Dinner experimentation is served

I've been delving into new worlds eating dairy-free. I've been doing moreso since receiving La Dolce Vegan! as a birthday gift last month. Richard if you're reading this, you are more awesome than you know for getting me this book, my goodness.

First up comes the "Creamy Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta" recipe I decided to pick out. Pasta is always great in my book.

I wish I could make this look as delicious as it tasted. My home is full of not-so-photo-friendly lighting unfortunately. But anyway! Here's the version of this dish my mother and I came up with:

Ingredients for 4 people
12 oz dry pasta
1 small (8 oz?) jar sun-dried tomatoes (original recipe called for 7-8 sun-dried tomatoes for 2 people. I guesstimated with what I had on hand)
20 oz silken tofu (can use firm or soft as well)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tsp salt
4 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

Boil the noodles of your choice in a large pot. In a food processor combine tofu, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and basil until smooth and set aside. When pasta is almost done, add broccoli to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli. In a large bowl (or the cooking pot) combine the tomato sauce and pasta. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

My thoughts on this next time I make it is use a little less garlic, maybe 2-3 cloves, and maybe 1/3 cup basil instead. Those seemed to be overpowering, especially the garlic, whew! Other than that this was good! Not head-over-heels about it, but I'd make it again with the changes noted and see if I didn't like that more.

And the last tidbit of the day ends with smoothie experimentations! I love smoothies. They're fantastic because you can play with ingredients freely and see what makes the best combination of fruits, veggies, whatever you please.

This is my latest fantastically purple concoction. The past few days I've been using 1/2 cup plain soy yogurt, 1 banana, 2 large handfuls of blueberries, 1 small handful of raspberries, a little bit of orange juice, and 3/4 scoop of soy protein powder. It's a great mid-afternoon pick-me-up and another good way for me to sneak my protein in.

Tonight I tried using almond milk in place of the yogurt, and it wasn't too bad, but definitely not as creamy as with yogurt. I just don't want to use up all the yogurt I have so quickly! I have leftover silken tofu from my noodle dish, so I'll give that a go tomorrow and see how it is then. Next grocery trip will involve picking up spinach to make "green smoothies" as well. I bet these will be awesome for when I'm feeling crummy after surgery and don't want to eat much since they're so nutrient-packed.

I do end the day hurting quite a bit after cooking dinner. Even with help, doing things with my arm throughout the day lands me in a lot of pain. I think what really did me in tonight was holding up the plastic food processor bit with one hand while I scooped out the tomato sauce with the other. Seems like such a simple task doesn't it?

It does feel defeating since I wanted to cook dinner with my mom's help, but it might end up my mom cooking dinner with my help next time. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome leaves one quite dependent on those around you, believe you me. You want to be more active and not just a lump in the house, but your body only lets you do so much.

The rest of the night will definitely be spent resting. Tomorrow it's time for shopping for button-up shirts for post-surgery dressing as well as grocery shopping time!