Succotash Summertime Pasta

I love a good pop of color.

When you've got a classic black dress on and add a red pair of heels or lipstick. When you have a neutral living room with bright yellow accent pillows. And when you've got a basic pasta that is covered with colorful veggies.

This dish is good for those who don't want to slave in the kitchen on a hot day, but want a satisfying and healthy meal. It's also a good way to use up whatever is in your fridge/pantry. It's my version of succotash and it's always a hit with the family. No...really...my 3 year old had 3 bowls of this stuff.

Ingredients:

1 box of penne (I used the smaller version just because it's "cuter")
2 zucchini quartered plus 2 baby zucchini from our garden (baby zucchini sliced in rounds)
3 carrots peeled and sliced in rounds
A good bunch of green beans and snap peas
1/2 a bag of frozen corn (I got an awesome bi-color organic corn from Whole Foods)
1 can of cannelini beans rinsed and drained
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup of chicken or veggie broth
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes optional
Italian seasoning
Lemon zest

How adorable is this plate my mother in law gave my son from Portugal? Had to show it off!

Our store bought organic zucchini next to the little babies coming up in the garden.

And the homegrown beans and snap peas.

While you are prepping your veggies, start your pasta. Cook until al dente and then rinse a little under cold water and drain. I add a little oil to the pasta to prevent sticking while the veggies cook.

I slice the zucchini in quarters and then chop.

Peel your carrots and slice into rounds. Also, remove the tips of the snap peas and green beans.

Rinse and drain the beans.

Luckily we have fresh herbs to choose from. One of my favorites is this lemon thyme.

Add the chicken/veg broth to a saute pan and steam your carrots, beans and snap peas just until fork tender.

Remove the beans/snap peas and add in beans, corn, zucchini, lemon zest, minced garlic, herbs and seasonings. Cook until tender but still have a bite to them.

Now add everything to the pasta and this meal is done in less than 30 minutes! Relish in this delicious dinner and then get back out to enjoying those beautiful summer nights!

Pasta Night

I love the versatility of pasta. You can dress it in a wide variety of sauces, bake it, and create many types of cuisine with it. I try to keep my pasta consumption to a minimum if I want to maintain my weight loss. When cravings do call for pasta? I like to keep it simple.

I chose to make orecchiette with broccoli sauce, a recipe found in the Rachel Ray magazine. I couldn't wait to try this out.

Ingredients:

2 large broccoli crowns and stems
1 bag of orecchiette (I used Pastene and it was amazing)
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp of Olive Oil
Lemon zest
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of Reserved pasta water
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese grated (more if you'd like)

Chop the broccoli and try not to sing the song from Saturday Night Live. I know I always do.

Remember to save the stems, that will be used to make the sauce.

Peel the tougher outside portion of the broccoli stems and finely chop them.

Boil water and add pasta. Cook according to package minus 4 minutes.

Add the broccoli florets to the water and cook for 3 minutes, then drain. I do this over a large measuring cup to reserve the cooking liquid. Or if you have a fancy pasta pot, you can use that too : )

In a large saute pan, add olive oil and cook up the broccoli stems and garlic for about 2 minutes.

Add 1 cup water and cook for 5 minutes.

Grate your Parmesan and add your broccoli, pasta, lemon zest, reserved pasta water and cheese to the pan. Toss around to coat the pasta and broccoli and cook down the sauce a little bit.

Then you are done! Serve it with a nice side salad and maybe a slice of bread.

Multitasking

Something has come over me since the beginning of year. I've always loved cooking, but kept with the usual recipes that I knew like the back of my hand. My resolution was to push out of my comfort zone and not worry about trying to be perfect. If I "failed", I would just try again. Not an easy task for this girl right here. 

Well...last week I put myself to the test. I was going to attempt to make my first pasta from scratch (and by hand). To make things even more fun, I decided to do this on a Monday. And just to add to the craziness, I was going to make a homemade version of Larabars for the first time. 

First up, the sweet potato gnocchi.

Instead of peeling them first, I boiled them with the skins on to reduce the amount of water the potatoes would absorb. 

While the sweet potatoes were boiling (takes quite a long time to get tender), I gathered up my bar ingredients.

I wanted to make a Cashew cookie type bar and add in my own little twist. All you need is a good handful of cashews, pitted dates, leftover coffee, pinch of salt, bit of vanilla and mini chocolate chips. That's all you need to create tasty, easy and fairly healthy snacks.

After fighting with my food processor (we were still trying to figure each other out), I pulsed the cashews until it was a fine crumble. 

Add in the dates and other fixings and keep pulsing until it becomes a fairly thick paste.

Next you line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and use nonstick spray. Add the mixture to the pan and press to form mold. Carefully lift the plastic out of the pan and wrap the the plastic all the way. Put in the fridge to chill before cutting.

At this point the sweet potatoes are ready. Drain the water and reserve the pot for cooking the pasta later. Let the potatoes cool and then carefully peel off the skins.

Mash with fork.

Add in your egg (or two)

And now is when you want to take off your rings! It gets really messy when you work in your flour. Cover the cutting board or other flat working surface with flour. And add your flour to the potato mixture little by little. Try not to overwork the dough. This is really all about feel. If it's too sticky, add in more flour. If it's too dry, add a little water.

Cut the dough into smaller sections. Then you are going to roll the smaller sections into long tubes (it kind of looks like Playdoh snakes). Cut small pieces, they are going to look like little pillows. If you want to get a little fancy, you can roll them over the back of fork tines to create small indents.

Now you are ready to boil them in salted water. Do small batches of 20 to not overcrowd them. As soon as they float, they are done.

While the gnocchi were finishing up, I went to cut up the bars. My little guy felt it was important to count how many "sticky bars" Mommy made. His fingers did not touch the food!

The gnocchi are cooked and now to jazz them up. I add olive oil and butter to a large skillet and toast up some walnuts and sage leaves.Then I added a little black pepper and the gnocchi. Tossed over the heat to coat in mixture and topped with a little Parmesan cheese. A delicious, hearty meatless meal!