Foodie Friday: Two recipes I made up

It's Foodie Friday! Foodie Friday is my weekly feature that gives you a window into my kitchen. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to read cookbooks, and I love to inspire people to give vegan food a chance. Thus, Foodie Friday was whipped up and baked to perfection.

I made a couple of things this week that were good enough to share.

Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Strozzapreti

17.6 oz. package strozzapreti pasta
8.5 oz. jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
5 oz. sliced black olives
Victoria Taylor's Sicilian seasoning to taste
black pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. Dump in the sun-dried tomatoes and all of the oil in the jar. Drain olives and add to pot. Add seasonings to taste and mix, mix, mix. Tastes good hot or cold.

Spinach and Mushroom Pastry Pie

olive oil spray (use a Misto!)
1 lb. frozen spinach
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 8 oz. package white mushrooms, chopped
3 tsp. (6 cloves) chopped garlic
1 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare frozen spinach according to package directions. Drain thoroughly and squeeze out excess moisture using cheesecloth or an old kitchen towel. You want it to look dry, as pictured--any moisture will make the pastry gooey later on.

Spray a large pan with olive oil. Sautée onion and garlic until translucent. Add chopped mushrooms and continue cooking. Spray on more olive oil if needed. When mushrooms are tender, stir in spinach until mixture is thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spray a glass pie dish with a light coating of olive oil. Drape one pastry sheet over the pie dish and press it down so it fits into the bottom. Spoon vegetable ingredient mixture into the pie dish. Fold the second pastry sheet over the filled pie plate and fold the edges of both pastry sheets over the top of the pie.


Bake until pastry is golden, 35-40 minutes.