Pesto and Potato Pasta

PESTO! Yippeeee for pesto! One of my favorite tastes in the world. Tell me what's better than good parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic? Then add a little more *good* fat and nuttiness with pine nuts and olive oil...and you have the best thing that you can put on almost anything - especially pasta. When I was a little girl, my Sicilian aunts would turn out all kinds of pesto as often and as simply as other families were throwing together bologna sandwiches. There was one pesto dish that my auntie Connie used to make in particular that caught my attention: linguini with pesto and pototoes. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure of the way that she put it together, but my mom seems to think that the way that I do it is pretty close. The biggest difference witht the way that I prepare this dish, is that I use whole grain pasta which is something I never saw growing up. That's OK, I'm just letting you know. Anyway, the amazing this about this dish is that it is so delicious, and extremely simple to make. There are so few ingredients and the fact that you don't have to cook the "sauce" is very nice as well. Have fun with this one!

Ingredients
1lb whole wheat linguini (the flat and sort of wide spaghetti)
1-2 russet potatoes
2 cups fresh basil leaves (probably about 30 large leaves, stems removed)
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c pine nuts
1/2 c freshly grated pecorino parmesan cheese
6 cloves fresh garlic
tsp salt to add to the water when boiling the pasta
tsp crushed red pepper
freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

• Pinch basil leaves off stems, rinse and dry and set aside.
• In food processor, grate the cheese, remove and set aside.
• Rinse potatoes, cut a surface line in the center (for easy peeling), and boil until tender. Make sure they're not too tender, but you don't want them to be undone in the middle.
• Once tender, put the potatoes in cold water for few minutes. This will make it very easy to peel them.
• Peel and then rougly crumble with hands or cut in rough, uneven pieces so that they aren't too uniform. Make sure the pieces are on the smaller size. The size of a lima bean is about right. Set aside.
• Prepare the pasta according to package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, take the raw garlic cloves and dip them in the boiling water for about a minute just to slightly soften. I don't do this to mine, because I like the intensity of the totally raw garlic. If you want that pungent, strong garlic flavor, I'd skip this step.
• To the food processor, add the basil leaves, most of the olive oil, the pine nuts and blend until all chopped very finely and mixed together. **See photo below to see what it should look like.
• Remove the mixture from the food processor and add to medium size bowl.
• To the basil mixture, add the grated cheese. Taste to make sure that the flavors are to your liking and also the consistency. If it's too dry - drizzle more olive oil. If it's too strong, add some more parmesa cheese, etc.
• Note that I don't add salt to the pesto because the cheese is so salty.
• Before the pasta is ready, make sure you have your tossing bowl ready: add about a half cup of the pesto mixure to the bottom of the bowl, with about a cup of the chopped potatoes.
• When the pasta is ready, ladle the pasta on top of the pesto and potatoes in the large bowl.
• With tongs, begin mixing everything together without 'mushing."
• Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta liquid to the bowl. This will help make everything mix well together. You can also add another splash or two of olive oil to aid in the distribution of ingredients.
• When it's ready for serving, the pasta will look a little green and the potatoes will be evenly distributed throughout the dish.
• I always end up adding additinal cheese because I like when the pasta is a little "powdery."
• Top the serving platter with freshly ground pepper and crushed red pepper.

Serving suggestion: Tonight I sauteed some chicken breast, sliced it and served over the pasta. This is a rich dish that goes great with a simple salad and good bread. A glass of wine is almost a requirement.

I hope you enjoy this one!

Below is what the pesto should look similar to. If you have a lot left over, you can freeze pesto. A good tip is to freeze in an ice cube tray. You can add cubes to many different sauces and dishes!!

Nina's Savory and Spicy Chili

It's that time of year when I get really excited about preparing and creating hot dishes - especially soups. As much as I love summer, I still welcome the fall with it's fresh, cool feeling, colorful leaves, sweaters, and SOUP! I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but soup is probably my favorite type of food to eat. It definitely tops the list of comfort foods as far as I'm concerned. I hope you've all had the experience of slurping up your mom's or grandmother's homeade soup on a cold night. I know I have a few of those. My mom used to make Chili from scratch all the time. This recipe is a take on her recipe, but I've added a few additions to make it a little more savory and spicy. Now it's your chance to create warm memories for your family!

