Martha's Lentil Soup

I've had a bag of lentils sitting in the cupboard for quite some time and decided it was time to finally use them up. Being a fan of lentil soup, I decided to try the lentil soup recipe from the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food. While this recipe wasn't the best lentil soup I've ever had, it was a nice filling meal. The recipe makes a good base to expand on and next time I'll add some more flavor and make it a little more spicy, which is how I like my lentil soup. Since Monday's are meatless in our kitchen, I omitted the bacon - which obviously would give the soup some more flavor, but not the overall flavor I think it was lacking.

Sometimes, the Best Things Do Come To Those Who Wait.

I printed this recipe off in December 2001 and for some reason waited almost six years to make this pasta dish. It's been pulled several times and added to the "make" pile, but it's never made the final cut and I have no idea why after finally making it! It's one of the simplest & most flavorful pasta dishes I've made. This was a great meal to welcome us home after vacation and allowed me to put off going to the grocery store for another day. I really liked the simplicity of this dish and decided to make this pasta my first entry in the Presto Pasta Night event, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. I've been eyeing this event for awhile now, but was always intimidated by all the fabulous entries. This dish isn't the most elaborate or complicated of pasta dishes, but you know sometimes you just want to eat right now & that's what's so great about this dish. It allows for quick & delicious pasta, without opening a can!

I re-discovered The National Pasta Association's website after making this dish. It is a great source for learning about all things pasta, including finding great recipes.

Angel Hair with Pink Tomato Sauce, Peas & Roasted Peppers

4 oz. Angel Hair or Cappellini, uncooked

3 md. or 2 lg. Ripe plum tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.), cored and quartered

1/2 Tbs. Olive or vegetable oil

1 Clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 Large pinch hot red pepper flakes

1/2 c. Frozen peas, thawed and drained

1/3 c. Diced roasted red peppers

1/2 tsp. Dried basil

3 Tbs. Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and light pink, about 1 minute. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds. Add the peas, roasted peppers and basil and stir 1 minute. Add the pureed tomatoes and heat just to boiling. Remove sauce from heat.

3. Drain the pasta and transfer to skillet. Stir over medium heat until pasta is well mixed with sauce. Divide pasta between two serving bowls. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Recipe obtained from: National Pasta Assoc. (the original link does not work anymore -original recipe written above)

Nutritional Information: 370 calories, 15g. protein, 60g. carbohydrates, 8g. fat, 2.5g. saturated fat, 24% dietary fiber, 22% iron, 15% calcium, 220% vitamin C, 70% vitamin A.

What I did: I doubled the garlic, olive oil, basil, peas & red pepper flakes. Red pepper flakes do add a significant punch to the pasta, so use sparingly or omit completely if you don't like things on the spicy side. The recipe as written does not call for salt & pepper and I really think it needs it, especially if you're using fresh tomatoes. I didn't use roasted red peppers either, because I didn't have them on hand and the husband doesn't really like them. Personally I think I like this dish without the red peppers.

A few weeks ago the husband randomly picked up some wine and some flowers for me, isn't he nice?!?! We got around to drinking the bottle of wine he picked up with this meal. Fetzer Riesling Valley Oak (2005, $9) was a great wine on it's own and paired well with this pasta dish. The wine was light, bright & crisp and had just the right amount of sweetness - almost a perfect Riesling, especially for the price. I'll definitely add this one to my list of 'go-to' wines.

Meatless Monday Version 2.0

The husband and I have slowly been trying to eat healthier and workout more. Recently we decided to commit to at least one meal each week that was vegetarian based - hence Meatless Monday's were born. Now the husband did suggest another day, saying Monday's were hard enough on their own without taking away his beloved meat source for dinner. But with no other days of the week beginning with the letter 'M' and being in a themed state of mind, I declared Monday's to officially become Meatless Monday's in our house! Tonight was the second installment of our new tradition, and certainly much more successful than last Monday's utter & complete failure.

