Farmer’s Market Spaghetti

The middle of summer. The Farmer’s Market and my backyard are blooming with bright green zucchini and fiery red tomatoes. My favorite time of year. Not because of the weather, I would actually do without the heat, but I love the freshness of all the vegetables. Sometimes on a night after teaching yoga I come home to find my family has already eaten. I’m hungry. I don’t crave the drive thru or something sweet. I crave fresh veggies and a bowl of pasta! Tonight I look to my giant bowl of  veggies grab them up, heat up some pasta and I am one happy yogi! I make extra and have it cold the next day. I almost like it cold better.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium size zucchini, sliced
1/2 sweet onion, coarsely diced
1 fresh tomato, quartered and quartered again
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 T grated parmesan cheese
2 c gluten free or whole grain spaghetti, cooked

Directions:
Heat the EVOO and garlic in a frying pan and heat.
Add zucchini and onion cook until soft (about 4 minutes).
Add tomatoes and pine nuts and heat.
Toss in spaghetti and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Napa Pizza

When I first made this “pizza” it reminded me of all the flavor of Carmel. I had visited Carmel on the way to Napa Valley. Tim and I stayed at the Highland Inn. A beautiful hotel up in the hills that overlooked the ocean. As I sat there stunned the waiter brought us a beautiful bottle of Luna Pinot Grigio, cheese, green apples and warm bread. The idea of this recipe came from a more elaborate version of Michael Chiarello. This is much easier. Fun to whip up when friends stop by and hang outside. Crack a bottle of Pinot Grigio and you will be feeling the Napa style.

Ingredients
2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
3 twigs of fresh rosemary or 2 t of dried
2 T honey
1/4 pound of good blue cheese
1 whole grain Boboli crust

Directions
Preheat the grill to medium and cook on indirect heat.
Paint the Boboli Crust with EVOO
Heat the Boboli EVOO side down for two minutes and flip painting the other side.
Add rosemary and blue cheese.
Close the lid for one minute or until cheese begins to melt.
Drizzle with honey.
Close lid for just 30 seconds.
Pull pizza off grill.
Slice into appetizer size squares and serve.

Brown Sugared Spaghetti Squash

This afternoon I took a stroll through my garden. There were squash vines running rampant taking over the hosta, daisies and lavender. Late August is the perfect time to pick the spaghetti squash I planted in late May from a small seedling. Spaghetti squash looks like a small watermelon. Cut it in half, add some brown sugar and bake it until it is sweet and tender.

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 cup dark brown sugar or more if you like it sweeter!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the squash vertically with a wide knife. Be careful, the rind is tough to cut through much like a watermelon.
Scoop out the insides of loose filling and seeds.
Sprinkle the squash with 1/4 cup of the brown sugar over each half.
Cover an 9″ x 13″ casserole pan with tin foil.
Place the squash into the casserole pan and bake for 60 to 90 minutes.
When done, the squash should easily come away from the rind with a fork appearing like spaghetti.

Spinach Pesto Pasta

The bright green color of this dish makes it a beautiful presentation for guests or any night of the week. It is a great nutritional take on your typical basil pesto and is a great way to sneak lots of vitamins into your meal. You can use any type of pasta. I like the spaghetti because it really grabs the sauce and I use whole grain, well because it is better for you. Feel free to add grilled chicken or shrimp or keep it vegetarian and add some garbanzo beans at the end.

Ingredients
baby spinach Leaves, fresh
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup or a big handful of basil leaves, fresh
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese,
1/4 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
1 pound gluten free or whole grain linguine, cooked

Directions:
In a food processor add: spinach, garlic and basil and pulse until blended.
Add in EVOO and continue to pulse.
Add cheese and pine nuts and pulse a few quick times.
Add the sauce into cooked pasta and fold until all the pasta is covered in the beautiful green pesto.

Tasty Tip
Add chicken, shrimp or beans and fold.
Serve on a bright white platter.

Garlic Oil Penne with Parsley

Little kids and big kids alike love this pasta dish.  I tend to use it as a base for the rest of my pasta dishes. It tastes fresher, more awake, than just using the pasta as is right from the box.  Substitute the penne for any kind of pasta.

Ingredients
1 pound gluten free or whole grain penne pasta
2 T garlic flavored olive oil*
1 T unsalted butter
2 T fresh parsley, chopped rough

*Garlic Flavored Oilive Oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3T EVOOO
Combined and let marinated 20 minutes

Directions
Cook pasta according to directions on box.
Drain pasta; add olive oil and butter then stir.
Fold in Parsley.
Serve or let cool and save to reheat.

Tasty Tip
This can be made hours ahead of time. Put it in the oven at 200 degrees to keep it warm.

Fluffy, Perfect Scrambled Eggs

The trick to great scrambled eggs is not the ingredients but the utensils you use when making them. I have an inexpensive, nonstick 8″ sauce pan.  Literally I think it cost me $8. I have had it forever and all I use it for are these scrambled eggs.  I also use a rubber spatula; not a metal or wooden spoon, to cook with.  As you cook, fold don’t stir. Fold constantly and pull them off just before all the moisture is whisked away.  This whole recipe takes under 10 minutes and for fresh hot eggs I make sure my family is sitting at the table when the egg mixture hits the pan.  This may take you a few times to get it just right but with these utensils you’ll get it and everyone will love them!

Ingredients
6 brown organic eggs
1/2 T unsalted butter
T fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions
Beat eggs in a mixing bowl and blend in cheese and parsley.
Add salt and pepper.
Put the butter in the pan and heat until melted.
Add mixture and fold constantly with the spatula pulling the mixture away from the sides and bottom of the pan.
Cook until most of the moisture is gone.
Serve immediately.

Fruit Infused Water

At my spa; Yoga-360 Studio and Spa in Frankfort, IL, we always have fresh water with strawberries awaiting our spa guests in our lounge. Clients always want to know the “recipe” for the water. I smile. It is literally water with strawberries. We actually use frozen strawberries three or four big ones per quart. The berries act as ice for a bit then the flavor of the strawberries take off just enough to add a hint of flavor and the guests love it. I also serve the infused water at dinner. You can use any type of berry; black, blue, raspberries, peaches are nice too.  I fill up a large water bottle in the morning to drink until afternoon. Layer the fruit, then ice, then water.  You’ll drink that water right up trying to dig for the fruit!

Ingredients
1 quart Water
4 large Frozen Strawberries

Directions
Put the strawberries in a glass pitcher and add water.
Let sit at room temperature or in the refridgerator.
Water is the key to health so drink up!

Fresh Steamed Green Beans

The trick to this dish is to eat it at room temperature.  That’s when the flavor really comes out. My sister Beth use to grown green beans all summer long. We’d get them by the bag full. I make these beans and my daughters and I eat them like popcorn! So simple. So Good.

Ingredients
1/2 pound fresh green beans
2 T water
3 T good EVOO
2 T good balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Wash the green beans and snap off the steams. The steams will break off where they need to.
Place the beans and water into a 2 quart saute pan and cover.
Cook on medium for 7 to 10 minutes.  The beans should still have some crunch to them.
Remove the beans from the heat and rinse immediately in cold water.
Drain and add EVOO, Balsamic Vinegar and Salt and Pepper.
Place into a serving bowl on the the counter and watch them disappear!