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey (of course you can use ground beef if you like, I just like to use turkey because it's healthier).
1 small (14 oz) can each - black, pinto and kidney beans (I like Trader Joe's Organic Beans) - drain the beans but it’s not necessary to rinse.
1 (14 oz) can diced, fire roasted tomatoes (it doesn’t have to be fire roasted, but I prefer them)
1 tomato sauce
½ c beer
2 tbls freshly crushed garlic
A few tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, chopped finely
¾ c chopped celery
¼ c green olives with pimentos

Spices:
2 tbls chile
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fennel
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp crush red pepper flakes
½ tsp cayenne (if you like to extra spicy)

Directions

Splash olive oil in large pot and heat to medium
Add onions and saute for a couple minutes
Add celery and saute for another few minutes
Add salt, olives and most of the chili powder and continue to saute until the onions and celery are tender.
Squeeze the turkey with your hands to smooth out the little lines that form from the grinding process.
Add to the pan and turn up the heat so that the turkey can brown a bit while cooking. (Alternatively you can brown the turkey before sautéing the onions and celery. Just remove the turkey after it browns and then add the onions and celery).
Now push all the ingredients in the pan to the side, and on the clean side add a little more olive oil.
On the side you just added oil to, add the garlic and saute for about a minute.
Add the rest of the spices: cumin, oregano, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon.
Always taste to see how you’re liking the flavor. It’s at this point that I’ll add more salt, spice, etc, depending on the taste.
Now stir everything together and continue to cook for another minute or two.
Add a can of the fire roasted tomatoes and let simmer for a couple minutes.
Add the beer, simmer a couple minutes.
Now add all three kinds of beans and bring to a simmer once again.
Stir, cover and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Serving suggestion:
Ladle in bowls and top with some chopped white or green onions, chopped cilantro, and some shredded jack or cheddar cheese. It’s nice to have some warm cornbread or whole grain bread.
Enjoy!

Simple French Toast

This French Toast is simple, but it has a couple extra steps that make it extra special. It's not just about a quick dip in eggs and milk - I think that usually results in boring, soggy and limp French Toast. If you take a couple minutes to make a "batter," you'll see it can make all the difference in the world. It was my daughter's 19th birthday (oh my goodness, my baby is grown up!) yesterday and a bunch of her friends were over to celebrate her. I made this French Toast (with some bacon of course) and they gobbled it up!

Makes about 4-5 pieces

Ingredients

5 slices soft and firm whole wheat (or white bread) - the firmness really makes a difference.

2 eggs

1/4 c flour

1/4 c milk

2-3 tbls melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

a little vegetable oil

a pinch of salt

1 tbls sugar

Instructions

• Heat a frying pan for a few minutes.
• In shallow bowl whisk eggs, then the butter (cooled), followed by milk, then the vanilla.
• Mix in the sugar, flour and salt until the mixture is blended well and smooth.
• Dip one slice of bread in the batter - quickly. It doesn't need to soak. Just a few seconds on each side is fine.
• Add a little butter and a little oil to the pan. I like to add a little oil, because it prevents the butter from burning.
• Now place the slice of dipped bread in the pan and let it slightly brown on that side (probably about a minute). Now flip it over and do the same.
• You may have to adjust the temperature based on the first one to make sure it's not too hot (or cool).
• Remove the cooked slice and place on a plate with a paper towel.
• Repeat this for the rest
• Optional: you can drizzle some butter on each piece after they're cooked.
• After they're all done and plated, you can then sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar.

Serving suggestion: I think French Toast tastes great with bacon. Any fruit topping, like blueberries or strawberries would be great as well. Oh, and of course you can heat up some really good (and natural) maple syrup!

Enjoy!

