cooking up a storn: zucchini curry pasta, lemon poppy seed muffins and other favorites

My mom is here to visit! Which has given me the perfect opportunity to cook! So far I've made quesadillas, zucchini curry pasta and lemon poppy seed muffins. The zucchini curry pasta is a veganization of a dish that my host mother in Florence had made.

Zucchini curry pasta-
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 big clove of garlic, crushed and diced
1 zucchini sliced thin and chopped into quarters
1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk (in a can)
200-300 grams of penne pasta
2-5 tsp curry powder

Heat the oil over medium, and saute the garlic, then add the zucchini. At the same time boil well salted water, and add the penne to the boiling water. Once the zucchini are close to being completely cooked, add the coconut milk and the curry powder. Stir well for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down on the zuchs until the penne is done. After draining the pasta, add it to the curry and turn up the heat briefly while mixing the pasta in. Turn off the heat and serve!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (from Vegan Brunch)-
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup vegan milk of some type
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together, then make a hole in the middle and add the wet ingredients in the middle. Stir together. Fill muffin tins and bake for 23-27 minutes.

Ratatouille

I'm leaving for a conference in San Diego on Friday and it's cold, so I needed to make something that used all the vegetables in the world. I think I might bring my kale with me because I might not have anything else to eat for 5 days.

Tonight I made the french peasant dish mmm. From "Vegetarian" by Linda Fraser

1 eggplant, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 sliced onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 tsp coriander
2 skinned plum tomatoes
4 basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1. Sweat the eggplant and zucchini for 30 minutes (put a lot of salt on them in a colander covered with a plate).
2. Saute the onions in the oil for 6-7 min and add garlic.
3. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and zucchini and pat them dry, add them to the pot and increase heat for a while.
4. Add coriander and rosemary, cover, simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook for 10 more minutes, add the basil and turn off heat.
6. After a few minutes of cooling, enjoy!