The Bookmark Project: Creamy Basil Pasta

Shopping for produce in the summer months is a highly rewarding activity. Instead of frowning at shrink-wrapped fruits, wrinkling my nose at limp sickly veggies and sighing at the far-away places that all the stuff is shipped from, in summer I am usually squealing with delight at the fresh local produce that always results in lucky "finds".

On one recent trip, we came home carrying an armload of basil, quite literally. It was bigger than most bouquets I have seen- I had no idea basil could grow that big or have stems that thick. I bought the bunch quite greedily and readily, and plunged it into a vase when I got home, and then bit my lip and said, uh oh. Now I had to think of something to make with all that basil. And I had to think fast, because the poor basil leaves were wilting by the minute in the merciless heat.

My bookmark folder came to the rescue- it contained a recipe involving fresh basil that came highly recommended. My dear friend Cathy told me about this recipe exactly one year ago and I dutifully bookmarked it. The weeks went by, basil went out of season and the bookmark waited patiently for the next summer to arrive. Now, by some propitious alignment of the celestial bodies, I finally had all the ingredients on hand- fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, raw cashews and whole wheat linguini.

Once these few ingredients are sitting on the kitchen counter, you are only minutes away from a fantastic meal. The pasta boils away, the sauce take a spin in the food processor and a quick simmer with fried garlic, and that's that- dinner is served!



I followed the recipe closely, only adding an extra fresh tomato and 2 tablespoons of pasta sauce instead of the tomato paste because that's what I had on hand. I used white wine to thin down the sauce a little. I've been amazed by Lolo of Vegan Yum Yum before (remember the knit cupcakes?) but now I'm convinced of her brilliance. Her Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta is super in all kinds of other ways, being super rich and super creamy and super vegan, not to mention super duper yummy ;) Promise me you will try this recipe. Cathy, I owe you one!

I used a handful of fresh basil leaves for that pasta, and still had, oh, about an armful left! V and I spent the afternoon making pesto, filling it into little tubs and stacking them in the freezer. A bit of research led me to the Everyday Food site and this pesto recipe designed specially for the freezer. I liked the idea of blanching the basil very briefly in boiling water to preserve the color. It also wilted the basil and made it easier to pack into the food processor. Freezer pesto is made without parmesan- that can be added later after thawing, if desired. We followed the recipe as directed to make a big batch of pesto.

We did use pine nuts in this recipe, and they were fine, but these days, I seem to be reading of that weird pine nut mouth thing everywhere, so I'm going to think twice about eating them from now on.



I must say having my own stash of pesto in the freezer makes me feel very smug and domestic goddess-y! I simply thaw a tub overnight in the refrigerator and it is fresh and tasty even when thawed. We have been using it for pesto pasta salad, as a sandwich spread and simply slathered on good toast.

This celebration of fragrant basil is off to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Haalo this week.

I'll leave you with a picture of our intrepid hiker Dale. This dog won't play in the dog run, looks annoyed if you ask him to "fetch" and naps the whole time he is at home, BUT he absolutely loves to walk. He can hike for hours and is surprisingly sure-footed (which, of course, is easier if you have four feet). On Saturday, we popped over next door to lllinois and Dale spent all morning leading us through Pere Marquette state park.


I'll be back with my first attempt at an Argentinean recipe (perhaps the only Argentinean thing a vegetarian can eat?!). See you then.

A Pasta Salad I Actually Like

In theory, I love pasta salads. Colorful vegetables and sturdy pasta in a tasty dressing, to be served cold or at room temperature. A dish that can be made ahead of time and scaled up to feed a crowd. All of these sound like very desirable traits.

But a good pasta salad is hard to find. I've had more than my share of pasta salads where you can taste nothing but the mayo, where the pasta is gummy and mushy or pasta salads that are simply too bland and blah.

Well, I tried a new recipe last week that I suspect will be my go-to pasta salad for this summer. The inspiring recipe came from Kalyn's Kitchen. I loved this recipe at first glance- it contains roasted vegetables, a sure way to amplify the flavor, and a flavorful dressing of pesto and balsamic vinegar. How can you go wrong?

