Zucchini Pasta Primavera with Creamy Basil Pesto

Yesterday it was 80 degrees in Colorado.

Tomorrow it'll be in the low 30's and snowing.  Again.

See if I care! I'm making summer meals- fresh and light- snow or not. 

Take that.

One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is make zucchini pasta.  In fact, I posted a Zucchini Spaghetti recipe last year that's pretty darn close to this one.  

But this one is tossed in a creamy basil pesto.  

Yum!

This is a 15 minute quick and easy recipe, no fuss required.

This just so happens to be a vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, paleo recipe. 

It's so good, and so good for you.  You get some protein from the pine nuts in the pesto. I used what veggies I had on hand, though you could add pretty much anything.  I would've liked to add some spinach or kale, but it was quite filling as is.

If you want a more traditional primavera (aside from using actual pasta, lol) add parmigiana to the pesto- about 1/4 cup) and top the primavera with added parmigiana.  

I'll be honest, I didn't miss the cheese, and I thought I was going to.  

The basil pesto gives it tons of flavor.  I had extra pesto leftover- froze it in ice cube trays, and then removed to a ziploc bag in the freezer.  Now I can add basil pesto to pasta dishes in the future, or top some grilled fish or chicken with it. 

You will need a julienne peeler to make the zucchini spaghetti.  If you don't have one, they can be found at any kitchen store, or even Walmart and Target.  They're great to have, I peel carrots and other vegetables with them for a pretty look.

Zucchini Pasta Primavera with Creamy Basil Pesto

Serves 2

4 Zucchini

5 ounces grape tomatoes (about 1/2 of a 10 ounce container)

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coconut milk

For the pesto:

3 cups packed fresh basil

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Prepare the veggies.  Peel and julienne the zucchini. Place in a colander, sprinkle with a tsp of salt, and toss.  Let sit in sink (this draws the moisture out so zucchini spaghetti stays crisp and doesn't get all soggy). 

2. Heat a few swirls of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute until the onion is beginning to soften, turn translucent. Add the peppers. Saute until peppers are almost done and soft (about 10 minutes).  Add the grape tomatoes. Cook for a minute or so, and add the zucchini. Toss to incorporate, and cook until zucchini is just barely softening, about 5 minutes. 

2. While cooking the onion and peppers, prepare the pesto. Simply add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and about half of the oil to a food processor. Pulse to combine.  With the food processor running, drizzle in the remaining oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Add a cup of the pesto to the cooking zucchini and vegetables.  Toss to combine.  Cook about 2 minutes to get the zucchini to soak up the pesto, and add the coconut milk.  Stir, and cook another 2 or 3 minutes.  

Plate and enjoy!

A couple more posts to enjoy:
Sweet Summer Squash Pudding
Molasses Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pineapple-Papaya Salsa
Gorgonzola Sage Popovers

No Mayo Egg Salad

I love, love, love egg salad.  

But I hate, hate, hate mayo.

Solution. 

Olive oil, lemon juice, and Dijon, of course. 

The lemon juice gives it a nice zip. I add a bit of diced red peppers for color and added veggies.

Serve on lightly toasted whole-wheat bread with fresh romaine. Or eat on it's own if you're paleo or gluten free!

No Mayo Egg Salad

6 hard boiled eggs, cooled and shells removed

4 scallions, sliced, green parts only 

1/4 cup diced red pepper

3 tbsp good quality olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, use potato masher to mash the eggs. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Add to the mashed eggs.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.  Voila!

Mexican Flavored Chili

Holy smokes do I have a chili recipe for you!

Back from a day of skiing, me and The Boyfriend were craving some warm comfort food.  I thought I'd make something quick and easy.  

I mean, you just throw everything in a pot when making chili. How much simpler can it get? 

But no.  

Here I go, roasting peppers first, making purees, all sorts of ridiculousness that took me an hour and a half before everything got simply tossed in a pot.  

