Easy Love

We're pretty laid back over here, which is why on the night of February 14, I looked at the Mr. said something along the lines of "Oh, you're hungry? Hm, maybe we should eat dinner. As in, something more than the salad I had planned."

Typically, Monday nights the Mr. and I sort of go our separate routes. He has things to do and family to see, while I'll go to the gym or get home at my normal time and do something really productive (like catching up on the Modern Family I missed last week.) SPEAKING OF, did anyone else notice that Claire Dunphy is also Happy Gilmore's love interest? I could hardly believe it, but her voice is a dead giveaway. If anyone else says you knew that, then you get to hang out with my boyfriend and discuss how absurd it is that no on could recognize her upon first glance. C'mon, she looks like a completely different person.

Oh right, so I didn't make extravagant Valentine's Day Dinner plans because

A. My lucky butt was dined at Sawatdy on Sunday night, which is only the best Thai food around these here parts, and that was our Valentine's Day celebration meal.

B. Mondays make me tired and want to take a 10 hour nap, beginning promptly at 8 pm.

C. Like I mentioned, the Mr. has VIP's to visit, and usually fills up at his parents.

However, the weather had different plans and knocked out a bunch of power so long story short - we both arrive home ravished.

 

So I made this. It's a poopy picture, but the food was actually pretty tasty for almost zero planning. The recipe is quick and easy, but doesn't lack in flavor. If you're wary of using wine, I will tell you that it cooks out and lends some awesome flavor. Even if yours is a $3 BGO buy like mine. As you can see, I threw in some lettuce as an afterthought since we had a bundle rotting away in the fridge, which I ended up mixing in with the saucy pasta as an afterthought when I realized all my salad toppings were turned into pasta toppings. Long sentence alert. 

Saucy Mediterranean Pasta
Sauce makes about 2 cups

2 cups gluten-free pasta
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 pack drained tofu cut into 1" cubes
 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 thinly sliced white onion
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/2 can okra (impulse buy at Freddies)
1/2 cup burgundy olives, sliced with 1/4 cup juice
5 stalks asparagus, sliced into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon capers
 1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper

Game plan:

1. Set your noodles to cook. If you're using gluten-free noodles, I get the water boiling first, put the pasta in for only about 3 minutes, turn the water off, let the noodles sit while I cook the rest, and check them every so often to make sure they're not mushy.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add tofu, garlic, onion, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes; saute until the onion is soft and garlic is turning brown.

3. Add in tomatoes with all the juice, okra with juice, sliced olives with juice, asparagus, capers and wine; stir and simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated to your "sauciness" level; sprinkle on some S&P - I went easy on the salt given that the olive and okra juices are pretty salty.

4. Dish up and serve hot with some mozzarella cheese.

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