Pasta, Bean and Italian Sausage Soup

Since I can remember I've been a huge lover of soup. It didn't matter what kind of soup it was - I liked it. That included Split Pea, Chili, Lentil Soup.... Fortunately, I wasn't that familiar with canned soups since my Sicilian mom prepared most of her dishes from scratch. My favorite soups were the ones she and her sisters used to make that typically included some kind of meat, vegetables, pasta and lots of parmesan cheese. Of course one of my favorites was Pasta Fagioli, and this simple soup that I've prepared here sort of reminds me of Pasta Fagioli with the abundance of Italian Sausage, beans and pasta. If you want a good recipe for Pasta Fagioli, you might want to try this recipe from Giada De Laurentis from the Food Network. I like the recipe below because it's a quick treat and a really great comfort food for you and your family.

(Serves several)


Ingredients:

- 6 Italian Sausage - slice the casing and use the ground pork
- 1 can red kidney beans - drained
- 1/2 lb or more of pasta shells (or whatever pasta you prefer)
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth - I prefer to prepare my own stock, but you can use canned
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups of fresh tomatoes (blanch and then peel before chopping) - otherwise 1 can of whole tomatoes, chopped
- 1 white onion - roughly chopped
- 2 cups celery - roughly chopped
- 3 or more - carrots - sliced
- 1 tbls - freshly minced garlic
- about 3 tbls - olive oil
- 1 tsp - dried fennel
- 1 tsp - dried basil (or you can use 4-5 leaves of fresh, of course)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- freshly grated parmesan cheese to top each bowl of soup

Instructions:

• After removing sausage from casing, lightly brown sausage in a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large pot.
• Also, cook the pasta in separate pot according to package directions and set aside after tossing with a little butter to make sure that the pasta doesn't stick together.
• After sausage is browned, remove from pot (let the juices remain in the pot) and set aside.
• In the remaining oil, saute onion and celery, adding a little salt. You can also add the oregano, basil and fennel at this point.
• After cooking for about 4 minutes, add the garlic for about 1 minute.
• Now drip some of the tomato juice before adding the tomatoes just to get all the flavors dancing together.
• Add the tomatoes and simmer for another few minutes.
• Add the chicken stock and, again, cook for another couple minutes.
• Now you can add the kidney beans and return the sausage to the pot and add bring to a heavy simmer. You can also add the carrots now.
• Add water to create the consistency that you prefer. For example, if you want a lot of broth - add more water. If you prefer that the soup is chunkier (or meatier), add less. (Remember that you will also be adding pasta to each individual soup bowl).
• Once you have all the ingredients in the pot, let lightly simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
• When it's ready, you'll want to serve by individual bowls: put about a handful of pasta shells at the bottom of an empty soup bowl. Ladle out some of the meat and vegatables from the soup and then ladle some of the broth over the top. Now sprinkle the parmesan cheese at the top and some ground pepper (and fresh parsley if you like).

Serving suggestion: This soup is great on cold night with your favorite bread warmed in the oven. Because it has meat, veggies and pasta - it's sort of like a whole meal in one bowl!

Enjoy!

Sweet Green Smoothie

Smoothies are great because they're sweet, healthful, easy and economical. I prefer to make them at home because you can make them exactly how you like them. I have found a few places that make fantastic smoothies, but they are few and far between. In Santa Cruz, CA there's a grocery store called New Leaf Market (it's like a small Whole Foods) and at the Capitola location, they have a little cafe called New Beet Cafe that makes really good smoothies - with good and healthy stuff in them (not like Jamba Juice). The green smoothie below is inspired by their "Swamp Water" smoothie that combines bananas, apple juice, protein powder, spiralina, bee pollen and carob chips. At home, I make mine a little different:

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• Frozen banana pieces - We buy tons of bananas and always cut up the ones that have hung out a few days and then put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.
• 2 tbls protein powder
• 1-2 tbls green powder (matcha, spirulina, etc) I use "Very Green" powder supplement from Trader Joe's.
• 2 tsp flax seeds (I usually crush in a mini coffee grinder before adding)
• 1 tsp of an Omega oil blend like Udo's 3-6-9 Oil Blend
• About a cup of soy or rice milk

Instructions:

Just add all ingredients in a good blender and blend for a couple minutes. You'll probably have to stop and stir a bit just to make sure it gets blended evenly.

Serving suggestion: Pour in your favorite glass and sprinkly with crushed seeds like pistacio or just sprinkly a few flax seeds.

Here's to a healthy morning (or anytime)!