Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Squash

I've come across a few recipes lately that combine pasta with ingredients I wouldn't normally consider using. Cannellini beans, squash, breadcrumbs...weird, yet intriguing!

I had half a kabocha squash on hand so naturally I paired it with pasta.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Squash

2 c kabocha squash, cut into bite sized pieces

3 leaves fresh sage

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 c broccoli rabe, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp chili garlic paste

1/4 c pasta water

3 c cooked pasta (I used brown rice penne)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash and sage with 1 tbsp oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Spread out onto a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add broccoli rabe and cook until greens start to wilt. Stir in fish sauce, chili paste and squash. 

Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta and pasta water and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

March ingredients used: rapini/rabe, onions, garlic, herbs

Overall, it was a surprisingly delicious dish. Not as heavy as I thought it would be! The fish sauce adds a nice salty/briny flavor, but next time I might sub in some anchovies...I do love anchovies with garlic and broccoli rabe!

Comfort zone.

Everyone has their go-to comfort meal. I have a bunch. Today I share with you a modified version one of my favorites, which also happens to be the fastest.

Brown Rice Penne with Spicy Broccoli Rabe

2 c brown rice pasta, cooked according to package

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped into 1 inch pieces

2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 to 1 tbsp chili garlic paste

pinch salt

parmesan 

Heat a pan over medium heat. Saute garlic in olive oil for 1 minute before adding broccoli rabe. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add lemon juice and chili garlic paste. Cook for another minute or two until greens are wilted. Add salt to taste. 

Spoon over warm pasta and finish with a few parmesan shavings.

March ingredients used: rapini/rabe, garlic, lemon

One thing I absolutely must share: the rabe I got at the farmers' market is much better than any bunch I've gotten at the grocery store. It's slightly milder, and maybe even a little sweeter than ones I've gotten at the store. In fact, I might even go as far to say that I'd serve this to Jamie, hater of rabe.

The lemon juice was a new and pleasant addition to my comfort dish. It definitely brightens it up a bit by adding just enough acidity. Happy belly in less than 30 minutes.

Return of the (chipotle) mac

Something about a brisk and sunny Saturday afternoon just makes me want to open the windows and spend some quality time in the kitchen. Today we revisit my favorite kitchen experiment - Chipotle Mac!

As always, this tasty treat just needed a little help to make it all the mac it could be.

Chipotle Mac

5 c medium pasta shells, cooked

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

2 1/2 c 2% milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 tbsp adobo sauce

1 bay leaf

1/2 c gruyere, shredded

1 c vintage English cheddar, shredded

1 c extra sharp cheddar, shredded

3 tbsp panko

1 link chicken andouille sausage, chopped and browned

3 tbsp scallions, chopped

Combine milk, ground mustard, garlic powder, pepper, chili powder and bay leaf in a small saucepan and keep warm over medium low heat.

Heat butter and adobo sauce in a pot over medium low heat. Slowly whisk in flour. Once flour is incorporated, slowly pour in warm milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

Coat pasta with sauce and pour into a baking dish. Sprinkle with panko, sausage crumbles and scallions. 

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake at 425 for another 5-10 minutes or until top starts to brown.

I used whole wheat shells this time around and I think that was a really bad idea. I'm not a fan of whole wheat pasta in this dish because of the texture. Regular pasta works perfectly and honestly, if you are going to make some mac n cheese, go all out and rock the regular pasta. Just saying.

Since I made way too much cheese sauce than pasta, I scrambled and cooked up some 1/4 boxes of trottole and campanelle I had in the cabinet to make another batch. Way more photogenic and SO much better tasting. Ahh. So what if it's a random mix of shapes? It tastes amazing!!

Re: sausage crumbles - I first thought of bacon crumbles, but I had chicken andouille sausage in the fridge. It's tough since the chicken sausage is already cooked, so make sure you chop it up well in order for it to brown nicely. 

