Saturday, August 28, 2010

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

This recipe is from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa. So, I can't claim it. But what I can claim is that I realized it would be a perfect Farmer's Market Diet recipe. And that it would be a perfect dish for my dear friend, and blog co-author's bridal shower. Almost everything in this recipe is directly from the market (with the exception of the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and pasta).

Dressing:
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tbls red wine vinegar
6 tbls olive oil
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Blend all above ingredients in a food processor until well-blended like a vinaigrette, set aside.

chop 3-4 ripe tomatoes
dice 3/4 cup good black olives, 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil (drained), and 1 lb fresh mozzarella
Wash and julienne 1 cup of basil leaves
Set aside chopped and diced ingredients.


Boil 1/2 lb of fusilli pasta
Drain.


Toss pasta with chopped an diced ingredients and dressing.


Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Eat. Don't eat too much, remember you're trying to lose weight.
Yum.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Adventure Girl/ Salty Chard


Now days, my idea of adventure is going to the farmer's market and buying produce that I have never bought before (I know, I'm a wild and crazy daredevil). So, on my last visit to the market, I decided to be brave and buy two things that I had never purchased- Swiss chard and long beans.

Cooking swiss chard is daring for me, in part because I knew that it would be a tough sell for my husband. He is the type of guy who "likes" vegetables. And by "likes", I mean he only enjoys vegetables when they are cooked in bacon fat until there is no nutritional value left in them. So one of my goals in life is to make my vegetables so delicious (without bacon fat and with nutrients still left in them) that even he will eat them.
So, I set out to cook yummy Swiss chard...


I washed it really well and chopped it- stems and all.


Then I put about one tbls of olive oil in my trusty cast iron skillet and took 1 garlic clove and pressed it down a little (to help the essential oils come out).
Then I sauteed the garlic in the oil for about 2-3 minutes.
(I watch it very carefully so that it doesn't burn)

Then I put the Swiss chard in the skillet. I added some salt (this is where it all started to go wrong) and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes until it was tender.


When it was done, I tasted it and discovered that it was way too salty :(

It would have been very tasty otherwise.

I choked it down, but my husband refused (mission: not accomplished)

Lesson Learned: Don't salt your chard before it's cooked, because once it's cooked down you can taste it and salt it to taste.

Oh well. On to the next adventure...