Meatless Monday

When Sidney was six she went through a good eight months or so where she would not eat meat.  She wanted to be a vegetarian and was very adamant about it.  The problem ultimately came as her tastes became a little more picky and we had to explain that she needed to consume certain foods in order to get all of the necessary nutrients.  Since then she has eaten meats, steak tastes pretty good, but still in just moderate amounts.  Back in January, when Charles was at a birthday party, we treated Sidney to lunch at a place called Hu Hot.  It's a Mongolian BBQ where you fill a bowl with any number of items from a large smorgasbord, ladle on some sauces and then they cook it in front of you.  She chose tofu as her protein, and loved it!  Since then she has been on me to cook with more tofu.  Beyond a recipe for a fantastic Asian lettuce wrap with tofu, my repertoire is very limited here.

Over the last couple of months, I've noticed a number of bloggers participating in Meatless
Monday. There was a link in my facebook feed from the kitchn last week to a recipe for Meatless Monday, so we tried it.  Sidney was thrilled with the idea, and as she left for school this morning, reminded me that we were eating vegetarian this evening.  Since immediately after school Sid is participating in battle of the books, I'm doing easy meatless this week.

Pasta a Fagioli
4 T Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 box pasta (I used twists)
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese


Saute garlic in olive oil, and then add tomatoes and spices.  While simmering tomato mixture, boil salted water and cook the pasta.  Add beans to the sauce and cook for about five minutes, then stir in grated Parmesan cheese.  Toss pasta in sauce and serve.  I like to add more parm on top and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  Enjoy!