Of course, if you have some regular andouille sausage lying around, feel free to slice it out of the casing and brown the crumbles that way!

Have you tried my chipotle mac yet? I think it's about time you did!

Longest bike ride to date!

Exactly how long is a long bike ride?

As a newbie coming from the world of running, it's tough to figure distances out. I know 10 miles of biking is not quite the same as 10 miles of running, but what's a long ride? You know, the equivalent of a weekend long run?

On Sunday Jamie and I set off for what I mapped out to be a 20 mile ride to ice cream. I learned why I took that spill the other weekend (apparently I missed the side of the street without the Muni tracks where I should have been riding) and we zoomed through the Panhandle and Golden Gate Park. Aside from a mini mapping fail on my part (I forgot the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon was going on and we ran into a bunch of runners), we made it through the park a lot faster than expected!

We coasted along the Great Highway, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, until we reached our final destination - Lake Merced.

Funny, it's not such a horrible trek when you're on a bike ;)

We parked ourselves on a sunny patch of grass

enjoyed a leisurely lunch, people watched, and I took random pictures.

After awhile, we decided ice cream just wasn't in the cards, so I came up with an impromptu route home...adding a little over a mile to our original route. Ah well. At least we were outside!

Check it out:

Total mileage: 21.1 - not too shabby!

Once we were home and clean, I decided I needed to whip up Ina Garten's Roasted Shrimp & Orzo. A friend made this for book club a couple weeks ago and I thought it was absolutely delicious.

I kinda threw it together without looking at the recipe and as it turns out, I was pretty close! I ended up poaching the shrimp instead of roasting them and I wish I had roasted them. I also subbed in a shallot instead of red onion and fat free feta because they didn't have the reduced fat kind I usually use. Note: full fat feta is totally necessary for this dish.

Springtime pasta in February

This wave of mild weather put me in an even bigger veggie mood than usual. For Jamie's farewell dinner, I combined some seafood I had in the freezer (a filet of cod and some shrimp) with a few springy vegetables and tomatoes to make a light sauce to top some angel hair pasta. Light, crisp and slightly spicy...perfect for this weather!

Springtime Seafood Pasta

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 c yellow squash, cut into thin half moons

1 c zucchini, cut into thin half moons

1/3 c tomato sauce

1 cod filet, cubed

15 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tbsp basil, chopped

splash fish sauce

pinch brown sugar

salt & pepper

1/2 lb angel hair pasta, cooked according to package

parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute onions until they begin to soften. Add garlic and saute for about a minute before adding tomatoes. Cook tomatoes for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, add wine and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes.

Add squash and zucchini and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and brown sugar. Add fish and shrimp and bring heat to medium low. Cook for another 3 minutes before adding tomato sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Let everything simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta with a slight sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Spinach Artichoke Di...Pasta?

Temperatures dropped a bit today so I found myself craving a hearty, warm dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't get out of work until late-ish so I also needed something quick. Tonight's dinnertime experiment:

Spinach Artichoke Penne

1/2 lb penne, cooked according to box

1 c artichoke hearts, chopped

2 1/2 c baby spinach

1 small shallot, chopped

2 links chicken sausage (I used Aidells Artichoke & Garlic), chopped

1 tomato, diced

2 tbsp dry white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

light sprinkling chili flakes

slight dusting parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Brown chicken sausage (I like mine pretty brown so they aren't too mushy) and stir in shallot. Cook shallot until translucent and add white wine. Cook for 1 minute before stirring in tomato and artichokes. Cook for 2-3 minutes and slowly stir in spinach. Cook until spinach begins to wilt, stir in chili flakes, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour over penne and mix well. Serve immediately.

If you salt your pasta water properly, you really won't need the extra salt at the end. The artichokes, parmesan and sausage add just the right amount of salt and flavor to the dish! Quick, easy and delicious! It also doesn't hurt that it looks a little like springtime in a bowl :)

I got a couple packages in the mail today and one of them was from Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program. It's been awhile since I've opted in to receive samples and I completely forgot about this one. Hooray fun surprise!

