The ultimate comfort food in my book is a perfect dish of pasta. Unfortunately, too much comfort food will limit the wardrobe to comfy clothes; meaning sweats, or a flouncy dress if I’m feeling fancy. That said, I rarely indulge in a large dish of pasta. I was inspired today and feeling carefree and OK with indulging so I decided to break out my Kitchen Aid and make some homemade pasta. The carbohydrate guilt set in, after all, and I had to find a way to compromise my cravings with the voice telling me I have a cocktail dress to be svelte in tomorrow night. I reconciled both sides of the argument with a recipe for whole wheat pasta which can be found below. The health benefits of eating whole grains (complex carbohydrates- think brown rice or 100% whole wheat bread) vs. refined grains (simple carbohydrates- think white rice or white bread) are proven and undeniably better for your waistline and overall health. This recipe (found below) offers more protein and fiber and less calories per serving than it’s sister recipe for “basic egg noodle pasta”. Double click on the images below to enlarge them and take note of the step-by-step instruction I give underneath each picture to help ensure a successful outcome!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 Cups Sifted Whole Wheat Flour
4 large Eggs
2 Tablespoons Water
(Sea Salt for salting water for cooking pasta)
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- From Left to Right: Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, dough hook, flat paddle mixer, pasta attachment set, measuring spoons, dry measuring cups, 4 eggs, Sifter + whole wheat flour, bowl to sift flour into, water.
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- The Kitchen Aid Pasta Maker attachment comes with a roller, along with two cutters: spaghetti and fettucine!
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- Sift the flour BEFORE measuring out the 3 1/2 cups. If you don’t, your dough will be leather and too dry and you’ll have to start all over.
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- Add the 4 eggs to the mixer bowl and mix before adding flour and water.
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- Mix eggs on “Stir” setting until well blended. (about 30-45 sec)
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- Fit mixer with paddle mixing attachment and mix ingredients for 30 secs at speed setting 2.
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- Remove the paddle mixer and fit your Kitchen Aid with the Dough Hook. Turn to setting “2″ and knead dough for 30 sec- 1 min.
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- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and knead by hand for 30 sec to 1 minute.
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- Cover kneaded dough ball with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
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- Attach the pasta roller attachment to your mixer.
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- After the dough has rested, cut into 4 pieces with a sharp knife and flatten each by hand to 1/2″ thickness.
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- The pasta roller attachment has different settings for different thicknesses. Always start at “1″ and work your way up, increasing by only one setting at a time.
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- Take on of the pieces of divided and flattened dough. Set the roller to setting “1″ and gently extrude through. Fold the pressed sheet in half and run through again on same setting. Then continue to run dough through each setting until you reach setting “5″. You are now ready to extrude throught the cutter(s)
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- Feed a rolled pasta dough sheet through the cutter. Place into “nests” on lined baking sheet.
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- Fit the Spaghetti attachment to your kitchen aid, feed a sheet of rolled pasta dough through the spaghetti cutter.
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- Fettuccine on the left and Spaghetti to the right.
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- Grabbing the long strands of noodles at their midpoint, swirl them into nests on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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- Place nests into large air tight freezer bags and lay flat on the shelf in the freezer. Once frozen you can move them around without damaging the pasta.
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- Add pasta to boiling salted water and cook for 3 min (or until Al Dente)
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- Pour noodles into a collander over the sink then move to your bowl.
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- This pasta came out so tasty on its own that I only added a little sea salt, red chili pepper flakes, a sprinkling of parmiggiano reggiano and a drizzle of EVOO.
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- Here you can see the seasonings and cooked noodles better
“I am too busy to cook dinner” is something I hear all of the time and for the most part it may be true. Perhaps some of these busy people do not realize how easy it can be to throw together a complete and healthy dinner in just 30 minutes time. I know someone who does know how to balance a busy life with a nutritious diet, meet my roommate “JP”. JP is a second year medical student at Oregon Health & Sciences University and surpassing expectations of one at his level, I can’t even grasp how he has time to do that. He came rushing into the door at 8:00 P.M. wearing his gym clothes (he even finds time to workout) and headed straight for our kitchen. Always curious to see what he will be conjuring up for dinner (and hoping he will let me have a taste) I followed him into the kitchen, with my camera of course. He started a pot of brown rice, did some vegetable chopping and left the rice to do its thing so he could hop in the shower. What en effective use of time! His dinner didn’t really have a recipe and mainly consisted of the veggies he had in the fridge to use up (onion, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, and broccoli). For protein JP added some Trader Joe’s 3- grain Tempeh, cut into cubes. The sauce for the stir-fry was a store-bought Trader Joe’s brand Peanut Satay sauce in a jar that was added to the veggie and Tempeh mixture for the last few minutes of cooking- so easy.