Tonight's grilled vegetable pizza's were easy to prepare and can be altered to suit whatever you have on hand and your own vegetable tastes. I followed the recipe, but next time think I'll just play around with it more. The pizza would make a good appetizer and could also easily become a quesadilla. The husband did say chicken would be good on it, which I agree with, just not on Monday's! I used La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Low-Carb/Low Fat tortilla's (which may be the longest name for a tortilla ever) which I'd tried before and found to be fairly tasty for a low-carb/low-calorie food. Each tortilla has only 80 calories, 3 g. total fat, 14 g. fiber and 8 g. protein.



Vegetable Pizza
1 md. Zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 sm. Yellow summer squash, quartered lengthwise
1 sm. Red sweet pepper, quartered lengthwise
2 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. Black pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 lg. Ripe tomato, seeded & chopped
1/4 c. Mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 Tbs. Basil pesto
1 Tbs. Fresh basil, snipped
1 Tbs. Fresh Oregano, snipped
4 Flour tortillas (6-7 inch)
1 c. Mozzarella or Smoked Provolone cheese, shredded

1. Brush zucchini, squash, and sweet pepper with oil; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Grill vegetables until tender crisp, turning once halfway through grilling. Allow 8-10 minutes for sweet peppers and 5-6 minutes for zucchini and squash. Remove vegetables from grill.

2. Chop vegetables. In a medium bowl combine chopped vegetables, tomato, mayonnaise, pesto, basil and oregano. Place tortillas on grill rack directly over heat. Cover and grill from 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted on one side. Turn tortillas over and spread the vegetable mixture over the toasted sides of tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover and grill for 2-3 minutes more or until tortillas are lightly toasted, vegetables are just heated and cheese begins to melt. Carefully remove from grill.

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book

Nutrition facts per serving: 426 calories, 31 g. fat (7 g. saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 737 mg. sodium, 27 g. carbohydrates, 3 g. fiber, 12 g. protein.

Marinated Cucumbers & Tomato
1 lg. Cucumber, sliced
1 md. Tomato, seeded & chopped
Sugar
Apple cider & red wine vinegar
Dill
Lovage
Salt & pepper

1. Combine vinegars, sugar, dill, lovage, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add cucumbers and tomatoes; toss to coat. Add more of anything to taste. Cover and chill for several hours or up to 5 days, stirring occasionally.

Yield: varies on produce used

What I did: Nothing says summer quite like garden fresh cucumbers and tomatoes and there are literally hundreds of ways you could make this dish. This dish requires no recipe, just use whatever you happen to have on hand and feel free to experiment. For those not familiar with the herb lovage, it has a celery like taste. I've never seen lovage in the grocery store, celery or celery seed would be good substitutes. If you ever see a lovage plant for sale, grab one and add it to your herb garden. Lovage is a perennial herb and can grow as tall as 6 feet; it's a unique addition to your garden.

When Bad Recipes Happen To Good Cooks.

I blame the husband for this one. Since he's sick, I let him pick out the sauce and of course he picked the only one I had doubts about. So I guess it's not really his fault or even Mario Batali, who made up the recipe, but mine for not going with my initial instinct. I never thought butter & cheese could be so wrong. This was also the first time I'd ever used frozen gnocchi, which turned out to be another mistake! In the past I've made it from scratch and it's definitely worth the extra effort. I found the frozen stuff to be gummy and flavorless. The husband liked the sauce and had no complaints about the gnocchi, but he's sick, so perhaps his taste buds have been affected. We each added our own vegetable of choice to the gnocchi - broccoli for the husband and zucchini for myself. The husband said the broccoli really made the dish, I think it was his medicine talking. I'm not sure anything could have saved this sauce, to say I disliked this meal is an understatement. I disliked it so much I even made the sick husband clean up the kitchen.

For those brave souls curious enough to look at the recipe & perhaps even make it, may the force be with you. Who knows, maybe the husband was right.