We loved reading your comments in my Without Self-Love, I have Nothing post. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
When Eric and I first started dating, we did all of the traditional things that we thought we were supposed to do on Valentine’s Day. We went to the crowded restaurants with long wait times and mediocre food. He bought me the over-priced roses and a box of chocolates. I wrote him a sappy poem and I bought him cologne. We often felt pressure to have a ‘perfect’ day.
Then, we realized that we’re not perfect, so we would never fulfill this expectation that we placed on ourselves. But, we could do it our way! We started making homemade silly cards complete with inside jokes. We got each other a thoughtful gift, but we didn’t go overboard. We enjoyed delicious meals in the comfort of our own home, made together. When we did this, we started to enjoy the holiday a lot more.
The perfect Valentine’s Day to us, is really the imperfect one.
I can’t think of a more perfect way to be imperfect than to enjoy a messy bowl of pasta that leaves red sauce in the corner of your mouth and a few stains on your shirt. And if you’re lucky, your partner will remove it for you..
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Tomato Walnut Basil Pasta
Yield: 3.5 cups sauce
Ingredients:
- One 28oz can crushed tomatoes (I used Utopia organic, salted)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced (yield: 1 cup diced)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, stems removed &chopped finely
- 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 large handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2-3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- Pasta of your choice (I used Kamut spaghetti)
Directions:
1. Chop onion and garlic. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the onion and cook over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and cook on low for another 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
2. Add in the oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir well. Cook on low for a few minutes. Now add in the 28oz of crushed tomatoes, chopped basil, and nutritional yeast. Stir. Bring to a low boil and then simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook your pasta.
3. Stir in the chopped walnuts and the chopped spinach. Cook for about 10 minutes longer on med-low. Serve over pasta and garnish with basil leaves and additional walnuts. Makes about 3.5 cups sauce.
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Making this sauce is very easy and it turned out quite delicious. The walnuts were absolutely amazing in this pasta sauce and I would not recommend leaving them out! They really brought the sauce to a whole new level and gave it a wonderful texture and flavour.
I’m sure you will ask me if you can leave out the nutritional yeast and I would say of course! The flavours will change though, so make sure you adapt the sauce to suit your preference.
The spinach was a fun add-in at the last minute. It is a great way to sneak in some GREEN Monsters. 
The walnuts were our favourite part about this recipe. I thought it would give the pasta sauce a great texture and nutty flavour and it worked wonderfully!
Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and more walnuts and serve!
Love.
It is also a heart-healthy dish to Go Red For Women. 
Glo Bakery Update:
- Glo Bar variety packs will be for sale tomorrow, Feb 16th at 10am EST.
Have a great day!
What a fabulous idea to add walnuts! I bet this tasted awesome!!! =) I’m a lazy Vday kind of girl and have realized that trying to make it into some glorious day that everyone else always gushes about – is so not possible for my husband and I and so not worth getting all wrapped up in! =) A spaghetti night sounds like the perfect night for me <3
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
A personal Valentine’s Day like that means so much more, we did a similar thing – cooked stuffed peppers together, watched our favorite recorded show and played our new favorite game!
And now that I found this recipe, I think I should have added walnuts to those stuffed peppers! We stuffed them with barley, cottage cheese, nonfat mozzarella cheese, spinach, garlic and tomato sauce. But walnuts….I like it…thanks for the idea.
We also make each other silly cards. For me, that’s so much better than a big box of chocolates. We also use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to treat ourselves to a night out of town, because we love doing that. We’re heading to Boston next week!
That sounds fun! we often go out to our favourite restaurant the week after V-day when its not as hyped up. :)
We’ll go out to eat, but when the prices are brought back down and when the restaurant isn’t at max capacity.
We are the same way; we stayed in, had a homemade meal (and dessert!), and just hung out (and even slowed danced together to the radio!). We both thought it was one of the best V-Days we’ve ever had.
Such a beautiful idea. We stayed at home last night and it was so much more personal and fun! It makes it more special when it fits each others personalities! That pasta looks delicious, It is such a romantic dish too =]
This looks amazing! I never would have thought to put walnuts in the sauce! How creative!
this looks soo good :) walnuts add such a great texture and crunch to pasta dishes. i can’t wait to have fresh basil again.. yum!
Oh yum, this looks scrumptious. And I totally agree about not putting pressure on ourselves for Valentines :)
WOW! I am a pasta lover so I’ll be making this! I even have all the ingredients on hand…that’s dangerous ;). Yay for Glo Bar variety packs, yum yum yum. I aslo agree that the way a couple puts a unique spin on such a “perfect” holiday is the most special. People set such high expectations, it’s better to just be yourselves and do what is special with one another, not cliche!
That looks so good! I think the crowded restaurant expensive gift valentine’s day is so cliche now and no one really enjoys it. I think the imperfections in life make everything special.
This looks soooo good, never thought about adding nuts, let alone walnuts to dishes like this! What a great protein and healthy fat boost!
This looks sooo good! I love thick tomato pasta sauces!
“And if you’re lucky, your partner will remove it for you..”
My partner will remove the sauce or my shirt? :) Or both?
Jason and I had dinner at home (your Vegan Alfredo recipe!) and it was lovely. I think eating at home is much more intimate than any restaurant.
I was literally just about to make the same comment about the sauce or the shirt, haha! That made me laugh. I’m glad I’m not the only pervert round here!
ha! i was about to say the same thing!! :-)
;)
I am going to have to make this tonight – what a perfect recipe since I have a bag full of basil left over from this weekend! I may up the garlic and onion because I am a fiend for both. :)
That pasta looks unbelievable! I’m glad you and Eric had a good Valentine’s Day!! :-)
I totally agree we stayed in last night and just cooked. It was so relaxing and intimate, definitely the best way to celebrate valentines day! Your pasta looks delicious by the way :)
I love your perfectly imperfect Valentine’s Day..Nolan and I do the same!
This year he cooked, I helped clean up and we made homemade chocolates (a la Kath Eats) for dessert!
Perfect!
hehe it’s so funny that you posted a pasta recipe, because yesterday i was listening to the radio and this dj was giving guys tips about what they should and shouldn’t order when going out for valentine’s day dinner… obviously pasta was on the do-not list!! yours however… impossible to resist! have a great day Ange! :)
why was pasta on the do not list?
just because it’s a messy food :)
Nothing says love like a good dish of pasta! And I love the addition of walnuts. I had a fab Vegan pasta meal a few months ago where the noodles were *made of* walnuts. Neat huh?
YUMMY!! I LOVE that this has walnuts in it!! I love my nuts! :D
That tomato sauce looks so rich and delicious, simplicity is amazing.
I was my own Valentine and bought myself some dark chocolate coconut ice cream to keep me and Plato company..! <3
We love lowkey like that too. It makes things so much more enjoyable.