The taster loves it when I make pasta and often watches over me when I’m adding the pasta to the salted, bubbling water. “One more handful,” he’ll request and I must, although shamelessly, admit that I usually add one more handful for him.

The only redeeming factor we have is that we add every vegetable possible to the pasta. The thought process is that if we are eating a bit more pasta than we should, at least it is full of vegetables.

Originally this recipe came from Martha’s Everyday Food and my friends who have raved about it for quite some time now. Even with my best intentions of keeping it to peppers and sausage, my parents sent me home with leeks fresh from their garden, we had a 5 pound bag of red onions to use, and I think you can see where this is going. Before I knew it there were more vegetables than pasta and that thought process (ridiculous or not) of the vegetable to pasta ratio comes right into play.

Pepper & Sausage Pasta - 2-3 servings

Heat large pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken sausages, cooking until lightly browned. Set aside.

Add olive oil to pan and when hot add leeks and onion, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add in peppers and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. Stir in spinach, sausage and pasta to pepper mixture and toss until spinach has wilted.

Grate Parmesan over top if desired.

Simple noodles like these just keep making appearances, don’t they? I’ve really been enjoying cool noodle bowls this summer and these are certainly no exception. All I need now are some Noodle Bowls and along with some chopsticks, I’m ready to slurp away!

Paired with some baked tofu, these noodles only need some veggies on the side and lunch or dinner can be on the table in minutes. I like to make these ahead of time during “Sunday Prep Days” so they are ready to go for those busy weeknights that we all know and love.

Simple Sesame Noodles – 2 servings

Toss noodles with soy sauce and sesame oil until all noodles are coated.

Top with green onion slices, sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil if desired.

After sampling this pasta at the Macy’s Culinary Council Event I knew I needed to make it very, very soon. I’ve clearly been loving the Asian flavors this summer so why not keep the trend going?

This pesto,  much like the classic basil pesto is not just limited to pasta. Try this topping on salmon, tossed with shrimp or tofu or even thinned out as a dressing for salads. Whatever you put it on, the fresh flavors will have you coming back for more.

Edamame Pesto - makes about 2 cups worth

Process all ingredients until desired consistency. Add a little water if mixture is too thick.

*I also drizzled a bit of sesame oil over the pasta before serving

The name drunken noodles apparently has quite a few meanings. I’ve read that it is used to cure hang-overs and I’ve read that it is so spicy, it is an implication to how much you will drink while eating it. Through experience I’ve found that neither of these are really necessary to enjoy some nice drunken noodles. Hangover or not, alongside a beer or not, these noodles are just plain good.

It all started as an innocent trip to the neighborhood Thai restaurant and ended as a full-on obsession with these noodles. “Were getting drunken noodles on Sunday!” I (soberly) exclaimed on a Thursday night. We didn’t get them that Sunday, but I’ve been thinking about them ever since, wondering if a home-made version would be anything like that flavorful bowl of chewy rice noodles I had at the restaurant.

The recipe inspiration came from an old Bon Appétit but there was some major tweaking that occured.  I didn’t get the chance to stop by an Asian market so I used my low-sodium standard soy sauce instead of the “black soy sauce” and the “light soy sauce” which to me sounds like when mixed together it makes regular soy sauce? Someone, please enlighten me. From the general idea of the sauce I took it to a veggie-filled meal that tuned out to be just as addicting as those take-out noodles.

Drunken Noodles – 2 servings (As I’ve mentioned before I generally only make about 2 servings (which is probably more like 4 actual servings) of pasta or we eat too much

• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeños, chopped *I like spicy food, if you don’t want it too hot, decrease the amount of peppers!
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 servings rice noodles (wide ones)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 white onion, chopped
• 2 cups spinach
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 pinch sugar
• 4 leaves basil, thinly sliced

Prepare the rice noodles as directed. Set aside.

Prepare the sauce: mix the fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar and set aside.

Heat the oil in wok over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic and jalapeños and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes.

