TORTELLINI!!!

i made pasta pouches with the kids.
yup.
and they were freakin' DOOOOOOOPE.
that's no joke.
me and my little half italian homegirls making a magical meal
in the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress test kitchen laboratory was expert.
and so was our finished dinner.
check it:

that's what's up, bruh.
fried slices of garlic!
spinach leaves!
parsley sprankles!!
fire-roasted tomato sprankles!!!
yeah, man, the hottness was fired up on all cylinders or whatever that means.
and the broth?
dudes-
i surprised myself, even.
three tablespoons of minced onion,
one and a half cups of halved baby grape tomatoes,
and a tablespoon of olive oil,
plus pink salt and black pepper, seared until the onions started to color,
then there's GPOP and fire-roasted tomato flakes and three cups of broth.
uh-huh.
when you bubble that up?
the tomatoes and the onions make it thicker and better
than just plain-ol' bummery water, bro.
mmmmm.
the soup is separate from the tortellini.
that's important.
and the pasta itself?
homemade, obvi.
-
*
PASTA POUCH DOUGH!
-
in your doiuugh-hooked stand mixer combine:
2 T olive oil;
1 tsp sea salt;
1/2 cup semolina flour;
1 cup king arthur flour;
1 T fire-roasty flakes of tomato;
2/3 cup warm water, s'nicey nice-
beat it up and keep it frisky, so that it forms a fiurm shiny ball of dough-
at least 11 minutes of hard styled kneadin'...
-
rolled out on a well-floured surface, and cut up into 2.5" circles.....
we folded and crimped a freakin' mountain of 'em.
and that filling was turbo-elite and expert as heckfire, for real.
-
*
TEMPEH FILLING!
-
in a medium skillet, saute:
1/2 block shredded tempeh;
plus 2 T minced onion;
1 full bag of baby spinach (that wilts down to almost nuthin';
salt, pepper;
three cloves of crushed garlic;
a splash of tamari;
a dash of Onion Powder and Garlic Powder;
and a fat punch of nootch-
when the tempeh starts to brown,
y'gotta add a quarter cup of water,
and watch it quickly absorb.
that's that goooooood thang.

-
friends-
a spoonful of that in a circle of semi-semolina,
and you've got yourself some kind of mystical italian activation.
my kids said i could TOTALLY open a vegan italian restaurant,
and i got wet eyes about it a little.
they had a good time,
we had a good time,
there was a magnificent mealtime for all of us,
and it meant a lot to make it happen with them.
i'm grateful for the chance to share what i love with the ones that i love.
that's real.
boilin' those little crescents until they float,
and tossin' on 'em in olive oil and parsley?

it just felt good to do the thing.
i'm forever grateful for the time i've been given;
never quiet, never soft.....