Slow-roasted tomatoes play a starring role in this recipe. And this is how I had my oven on for 11 hours last Friday, one of the hottest days we have had all year. To be sure, the oven was at very low heat, only 200 degrees F, which is only slightly warmer than the ambient temperature that day. I used Kalyn's recipe for the roasted tomatoes, flavoring them with dried basil, dried oregano, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper (no salt, mind you). Here are the tomatoes before they went into the oven:


Eleven hours later, the earth had turned half a rotation, my home smelled like what I imagine a nonna's kitchen smells like (what with the aroma of Italian herbs and tomatoes) and the tomatoes looked like this:


We could easily have stopped here and polished off the tomatoes right then and there. Peeled, with a sprinkling of coarse salt, the roasted tomatoes are a delightful summer treat. However, I exercised some self-discipline and saved them to make the pasta salad the following day.

I believe dishes like salads are like fingerprints- no two are the same. I am just noting down how I made it that day; all proportions are to taste. Ingredients can be omitted or substituted with abandon.

Pesto Pasta Salad

Inspired by Kalyn's recipe for Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Grilled Zucchini, and Basil, makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
3-4 cups dry short pasta (I used tricolor fusilli)
10-12 slow-roasted tomatoes, chopped into strips
3 yellow squashes, roasted
¼ cup chopped olives (I used mixed Greek olives)
3 tablespoons pesto (I used prepared pesto from Trader Joe's)
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup parmesan cheese (I used Stravecchio Parmesan)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Boil water and cook the pasta until just tender, then drain and rinse in cool water.
2. In a large bowl, mix the pesto, balsamic vinegar and parmesan together.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the cooked pasta.
4. Toss together and season well with salt and pepper. Cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

The flavors of the pasta salad develop over several hours, and it tasted great even the next day when we ate leftovers for lunch (and I stood over the sink and licked the bowl clean). I altogether loved the contrasting taste of the briny olives, sweet-tart tomatoes and the sweet smoky squash.


It is only fitting that Pesto Pasta Salad should be dispatched to Ruth's Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week at Daily Unadventures in Cooking.

I'll see you in two days with a recipe that has us hopelessly addicted to green beans!

Roasted Squash-Onion Lasagna

No rambling today- just food, glorious food. This is all about a lasagna that is dreamy and cheesy. Lasagnas have many pros (crowd-pleasing, can be assembled ahead of time, one dish feeds a crowd, lend themselves to much creativity by way of vegetables, cheeses and sauces that can be used) and, in my mind, one glaring con (don't like boiling lasagna noodles). I got scalded some years ago while cooking lasagna noodles, and it has traumatized me for life.

Then I discovered no-boil lasagna noodles. This means that the dried noodles can be layered into the dish, and as long as you use a "saucy" sauce with enough liquid in it, the noodles cook as the lasagna bakes. In fact, because they cook in the sauce, they end up absorbing great flavor. And I can make lasagna on weeknights, which is very very exciting.

This is the 365 brand (store-brand of Whole Foods), in case anyone wants to know. They are thin noodles, and they fit perfectly into my baking dish- two to a layer.

Most butternut squash lasagna recipes call for pureeing the cooked squash, but I really wanted to bite into chunks of it, so I left it at that. The sauce here is a thin bechamel sauce (to allow enough liquid for the noodles to cook). Of course, one can use normal lasagna sheets (cook them first) and in that case, make a thicker sauce by cutting down on the milk.

Roasted Squash-Onion Lasagna

(makes 4-5 servings)
Ingredients:
1 lb butternut squash slices (peel, cube, then slice)
2 medium onions, peeled and cut into quarters
2 T olive oil
6 to 8 no-boil lasagna sheets
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
4-5 T parmesan cheese
Bechamel sauce
2.5 T butter
2.5 T flour
3 C milk
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. On a baking sheet, place the onions and butternut squash slices. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake the vegetables for 30-40 minutes, or until tender and starting to brown.
2. Meanwhile, make bechamel sauce using the proportions given above and using the standard method (eg. this or this). Season with nutmeg and set aside.
3. Once the roasted vegetables and bechamel sauce are ready, the lasagna can be assembled: Spread 1/2 C or so of the white sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 square baking dish. Place 1 layer of lasagna sheets on it. Add some roasted vegetables, cover with sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Repeat this 3-4 times or until the vegetables and sauce is used up. If you have had trouble with getting no-boil noodles to cook in the oven, try this tip (I forget where I read it): Soak the noodles in hot water for 5 minutes before layering them; that way they get a head start in getting re-hydrated and cooked.