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- Add sauce at the last few minutes of cooking.
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- Cut into bite sized pieces.
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- Start your rice and tend to other tasks for 30-40 minutes.
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- Prepped ingredients, roughly chopped and ready to go.
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- Left to right: Onions, Tempeh, Carrots, Celery, Sugar Snap Peas
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- Relax before adding everything to the heated pot with a beer, glass of wine, or cup of tea.
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- First, add cut tempeh and onions to an oiled pot over medium heat. Cook until onions start to soften and the Tempeh starts to brown.
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- Next add the carrots, celery and snap peas and cook over medium-high for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
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- Then add the broccoli and cook for 2 more minutes, add in the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking. Season with salt, pepper, and/or chili sauce to add some heat.
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- Spoon cooked stir fry over brown rice, and enjoy!
For variation (or to use whatever you have in the fridge) substitute the Tempeh for: tofu, chicken breast, or leave it out completely. You can add in whatever vegetable you would like, for example: mushrooms, bean sprouts, baby corn, or bell peppers. Use cauliflower in addition to or instead of the broccoli, and if you want to add a leafy green such as bok choy or kale, do so at the last 2 minutes of cooking after adding the sauce, so as not to overcook. This high fiber, low-fat, protein packed meal is one of the easiest leftovers to tote to school or work the next day. So, make extra and enjoy it again tomorrow.
Pie is an inevitable and delicious part of every holiday meal; invoking memories of past times, lending the perfect dose of sweetness to end a perfect evening, and baking one is something everyone can do. I love pie and I will eat just about any piece in front of me, however a mediocre pie will not suffice over the holidays, it has to be perfect. Homemade pie crust is what will set your pie apart from everyone else’s, and set your table with an extra helping of love and care this holiday season. After all, (aside from all of the delicious food) the holiday season is all about showing your friends and family just how much you love and care about them.
Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream
If your contribution to the spread this holiday season is a pie, then you absolutely need to jot down this easy foolproof recipe for homemade crust. The actual prep time is only 10 minutes plus the time it takes to roll out the dough. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a manual dough blender like this one to achieve the “coarse meal”. Follow the recipe closely and your results will be outstanding.
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- Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream
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- Chill the butter an cut into 1/2 inch cubes
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- food process or use a pastry cutter to achieve “coarse meal”
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- divide the dough in half
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- press divided dough into discs, saran wrap and chill for at least one hour
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- be sure to pierce all over with a fork before baking
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- baked until just golden brown before adding filling
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- puréed sugar pumpkin
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- pre-baked crust with filling before the final baking
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- The Final Product. Bon Appétit!
I visited my sister and her boyfriend in Seattle for Thanksgiving last week and we used the aforementioned recipe for crust along with this recipe for the pumpkin pie filling and topping. My sister had a reserve of roasted and puréed sugar pumpkins in her freezer ready to go, but you can still get amazing results by using store bought pumpkin purée in a can. The one thing you must not buy at the store is the crust. When buying canned pumkin be sure to buy pure pumpkin for this recipe and not “pumpkin pie filling”.
May your holidays be filled with laughter, love and lots of delicious, home-cooked food!
For many of us eating healthfully is the first thing to fall to the wayside when schedules get busy. Even though we know we would feel better if we ate something healthy, it is so much easier to survive on a latte and scone until 4pm when you shove a few fun-size candy bars from your officemate’s stash in your face. This quick meal is so easy, healthy and delicious. Make it for dinner and take the rest for lunch tomorrow.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of Organic Black Beans - Place beans in a small saucepan on the stovetop and add in some minced garlic, a teaspoon of cumin, salt, pepper, and some chopped jalapeño if you like spicy, simmer over med-low uncovered until some of the liquid has cooked off (about 7 minutes)
- 1 cup uncooked Quinoa (prepare as directed on package)- prepare in a medium size saucepan while the beans are cooking
- Tomatoes- you can use any kind, but I like to use pear or grape tomatoes they are small like cherry tomatoes but have a better flavor. Slice them in half and use as many as you like.
