Fettucini with Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Cut up 1 butternut squash into bite size pieces and roast in olive oil and a little salt at 425 until soft (probably around 30 minutes).

Meanwhile cook up your fettucini (3/4-1 lb)

In a sauce pan, melt 3 T butter and add 15 fresh sage leaves. Cook on low heat without stirring until the butter turns a light caramel color.

Toss the pasta into the butter sauce, add the squash, some toasted pine nuts and some shaved parmesan!

Optional: Add cooked swiss chard.  Separate leaves from stalks. Saute or roast stalks, throw greens in when you combine everything. The hot pasta will wilt the leaves. I actually put the chopped leaves in my strainer and poured the hot pasta on it to strain the pasta and wilt the leaves in one step.

Asparagus Goat Cheese Linguine

Saute some onion and garlic in a pan. Add some chopped-up yellow squash, sundried tomatoes, and olives. Saute until squash is tender. Meanwhile, cook your linguine. 4 minutes before the end of the boil, add your asparagus to the water(each stalk cut into threes). Strain your pasta, and toss in the veggies and lots of goat cheese (cut into chunks). Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Version 2.0: In two separate pans, roast chopped up asparagus and sliced baby tomatoes in a little olive oil with salt. Also roast a head of garlic (chop off the top of the bulb and roast face down in a little olive oil). Roast at 425 for about 30 minutes or so until asparagus are tender and a little crisp. Toss your pasta with the asparagus, tomatoes, and the roasted garlic (scoop out each clove with a fork and throw it in). Scoop in some goat cheese. Toss. Top with parmesan!

Vietnamese Caramel Tofu

Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1/4 cup water and heat on medium for about half an hour, until the liquid looks like maple syrup. Throw in 1/2 cup water, which will sizzle and might crystallize the sugar. If it does, stir with a spoon to try to re-dissolve.

Pour this caramel sauce on a skillet (medium-high heat) with 5 diced shallots (cook for a few minutes), add 4 minced cloves of garlic and some minced fresh ginger (cook for a few minutes), and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (cook for a few minutes).

Cut a block of tufu into 8 thin slabs and lay them in the sauce for 10 minutes, flipping midway through. Serve with chopped green onions and ground black pepper, over rice.

This dish is really delicious if you're in a sweet/salty/spicy kind of mood. From the Times.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Broil 6 red peppers: place 6 whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil on high for 5 minutes on each side until pepper is blackened and blistered. Put peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute 1 chopped onion in 2 T olive oil and 1 T butter until translucent. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic. Saute another minute and then add 3 cups veggie or chicken broth, 1-2 T thyme, 4 bay leaves, freshly ground pepper, and 1/4 t salt. Bring to a gentle boil

Rub skins off the peppers and remove seeds. Add to the pot. Cook for a few more minutes and then remove bay leaves and using an immersion blender, completely puree the soup. Add 1 cup whole milk and return to a simmer. Add more salt to taste.

White Bean Parmesan Dip

1 big can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 T olive oil
handful of fresh parsley
handful of grated parmesan
2 t fresh oregano
1 clove garlic

Combine in food processor. Service with carrots, belgian endive, and crunchy breadsticks