Summer Pasta

The following is a dish my mom has made for years. It's easy, light, and perfect for a hot summer day when the last thing you want to do is heat anything up, or cook anything in or over a hot stove. 

It's a summer pasta, and really there are no rules to it. I've made it with bowties, macaroni, elbows, all sorts. I like colorful pastas the best, but whatever you like is good. Sometimes I think it would be good with peas too. It's really up to you.

Cook 2 boxes (16oz each) of pasta

Make a bottle of your homeade Italian dressing (Good Seasons, Italian All Natural is my fave)

Get a can of black olives, whatever size you like best. (I get large and then slice em up)

2-4 cups of fresh baby tomatoes, cut up.

Salt and Pepper to season.

That's it. I eat this for lunch, for snack, for dinner, for late night snack. Whenever you want really. It can be a side dish, a main dish, but the only thing I think it wouldn't be good for is breakfast. That's when you need to go and eat the Gotwalt Blueberry pancakes instead.

Moroccan Vegetables with Couscous

Here is another lovely recipe from friend Sondra. I normally LOVE (like it's always something I could eat every day- even for breakfast) everything she sends, but this one I think stretched Jason and I a bit. So many vegetables, and a slight unusual flavor, (maybe we're just not used to eggplant?) made this one a winner, but definitely a different one for our taste buds. Here it is in Sondra's words:

I LOVE this recipe - and it actually tastes better as leftovers (in my opinion.) Of course, I'm pretty free and easy with the recipe...if i don't have something, it's not a big deal, and I add stuff to suit my fancy. For instance, I can't fathom why red peppers aren't included.

Moroccan Vegetables with Couscous
2 Tablespoons butter 2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage 2 cups chopped onions 1 1/2 cups cubed eggplant 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads (or 1/2 tsp. extra turmeric) 2 cups vegetable broth or water 1 1/2 cups carrot chunks 1 1/2 cups cubed rutabaga 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1 bay leaf 2 cups cooked fava beans (I prefer chickpeas) 1/2 cup golden or dark raisins In a 6 qt pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage and onions; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, about 4 min. Add the eggplant; cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and saffron until absorbed. Add the broth, and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, rutabaga, tomatoes, and bay leaf; cook, covered,stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the beans and raisins; cook, covered, 20 minutes longer or until stew is slightly thickened. Discard the bay leaf. Serve over couscous.

I think the cooking time is too long - the vegetables are REALLY cooked. My personal preference is to keep them tender crisp, let it sit to cool down then reheat it when I'm ready to serve. Gives the flavours time to blend without having mushy veggies.

Couscous of course just follow the package directions.
However, I think it's 1 cup couscous to 2 cups of boiling water. Add salt, cover, and let sit for 5
minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. I love that about couscous!

Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese

I first had this in Toronto during my School of Ministry. I was a staunch vegetarian those days, and was wasting away to nothingness. I think I lost 15 pounds in the first 5 months I was there, I kid you not. The cook at the time didn't really understand what it was like to not eat meat, and therefore I didn't really eat. Luckily for me, I became very good friends with Sondra, the usual cook, who was actually taking time off to go through the School herself. :) And Sondra did something for me that I will never forget. She spent a Saturday, and made me my own little meals. She put them in styrofoam cups, and froze them. And all I had to do was to heat them up and I'd have my own food. Meat free. She made 2 different things. And one was this lentil dish. This recipe is the closest I can find to what she made... But I STILL LOVE it. Still. I can eat it hot, or cold, or whatever.

Funny side story:
Once I made it in Montana with my sister while our parents were in Brazil or some other crazy country, and I burned the lentils, and to this day she gags at the very sight of lentils, claiming that I have forever scarred her against lentils.

I don't use the celery in it, or the cucumber... though this batch I tried with cucumber. And usually I add in green onions. Also my pictures show the yellow lentils I use. The stock photo from cooking light uses the regular brown/gray lentils.


Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese:

object2=">1 1/4 cups dried lentils
object2=">3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
object2=">1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
object2=">1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
object2=">1/4 teaspoon salt
object2=">1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
object2=">1 garlic clove, crushed
object2=">1 1/2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
object2=">1 cup diced cucumber
object2=">1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
object2=">1/3 cup thinly sliced celery
object2=">

Place lentils in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above lentils, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well, and set aside.

Combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients (lemon juice through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir with a wire whisk until blended. Add lentils, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, and celery to lemon juice mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve on lettuce-lined plates, if desired.

4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

CALORIES 309(26% from fat); FAT 8.9g (sat 2.9g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 19.8g; CHOLESTEROL 13mg; CALCIUM 118mg; SODIUM 326mg; FIBER 8.2g; IRON 6.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.5g

Creamy Spinach Lasagna

(Note: the above is the photo cooking light uses, I cannot take it as my own work! :) lol)

This is another Cooking Light favorite, passed on by my dear food friend, Kerri Smith. She loves food about as much as me, though I think she likes to cook more then I do. :) She raved about this, and sent it on, and is also the one who got my Cooking Light magazine at my bridal shower, and ever since.. I've been a believer. I think it's been 4 years now that I've had a subscription! Amazing!

Oh and Kerri is right, she told me to make two pans of it, freezing one for another day... That's super smart because it is a lot of work. Oh, and though the leftovers lasted Jason and I over a week, we never got tired of it. :) A very good sign!

Creamy Spinach Lasagna

A less-sweet marinara sauce helps balance the flavor of this dish, with its smooth spinach sauce and rich mozzarella topping.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided
Cooking spray
12 cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook 10 minutes or until onion is browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and spinach. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 3 minutes or until spinach is tender. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, milk, salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups milk mixture to spinach mixture. Cover remaining milk mixture, and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce; top with half of spinach mixture. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 cup marinara sauce, and 3/4 cup cheese. Layer 3 more lasagna noodles, remaining spinach mixture, and remaining 3 lasagna noodles. Top with remaining marinara sauce. Pour reserved milk mixture over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until lasagna is browned on top. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

½ cup marinara on bottom of pan
3 noodles
½ spinach mixture
3 noodles
1 C marinara
¾ C cheese
3 noodles
Remaining spinach mixture
3 noodles
Remaining marinara sauce
Reserved milk mixture
¾ C cheese

Cauliflower Soup

This recipe hails from my friend here in Cambridge, Laura Taranto. She's a star, and loves food as much as I do. In the past years we have had countless coffees, teas, and cups of soup together. Here is her favorite soup her mom makes... I enjoyed it a lot, very thick, very creamy. I only added croutons for crunch. It's more of a winter, or autumnal hibernation type soup, instead of a spring or summer airy soup. I recommend making it when guests are coming, one serving lasted Jason and I way too long, and since it is so thick it's not necessarily the type of recipe you can eat leftovers of for too many days. That being said, it's still great!

Moosewood cookbook
4-5 servings
2 cups potato chunks
2 cups cauliflowerets
1 cup chopped carrot
3 med cloves garlic
1 cup choppe donion
1 1/2 tsp salt 4 cups water or stock ( i use veg boullion cube for stock)
place all above in a pot
bring to a boil
cover
simmer 15 minutes
cool 10 min
puree all in blender til smooth and creamy

whisk in
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp dill weed1/4 tsp ground dill or caraway seed
1/4 tsp dry mustard
black pepper

steam
1 1/2 cups more cauliflower
Add to the soup
add
3/4 cup buttermilk
top with chopped scallions and extra cheese

this is so easy...chop just about any size b/c you will puree

red potatoes work the best b/c they don't get gummy like some white potatoes

Buttermilk Pancakes

This recipe is from the LOVELY, wonderful, Gotwalt Family. :) Here is the member of the family himself who passed on this recipe to us, Aaron, with J last Autumn here in Boston. Honestly they are the lightest, fluffiest best pancakes ever. And I am a PICKY pancake eater, just ask J! Also, please do not eat these unless you heat your syrup. Because that's the only way to ever eat pancakes. Cold syrup is an abomination to mankind. 1Krista 2:19.


