Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Sunday night I received a call from my cousin Tom.

"Hey, what are you doing Wednesday night? I'm coming up for work and wanted to see if you'd like to plan on having dinner at grandpas while I'm in town."

I thought to myself, boy I have a busy week, "I'll check my schedule and get back to you."

Right after getting off the phone, a bit of my oldest grand daughter guilt set in. I crossed my fingers that I didn't have anything going on that night. We were free! I called him back the next day and we made arrangements for dinner.

Grandpa was making chicken and vegetables in the crock pot. Tom would make a salad and get some bread. I was left to come up with something to share that I could enjoy as well as everyone else. All I could think about was pasta.

My grandpa, the same one who taught me how to make these biscotti, was raised by an Italian mother and 2 Aunts who were always in the kitchen, always cooking. He's probably eaten some of the best pasta any Italian could ask for. The key to good Italian food, or any food if you ask me, is finding the freshest ingredients you can buy. I didn't have any time to make fresh pasta, but I collected herbs from the garden, picked up a large bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes and set out to make pasta the Italian way.

Roasting tomatoes and garlic soon filled the house with familiar smells. It's amazes me every time I make this how quickly such a tasty plate of pasta comes together and with so few ingredients. The longest part is the roasting of the tomatoes, but it's so worth the time.

Vine-ripened tomatoes have more juice than other varieties, but don't worry about it, most of the extra water will be left in the roasting pan. You can use most any other varieties if you prefer. Also, you may be thinking, shouldn't I cut them smaller, but the beauty of roasting them is that they become soft, so by the time you mix everything up they practically fall apart into bits of tomato for you. Serving this as soon as you finish making it will provide the best results and flavors. Omit the mozzarella for a vegan option, it's still just as tasty without.

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce
serves 6-8

2 lbs tomatoes (about 5-6 large tomatoes)
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
big pinch of re pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup mixed herbs, I used basil, Italian parsley, and oregano
3/4 lb linguini
1/2 cup Kalamata olives or other brine-cured olives, sliced
8 oz. mozzarella, cubed (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Core and slice tomatoes no more than 1/4-inch in thickness and place on a baking sheet taking care not to over lap; I needed two. Toss the garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper over the tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, and place in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, chop the herbs, and prepare the olives and mozzarella if using, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and reserve until tomatoes are done.

Toss the pasta with the roasted tomatoes and herbs, then stir in the olives and mozzarella and season with salt. Drizzle with more olive oil if needed and serve warm.

Cherry Almond Meal Muffins

Ahh, it feels so good to finally be home from our little trip to San Francisco. In the coarse of five days our car racked up more miles than we've probably driven this whole year, so it feels good to be back home, sleeping in our own bed, and getting back into the swing of things.

Thank you to everyone who sent along their favorite places to eat and areas we should see. I'm sad to say that apart from the Fisherman's Wharf area, where we were for two very long days and the room we slept in every night, we didn't manage to get out as much as we had hoped. Next time we plan to schedule in more free days.

Whenever I travel, even if it's not far from home, I always take back something about the trip that seems to get lost in my day to day life. I don't mean souvenirs and such so much as feelings and moments or ideas about how to simplify my life even more.

What I took away from this trip was something unexpected. Even though my husband and I were very busy the whole weekend, we pretty much ate every meal together. I don't mean together as, in the same room, but really together without distractions. It was a subtle thing and made me realize that when we're at home this doesn't happen as often as it should because we both get so busy with our work for the day.

I dislike eating breakfast while answering morning emails, but I'm guilty of this act more often then I care to admit. I always feel I have so much to do in the day and multitasking is the only way it will get done. The truth, I realized, is that most people do not need their emails answered right that second and over all I work more efficiently if I've had a moment to sit quietly in the morning with my food and take in the day before rushing to my computer.

We have a giant beautiful re-claimed wood table my dad and husband built together and although it's most often used as a second office area, since we've been home, I've made a point to pull up a chair and use it as it was meant to be used. And these cherry almond meal muffins make slow paced mornings that much more pleasurable.

If you've read this blog for some time or looked through my archives you're probably well aware that I'm not gluten intolerant. However, I've found almond flour is really great to work with and makes gluten free baking an easy place start without needing a long list of other ingredients. It has such a great flavor and distinguishably different taste from wheat flour. It's loaded with protein and healthy fats and makes for one filling little muffin. This recipe is pretty straight forward. When I was looking into almond flour recipes I found this ratio seemed to be pretty universal across the web so I went with it, using a light olive oil in place of other oils or butter and adding in some fresh cherries from the market.