This sample came from Pure Dark and timing couldn't be better! I've had this random sweet craving lately, plus Jamie's on his way here at the end of the week...here's hoping these samples last ;p

I got a sample of the Classic Bark - sheets of immensely deep dark chocolate studded with cherries, roasted almonds and caramelized nibs and the Chocolate Slab - a thick slab of dark chocolate. AMAZING. I broke into the Bark and holy delicious.

It's just the right level of darkness for me and the nuts and nibs were great crunchy additions! Didn't get a cherry (at least I don't think I did), but that's fine with me...ahhh love!

Great start to the week! Well...it could have been an even better start to the week had I been able to get to the gym, but alas, it was not in the cards. It's probably for the best. After yesterday's run, my calves were crazy tight/sore...even after a decent stretching session! Ah well, looks like the rest of my evening will involve hanging out with the Stick. My trusty buddy.

Good news is that I'm finally getting back into running pretty consistently. It's still really frustrating doing super short runs and spending more time stretching/stick-ing than actually running, but I know it's all for the best. GAH. Anyone have good workout suggestions for someone with severe gym ADD?

A Different Kind of Runner Envy

It's no secret. When you're told you shouldn't or can't run, the more you want to run. I'm very familiar with the runner envy that comes with getting sidelined...wishing I could be out there running with the rest of them. Jealous that I can't be out there on a long run or running a race.

Today I experienced a slightly different kind of envy. I took the bike out for a long (for me at least) morning ride along a route I've run many times before. I saw a bunch of runners and felt pangs of jealousy. Although I was excited to be getting a workout in, I felt my bike ride was way too easy on my legs and lungs compared to a run of equal distance. Is it possible that I was jealous of the sweat and pain? Perhaps. Ok, yes. I was.

*note: this was taken during a pause at the top of a hill. Safety first!

Don't get me wrong. I kinda like this new biking thing. I huffed and puffed up the Fort Mason hill (a smidge easier on the bike, but still a tough hill) and broke a slight sweat...hell, my butt and calves are kinda sore right now. Though, there's just something about biking that just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because I feel restricted as far as where I can ride (as opposed to just running around wherever my legs will take me), or because I'm a newbie and am not entirely comfortable with it. I dunno. I miss pounding the pavement. I miss zoning out on long long runs.

So, to toss things up a bit (and to take advantage of the whole lack of snow thing), I'm hoping to fill my weekends with a long-ish bike ride one day and an easy run the other day. I think it's a good plan. Gotta get the legs back in gear since marathon #5 is scheduled for May! I can't wait to get back to long Saturday runs, but in the meantime, I'm sticking to shorter distances...and embracing the stretching and rolling!

After the productive start to my Saturday, I caught up on some cleaning/organizing and FINALLY got to the grocery store. To celebrate my return to normalcy, I whipped up a tasty and light pasta dish. I've been wanting to use some shrimp I had in the freezer, but whenever I remember it, it's always too late to defrost them. *sigh* Grabbed some veggies at the store, pulled out an open bag of brown rice penne and ta da! Dinner in 30.

Brown Rice Penne with Shrimp & Veggies

1/2 lb brown rice penne, cooked according to package

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 small zucchini, cut into half moons

1/4 c artichoke hearts, quartered

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tbsp olive oil

12-15 medium shrimp

salt

pepper

1 tbsp white wine

1/2 tbsp parmesan, grated

1/4 c mozzarella cheese, diced

Heat olive oil and butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes and tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and cook for another minute before adding zucchini and artichokes. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in shrimp and reduce heat to medium low once they start to turn pink. Continue cooking until completely pink. Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in pasta and mozzarella until combined.

Not a bad dinner. Garlicky, briny, light yet filling. MMM. You can do this with any type of pasta, I just wanted to use up the rest of the brown rice penne I had.

A week of experimenting

This week I conducted a few experiments...