Here is the last but one layer- vegetables:

And the last layer- sauce and cheese

4. Cover dish with foil. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes (uncovered for the last 10 minutes) or until the noodles are cooked through, the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is browning.
5. Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Verdict: This was one delicious dinner! This is a savory dish, of course, but the combination of roasted onions, butternut squash and nutmeg gave it a remarkable sweetness- which, together with the dairy richness made it the perfect indulgence for a bitterly cold night.

This hearty lasagna is my entry to the Fresh Produce event hosted by Marta of An Italian in the US. The theme this month is Squash, which is one family of vegetables that are generally quite inexpensive and can be enjoyed in both summer and winter.

Butternut squash is so versatile; I have my eye on many delicious b'nut-squash recipes like butternut squash and brown rice risotto, butternut squash soup, salad and mac and cheese (!).

Want another helping of lasagna? Here you go:
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna from Two Fat Als
Pesto Mushroom Lasagna from Blog Appetit
Eggplant Lasagna from Cooking with Amy
Que Sarah Sarah Lasagna from What Smells So Good?
Mexican Lasagna from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

A Leeky Pasta Bowl

The Allium Family- Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Lurch Onions, Garlic, Chives, Leeks, Shallots and Scallions. Each word evokes the promise of a savory and aromatic morsel. All this month, the alliums are going to be the "flavor of the month" on One Hot Stove. Three of the family members- onions, garlic and scallions- are near and dear to me; I have them stocked in my kitchen at all times. But sometimes I have a feeling that I take them for granted, and would like to occasionally use them in dishes where their presence is celebrated and not just working behind the scenes. The other three alliums- chives, leeks and shallots- are barely known to me, and this will be a good chance to find some recipes where they shine. Read more about the culinary profiles of the alliums in this Cooking Light article. Apart from the sheer delicious taste that compels me to play with this family of vegetables, they also happen to be superfoods with many health benefits to their name.

My first experiment is with leeks. Picture a scallion (spring onion/ green onion) that has been pumping up its muscles with illegal pharmaceuticals- that is exactly what a leek looks like, robust and hearty. They are beautiful vegetables, with a snow white root end slowly changing color to dark green at the tips. This SFGate article has great advice on growing and preparing leeks.

I googled around for a leek recipe and decided on this simple one from Marcella Hazan, shared in the Chowhound forum. This recipe belongs to a family of pasta dishes that I invariably enjoy- vegetables and garlic gently sauteed in olive oil and butter, then splashed with some cream, cheese and pasta water to make a sauce for pasta. We have discovered a particular brand of whole-grain pasta from Trader Joe's that we simply love, and I cook it quite often knowing that a simple pasta supper is giving us a good supply of protein and fiber. The recipe does call for butter, cream and cheese, but I used all these in moderate quantities where a little goes a long way.

Spaghetti in a Creamy Leek Sauce

(adapted from this recipe, originally from Marcella Hazan; serves 3-4)
Ingredients:
1/2 lb whole-wheat spaghetti
4 medium leeks
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 T butter
3 T cream
3 T parmesan (or similar) cheese
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
Method:
1. Start boiling a large pot of salted water for pasta.
2. Prepare the leeks: Cut off and dicard dark green portions of the leeks (can save these portions for stock). Cut the white and light green parts into 1/4 inch rounds.Place the sliced leeks in a bowl and rinse well with cold water.
2. Heat oil and butter together in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Saute the garlic until fragrant.
3. Add the leeks and some salt to taste. Saute the leeks on medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked down to a creamy consistency, stirring once in a while. Add a little water if the leeks start to dry out. At the end of cooking time, let the leeks cook to almost a golden color.
4. Stir in the cream, pepper and red pepper flakes (to taste) and set the sauce aside.
5. Cook pasta in the boiling water. Save 1 cup of the pasta water.
6. Stir cooked spaghetti into the sauce. Add enough pasta water to bring the sauce to the desired consistency. Stir in the parmesan and serve.

What started off as a simple supper turned out to be quite special- this pasta is outstanding! The leeks have a wonderful flavor that is mild and pleasing, and the sauce showcases it beautifully. This is the perfect pasta for a winter night, and definitely goes straight on to "keeper" list.

I served the pasta with some simple roasted beets.


More leek dishes:
Leek and Potato Soup
Leek Souffle
Savory Leek Quiche
Leek and Potato Galette
Leeky Lemon Risotto
Leek-Stuffed Kulcha


I'm thrilled to have discovered leeks and in celebration, I am sending this post over to Kalyn for Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB is in its third year of celebrating the beauty of herbs and vegetables!

