Spaghetti and Meatball Amore

In 1987 a TV special by the name of Frog aired. In my fuzzy brain, Fred Savage starred in what I thought was a full length movie involving frogs falling from the sky over a first kiss while "That's Amore" played in the background. Well, fortunately, someone threw the whole 50 minutes of it up on youtube, and I discovered I was wrong about everything except for the kiss and the song. Oh, there's frogs alright, but not falling from the sky, and there's definitely no Fred Savage. That's ok, I've got Little Monsters and Wizard to get my Fred Savage fix.  

Then, in 1991, when I was in 4th grade,our school performed a "Musical Olympics," in which pairs of students had to dress up in a country's traditional garb and sing the national anthem. Leave it to my father to convince me Italy's national anthem was "That's Amore," resulting in me to making a complete idiot of myself on the first day of rehearsal when I insisted I knew the whole song and broke into "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..." A rendition that ruined my social status and my classmates eardrums for years to come, but that's ok, 'cause I got to rock a pink shawl, some plastic flowers in my hair, and a kick ass floral apron.

That's about the extent of my history with the 1950's classic. Well, accept that insist on singing it every time I make spaghetti and meatballs (which isn't that often) but I did get a chance to make them last weekend, and what meatballs they were! So throw a red gingham table cloth on your kitchen table, stick some carnations in a vase, put on some accordion music, light some candles, and serve your sweetie a very Americanized vegan version of an Italian classic.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs (adapted from this recipe):

1 package of Gimme Lean sausage flavor

1 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 Tbs lemon juice

1 tsp black pepper

4 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbs vegetable oil

In a food processor, process (using the chop attachment) everything but the Gimme Lean sausage. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ingredients from the food processor and the sausage together (using a large wooden spoon or tell your Honey to mix it with their hands or they ain't getting meatballs) until fully incorporated and roll into balls the size of golf balls. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet and cook meatballs, turning with a spoon, until meatballs are brown and crispy on the outside and hot on the inside.

Spaghetti:

16 oz package dry spaghetti

24 oz jar pasta sauce

1 white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs caper berries

1 Tbs olive oil

Cook pasta according to directions on package. While pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions until translucent, add garlic and capers, and cook until onions start to brown. Add sauce and cook until thoroughly heated. Place spaghetti noodles in a pasta dish, smother in sauce, throw some meatballs on top, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Eat up.

P.S. When you experiment on frogs, you run the chance of turning your best friend into one. Just remember that.

Smile!