(source)

I played with some brown rice pasta

(source)

and cut dairy out.

Why? Well, brown rice pasta looked like fun. I like pasta, I like brown rice...duh. The dairy was more of a let's see if my stomach feels better without dairy thing. Happy to report both were successful experiments!

Brown Rice Penne with Sausage Peppers and Onions

1/2 bag brown rice penne, cooked according to package

2 links cooked chicken/turkey sweet basil pesto sausages, sliced

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1/3 c cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp jalapeno, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine

salt

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onions until they begin to soften. Add sausage and cook for 4-5 minutes or until sausage starts to brown. Add white wine and scrape up brown bits. Add peppers, tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in pasta and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

I kinda love the brown rice pasta, aside from the shape (package said penne, clearly not penne). Reheating the next day for lunch made the noodles a little softer and they had the texture of rice noodles in asian dishes. I LOVE that texture...sort of gelatinous but still firm.

The only downsides:

1. It doesn't pack that much fiber.
2. It's pricy compared to regular pasta.

Ok, onto the dairy. My belly hasn't been too happy with me lately and I couldn't figure out why. Jamie convinced me to conduct a little experiment where I avoid all dairy products for the week. It was surprisingly easy. I jotted down everything I ate for the week and how I felt during the day and during runs. The only bad belly experience involved SALAD and white bean hummus. Go figure. Two things I love.

Since my experiment ended today, I celebrated by cooking dinner and topped it with some sheep's milk feta. Duh.

Sausage-y Harvest Blend Filled Squash

1 acorn squash, halved and roasted

1 1/4 c Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Blend

2 links cooked mango chicken sausage, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 c spinach, chopped

1/2 c cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine

3 tbsp currants

1 tbsp tarragon

1 3/4 c water

salt

pepper

2 tbsp feta, crumbled

Heat olive oil in a pot and brown sausage (about 3 minutes) before stirring in onions. Cook for 2 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add white wine and scrape up brown bits from sausage. Add currants and tarragon; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until it begins to wilt. Add grains and stir well. Pour in water, add tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Scoop into acorn squash halves and top with feta. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

I really enjoyed this meal. Usually I don't like raisins, craisins or anything like that in my savory dishes, but I've been trying to be open minded. Currants = awesome in my book. They're small enough that you only get a tiny hint of sweetness in each bite. It went well with the slight sweetness of the sausage too! Very excited about leftovers :)

I know this was a really quick post, but I'm off to bed...last long run (not including next weekend's 12k race) before Chicago! Happy weekend, everyone!

Burn out and stock pot

I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I was too burnt out to get my run done this weekend. I had an AMAZING run on Tuesday (I can't remember if I mentioned it already). I was feeling particularly speedy and the weather was nice and crisp. I whipped out a mildly hilly 4.36 miles in 37 minutes. Jeebus! 8:38 pace! It felt awesome! So why o why was I too tired to get more than 4.5 done this weekend?? UGH.

Maybe it's this random cough I've had since Thursday. Or maybe it was the discovery of this tasty treat...

(source)

O yeah, that was dessert on Friday.

Or maybe it was the introduction of something new?

Allow me to introduce you to my gummy vitamins. Yep. GUMMY. Vitamins were discussed for some reason during our last book club meeting and I mentioned that no matter what brand and no matter how much food I eat beforehand, I always feel pukey. Apparently I wasn't the only one! Someone suggested I give gummy vitamins a try, so I picked up a bottle this week. So far, so good!

Or maybe it's just burn out. It might be burn out. I really feel like I need to get this 20 in, but maybe my body just doesn't want it to happen. I'm fairly comfortable at this point going into Chicago with a few 16-18 milers under my belt. I mean, I maxed out at 18 last year before MCM because of my achilles and I was fine. I know I'm capable of doing the distance...maybe I just need time to clear the head and legs. We'll see how this week goes...

