Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday I was so blessed to get to spend the afternoon and evening with my wonderful Mother (Mama) and Grandma (Mimi). And the paternal figures were there too! :-p

I was additionally blessed to be able to cook for my family and let them share in the yumminess of vegan food!
I made a sort of Pasta Pomodoro I guess, but it was mainly a vegetable stew served with pasta as opposed to a sauce. Paired with fresh asparagus, this was a beautiful, hearty and nutritionally sound meal!
The pasta is, of course, a whole wheat penne. And the sauce was just a combination of as many veggies and herbs I could find:


Swirl of Olive oil
1/2 of a large onion (finely diced) 
Handful of carrots (chopped)

1/2 of a large eggplant (cubed)

1/2 can black olives (pitted and chopped coarsely) 

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 yellow squash (diced)

1 large can of Italian crushed tomatoes

Couple handfuls of fresh spinach

Italian herbs

Garlic

Some flakes of red pepper

3 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper

Pretty much I start with the oil and onions and cook them down some. 

Then add the carrots because they take the longest to cook. 

A couple mins later I add the eggplant.

Then the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes go in, all the spices follow.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the spinach) and just let simmer for pretty much as long as you want. The flavors will develop the longer it cooks. 

Cook pasta according to directions, then drain and add it to the sauce while sauce is still simmering.

When you're just about ready to take it off the heat, fold in the spinach!

The asparagus was just sauteed in a pan with Olive oil, garlic salt and pepper until at my desired texture. (I like them a little crisp!)

The beautiful table looked like this:

I also made dessert! While they were intended to be cupcakes they ended up a little more like muffins because I use whole wheat flour which tends to make things more dense. 

These (cakes) were dairy and sugar free since my grandpa is diabetic. 

This is the recipe I used for the cupcakes:

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce

1 tablespoon Agave Nectar

1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed until liquid)

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

The "frosting" I used seemed to be more of a yogurt, but it was really good.

1 cup firm tofu (8oz)

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3-4 tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

5-6 diced strawberries

Combine all the ingredients in a blender until very smooth.

Let chill in the refrigerator while cupcakes are cooking before frosting.