Pasta Aglio e Olio

I have been so obsessed with a new YouTube channel I found called Binging with Babish. Have you seen it? Are you also obsessed? Are you also a fan of Frasier?

Even though I'm vegetarian, and a lot of the dishes he makes are meat-centric, I can't help but watch in a trance-like state. I love watching people cook in general, but I'm especially in love with this channel. It's stylish, and funny, and everything he makes looks so good...well maybe not the Milk Steak, but everything else...okay, maybe not the Grilled Charlie...you know what? Maybe just stay away from any foods thought up by the Always Sunny team 😩.

Anyway, he recreates the Pasta Aglio e Olio from the movie Chef with John Favreau and I thought "YES!!! Something I can make!"

Was it as good as it looked?

Yes.

Should you make it?

Also yes.

I just made a couple of changes to it - adding zucchini noodles, mainly because I wanted to try out my new Veggetti (so excited!), and reduced the amount of olive oil I used, because weight loss reason. So good, and I already want to make it again.

Let's get started!

Perfect Pasta Salad

Right now I’m on a serious pasta salad kick. I love it. I eat it for lunch every day…then I come home and have it again for dinner. Every day, you say? Yes (well, mostly for the last week anyway). Why, might you ask? Because it’s delicious! Also because it’s super-duper easy to make, and it’s ideal for leftovers (you don’t even have to heat it up, for goodness’ sake!). Are you crazy, you might think? That is yet to be determined, BUT, in my defense, this is a much better kick than the strawberry cake kick I was on a few weeks ago, or the McDonald’s dipped cone kick before that, or the hummus and spicy pretzel kick before that – none of those were doing me any favors. I’m also on a grape kick, and a carrot/cucumber kick at the moment, but I don’t have any recipes for those. You may or may not have come to a conclusion about my sanity at this point, so I will move on.

This recipe is pretty simple – the only thing you have to cook is the pasta! (are you on board with me yet?) I use a mix of fresh veggies and some favorite preserved items, like kalamata olives and marinated artichoke hearts. The thing I love is that it’s really adaptable for your taste preferences; and there’s nothing better than coming home and NOT having to cook dinner because it’s already waiting in the fridge.

Pasta Malafemmina

Although fall is just around the corner, inspiring visions of the pumpkin pies, simmering soups, and steaming cups of hot chocolate to come, summer is still very much clinging on, outside as well as inside my kitchen. Usually I am ready for fall within the first couple of weeks of the sweltering Central Valley summer, but this time I'm holding on a bit - mainly because I'm still enjoying the myriad of produce the summer brings.

Indeed, I'm not quite ready to give up my favorites, such as the beautiful red, yellow, and orange tomatoes I used for this dish. But, luckily, I still have a few more weeks to get my fill before jumping headfirst into fall!

This recipe was inspired by a pasta dish I had while in Italy (Check it out here!). The original dish I had was literally one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. I didn't know exactly what went into it, but I of course wanted to try it out as soon as I got home. I knew the original had a very light tomato sauce, which was probably more olive oil than tomato, so I started there. Then I added in a healthy helping of capers, some kalamata olives, and a few other ingredients I discerned from taste and picture. It turned out very yummy!

Pesto Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Kale

After taking such a long break from the blogging world, I decided to ease back in with a simple recipe that’s easy to throw together and takes very little time to prepare (basically the time it takes to boil pasta). I used whole wheat spaghetti and loads of vitamin-rich kale to make it a healthier dish that I can make regularly without hurting my waistline. Earthy, meaty mushrooms provide some bulk, fresh lemon juice brightens everything up and compliments the mushrooms amazingly well, and the rest of the ingredients just kind of happened as I was going along, as most of my recipes tend to do. I think it turned out pretty well, and I hope you do too.

Let’s get cooking!

Penne Pasta with Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce

Usually when I make pasta sauce from scratch, I’m in the kitchen for an hour or longer roasting veggies, chopping ingredients, and standing over a bubbling pot, breathing in the aromatic fumes (I’m convinced that standing over a steaming pot of tomato sauce is good for your skin!). However, yesterday was a long day and by the time dinner rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was cook an elaborate meal! 

Instead, I opted for pasta with a simple tomato sauce that I could add fresh and easy ingredients to. The whole meal literally took 20 min to make, and the result was a dish that was as vibrant and full of flavor as it was satisfying and easy to make. To finish it off, I added tangy kalamata olives, feta cheese, and marinated artichoke hearts - yum!

Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells with Mushrooms & Spinach

This recipe definitely has me wondering why I have never tried making stuffed shells before. I’ve had them previously in the form of those frozen, low fat/low calorie/low taste meals meant to torture dieters (if you are not familiar with these, then I am sincerely happy for you), but never anything like this. Just thinking about the deliciousness I’ve missed out on gives me pangs of remorse, but I digress. 

I had several ideas for the filling, but was inspired by a pesto chicken version I saw recently on What's Cookin, Chicago?; plus I still had plenty of pesto left over from those Monster Veggie Sandwiches I just made, so that pretty much sealed the deal. On a side note, the pesto turns the filling a fun shade of green, which makes them look like little stuffed ninja turtles…I’m not sure if this is bad or awesome.

Spaghetti Alfredo with Lemon and Capers

Pasta. I love it. It is such a ridiculously easy thing to make, and can be ready in a matter of minutes after a long day. Not to mention the fact that it goes incredibly well with the other thing I really love: cheese. 

 

I got the idea for this from a dish I used to order at California Pasta Productions in Chico, CA when my husband and I lived there. If you ever get a chance to go, you will not be disappointed. They make fresh pasta daily, which you can even buy in bulk to take home. 

I checked their current menu to find the name of the dish that inspired me, but sadly it isn’t listed anymore. If I can remember correctly theirs had pine nuts, but I decided to use capers instead, which paired really well with the lemon and cream. I will definitely be making this one again soon.

Veggie Lasagna with Roasted Tomato Sauce

I’ve wanted to make vegetarian lasagna for quite a while now and finally found the time and, somehow, had all of the ingredients in my kitchen at the same time! Crazy! Really the idea for this came in stages. I often peruse different sites, magazines and cookbooks for potential recipes that I can modify to my liking and style of cooking, and when I came across this Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe, the ideas started flowing. I’ve also been in a serious casseroly/leftovery mood lately, so lasagna was a great fit.