Buttermilk Pancakes:
(Gotwalt Recipe)

1 Egg 1tbsp Sugar
1 cup Buttermilk 1tsp Baking powder
2 tbsp Oil 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 cup Flour 1/2 tsp Salt



I always double it, and use leftovers for later, if there are any! And if I have them on hand, I add blueberries!!! YUMMY!

Classic Banana Bread

This has been a favorite in our house for the last couple years. Doesn't it just look good?! It's the best, absolute BEST Banana bread recipe ever. The only thing I change on the recipe is that I like to have 4 Banana's instead of 3. It makes it so much more moist. Oh and yes, because it's from Cooking Light mag, it's not that much in calories.

Classic Banana Bread:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Cafe Miranda

This Cafe Miranda that we went to in Maine over Spring break was amazing, phenomenal, YUMMY, scrumptuous food. Absolutely divine. Above is a picture of my mushroom pasta dish (not sure what the actual name was) and here is my review of the place on yelp:

15 Oak St
Rockland, ME 04841
(207) 594-2034

We went this past week. Besides the face that Rockland in March isn't what I would call a vacation hot spot this time of year, I would come back and go to Cafe Miranda's in a heartbeat. I had the Mushroom Pasta- on a platter that looked like it was for 6 people, and my husband had Pasta Bleu (hello CHEESE! yumm) .... We couldn't finish- and we tried, the portions are huge! The flatbread seasoned perfectly was our only pre-entree food (it comes with your meal)... and I only nibbled not because it wasn't good but because I was so excited for my food! I was not disappointed. I could see them cooking our food from our table, and knew immediately that these guys don't skimp. Not on quality of ingredients, spice/flavor, or garlic. We exclaimed before eating that we'd never seen mac n' cheese for almost 20 bucks before... and how could it really be, but after eating there, we can only imagine the divine mac n cheese it must be! They have captured our taste buds, hook, line and sinker. I can't imagine anything on their menu being a 'miss', it's all a 'hit', and with such diversity you're bound to find exactly what you've been craving! Don't miss a trip up Highway 1, through Rockland, without a stop here.
Tip: in tourist season you'll need a reservation. Even though it was low season, most people entering had reservations, and we felt lucky to get a spot!

Haloumi, the cheese of choice in South Africa

I never said this blog was only recipes. It is also the crazy foods, the good eats at restaurants and friends houses, the scary meats on airplanes that I plan on posting. Hopefully my lovely sister who lives in Japan will send me something soon that I can post- something weird, yet delicious no doubt. :)

That all being said, the picture above and below is of my favorite salad in South Africa. It's a Haloumi Avocado Salad, and just delicious. The dressing is light yet packs a sweet and savory punch... And the haloumi cheese is salty, crunchy, and uber YUMMY as usual. So next time you are in Souith Africa, get this salad, it seemed to Jason and I that it was on most menus at most nice restaurants we went to!

Chicken Parmesan

This recipe was passed on to me by lovely Gillian Schuler, pregnant with child. While she is most thought upon by me for her fashion taste and great taste in wine and cheese, the woman can cook! Over New Years her and Jason (her husband, not mine) made these Fresh Spring Rolls (which will have their debut here as well) and so when she sent me her "Chicken Parm" recipe, I jumped in head first. And very quickly realized that I was in way over my head. Gillian is the type of cook who adds a touch of this, a sprinkle of this, a bit of this and that... and it turns out fabulous. I am the type who needs rules, outlines, boundaries, or else my food goes all over the place. That being said, the meal still is yummy and I just need a bit of help on the measurements. Any ideas? I wanted to have eggplant, AND chicken in it. I want to have a bit of ricotta... and I added fresh basil to the top. All that sounds good, but I think it made it all a bit too gooey... like maybe I should serve it on a bed of angel hair pasta? In the meantime, here is her recipe, go to town with it, and let me know your recommendations on measurements, and how to incorporate my added desired ingredients. Or what you added yourselves that worked!

