Penna alla "Not-ka"

I borrowed this recipe from a show called Cook Yourself Thin, where the chefs alter favourite recipes to have lower fat and caloric content. This particular recipe is an adjustment of Penna alla Vodka... minus the vodka!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil, plus extra for serving
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a food processor
Pinch red pepper flakes
8 ounces penne
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 teaspoons oil with the garlic over low heat until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until the onion is softened, about 2 more minutes.
4. Add the tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer very gently 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more minute.
6. Meanwhile, after the sauce has cooked 5 minutes, add the penne to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water.
7. Add the drained penne to the saucepan and simmer until the penne is al dente, 1 to 2 minutes, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if the mixture is dry.
8. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, along with the basil and black pepper.
9. Garnish with some extra grated parm and pepper flakes.

I served this to my friends this weekend as part of our Girls' Night, and it was a big hit! Delicious and simple.

Carrot Ginger Soup

I'm not feeling too well this morning - cough, fever, stuffy nose - so I thought I'd make some homemade soup to try and clear my head. My mom had given me a ton of homemade turkey broth after Christmas, and my kitchen was stocked with about 4lbs of carrots... Natch, I decided to make some sort of carrot soup.

As usual, I googled for a recipe. I didn't find any one in particular that I liked, so I mixed and matched from a few. Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp margarine

2lbs carrots, grated

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

6 cups turkey broth (you could use chicken or veggie)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat margarine over medium heat, add onions, and cook until onions are softened (but not browned).
2. Add carrots and ginger, and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes, or until carrots are sort of "al dente".
3. Add broth and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until carrots are soft.
5. Puree with a hand blender or in a food processor.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe turned out really well, for the most part. Maybe it's just because I have a cold and I can't taste anything, but I thought the soup could use more ginger. So I added about a tsp of powdered ginger, and that seemed to do the trick.

Otherwise - this recipe will definitely become one of my go-tos!

Easy Corn Chowder

This recipe by Nigella Lawson was forwarded to me by my fellow foodie, Elijah. It was so easy and fast to make, and the chowder tasted so good!!

Ingredients:

750g bag of frozen corn niblets

3 green onions, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup semolina flour

6 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper

chili powder (optional)

hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Soak corn in warm water to soften kernels. Drain.
2. In food processor, blend corn, garlic, green onion, and semolina flour until it reaches a desired texture.
3. Put corn mixture into a saucepan, and add broth. Stir thoroughly.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes, adding salt and pepper and other spices to taste.

This recipe was so easy to make, and turned out really well. It's very flexible as well - you could vary the spices that you add in order to alter the flavours.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

My favourite cookie is the Ginger Molasses cookie that Starbucks sells... It's so chewy and delicious (and expensive... and really high-calorie....). Nonetheless, I've wanted to find a recipe for these cookies forever!

I've tried a few out before, and by far this is the best one. It's lacking a some chewiness, but the taste was really nice.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 extra large egg

1/4 cup regular unsulphured molasses

granulated sugar (to roll cookies in)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with the rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves into a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in egg and molasses until well-mixed, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go.
5. Mix in the flour until well-mixed,
6. Place some sugar on a saucer. Using an ice cream scoop, measure dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet, spacing evenly.
7. Flatten cookies a little using your fingers.
8. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through baking time.
9. Remove from oven and let cool.
10. Enjoy!

These were delicious, but much less chewy than I expected. I would definitely make these again!

Avocado BLT

This is a recipe by Roger Mooking. I've been watching a lot of his show Everyday Exotic, and this just sounded too delicious not to try.

Ingredients:

Herb Oil

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp thyme

1 clove garlic, chopped

salt and papper

Avocado BLT

12 slices bacon

8 slices bread

2 avocados, sliced into wedges

2 tomatoes

1 red leaf lettuce

salt and pepper

Directions:

Herb Oil

1. Place herbs, 2 tbsp of oil, and garlic into a mortar and pestle. Grind until it forms a paste. (You can use a small food processor as well).
2. Place in a bowl and add remaining oil.
3. Season with salt and pepper and stir.

Avocado BLT

1. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking tray with tin foil and place a cooling rack on top.
2. Place bacon on cooling rack and cook in over until crisp, approximately 20 minutes, remove and set aside to cool.
3. Place bread slices on a baking tray and brush with herb oil. Place in oven until slightly toasted.
4. To assemble, place avocado slices on bread and mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place 3 slices of tomato over the avocado. Season with salt and pepper and place 4 slices of bacon on top.
6. Add lettuce and top piece of bread and cut in half.

I made these sandwiches for me and my roomies one night, and they were delicious!! I didn't salt and pepper as much as the recipe called for, and I think that could've improved the sandwich. The herb spread was DELICIOUS.

Slow Cooker Ribs

It's been a while since I've written a blog. Life as a grad student gets a little busy! I haven't stopped trying out new recipes (though I will admit I don't get to do it as often as I'd like!). So, here's the first out of three recipes I've tried recently.

I borrowed this recipe from a number of different internet blogs, so I can't refer you to the original source! But here's the way I made these delicious, tender ribs.

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork spareribs

1 cup ketchup

1 tbsp Worcesterchire sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

A dash or two of hot sauce

1 tbsp of whole grain mustard

*Optional: 1 tsp cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water*

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the ribs.
2. Boil for 15 minutes (this boils some of the fat off the meat).
3. In another boil, mix all of the ingredients (except for the optional ingredients).
4. Take the ribs out of the boiling water and drip dry.
5. Place the ribs in a slow cooker and douse with the ketchup mixture.
6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the ribs are tender (From my experience, 6 hours is enough).
7. If the sauce is too thin, mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water and stir into sauce until its thick enough.

Peanut Butter Cups

In August for my roomie's birthday, I made her homemade peanut butter cups. It's taken me this long to post the recipe, and I have no good excuse for a near two-month delay. So without further ado... Peanut Butter Cups.

The recipe itself comes from this blog. I made a few changes to the recipe (for convenience's sake, mostly!)

Ingredients

For the shells:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

2 tbsp natural smooth peanut butter

Pinch of salt

For the peanut butter filling:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (12)
2. In a double boiler, combine chocolate, 2 tbsp of peanut butter and a pinch of salt. Stir together until melted.
3. Spoon a teaspoon or so of chocolate into each muffin liner. Shake the tin to even out the chocolate.
4. Let set.
5. In the meantime, stir the peanut butter, with the 1/3 cup of brown sugar and some salt together.
6. Once the first layer is set, spoon 1 tbsp of peanut butter mixture into the muffin liners.
7. Put in freezer until peanut butter is hardened.
8. Spoon 1 tsbp of chocolate mixture on top. Shake the tin side-to-side to even out the layer of chocolate.
9. Let set... and enjoy!!