Which of the alliums is your personal favorite? Do you have any much-loved recipes using alliums?

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My birthday gift to V was an "experience" gift: a skydive. On the last day of 2007, V jumped from a plane! That's him in the picture, free-falling in the skies above Missouri. He landed safely on terra firma a few minutes later with the words, "Man, that was peaceful" and a huge grin on his face. Who knew falling from the sky could be so much fun?

Breaking Bread with the Bloggers

Every month, Coffee from The Spice Cafe sends us off on a mission called the Monthly Blog Patrol: the idea is to browse our favorite blogs and choose some recipes that make us want to run to the kitchen and try them, and, well, run to the kitchen and *actually* try them, instead of merely drooling all over the keyboard. This month's theme: BREAD from scratch.

There are all kinds of breads that are on my to-do list. This time, I decided to try my hand at making submarine rolls (or baguettes or hoagies, if you prefer), the ones that are delicious with all sorts of sandwich fillings. I always seek out these rolls from good bakeries- the best rolls have a hard crusty shell that cracks as you bite it, revealing a soft and pillowy interior. After all, anyone can turn out fabulous cakes and pastries full of rich ingredients, but it takes a great deal of talent to make a delicious product from just flour, water and yeast. The inspiring recipe came from the blog Coconut and Lime. With just 1.5 cups of flour, it is a small-scale recipe, perfect for pilot experiments.

The most sought-after characteristic of these rolls- the crisp texture of the crust- is achieved by creating a steaming effect in the oven when the rolls start to bake. This can be done either by spritzing the oven interior with a spray bottle filled with water, or by throwing ice cubes on the floor of the oven. I tried both and thought that the ice cube dumping was easier and worked better. I suggest reading the original recipe carefully if you want to try this; I have merely written a short summary here. It takes about 3 hours from the time you start making the dough to the point of getting fresh-baked rolls from the oven.

Sub Rolls

(adapted from Coconut and Lime, makes 4 palm-sized rolls).

1. In a food processor, make a smooth dough with 1.5 cups flour (I used 1:1 all-purpose flour and white whole-wheat flour), 1 t salt, 1.5 t yeast and 0.5 C or so water.
2. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then let it rise for an hour or so.
3. Gently collapse the dough, divide gently into 4 portions and let them rest for 20-30 minutes.
4. On a cornmeal-sprinkled surface, gently pat each portion of dough into an oblong shape. Cover and let it rise for another hour.
5. Heat the oven (with a pizza stone inside) to 450 degrees F. Place the rolls on the pizza stone, throw 4-5 ice cubes on the oven floor (they will melt and vaporize with a great deal of hissing and sizzling), and close the oven door.
6. After 5 minutes, turn the temperature of the oven down to 400 degrees F, throw 3-4 more ice cubes on the oven floor, and let the rolls bake for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown.

I used the rolls as a base for Barbecue sandwiches, using this recipe from Vegetarian Times.

It was the very first time that I used the meat substitute seitan (wheat gluten) and I thought it was OK, but nothing to write home about. The barbecue sauce was quite flavorful and overall, we enjoyed these sandwiches. The rolls had a superb crust, to my delight, but the inside was a little more dense than I would have liked. All in all, this was a delicious meal.

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Here are a couple more recipes from fellow bloggers that I tried and loved (NOT entries for the event, just ones that I wanted to share here)...

There are all kinds of reasons why I bookmark a recipe, but this following recipe was bookmarked for the simple reason that it has such an irresistable name: Succulent Mountain Mushrooms. I was tempted to make this delicious mushroom curry the minute I read Nabeela's post.
This recipe was a good example of how minor variations in the spice profile can lead to such diversity in the tastes of dishes. This mushroom curry starts off with the most unusual tempering: asafoetida, fenugreek seeds and jet-black nigella seeds (kalonji). This last ingredient is a newcomer to my pantry. The result was completely delicious! The mushrooms are the most succulent and flavorful ever, and if you close your eyes tight, you can pretend that you enjoying the crispness of the Himalayan air, rather than being trapped in a sweltering Mid-Western summer.
P.S.: This recipe comes from a beautiful book called Mangoes and Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Part travelogue, part photo-essay, part cookbook- this coffee table-style book is entirely worth a read.

