gluten free spaghetti marinara & my tree

organic crimini mushrooms, crookneck squash and zucchini squash

today i had a craving. nothing that raw foods could replace. i kept having these memories of my dad's spaghetti as a kid. my dad is certainly not gourmet by any means, but with grocery shopping, washing our clothes, working full time and making us dinner he certainly put tremendous effort to the dishes he made us all. totally simple, but spaghetti i think is something we all should know how to make.

fresh spinach and basil

in honor of that memory i chose to make a gluten free and totally delicious version of the base recipe i've grown to know. the pans above were a christmas present from my father a couple christmas back. although they don't see much light due to the rawness in my healthy eating journey they are totally awesome. free of teflon, ergonomic and no release of fumes or dyes..

spaghetti marinara with veggies

1 package of gluten free pasta (i like ancient harvest quinoa pasta)

1 15oz can tomato sauce (i use muir glen organics)

1 6oz can tomato paste (i use muir glen organics)

2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small zucchini squash, chopped

1 small yellow crookneck squash, chopped

handful of crimini mushrooms, chopped

handful of torn spinach

5-4 leaves fresh basil

1 1/2 tablespoon of dried basil

1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

1/4 tablespoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon crushed chili pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt

crushed black pepper to taste

preheat a saucepan over medium-low heat. add oil and garlic and onions and saute for about 2 minutes. add the cut veggies and saute for another 3-5 minutes. when the veggies become tender add the sauce and paste with all of the spices. add the fresh basil and spinach and combine well. cover and raise the heat to bring to a simmer. simmer for about 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.

while the marinara is simmering is a good time to prepare the pasta. optional, but for extra flavor add salt to the boiling water before adding the pasta.

when both pasta and sauce are ready combine well and garnish with pepper.

my christmas tree

seeing as my studio apartment is relatively small i can't equip it with a full size tree. and to be honest i don't have the means of transporting one. i did find this awesome stump by a park in my neighborhood though.