- Reduced fat sharp cheddar – use about a 1/4 cup grated per serving.
- Red Leaf Lettuce- shred into strips by hand to prevent the leaves from browning.
- Nonfat plain Greek Style yogurt – use this instead of sour cream for this recipe and every other time you would usually use it in your life. It is so much better for you and adds a better flavor too.
- Corn Tortilla (white or yellow)- Toast in the toaster over until crispy and slightly browned- it should come out like a giant tortilla chip, but this one isn’t bad for you!
- Lime wedges – squeeze on top of the finished bowl for extra flavor. YUM.
- Jalapeños, salsa, hot sauce, whatever else you want to throw on there!
Now it is time to assemble … start with 1/2 cup each of beans and cooked quinoa, top with shredded cheddar, then tomatoes, then the lettuce, jalapeños, hot sauce, salsa and finally a dollop of yogurt. Squeeze on the lime, grab a fork and dig in. Don’t forget to use that giant healthy tortilla chip to scrape up every last bit, it’s more polite than your finger and tastier too.
To take the rest to work with you put the remaining quinoa, beans and cheddar in one microwaveable container. The lettuce, lime, tomatoes, jalapeños in another and the salsa, yogurt, hot sauce in their own. When you are ready for lunch just nook the bean and quinoa mixture for a couple minutes and top with all the fixings. Your co-workers will be envious of your lunch and your ability to say no to that evil candy bowl down the hall.
There is nothing that needs to be concocted from scratch anymore. Gone are the days of churning butter, milking your own cows, and darning your own socks (thankfully). Not that I ever had a first hand experience with any of those tasks, but we’ve all heard stories. I do have experience in cooking and baking from scratch, something I don’t have to do but it certainly tastes better and usually ends up being less expensive. Sure I can go to the store and purchase a quality loaf of bread for $5.49, but this homemade focaccia cost me less than $2 to make. Thanks to Deborah Madison‘s superb cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone for the recipe. Yeast breads are delicious and a multi tasker’s dream; there is only a few minutes of active cooking time in this recipe so you can do the laundry, feed the dog or rake some leaves while the bread rises and bakes.
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- Use a sharp knife to add slits to the top before baking.
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- This Le Creuset basting brush is the perfect tool for painting on the EVOO.
While I am happy to be the first to partake in the beloved afternoon pastime, the term “happy hour” has always irked me. Perhaps it is simply semantics; I only get an hour to be happy? Or, do I have to be happy while I imbibe on your slightly discounted libations? I realize I am over analyzing here, but the good news is that I have found a place that actually stokes the emotion of happy, even if just for one hour (or three ♥). Savoy Tavern + Bistro on the corner of SE Clinton St. & 25th Ave. offers a lovely selection of gourmet burgers, comforting sides, lovely salads and more. Just like the name implies, as you enter you’ll find the Tavern to your left and the Bistro to your right, divided by the kitchen where the magic happens. The first time I visited Savoy I dined in the Bistro side, which was great but a lot more pricey than the Tavern during happy hour from 4pm-7pm.
For two of us, our tavern tab came to $27 (gratuity excluded) which included 2 glasses of house white, a Savoy Burger & housemade onion rings, the Olive Salad Board appetizer, and a fancy golden and red beet salad.(The thinly sliced beets were arranged to look like a blooming rose!)
Ideally I would live in a place that allowed me to own an outdoor BBQ however that isn’t the case, so I figured out how I can still create grilled foods complete with grill marks with the help of a cast-iron grill pan like this one. It rains for most of the year here anyway so I figured this would be a good investment, even in the middle of the hot summer. The iron grill pan even deposits extra iron into the food which is cooked on it and then digested and used by your body. Iron is crucial for everyone, but those on a vegan diet need to be especially aware of the amount of iron they are consuming as the most digestible form of iron known as “heme-iron” comes from animal products. I made a vegan tofu wrap for lunch the other day and the results were indeed delish.