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I happened to mention spaghetti with soy "meatballs" and roasted cauliflower in this post and Roshni left a comment on the post saying that she would like the recipes for these. Well, it took me quite a few weeks to get to it, but here are the methods to make these (too simple to be official "recipes")...
1. Spaghetti with soy "meatballs": This quick yet satisfying dinner uses three pantry staples- whole wheat spaghetti, canned whole tomatoes, and fake "meatballs". I don't use meat substitutes very often, but this last product (usually made of soy protein) is something I do like to keep on hand. There are many brands available, and I normally use the ones from Trader Joe's.


I started by following Karen's recipe for Sunday gravy (pasta sauce for the rest of us!) to the letter, except that I did not add any soy crumbles. I always imagined that flavorful pasta sauce requires hours of simmering, but luckily, I was wrong :) This one takes 20 minutes and is absolutely delicious. The fennel seeds add incredible flavor, so don't even dream of skipping them! I added thawed soy "meatballs" in the last 5 minutes of simmering. Toss this sauce with cooked whole wheat noodles and sit down to the heartiest meal ever. This is a wonderful meal for a crowd- or for family dinner- don't miss the lovely description of Sunday dinner in Karen's post.

2. Roasted cauliflower: our favorite fall/ winter side dish, a go-to vegetable dish when inspiration fails me. Cauliflower cooked this way is so tasty that I find myself nibbling on it as if it were popcorn. I don't have a picture of this, but will update the post the next time I make this stuff.
(a) Take a medium head of cauliflower. Cut into bite-size florets. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
(b) Place the florets on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with 2-3 T extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Use our hands to distribute the oil over the florets.
(c) Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 7-8 minutes, or until the florets start browning. By this time, the cauliflower should be tender on the inside (test with the point of a knife). If not, turn the oven off and leave the sheet in there for 5-10 minutes more.
(d) While cauliflower is roasting, mix the following in a bowl: 1/4 C coarsely chopped olives (any kind you like; I usually use Kalamata olives), 1 heaped T capers, red chilli flakes (optional), 2 T fresh lemon juice and 2 T minced parsley.
(e) Stir the olive mixture into the roasted cauliflower and serve.

Sunday Supper: Curry Noodle Soup

This post is part of the 7 S series: Soup, Salad, Sandwich, Snack, Street food for Sunday Supper. These are light(er) meals for Sunday night; a tasty way to end indulgent weekends and get ready for a new week. A way to use the vegetable goodness brought home on Saturday mornings. A chance to try something a new recipe, a new ingredient or a new cuisine every weekend.

As you can see, I can't seem to stay away from my Sunday posting routine, and especially that of a series. So here it is, a new series with a simple and fairly open-ended premise: trying out new one-dish meals. Given that I am now a whole lot busier than I was during the A-Z series earlier this year, I expect that this one is going to be low-maintenance.

The first in the series is a soup from a wonderful new cookbook given to me as a graduation gift by my darling friend Laureen. She has that special knack of giving the most thoughtful and special gifts every single time. The cookbook is called Super Natural Cooking, written by a food blogger- Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks and Mighty Foods. In a world where it seems like a new cookbook is launched every minute or so, this is a very special body of work. While it has beautiful splashy pictures, it is completely unlike the usual glossy tomes- there is something very earthy about the colors and the paper that appeals to me. The central theme of this book is that it talks about "five ways to incorporate whole and natural ingredients into your cooking". It suggests specific and do-able ways to build a natural foods pantry, explore a wide variety of grains, cook by color (it is well-known that the darker the vegetable, the higher the level of certain micro-nutrients like anti-oxidants), know your superfoods and use natural sweeteners. Essentially, the books encourages the average home cook to look beyond the food in the supermarket and not be afraid to explore ingredients that may be nutritionally far superior. The Indian kitchen is already home to wonderful ingredients such as jaggery, millet, coconut oil and atta- the arrival of books such as these, touting these very foods, makes it more likely that they will be widely available in the US in the near future. This book is also encouraging me to look beyond ingredients that are familiar to me, and I hope to cook with quinoa, amaranth flour and miso in the coming months. Best of all, the recipes in the book are all vegetarian.

Today, I am making a simple and satisfying noodle soup from Super Natural Cooking. The new ingredient that I discovered via this recipe is udon noodles, a flat, beautifully geometrical wheat noodle that comes from Japanese cuisine and is cooked in a hundred different ways. I found a packet at Whole Foods.