Add sauce, peppers and onions and stir-fry until peppers are crisp-tender, another 3-4 minutes.

Add noodles and spinach and toss until spinach has wilted and noodles are coated with sauce.

*I served our noodles with some crispy tofu instead of adding meat to the noodles.

I used my new wok to prepare this meal, which was sent to me by CSN Stores as part of their preferred blogger program. Thoughts on the wok? It did seem a little easier to stir-fry, although certainly not necessary, and there was definitely less stove top clean-up as it kept everything in the pan! And I did feel like a professional The pan itself was also very easy to clean up, now I just need to find somewhere to put it!

You may recall that I told you a few weeks ago that I’m trying to learn more about wine, especially how to pair wine with food. Many of you gave me some great resources – Thank You! I also recently received an invitation to attend a Macy’s Culinary Council event featuring Andrea Robinson, renowned Master Sommelier, author and chef. Just what I needed. (I also got to meet Melissa!)

I can say, without a doubt, that I loved Andrea Robinson. She was engaging and warm without an inkling of being haughty.

I really appreciated her “rules,” the first being that there are no “rules” when it comes to pairing food and wine.

it’s not the protein, it’s the prep that you are matching

body with body – to acheive balance

pair intense herbs with intense, big reds

the fermentation element in foods (vinegar, cured meat, etc.) pairs well with the fermentation process that wine undergoes

everything goes with bubbles

In addition to being one of 16 female Master Sommeliers, she is the author of a number of books on wine and food, (I purchased Great Wine Made Simple), chef and most recently, the developer of a new set of wine glasses, The One. She prepared some delicious food to go along with some delicious wines for us to sample!

First was an edamame pesto that I will be making soon, it was delicious and fresh-tasting. The St. Supéry Sauvingon Blanc that was paired along with it was excellent as well. It was delightfully citrusy and refreshing on a 90 degree day. This pairing was an example of the similar fermentation elements between food and wine (ie. the toasted sesame oil and wine both being aged in a barrel)

While the proscuitto & sage crusted pork was very good, it was the last dish she made that I’m still thinking about. Skeptics of the world, the chocolate & chorizo toasts were my favorite of the evening. Salty & Sweet is a combination I’m sure I’ll never grow tired of, but the creamy chocolate with salty chorizo was the ultimate of sweet & salty. I can’t wait to make this again…I’ve just got to find a crowd with an open mind. Any takers?

Just when I start to think that someday I’ll be a good enough cook to be a personal chef in LA, I have a huge recipe failure and I’m swiftly brought back to my Minneapolis (and winter) reality.

(source)

Take the sun-dried tomato & mushroom alfredo I made recently. It wasn’t horrible, but it made me want to add mushroom ravioli to the menu the next week just so I could redeem myself. I thought I was being creative and heath conscious as well as finally getting around to using the Hoosier Mushrooms from Lori and the Buitoni Ravioli I received as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. It was all going perfect in my mind – a nutritionist-ed alfredo sauce made with ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms over mushroom ravioli…

But when I tasted the sauce it needed something. So we added some 1/2 & 1/2, a few more spices and it tasted ok. I should have just given up then. Nixing the whole sauce idea all together would have been a good decision. But it was a decision I didn’t make and so mushroom ravioli with sun-dried tomato & mushroom alfredo it was.

When I tried the ravioli plain, I realized that it didn’t need ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes or more mushrooms. It would have been perfect with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh parmesan cheese.

So I picked up some more Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, this time knowing it needed nothing but a sprinkling of cheese. And it was delicious with just that.

Sigh. I guess part of being a good cook is knowing when to leave good things alone – something I’ll be working on.

We often hear that eating healthy, fresh foods is too expensive and that it’s much cheaper and easier to pick up fast food on the way home then to make a meal at home.

One of my goals is to dispel this myth. Eating healthy doesn’t mean slaving away at the stove or breaking the bank. What it does take is some planning ahead, a little creativity and a love for great food.

