Vodka Cream 4 All!

Dear Readers,

One of the hardest things about being (mostly) vegan is sometimes all your food options either seem really "meh" or complicated.  To avoid the "meh" there's lots of shopping, washing, chopping, blending, etc. and on a weeknight usually all you want in something hot, comforting and quick, not to mention popular (after all, all this effort should not go under-appreciated).  Well my friends, do I have a recipe for you!

This amazing recipe is from Kris Carr, you know the Crazy/Sexy food princess.  Vegan or not, this pasta was a HUGE hit with our entire household.  Muffin in particular loved it, loved it, loved it (and calm down - the vodka in the sauce gets cooked, so he's fine).  Paired with a salad if you're feeling virtuous or on its own with a glass of red, this dinner is super duper fast, healthy and tastes rich and sinful.  Heaven.

Behold:

Weeknight Vodka Cream Pasta

Ingredients:

• Brown rice or whole wheat pasta (we did farfalle)

• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I love the Pomi marinara)

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 1 cup frozen organic peas

• 2 heaping tablespoons capers

• ½ cup raw, unsalted cashews

• ½-1 cup water (to blend cashews)

• Splash of vodka (2-4 cap fulls or an ⅛ of a cup)

• Salt & pepper to taste
• Optional: Italian sausage (regular, veg or vegan - BTW Trader Joe's has an AWESOME Sausage-less Italian sausage that is - sniff sniff - so sadly veg and not vegan because it rocks)

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil and add a dash of salt to keep the pasta from sticking. Once the water is bubbling, add the pasta. Follow the directions on the package; it should take about 12 minutes or so.

To make the sauce, use your favorite jarred marinara as the base. Pour into a saucepan and add the garlic, peas, capers, plus a drizzle of olive oil (if you want) and a splash of vodka.

In a high-speed blender, blend the cashews and water until they turn to cream. Add more or less water to suit your desires. Pour the cashew cream into the sauce and stir.  Add cooked and sliced sausage.

Cook on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes. Pour in pasta, stir and enjoy!

Bon appetite!