I am slowly starting to discover, learn and love many cuisines from around the world, but Japanese cuisine remains mysterious and a little intimidating. While Japanese ingredients are being used in this recipe, the soup overall is an Asian hodge-podge, with the Japanese noodles and shoyu (a Japanese soy sauce), fragrant Thai curry paste and a complex blend of flavors- sweet, sour, spicy and salty. The soup does not call for vegetables, but I added some fresh green beans to make this a complete meal.

Curry Noodle Soup

(Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
4 oz udon noodles
2 T peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 t Thai red curry paste
1 C green beans, cut into bite size pieces
1 C tofu cubes
3/4 C coconut milk
2 C water
1 t turmeric powder
2 T shoyu/ soy sauce
1 T sugar
1 T lemon juice
Garnish:
handful of roasted chopped peanuts
slices of scallions/ spring onions
minced cilantro
Method:
1. Boil a large pot of water and cook the udon noodles until barely tender (they will get cooked further in the hot soup). Drain them and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil and saute onion and garlic until fragrant and starting to brown. Add the red curry paste and stir until aromatic.
3. Stir in green beans and cook until tender.
4. Add tofu, coconut milk, water, turmeric, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat. Add lemon juice and cooked udon noodles.
6. Serve hot, garnished with peanuts, scallions and/or cilantro.

Heidi calls this a "slurp and slop bowl" which describes this noodle soup just perfectly! This steaming bowl is definitely a delicious soup for any season, but with its spicy kick and delicious addictive taste, it could also be called street food...I imagine that such soups are sold by street vendors in many parts of South-East Asia. Next time, I will try cooking the noodles directly in the soup instead of cooking them in another pot. The soup is "soupy" enough that I think this might work. It will save the time and fuel needed to boil a large pot of water, plus the noodles might absorb even more flavor. I loved the silky yet toothsome taste of the udon noodles and look forward to using them in some traditional Japanese ways. Anyone have a favorite recipe with udon noodles?

This big bowl of soup is my entry to the Second Annual Super Soup Challenge over at the blog Running with Tweezers.

Hearty Heart-Lovin' Pasta

The Heart of the Matter is a food blog event with a difference- like many other events, you make a dish every month based on a theme, BUT with one important criterion: the food has to be heart-friendly and healthful! It is a wonderful challenge to think of the food we eat and come up with something that is both delicious and good for the body. The round-ups are collected in the HotM blog so that we can all have a handy collection of recipes to try out. The theme this month is something we all crave: Pasta!

The pasta I am making today comes from the lovely PBS food show Everyday Food. I always feel a keen sense of relief when I watch this calm and professional show, with efficient chefs demonstrating eminently do-able recipes for the home cook. It helps me recover from the trauma that I undergo when I come across some of those shows on Food Network that are so out-of-tune with where we should be headed, like Paula Deen's shows, with the sickeningly fatty recipes that are doing nothing to help America's obesity epidemic, or Sandra Lee's shows, with the wasteful shopping and unintelligent "cooking" that are hurting the eco-friendly changes the world needs to make.

What makes this dish heart-friendly...
...the extra-virgin olive oil, which is the sensible choice when one is cooking with fats,
...the lentils, which provide fiber and protein, making this a filling and satisfying meal,
...the vegetables, which provide taste, vitamins, minerals and a ton of other nutrients while adding minimal calories

What is even more special is what this dish does NOT contain...
...animal fats; there are no saturated fats in the form of meat, butter, cream or cheese
...excessive salt; I used the trick of adding some lemon juice, which brings out the flavor and lets you get away with minimal salt.

This pasta could be made even more healthful by using whole-wheat pasta instead of the regular one made with refined flour. I use both kinds of pasta in my kitchen. Regular pasta can be part of a healthy diet if it is served in small quantities, and in combination with protein and healthy fats. The orecchiette ("little ears") pasta is wonderful in this dish because the tiny shells capture the lentil sauce perfectly.

i heart pasta

(Adapted from this recipe from the TV show Everyday Food, makes about 4 servings)
1. Start boiling a large pot of water for pasta.
2. Place 1 cup lentils in a saucepan, rinse them, then cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, until lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.
3. As lentils are cooking, do the prep. cut up 1 large onion into slices. Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 cup canned tomatoes and set side. Chop 1 fresh tomato into slices. Clean 1 bunch arugula and chop roughly. Take a fresh lemon and collect 2 tbsp juice.
4. Heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet, then saute onions and garlic until golden brown and aromatic.
5. To the onions, add 1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped, and some salt and pepper.
6. Stir in the lentils.
7. When pasta water comes to a boil, add salt and 2 cups orecchiette and cook until just tender. Save 1 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta and return to pot.
8. To the cooked pasta, add onion-lentil mixture, chopped tomatoes, chopped arugula, lemon juice and pasta water. Toss well and serve!