The grill marks were pretty darn good for a stove top mock-BBQ lunch. I marinated the tofu for 24 hours, turning the tofu over after 12 hours so as to evenly coat each piece. Below are instructions on grilling tofu along with the marinade recipe:
| * purchase EXTRA firm tofu, I like high protein firm tofu | |||||
| * slice tofu into rectangles 1/2″ thick, 3-4″ x 2-3″ | |||||
| * place tofu slices on layer of paper towels and cover with another paper towel, press down on top of the tofu/paper towel stack to remove excess water | |||||
| * place tofu in in a single layer in glass baking dish then cover with marinade of your choice (recipes below) Cover and place in the fridge for up to 24-48 hours for best results! 12 hours will work too, just make sure you flip the tofu slices 1/2 way through marinating to get the flavor evenly on both sides. | |||||
Blueberry Banana Bran Breakfast Muffins
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup oat bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
½ cup fat free plain yogurt (if you want more sweetness, use fat free vanilla yogurt)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1½ cups fresh blueberries or 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl, whisking to thoroughly blend.
In a large bowl, place mashed bananas, yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice and mix well. Fold in blueberries being careful not to break them.
Divide the batter amongst the 12 muffin papers for full-sized muffins.★ Bake muffins in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approx. 20 minutes, but check on them at 15 min.
★If you want your muffins a little smaller for portion control, divide the batter amongst 1½ muffin pans to make 18 muffins.
I was struck by the horrid cold that is circulating between friends, family, and co-workers in the Portland Metro area this past week leaving me in need of soup, and lots of it. Sure the canned versions can suffice in a pinch but for me usually leave me worse off, typically leaving behind a sodium-induced bloat. Despite how wretched I was feeling I stumbled to the store to procure the needed ingredients to make a veggie soup. It was delicious and I ate the entire pot in a day. I was then back where I started- sick and soup-less. Back to New Seasons market I go. My cold moved into my sinuses unannounced like an annoying house guest sure to stay for at least 2-3days, so I was in need of a spicy soup to clear them out. Inspired by a cooking demo for some sort of Thai coconut soup at the entrance of the store, I began my hunt for the perfect ingredients that would soon be born into a cold-curing culinary masterpiece (by my definition, anyway). I hope you love this as much as I did, and stay healthy!!
Coconut Curry Vegetable Soup
1 14oz can lite organic coconut milk
3 C. vegetable broth (I used vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water, but you can buy the already made veggie broth if you prefer)
1 tsp. crushed red chili pepper flakes
1 tsp. red curry paste- Thai Kitchen brand
1 tsp. ginger purée (a Microplane fine grater works great for this. Peel a small piece of fresh ginger and run it along the Microplane, or you can also purchase ginger purée in a jar from your grocer)
1 – 2 tsp. to taste soy sauce
1 C. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
1 C. broccoli florets
1 C. Kale – ribs removed and sliced into thin strips
5 Crimini mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed, and cut into quarters
Fresh Limes
Bring the veggie broth and coconut milk to a boil. Whisk in curry paste, ginger purée and chili flakes. Add butternut squash and cook for 3 min or until partially cooked. Next add the broccoli and reduce heat. Simmer for 8 min. Add mushrooms and cook for another 3 min. Taste the broth and season to your liking with soy sauce. In the last 2 minutes of cooking stir in the kale and cook until wilted.
Now you are ready to ladle into bowls. Before you do so, squeeze the juice of ¼ of a lime into the bottom of each of the bowls, ladle in your soup, and voilá! I serve with sriracha sauce and extra lime and grated ginger. If you have a cold, keep the tissue handy especially when using extra sriracha sauce.
The wonderful thing about this soup is that you can be creative with the veggies and you control the amount of heat you want by adding less chili flakes and omitting the sriracha sauce at the end. For some veggie variation- try potatoes or pumpkin instead of butternut squash, bok choy in addition to or instead of kale, or try adding in some baby corn. You can also add chicken, shrimp, or tofu if you like. Enjoy!
You can feel the heat from the traditional Le Panyol wood-fired oven as you approach the hostess at Ken’s Artisan Pizza. Always bustling with happy customers, busy servers and serious cooks, whom you can watch create the magic that will soon grace your plate because their open kitchen is right in the center of the pizzeria. The service is great, and you won’t mind the long wait because their wine list will surely have something that will tide you over. The seasonal vegetable appetizer is my favorite way to start the meal at Ken’s. The fresh Arugula piled on top of the pies is optional, however it is a must for me. For dessert and a birthday treat for my mom, we thoroughly enjoyed the profiteroles filled with housemade gelato. Three profiteroles came on the plate each with a different flavor of gelato: coffee, pistachio, and salted caramel. Amazing.