VYY: Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

I’ve been both busy and lacking in motivation for cooking, and both of those things have meant that I’ve done a really poor job of getting to the store and getting ingredients I need to make meals. I’ve been making do for a while now, and it’s getting more and more difficult!

But something teased at my mind today – a vague memory of the Hurry Up Alfredo recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I thought I might have the ingredients already, and I figured it would do.

When I got home and looked up the recipe, I realize that I did indeed have the ingredients. But I also realized I had the ingredients for the Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta…and not only would it get me some veggies in the meal, it would give me something specific to do with the freshly ripe tomatoes waiting to be picked outside on my patio. So Tomato Basil Cream Pasta it was.

I’ve made several recipes from the VYY cookbook in the past month or so, and I’ve been extremely happy with most of them. One of the things I can’t get over is how easy everything has been, how quick it is, and how it never seems to taste like it was either easy or quick. I don’t know how she does it, but I like it.

The one complaint I have about the cookbook is that all too many of the recipes are for “2 or 3 servings”. Which for me means about 1.3. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy cooking, but I also adore leftovers. I count on not having to cook every day, and therefore always feel a little disappointed when I make a recipe and know that I will still have to cook the next day also. It is a sign of how delicious (and easy and quick) the VYY recipes are that I keep using it, despite the frustration of the too-small servings.

That being said, it is also true that the recipes are quick and easy enough that I can almost look forward to trying a new one the next day. Plus, there’s always the handy multiplication tables I labored over learning in the 2nd grade and now know quite well, which means my small-servings complaint is a view into layers of laziness.

I don’t have an iPhone, but I noticed that she has an iPhone app. That would definitely come in handy for grocery store runs, though honestly what I need is an iPhone app that does the grocery shopping for me!

I’m sure I’m not the only fan of the VYY cookbook. What are your favorite recipes?