Verdict: I will surely be making this again and again! It is perfect for summer, light and juicy. It tastes good hot, at room temperature and cold, like a pasta salad. It would be the perfect addition to a lunch box.

Thanks to Joanna and Ilva for hosting this event...I'm going to try and participate every single month! Here is the HotM Pasta Round-up with wonderful recipe ideas for making heart-healthy pasta dishes.

Playing with Pasta: Spicy Thai Linguine

Every month, Meeta hosts an enjoyable event called the Monthly Mingle, where bloggers gather together for a potluck based on a theme. This is my entry to this month's event, which is based on the theme "Spring is in the Air". Here I am, celebrating the season's bounty.

In St. Louis, a frigid winter has finally given way to warmer weather that seems to be rushing headlong into summer. This can only mean one thing: time to hurry to the Farmer's market. In my few short months in this city, I have already fallen in love with Soulard Market. The Mississippi river which laps at the foot of St. Louis, bisects the USA, dividing the country into East and West and giving St. Louis the nickname Gateway to the West. Soulard Market is considered to be the oldest Farmer's Market west of the Mississippi, i.e., in the Western half of the United States.

A couple of days ago, my dear friend Cathy was visiting us for the weekend. Other people take their out-of-town visitors to local museums and monuments, but when two foodies get together, the logical thing to do is to head out to the local markets, and early on Saturday, we made a beeline for Soulard Market. The weather was warm and perfectly gorgeous, everyone was in a good mood, and the market was humming with activity. Next time, I'll get some pictures to show you all...this time I was too busy enjoying the company and soaking in the atmosphere to take the camera along.

Anyway, from the rows and rows and rows of colorful produce, I bought green beans and yellow peppers, asparagus, zucchini, mustard greens, and bags and bags of other fruits and vegetables. We also made a stop at the cutest pasta stand: Pappardelle's. This artisanal pasta company is from Denver, Colarado, but they have a year-round stall at Soulard market. They specialize in dried flat pasta with the most incredible flavors...such as orange-schezuan linguine, chipotle-pepper fettucine, and even a dark chocolate linguine! They also have dried flavored blends of pasta, including some really unusual fruit pasta flavors (raspberry penne, anyone?). Anyway, after much deliberation, I settled on the Spicy Thai Linguine.

Back home, I had to wonder, what was I going to do with this beautiful pasta? As luck would have it, my pantry was stocked with a can of coconut milk and a jar of Maesri Thai red curry paste, thanks to inspiration from Sandeepa's post. I put these ingredients together and came up with this dish, which was ready in minutes!

Spicy Thai Linguine

(makes 3-4 servings)
1. Prep the veggies: You can use any assortment of vegetables that you have on hand. This is what I used. Clean and dice the following vegetables...1 large yellow pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 carrot. Finely chop 4-5 green onions (green and light green parts only).
2. Cook the pasta: Boil a large pot of water. When it comes to a rolling boil, salt generously and add 1/2 pound of linguine. Stir around and let the pasta cook for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente. Drain into a colander.
3. Make the sauce: While the water for the pasta is coming to a boil, start the sauce. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add the diced vegetables and stir-fry until barely tender. Now stir in 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk, 1 tsp red curry paste and salt to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more curry paste if desired.
4. Assemble: Stir the cooked drained pasta into the sauce and toss well. Turn off the heat. Stir in 2 tbsp fresh lemon/ lime juice and the chopped green onions for garnish. Serve right away.

The verdict: Amazing, amazing. I can't even tell you how much we enjoyed every bite of this impromptu meal. The canned curry paste makes it all too easy, and the result is too creamy, colorful and flavorful for words.

Variations:
1. The spicy Thai linguine made this meal extra special, but I am sure that unflavored pasta that is much more readily available would be great too...just be sure to add a little more of the curry paste.
2. One could play around endlessly with this dish, adding different vegetables (green beans and pineapple is what I will try next), different curry pastes (green, yellow), different garnishes (fresh basil, cilantro) and other additions (fried baked tofu or mock chicken strips).

