Be Kind To Others AND Yourself

 

The best plans can go kerflooey. As most of you know, I try to get a blog posted on Mondays. This week it did not work out so well. I completely forgot about an appointment I needed to go to for my dad. As anyone who has had to go to a doctor’s office located at a hospital knows, there is no quick in and out. Factor in an electric wheelchair with no charge, two appointments back to back and a hospital under major construction and the day got away from me. I told myself (with thanks to Scarlett O’Hara) tomorrow is another day. 

 

Then Tuesday happened. Yep, it happened. I went for two long walks, had a couple errands to run and I reconnected with an old friend on a very long phone call. I couldn’t get "write a blog post" crossed off my to-do list. I returned to my Scarlett quote.

 

The funny thing is I had a couple ideas in mind about what to write and one of them revolved around the quote at the top of this post. Then I went to work out on Monday morning at Grateful Fitness and Judy, our wonderful trainer, was wearing a shirt with that quote! I took it as a sign I needed to write about being kind. 

 

I like to think of myself as a kind person. I feel I am empathetic and sympathetic. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and try to understand that people can have bad days and it isn’t personal. The part I find difficult is to apply this same insight to myself. Instead of forgiving myself for not writing on Monday or Tuesday, I was beating myself up for failing and actually lost sleep over it last night. We have all heard the saying we are our own worst critic, but why do we continue to find fault in ourselves, even if we are able to be understanding of similar shortcomings in others? 

 

I write often about not judging anyone because we can never know anyone else’s story. So why do I judge myself so harshly? I know my story. Does that mean I am free to assess my perceived imperfections as failures? This applies to so much in my life from my appearance to feeling I am not a good friend to beating myself up for not completing a to-do list to cooking a less than tasty meal, etc. Of course we are all a work in progress and I recognize that acknowledging these feelings is a huge change from when I was younger. I was so hard on myself and refused to accept I couldn’t be perfect. Life happens and not always the way we plan.

 

 I will add to the quotation by saying, in a world where you can be anything, be kind to yourself and others. 

 

Today’s recipe is vegan. As I often tell you, I am not a fan of tofu. When I use it I have to do everything possible to disguise the taste. This carbonara fit the bill. I used asparagus on top, but any vegetable you like to roast would work. Since carbonara calls for using bacon, I used smoked paprika in the sauce and on the asparagus to get that smoky flavor.

 

Vegan Pasta Carbonara

Adapted from Chloe Cascarelli

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound long pasta

1 tablespoon clover oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 package silken tofu (14-16 oz)

1/4-1/2 cup water or plant based milk

Juice from one lemon

1/4 nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional toppings: french fried onions, nutritional yeast

 

Directions:

1. Place a baking sheet in oven and heat to 400 degrees. Toss asparagus with oil, paprika and salt. Place asparagus on hot sheet and bake 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until slightly charred but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Return to pot.
3. While all that is happening, heat a saute pan over medium and add oil. When hot, add onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. In a food processor, add lemon juice, onions and garlic. Process until pureed, adding a little water or milk if needed. Add tofu and process until smooth, adding water or milk if needed. Add nutritional yeast and smoked paprika and process until incorporated. You should have a smooth, pourable sauce. If not, add some water or milk.
5. Toss pasta with sauce, adding reserved pasta water to thin. The longer it sits, the thicker it will get.
6. Top with roasted asparagus and onions, if using.
7. Enjoy!

 

**If you do not finish it all, add the rest of the pasta water before storing, as the pasta will soak up a lot of liquid. To reheat, you may need to add more water or milk.