Recipe: Herbed Pasta Primavera

6 oz fresh asparagus
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, julienned or thinly sliced
6 oz fresh snow peas
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped or thinly sliced
6 oz white button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp fresh or 1 1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp fresh 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh or 1/2 tbsp dried sage
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tbsp ground cayenne pepper, or 1/4 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water

6 oz pasta (traditionally, spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine, although any pasta will work)

1/3 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese

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Tip from The Veggie Guy: I tend to like veggies a bit more tender when serving them over pasta, so I generally steam the asparagus, snow peas, carrots, and mushrooms in a vegetable steamer/rice cooker for 10 minutes while cooking the pasta. But if you like your veggies crisp, I'd advise against doing that.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Mix water and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.

Pour olive oil into wok or large skillet. Stir-fry garlic and onion for 15 seconds. Add asparagus, carrots, snow peas, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Add parsley, basil, oregano, sage, and whichever pepper you chose. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Stir and add water/cornstarch mixture to vegetables. Cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve over hot pasta, with parmesan sprinkled on top.

Vegan version: Substitute soy parmesan cheese, and check the pasta package for egg/milk ingredients. Most supermarket dried pastas are fine, but you never know, so always check. If you're really motivated, you can make your own pasta from scratch. I may try that myself right after I retire.

Enjoy!