But I was thinking of you, invisible internet people.  I wanted to share with you a different way of making chili, not using canned tomatoes and tomato paste.  So I made my own puree of roasted red peppers, poblano peppers, and tomatoes. 

You may be scared by all the peppers if you don't like spicy.  I will say this chili has some kick for sure, but it's not one of those try-to-rip-your-tongue-out-of-your-mouth spicy.  Eliminate the sriacha/hot sauce and cayenne if your nervous.  Those who want more spicy can always add hot sauce. 

In the end, this was a most delicious chili, and worth the time and effort.  I made a huge batch (what's the point of making chili if it only feeds you for 2 days?!).  I'd say this recipe would feed about 14 people.  We had leftovers for 3 days, and I have 2 tupperwares in the freezer for some quick winter meals.

Of course this is a perfect party sized chili for all you football fans out there. You could even make it a day or two ahead and have it in a crockpot for when you've had too many beers to actually cook anything at your football party. :)

Mexican Flavored Chili

The meat:
16 oz ground chorizo
16 oz mild italian sausage
3 lb ground beef


The veggies

7 stalks celery, chopped in 1/4 inch slices
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, minced 
2 green peppers, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
4 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then cut in thirds lengthwise and diced
2 onions, coarsely diced

The stuff you throw in chili:
26 oz can red kidney beans, drained
30 oz can pinto beans, drained
15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp marjoram
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp Sriacha or hot sauce of choice

1 bottle dark beer


Base Puree
2 poblano peppers(sometimes called pasilla peppers)
3 red peppers 
5 tomatoes
3 cloves minced garlic

1. Make the base puree.  Broil or grill the poblano, red peppers, and tomatoes until the skin turns black in spots (or for tomato, until the skin begins to crack and peel back on it's own).  Let cool until easy to handle, and remove stem, seeds, and peel skin.  Coarsely chop peppers and tomato and place them and the 3 cloves of garlic in blender or food processor and process until a paste.  Set aside.  

2. While peppers are roasting, brown meats. Add half of each meat to 2 large stockpots and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and set aside (you can set the meat aside from both stockpots in the same bowl).

3. In same two stockpots over medium high heat, add half the veggie mixture to each pot.  Saute until veggies begin to soften a bit, but are still pretty crisp. This step helps veggies release some of their sugars and will make them more flavorful.  

4. Add half the meat back to each pot, and half the 'stuff you throw in chili' to each pot.  Bring the pots to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour and a half. 

5. When finished, marry the two pots.  Once cooked down, I could add one pot to the other and it fit perfectly.  Stir well and don't forget the sour cream!

Sage Chicken Chili with Lentils and Garden Vegetables

Here's a nice fall meal for you!

My parents recently gave me an organic homegrown squash that was almost as big as me.. maybe a mild exaggeration.. but look:

They also gave me homegrown peppers and tomatoes, and with this beautiful fall weather and football season starting, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO MAKE CHILI!

This is a healthier chili- made with chicken, protein packing lentils, and lots of vegetables.  It's mildly spicy, though of course you can adjust it to your own tastes.  If you want less spicy, skip the jalapeno and reduce the chili powder to a teaspoon or none at all. For more spicy, increase chili powder to 2 tbsp, and if you really want it hot add another jalapeno!

This is a one-pot meal- no rice required!  The lentils are way healthier than rice, and make the chili a bit more hearty and filling.  Afraid of lentils?  Don't be- they really don't taste like much- they soak up the flavor of the chili, and The Boyfriend didn't even know they were in there.  He still doesn't.   :)  

This chili would make for a perfect vegetarian chili too- just skip the chicken, increase the lentils, and use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.  The recipe is very forgiving- add and subtract vegetables as you desire.

As with any chili, this can be made in the crockpot or on the stovetop. I wrote down both methods for you. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like, maybe a Gorgonzola Sage Popover, and voila! Dinner is served. 

Caprese Quiche

I recently spent the weekend with The Boyfriend's family, and his mom served up 2 beautiful quiches, and it got me to thinking- considering how much I love quiche, why do I never make it??

