Things I try to have in my pantry at all times:

All recipes can incorporate these to varying degrees but honestly any veggie can probably be added. If it looks like it needs using you can probably find a way to add it. The “recipes” are more templates since there is very little actual measuring involved here. When omitted quantities don’t actually matter that much or “usual” amounts are assumed. For example, you would rarely use more than a tablespoon of a whole spice, let alone a ground one. Garlic needs a couple of gloves not a whole head etc.

Vaguely Italian Pasta Sauce

The goal here is to make something that goes well with Pasta with whatever is in the fridge and make it taste somewhat “italian”. Since I’m doing this vegetarian, we have already left the path of authenticity so let’s just lean into that and never tell any Italian friends. Can be made vegan by omitting the cheese.

Ingredients

You need for sure:

It’s going to be a good day if you have:

General principle with stuff that goes into a sauce: Dice small. So that’s what we are going to do with all the veggies. The harder the veggie the smaller the dice. Some guidelines:

Prep

If it’s a good day you might have some protein source at hand (look at you, balanced diet and all). Let’s prep that since it’ll need some time and can be done in parallel.

If you have Tofu, we don’t want any spongy thing in our sauce. We are going to fry the shit out of it so it soaks up as much flavor from the sauce and ideally adds some nice crunch. Think croutons. Take a smaller pan on medium/high, add neutral oil, wait until oil is hot, add finely diced tofu. Let it fry as long as you have patience for but don’t burn it. Add some salt to taste.

If you have Lentils, we can make do with no frying. 1 cup of black lentils, 1.5 cups of water and a healthy dash of soy sauce. Cook until lentils are softened on a simmer, maybe 20 mins?

Main event

  1. Add oil to a medium hot large frying pan, let it warm up, use some pieces of onion to test if it starts to sizzle.
  2. Add onions, we want to really cook these. If you have the time to let them go slightly caramelized, it is just worth it.
  3. Add carrots. Wait for 1-2 mins so the water comes out a bit and cools the pan.
  4. Add garlic and wait until you smell it, then immediately add other veggies to avoid it burning.
  5. Cook veggies until somewhat softened (idk maybe not like done yet but definitely not raw) then add crushed tomatoes.
  6. Time to start the pasta in a separate pan with heavily salted water. I like Orecchiette but whatever floats your boat.
  7. Cook sauce for a bit until it looks more uniform and pasta is almost ready.
  8. Add your protein and any leafy greens that cook fast like spinach.
  9. Add like a few tablespoons of pasta liquid to the sauce to thicken it or make it more saucy if it is super dense.
  10. Seasoning thyme (hah you see what I did there?). Thyme is indeed a good choice, but oregano is of course the staple to make anything italian. Maybe some paprika powder, chili flakes, black pepper and nutritional yeast if you have some.
  11. Drain the pasta shortly before it is al dente (you already added pasta water to the sauce, RIGHT?) add the pasta to the saucepan. If your saucepan is too small: GET A BIGGER ONE. Well, worst case you’ll have to cook the pasta to be al dente and add sauce on the plate but then your Italian friends will for sure never talk to you again.
  12. Cook pasta in the pan for a few mins, but turn off the heat.
  13. If it’s a really good day you have some diced feta ready that you can add now.
  14. Plating time. Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano goes on top.

Is this still Curry?

I need to confess that my experience with actual authentic Indian food is limited, so this is not just a rhetorical question. Anyway I like it and make it almost every week because it is so flavorful that it tastes great regardless of what other ingredients are in it. So it tends to be a good fridge cleaner. This is vegan. Ingredients

You’ll definitely need:

It’s going to be a good day if you have:

Prep

Get some rice going, since that’ll take a while and nobody likes waiting. You probably know how to do it.

If you are adding lentils as your protein also get those going, rinse and cook in salted water with a ratio of 1 cup of lentils to 1.5 cups of water.

Main event

  1. Add the coconut oil to a medium hot pan and let it get hot.
  2. Add whole spices, if you have a mortar you can try to crush the seeds a bit before adding but not super necessary.
  3. Let oil infuse with spice aromatics until you hear the mustard seeds pop or you lose patience, then add the diced onion.
  4. Let the onions go caramelized, then add ginger.
  5. After cooking for a few mins, add the diced veggies and finely (!) chopped garlic.
  6. Let that cook for a bit until veggies soften, then add chopped tomatoes.
  7. Ground spice time: Add about 1-2 tbsp of Garam masala and maybe half a tsp of ground turmeric. Good time to add some salt and anything to make it spicy.
  8. If you have some vegetable stock, dilute it now so that it’s as liquid as you want it. Otherwise use water or just more coconut milk
  9. Add protein and let it simmer for some time until the consistency feels right, taste often and adapt salt levels.
  10. If you want it creamy, a healthy splash of coconut milk or whatever plant-based milk you want to add.
  11. Plate over some freshly cooked rice.

Definitely not a chili

I was informed by both an American and Mexican that they don’t think it is proper chili, so you know I warned you. Anyway if you like beans, this is a winner and probably the easiest dish to make. This is vegan.

Ingredients

You’ll definitely need:

It will be a good day if you have:

Main event

  1. The beans will take some time to cook, so lets get them ready first. Drain, cover with water add some salt and baking soda to tenderize them faster. Cook until tender (this may take an hour or so).
  2. Add quartered onions, whole sweet peppers and whole chilis to a tray. Grill in the oven under the broiler. They should have some nice black spots, we want the smokeyness. If you don’t have an oven: char by putting them in a dry pot on high heat for a bit - then add add oil and cook until tender.
  3. Once everything looks decently chared and tender, then put it in a blender. Add the tomatos and smoked peppers and blend until smooth.
  4. At the same time heat up a large pot, add some oil add the finely chopped garlic and cumin seeds and roast for a moment.
  5. Add the blended pepper/tomatos to the pot. Add some vegetable stock or water if it’s too thick for your liking.
  6. Then add beans, chopped peppers, veggies and smoked tofu.
  7. Cook for 20-30 min on a low simmer.
  8. Adjust salt levels and potentially add some extra chilly flakes.
  9. Serve in a bowl and eat with some good sourdough bread.