Need...Dinner...Quick

I am all about dishes that are fast, easy, and bursting with fresh flavors. When I'm tired (which seems to be all the time lately) I sometime cave in and have A pick up a pizza or just eat a bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese...both always comforting and satisfying. Yet, sometimes you just crave fresh, simple ingredients. This is exactly one of those dishes. I love insalata caprese- an Italian salad that consists of tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil. I turned this love into a pasta dish for those days when a salad is just not enough!


Whole Wheat Linguine with Pan-Roasted Tomatoes and Basil Cream

1/2 box of whole wheat linguine
about 2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 cup pesto
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tub bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)
olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)

Pesto:
1-1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1-2 cloves of garlic (I like mine with a lot of garlic, so adjust to your palate)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/8 cup of Parmesan
juice of half a lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients together with about two tablespoons of olive oil to start. Once you begin blending, start slowly drizzling olive oil through the top until it gets to the consistency to like. I prefer my pesto on the thicker side, but some people like it thinner. If you are not in the mood to make your own pesto, store bought pesto works just as well!

To assemble the pasta:
Cook linguine using box directions (make sure to salt your water!). In a medium size pan, add olive oil and roast cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper just until they start to split. Take off heat and let them cool. In the meantime, mix pesto and sour cream together. Then, toss noodles, tomatoes, and mozzarella all together and top with a generous scoop of basil cream mixture. This dish is best eaten at room temperature.

Simple and Delicious- Dessert

I would say that I have a very slight sweet tooth. For instance, I love having something sweet usually after dinner or whenever I'm drinking my afternoon coffee. I only like a little of that something- just enough to cure the craving and not too much to make me sick. One evening while I was scouring my kitchen for some type of dessert makings I put this yummy dish together. Talk about simple and delicious! This is now one of my top ten favorite desserts and it only has two ingredients- vanilla bean ice cream and raspberries. The tartness of the raspberries balance perfectly with the creamy sweetness of the ice cream. It is just divine!


Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Raspberry Sauce

1 small scoop of your favorite vanilla bean ice cream (I like Breyers- all natural!)
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries (Fresh raspberries could work too, but I always have frozen ones in my freezer. They work perfectly!)

Put frozen raspberries in the microwave and heat for about 1 1/2 minutes. It should be slightly warm (not hot!) and soft. Take a fork and smash the raspberries until they are a thick sauce. No need to add anything else- just pour over vanilla ice cream and eat. The warm raspberries should just melt the ice cream a little leaving swirls of pink and white. Optional: You can also top with roasted walnuts for a crunchy addition.

Simple and Delicious

I like dishes that are really simple to make but packed with layers of flavor. When Aaron and I went to visit our friend Shannon, she made us this wonderful sofrito dish. Her dish had the addition of pieces of fish and scallops, which I definitely recommend. However, since we had no seafood in the house (for the exception of some curried shrimp that turned out less than great-story and better recipe to come) I kept my dish vegetarian with just beans, rice, and sofrito. If you are not a seafood lover and need the addition of some meat, chicken would also work nicely. Thanks Shannon for a wonderful meal and a recipe to add to my collection!

Sofrito Dinner
*adapted from our friend Shannon's recipe

1 bag VIGA yellow Spanish rice (cooked according to directions on the back)
1 can black bean (heated) *I season mine with about a tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, and a splash of lime for added flavor

For the Sofrito:
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced or cut long and thin
1 cubanelle pepper
1/2 a lime
*1 tsp of adobo chili (optional- I added this to give the sofrito a spicy and smokey undertone)
paprika (to taste)
olive oil

To make the sofrito, coat the bottom of a pan with a small amount of olive oil (about a 1-2 tbsp) and saute the onions on medium heat until they are slightly caramelized and translucent. Add the garlic and cubanelle pepper. Saute all together until ingredients are softened. Add crushed tomatoes and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Add in 1-2 tbsp paprika (to taste), adobo chili, lime juice, and salt and pepper (again, to taste). Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve on top of black beans and rice.

If you are adding protein (seafood, chicken, pork), cook separately and season how you like. Add on top the above dish.

A Tribute with Pears

This recipe is a twist on one I took from A's Great Aunt B. Great Aunt B was an amazing woman and one of my absolute favorite people who I feel very privileged to have met. Sadly, she passed away this year, making the world a little less nicer to live in. Before we officially moved to Orlando, I was lucky enough to live with Great Aunt B for a few months while A was finishing up things in South Florida. During that time, she showed me a recipe for curried fruit that was absolutely delicious. It was warm, sweet, spicy and drizzled all over vanilla ice cream. I never thought of making a dessert with curry and fruit together, but as I was researching it on the internet I discovered this dish is actually very southern. Who knew? (I honestly would never have guessed since curry seems so exotic for the South). It did sound a bit strange to me at first, but it really is one of the best desserts I've had. So, here's to Great Aunt B! This recipe is typically made with a can of fruit cocktail (which is equally delicious), but I decided to use fresh pears and a little less sugar to make a guilt-free version.

Curry Poached Pears

2 firm pears, peeled, halved and cored
2 cups water (OR 1 cup water and 1 cup of good white wine)
1/2-1 cup brown sugar (I don't like it as sweet, but some may)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp curry powder

To prepare the poaching liquid, bring the water (or water/wine mixture) and brown sugar to a boil then lower heat to about medium. Add cinnamon, ginger powder and curry powder. Keep it on a low rolling boil for about 5-7 minutes until everything is dissolved and mixed together. The liquid should be a little thicker, but not syrupy. Next place pears with flat halved side down. Poach pears for about 30-40 minutes (depending on how firm your pears are), flipping them half way through so the whole pear gets poached evenly. The pears should be fork tender. Once they are done, let them cool for several minutes. Then serve with vanilla ice cream and toasted walnuts.