And then I remembered that The Boyfriend must eat as soon as he arises, or the world will feel his wrath.  I do not exaggerate. He knows it, I know it, and anyone else that knows him.. knows it.  Consequently, there is never time to prepare a quiche. Really, who has an hour and a half to prepare breakfast?

Well I took matters into my own hands last week.  I made pie crust, and froze half so I can whip up another quiche at any given moment.  The remaining crust I used for Caprese Quiche, and had it for lunch, and breakfast for the next two days (The Boyfriend had some for breakfast too- by the miracle of the microwave).

The caprese flavors- tomato, basil, and mozzarella- work beautifully in a quiche.  Because the flavors are more delicate, I made a lighter, fluffier quiche to not overpower the simple ingredients.  The taste though, is anything BUT simple.

Make sure you use the freshest ingredients for this quiche.  Do not commit the Ultimate Sin of buying a bag of pre-shredded mozzarella! Just don't do it!  Those bags say low moisture for a reason- they will make for a dryer, less elastic quiche (think about having a pizza- some pizza when you pick up a slice the mozzarella cheese stretches for miles before you can get it to tear- that's REAL, more elastic cheese... some pizza you can pick it right up, no long strings of cheese- that cheese is a little dryer, and what you will get with pre-shredded cheese).

So for best results, buy fresh mozzarella near the deli, NOT mozzarella from the refrigerated section. You'll thank me later.

Caprese Quiche

For the Quiche:
3 eggs (room temp)
2 egg whites (separated while cold, egg whites at room temp)
1 tomato, sliced into 6 slices, placed on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 basil leaves (for garnish)
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup mozzarella, cut into thin, round slices. Reserve 3 of the most perfect round slices.
1 cup milk
salt and white pepper to taste (I added about 1/4 tsp salt and a 1/4 tsp white pepper)
1/4 cup flour
extra virgin olive oil

A 9 inch pie crust (Purchase one, or for best results, make the crust below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sprinkle tomato slices with a little flour on each side. 
3. In a saute pan, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil in pan over med-high heat.
4. Add the floured tomato slices, and cook until just turning golden, about 2 minutes each side.
5. Transfer to dry paper towels to drain (same way you drain bacon on paper towels. 
6. Use a whisk (or fork) to beat the 3 whole eggs together.  Add the milk, chopped basil leaves, salt and white pepper.  Add the egg whites and SHREDDED mozzarella cheese.  Whisk to combine.
7. Add 3 tomatoes to the pie crust so they are not overlapping. Add the SLICED  mozzarella on top of the tomato (making sure you reserve 3 of your prettiest slices)
8. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the tomato and mozzarella.  
9. Place the remaining 3 tomatoes gently on top of the egg mixture. Top each tomato with a basil leaf, and top the basil leaf with the 3 reserved slices of mozzarella.
10. Bake in preheated oven 45-55 minutes, or until cheese is melted and quiche is golden on top.

For the Crust:
Recipe from The Joy of Pastry by David Munn

Makes two 9-inch pie crusts

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp cold butter
1 large egg
2 tbsp ice water

1. If you have a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt to the processor.  Cut the butter into small cubes, and add them to the processor gradually, pulsing to combine.  Continue pulsing until butter is distributed and you have a very crumbly dough.
2. If you do not have a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, and cut it into the dough.  When cutting into the dough, I use a sharp knife, and literally keep cutting the dough on the sides of the bowl.  The butter gets broken up into smaller pieces, making a crumbly dough. 
3. Remove dough from food processor if using, and add to a large bowl. Now the dough is in a large bowl for everybody.  
4. Using your hands, grab handfuls of dough and squeeze together slightly (don't squeeze super hard!).  You must do this fast, because you don't want the warmth from your hands to melt the butter. Continue squeezing until butter chunks are about the size of raisins.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together the water and egg, and add to the flour mixture.  Knead it through the flour mixture until the liquid is dispersed, but do NOT over-knead it. It will still be a very crumbly dough.  You'll be tempted to add more water.. don't.  A crumbly dough means a flaky pie crust.
6. Form the dough into a ball.  You;ll have to squeeze it a bit to get the crumbs to form a ball.
7. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