Chicken Parm:

Dip chicken in and egg and milk mixture.

Dip that in grated Parmesane cheese

Dip in a mixture of Bread crumbs, oregano, Salt, pepper, basil and minced onion.

Fry lightly in olive oil until light brown.

Drain well.

In a casserole or pyrex dish, put a layer of your favourite Italian tomato sauce (such as Rao's), then a layer of mozzarella cheese slices, then chicken misture, then tomatoe sauce, cheese, chicken, sauce etc until you've used up everything.

Sprinkle with Garlic powder and bake in oven for about 45 minutes at 350.

You can also do this with eggplant.

The chicken version - I often add some tinned tomatoes too and make enough to freeze for another night - yum yum.

I kinda do it by feel. Typically I make enough for four people and use one large onion finely chopped, 2 eggs with about a half cup of milk is sufficient I find. The bread crumbs I just pour some on a plate and add as necessary if I don't have enough to cover all the chicken I am using (same goes for the egg and milk mixtures). Hope that helps :0)

Ambrosia Punch

Well, it's Ambrosia Punch, and it's like drinking a dessert, and in the summer, you'd shout Hallelujah if it touched your lips. I made this last night for a most amazing baby shower. Food delights galore, tons of friends, lots of Spanish everywhere, and pink baby baby baby things! Here's the recipe. It's perfect for picnics, birthdays, baby showers, and especially the 4th of July. oh and if you're thinking it has alcohol in it, it doesn't.

Keep in mind that it is really sweet, and that you could add lots of ice to it and blend it before adding the ice cream and ginger ale, just to make it that much cooler and better. Strawberries would be a delightful garnish and addition to the flavor too. **And of course, to give credit where credit is due: I got this from Cooking Light recipe finder- I believe it was in Sunset magazine in the 90's. :)

AMBROSIA PUNCH

oranges have varying shades of flesh. Pick two varieties (such as navels and red navels or blood oranges) to perch on the rim of your punch bowl for a contrasting garnish.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 quarts orange juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup cream of coconut
2 small oranges, thinly sliced and halved
3 cups vanilla ice cream
3 cups ginger ale
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted (optional)

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients in a punch bowl. Cut a slit halfway through each orange slice, and perch slices around rim of punch bowl. Add tiny scoops of ice cream to punch bowl; add ginger ale. If desired, sprinkle some coconut over punch; serve remaining coconut in a small dish.

(4 quarts)

Summer Garden Pasta

This recipe is from Louise Potstra in Ontario Canada. Not only have Louise and I know each other since we were 18 years old, (10 years baby!), but she was a bridesmaid in J and I's wedding. Faithful friend, and fellow lover of all manner of culinary delights, she sent me this recipe. J and I tried if the other night, and loved it. Leftovers heat up well, and it's easy... not only that but it fills the house with the amazing aromatic flavors of roasted veggies. Which is why I named it Summer Garden Pasta. Everything in it could be something straight out of your garden this summer. (and no I wouldn't have named it if she had sent a name with it already. lol) The only thing I would add are some yellow, green and/or red peppers, and maybe some yellow squash to the mix.


Summer Garden Pasta

2 zuchinni

1 red onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 container of grape or cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup parmesan

1/4 fresh basil

2 tbs butter

Heat the oven to 450. Cut up Zuchinni into medalions and chop up red onions in large chunks. Then take all veggies including garlic and toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a pan in the oven and roast for 30-35 minutes.

In the meantime bring water to a boil and cook pasta to el dente. Drain and add butter, parmesan and roasted veggies once cooked. Toss gently and top with fresh basil.