu etc..)!

 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

 

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