When rolling out the dough:

1. Remove dough from fridge. On a lightly floured surface, begin to gently roll out the dough.  Make sure you also flour your rolling pin, and dust some flour on top of the dough as well.
2. If dough begins to crack, use your hands to lightly press it back together.  
3. Keep checking to make sure the dough is not sticking to the surface.  If it is, peel it up with a spatula, and add more flour to the countertop. 
4. Roll the dough out to about a 9 inch round circle.  
5. Carefully lift it with a large spatula and place it in the 9 inch glass pie pan.
6. Press down the sides so the crust is even with the baking dish. Place the whole dish in the fridge to let the dough relax for about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Remove crust from fridge and bake for 12 minutes.  Prebaking the crust without the quiche filling will keep the crust from getting soggy.
8. Let cool for about a half hour before filling it with the quiche ingredients.

A few other fave summertime recipes:

Strawberry Salad with Halloumi and Cucumber

Gougeres (French Cheese Puffs)

Grilled Shrimp and Smashed Avocado

A perfect quick snack or light lunch. You will need skewers for the grill.

You will need:

10 shrimp, raw, shelled and deveined
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 avocado
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Lightly oil grates of grill.  Preheat grill to med-high heat.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Thread shrimp on skewers.

Cut lemon into slices.

Add lemon and shrimp skewers to grill.  Grill about 2-3 minutes, flipping both shrimp and lemon once.  Cook until shrimp is opaque.

In the meantime, peel and core the avocado,  Place in a mixing bowl and lightly mash with a potato masher, leaving kind of chunky.  Add lime juice, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, top the smashed avocado with the grilled shrimp.  Serve with grilled lemon.

Burger with Carmelized Onions and Gouda with Sweet Potato Wedges

Since taking the job at Restaurant Alba and not going into work until 4pm, I have started preparing my boyfriends lunches... and dinners.  Yesterday I made some simple burgers which were consumed before I could take photos.  This recipe takes about an hour to make.

Man Burger with Carmelized Onions and Gouda

with Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges

1 lb ground beef (I used 90/10)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tbls Worcestershire

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

a few drops liquid smoke

1 sweet onion, thickly sliced

1/4 cup Brown sugar

2 Sweet potatoes, cut into wedges

2 tbsl butter, 

1 tbsp olive oil

ground pepper

sea salt

Gouda cheese

Vienna Rolls, purchased

Preheat grill, med heat.  Leave one burner off.

Mix beef, yellow onion, worcestershire, onion and garlic powder, and liquid smoke together and form into large patties.  Apply a liberal coating of freshly ground black pepper to both sides of each patty (don't be shy with the pepper!) 

In a bowl, toss the sweet potato wedges with olive oil and a generous amount of seasalt (about 1 tbsp).

Add sweet potato wedges to grill over med heat.  They will need about 45 minutes, depending on how thick the wedges are.  Flip them over after 20 minutes.

When flipping the sweet potato, it's time to add the sweet onions to the grill.  You will need a pan safe for the grill (I had a circular heat safe pan) Add the butter and onions to pan, and plan on grill over the burner that is turned off.  Wait a few minutes for the butter to melt, and stir in the brown sugar.  Let the onions caramelize, stirring fairly often.  Keep an eye on them, you don't want the butter and onion to burn.

When the potatoes are getting soft and the onions a deep tan color, add the burgers to the grill, and flip only one time.  Do NOT press down on the burger with a spatula to speed cooking, this releases the juices and makes for a drier burger.  Top with gouda cheese to melt.  

Toast the vienna rolls if you like, and when finished, top the burgers with the caramelized onion and serve with sweet potato wedges.  Enjoy!

I will be posting the recipe for 

Crusted Pork Tenderloin 

with Pineapple-Papaya Guayabo Salsa tomorrow!