More running fails, means more kitchen successes. This evening, I experimented with fideos...well, I made my version of the dish. Far from the traditional version, but tasty.

I grabbed some items from the cabinet along with more mystery box items and got to work.

Kitchen Cabinet Fideos

2 c cut spaghetti

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 tbsp adobo sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes in chiles

1 bay leaf

juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tbsp white wine

salt

pepper

handful cilantro, chopped

2 1/2 c chicken broth

3 small carrots, sliced

1 pepper, diced

Heat olive oil in a stock pot and saute onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add spaghetti and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in wine for 1 minute, then add adobo sauce, stirring to coat.

Pour in diced tomatoes and cook for 1 minute before adding carrots and peppers.

Add broth, bay leaf, lime juice, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in cilantro and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve immediately.

I thought it was pretty tasty for a random attempt. I'd like it to have a richer/deeper flavor...beyond just tomato. I think maybe some smoky chili powder? Some cheese? Cocoa? Hm.

Eat your veggies with every meal

I've been in a major cooking mood since Labor Day weekend so I invited a friend over for a low key Friday dinner. I knew I had to use up the beets and spinach from the mystery box...that was pretty much all I knew when I set off to Whole Foods that afternoon.

Low Key Friday Menu:

• Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad
• Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken
• Orzo Pilaf with Currants and Artichokes

You know that Lean Cuisine commercial where it says chopping and peeling at the end of a long day can be relaxing is a myth? Obviously they don't know me. I find peeling somewhat calming. I don't do it very much, but I liked sitting down briefly to peel my gorgeous golden beet

Oh, and you know, taking a few photos for you guys.

I also like taking my aggression out on an innocent bunch of fresh, locally grown spinach

I love the sound my knife makes as it runs through those crisp leaves and the resulting ribbons of green. Obviously I'm not in Lean Cuisine's target market.

Anyway, recipes are here for you to enjoy...forgot to snap a photo of the salad, but really, it was a salad. I'm sure you know what one looks like ;p

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

1 c arugula

1 c spring mix

3 beets, cubed and roasted (I used 1 golden and 2 red)

1/4 c pistachios, lightly toasted

handful cherry tomatoes, halved

goat cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 tsp maple syrup

1/2 shallot, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, shallot and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Place salad greens in a bowl and pour 1/2 the dressing over and mix to coat. Top with beets, goat cheese, pistachios and tomatoes. Toss before serving.

I think this is my new go-to vinaigrette. It goes great with bitter mixed greens and some juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

2 chicken breasts, butterflied into 4 pieces

1/2 c chopped spinach

1 clove garlic

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp chili garlic paste

salt

pepper

1/4 c sheep's milk feta crumbled

8 toothpicks

1 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute garlic for 30 seconds before adding spinach. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt.

Set aside to cool.

Once spinach has cooled, combine in a bowl with feta and chili garlic paste.

Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and divide the mixture evenly among the four pieces.

Carefully roll chicken up and secure with two toothpicks. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and brown chicken on all sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes.

Rolled chicken is my safety. It must be since I've stuffed and rolled chicken a few other times. I think they are easy, foolproof and nice to look at! The sheep's milk feta was a must buy for me at Whole Foods after Wednesday's dinner. SOOO good. The chili garlic paste only gives a slight kick...such a slight kick that I almost forgot I used it.

Orzo Pilaf with Currants and Artichokes

3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1 c orzo

1 tbsp butter

1 1/2 c chicken broth

salt

pepper

2 tbsp dried currants

1/4 tsp oregano

3 artichoke hearts, quartered

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute orzo for 1 minute in the butter, then add pine nuts and oregano. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in currants and artichokes and cook for another 5 minutes or until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Currants. Random, I know. I saw them and felt compelled to use them. The amount I used wasn't really noticeable, so I'm sure it could use a smidge more. I liked it and so did friend. That's all that matters, right?

ALMOST done with mystery box produce! I leave you with an artsy kitchen shot. I love my random ledge. So handy!