The next time I make a stir-fry I’ll be reviewing a wok set sent to me by CSN Stores. CSN Stores has everything from dishes to dining room tables. Look for the review and a new stir-fry recipe coming soon!

Here is a meal that is well-balanced, comes together quickly, tastes great and costs $10.20 for four servings! ($2.55/person)

Even better? The pasta and vegetables were organic and the beef passes the Whole Foods Meat Quality Standards.

Money-Saving Tip: Add frozen veggies to your grocery list! They won’t go bad, they are often cheaper and have just as many nutrients as fresh ones!

Beef & Vegetable Noodle Stir-Fry - 4 servings

• 4 oz whole-grain spaghetti
• 16 oz bag of frozen Chinese Stir Fry Vegetables
• 8 oz skirt steak
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sriracha (if desired)

Prepare the pasta as directed.

Heat large pan over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add steak to pan and season with salt & pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board to rest.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha.

Add the frozen vegetables to pan and saute for about 6 minutes, until cooked through.

Turn off heat and add pasta and sauce to pan. Toss to combine. Slice steak into thin slices and serve over pasta.

I’ve decided that salmon burgers are my new freezer staple. I love the idea of having salmon once a week and having burgers in the freezer makes this so attainable. I can take them out as needed, they are ready in minutes and obviously very tasty.

They can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on the occasion. Greek salsa is on my “dressed up” side and is the perfect topping for the perfect burger. Try my orzo salad to round out the meal!

Greek Salsa - for 2 salmon burgers

• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp feta cheese crumbles
• drizzle of olive oil
• pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and toss together. Set aside and split mixture between burgers.

My Mother is the Queen of pasta salads. Literally. She has enough pasta salads in her arsenal to get through the whole summer without repeats. Many of them are worth repeating however, so she’ll find a way to squeeze them in.

As a child, I remember being fond of some, like chicken curry pasta salad, and not so fond of others, presumably this one as I hated both blue cheese and olives at that young stage of life. Now I’ll take the blue cheese & olive combo anyway - fried, in a salad, a martini or preferably all three at the same time.

I’m finally starting to understand the great meal that is the pasta salad. Easy to throw together, tastes even better the next day and no oven required. Just thinking about pasta salads reminds me of summer dinners as a kid, eating on the porch. While I rarely eat on my balcony these days, I may just serve up a bowl of this and head out to the sun for a summer lunch worth dreaming about.

Blue Cheese & Olive Pasta Salad - 6-8 servings

• 2 cups farfalle pasta (I used Barilla PLUS)
• 6 oz can of black olives, halved
• 2 cups green grapes, halved
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 oz blue cheese crumbled
• 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
• juice of one lemon
• salt & pepper

Cook pasta as directed. Set aside in large bowl and let cool.

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt & pepper until smooth in small bowl. When pasta is cool, add other ingredients and dressing to bowl. Toss to combine.

Refrigerate overnight if possible. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Orzo is not as easy to find as one might expect. Maybe Minnesota has too much Norweigen influence and prefers lefse over orzo but once I finally tracked some down, the hope of finding a whole-grain version was long gone. As long as I left the store with orzo, I would worry about fitting in whole-grains later.

I wanted to come up with a salad that was light, but flavorful and this turned out just as I had hoped. Bright and citrusy flavor, full of good-for-you zucchini, and a touch of pasta for good measure. Because you can never have too much pasta. And I’m not even Italian!

Orzo Salad with Zucchini & Feta - about 2 servings

• 1/4 cup orzo
• 2 small zucchini, cut into half length-wise and then into 1/4-1/2 inch slices
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 Tbsp feta cheese crumbles
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Greek Seasoning
• salt & pepper

Prepare orzo as directed. Set aside in medium sized bowl.

Heat large pan and spray with cooking spray. Add zucchini and garlic to pan, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Add to bowl with orzo and let cool.

Prepare dressing: mix olive oil, lemon juice and greek seasoning. Whisk until combined and pour over orzo and zucchini mixture. Add feta crumbles and toss until combined. Let cool and serve cool or at room temperature.