Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Ten

Day Ten: Spaghetti Dinner

On top of spaghheeettiii, all covered with noooooch...

There is something uniquely youthful about spaghetti dinners! It's an inexpensive, fast and versatile meal solution that few people actually dislike. Even the pickiest children will enjoy pasta, as long as the noodle shape is enticing and the sauce is just right. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, or kitchen pantry. As a kid I would load up my portion of pasta, usually short and fat rigatoni noodles, with butter and Parmesan cheese, while my sister preferred marinara (or ketchup!). At grandma's house, my siblings and I always ate spaghetti (cut up by grams) in meat sauce mixed with corn kernels! What was your preferred pasta preparation as a kid?

While there may be exponential amounts of pasta and sauce combinations, nothing compares to good ol' spaghetti and (not)meatballs. Normally I would prefer to devour more interesting varieties of pasta, but who has ever heard of Cavatappi or Conchiglie and (not)meatballs?! I may be keeping the noodle, but one "tradition" I'm not sticking to is the meat in meatballs. Beanballs are my topping of choice! Packed with all the protein, taste and texture and none of the blood, cholesterol or cruelty.

Spaghetti and Beanballs from Veganomicon

From the infamous Veganomicon, a cookbook every vegan should own, this recipe couldn't have been easier! Would you believe me if I said that boiling the pasta water was the most time consuming step? The beanballs are comprised of pantry staples, and allow generous room for modification. They were moist with a crunchy exterior, perfectly remniscent of my childhood spaghetti dinners.

And no spaghetti dinner is complete without..."SPAGHETTI TIME"