I'm going to pick up a different flavor of pasta from Soulard every time I visit, and keep experimenting with these wonderful flavors. Here is another one of their pastas that Karen tried...it looks sooo good!

Thank you, Meeta, for hosting this lovely event! I shall be back on Sunday, with the O of Indian Vegetables.

Test-Driving my new Le Creuset

Early this year, I made a resolution to stock my kitchen with better cookware. One of the items high on my list was a heavy-duty cast-iron casserole. A few weeks ago, my friend Laureen stopped by, and came bearing a wedding gift in a big old heavy box. She must be a mind-reader, because that box contained my object of desire: a le creuset casserole, in the cutest yellow-tomato shape (complete with a realistic stem-like lid).

For someone who likes to cook and has been doing it for a while, I feel like I have a very poor understanding of cookware. Much of it stems from the fact that (a) I cook in a *tiny* kitchen with limited space for pots and pans, and (b) when I stocked my kitchen 5 years ago, I was under a tight budget and ended up getting one run-of-the-mill cookware set and then just using that for years. So I am starting to educate myself a little bit on cookware, and it turns out that cast-iron cookware is made by pouring molten iron into a mold (a centuries-old method of making cooking pots). The Le creuset variety is then coated with a layer of enamel, which means it does not require "seasoning" like regular cast iron pots do. The wonderful thing about cast iron pots is that they are nothing if not sturdy, so I totally expect to take good care of my little tomato and have it last a lifetime.

I searched around for a recipe to try in this pot, and came across one in a recent issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. It sounded like a delicious recipe (vegan to boot) and uses carrots (which I tend to under-use) and rubbed sage (a new addition to my spice rack). This recipe was part of an article on carrot recipes; I am dying to try out a carrot cake which was also published in the same article.

Tofu-Carrot Cacciatore


(adapted from "Vegetarian Times" magazine, serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1 bunch fresh carrots, peeled and cut into slices on a bias
1 green pepper, cut into large dice
1 onion, cut into large dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 8-oz package Italian-style baked tofu, cubed
1 28-oz can tomatoes (crushed or whole peeled)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bayleaf
1 tbsp rubbed sage
salt and pepper to taste
1 and half cups dried pasta (your favorite shape)
Method
1. Heat the olive oil. Saute onions and garlic till transluscent and aromatic.
2. Add the carrots, peppers and bayleaf and saute for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, sage, tofu, salt and pepper and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per package directions. Serve the cacciatore over the hot pasta.

I was very impressed with the way this stew turned out. The le creuset casserole browns veggies just beautifully. It held heat for a really long time and was a snap to clean. Thanks, Laureen, I will be thinking of you every single time I use this beautiful pot!

Scientific Pasta

My Mom made this quick and tasty pasta quite often in India. At the time, the only pasta shapes available in India were spaghetti and macaroni so it would be either of those two, with good ol' processed Amul cheese. It was mmm...mmm...good.

I was in the supermarket a few days ago and started laughing when I found a Barilla pasta shape called Pipette. Pipette means "little pipe" but of course that's not why I laughed. It is because I work in a research lab and we use instruments called pipettes day in and day out to transfer liquids around. Our pipettes look nothing like the little pasta though!

I thought it would be fun to try this scientific-sounding pasta tonight, when I need dinner ready in a hurry. The recipe calls for a basic bechamel sauce to be made separately and added to sauteed peppers but I am too lazy to wash too many pots and adapted the sauce recipe for a single pan.

• First, a pot of water was put to boil for the pasta, salted and the pipette pasta was boiled till just tender. 
• Meanwhile as the pasta was cooking, I made the sauce by melting 2 tbsp butter in a pan and sauteeing a diced green pepper in it. 
• Then I added 1 heaped tbsp white flour and stirred it around till it was aromatic. 
• I added a cup of milk, dash of salt and pepper, dash of red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and stirred everything into a nice smooth sauce. 
• I finished the sauce with a cup of tomato puree and 1 tbsp cream. 
• Finally I stirred the drained cooked pasta into the sauce and topped with more cheese and pepper.

The hollow pipettes catch the creamy sauce perfectly. It is a mild and comforting pasta that is ready in a jiffy. What more can one ask for on a Tuesday night ?