Cherry Almond Meal Muffins
makes 6 large muffins

2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the honey and oil and beat until well combined.

Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring just until combined. Carefully fold in the cherries.

Pour batter into the muffin tin, filling to the top if you want a nice muffin dome. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool on a wire rack at least 5 minutes and serve warm.

Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Meatless Monday with Martha Stewart: Zucchini Pesto Galette

Galettes are the perfect Summer time meal because they are fresh and light, satisfying every craving, but not weighing you down in the heat. They're meant to have a rustic look, so even if you feel your crust making skills are lacking, it's the perfect recipe to try because I think they look best when they have shaggy, folded in sides. 

This galette features zucchini and pesto all wrapped up in a flaky whole wheat pastry crust. Try it with your favorite homemade pesto or even lemon balm pesto if you're one of those who is looking for more ways to use up some lemon balm! Get the recipe over at the Whole Living blog.

Granola Bars

Tomorrow we leave for our work trip/mini vacation to San Francisco. Which means this entire week has brought with it some rather interesting meals as we cleaned out the fridge before leaving (strawberries with broccoli and spring onions all wrapped up in a peanut butter smeared whole wheat tortilla... anyone? It was actually pretty good). Luckily we had lots of left overs after a bbq we had on the 4th to tie us over as well. So although I still need to pack and get a few miscellaneous things together, I thought I'd share a granola bar recipe with you first.

I had two lonely bananas staring back at me this morning, getting more brown speckles on them as each day passed and I knew they definitely wouldn't be pretty by the time we returned. So I figured I'd make a batch of granola bars. I made these bars a couple weeks ago when we were up on Mt. Rainier for a weekend retreat and because they were so good I figured I'd make them again.

I wrote about finding the perfect granola bar recipe over a year ago and since then I have tested and tried many, many, different variations. Some were pretty great, others not so much. The bars I'm sharing today are very similar, but use mashed banana in place of the honey, which makes them sugar free, unless of coarse you add in the chocolate chips. 

They are soft and chewy and they don't fall apart when you eat them. I think they are an exceptional little bar to have around for snacking. They're also great for long road trips where you're sitting a long ways, or those times when you have a busy day/weekend ahead and you need something to sustain you through the end without being loaded with sugar.

I've actually made the recipe for these bars below very adaptable to your flavor preference, giving basic guide-lines to an amount for each ingredient and options to follow. The only one I would be careful on is the 1/4 cup seeds. I used a 1/4 cup mix of sunflower, sesame, and poppy seed, you could use all sunflower, but you probably wouldn't want to use an entire 1/4 cup of smaller seeds like poppy. But really have fun with the flavors. Try a tropical bar using cashew butter, macadamia nuts, dried mango, dried papaya, and coconut.

Granola Bars

loosely adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought

makes 8-10 bars

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew), preferably all natural

1/2 cup roughly chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachio, cashew, pecan, macadamia)

1/4 cup seeds (sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia) 

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup dried fruit (cranberry, cherry, apricots, papaya, mango, raisin, strawberry, blueberry)

1/4 cup chocolate chips or cocao nibs, optional

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, optional

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment. I haven't made these without parchment because I think they would really stick without it. Plus it makes for really easy clean up anyways.

In a large bowl mash the bananas with the back of a fork. Stir in the nut butter until everything is well combined.

Add the oats, chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate, cinnamon, and coconut if using. Stir well until everything is well combined. The batter will be very, very wet and you'll wonder if this will even bake, it will.

Spread the batter evenly into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The top should be slightly browned and give a little when pressed. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars, this is important. Store wrapped tightly in a container or in the fridge.

Lemon Thyme Strawberry Shortcakes

I can feel Summer coming, it's really close. The days are long and every morning I gently wake to the sound of birds chirping. In the NW, many say Summer is never truly here until after the 4th of July. After that, it's one of the most pleasant and beautiful places to be.

In the mean time I've been eating strawberries by the fist full to compensate for the lack of sun. After picking up my first little blue basket a couple weeks ago, I went back and bought an entire flat. I couldn't help myself. And I wouldn't mind going back to get more from a farm nearby to pick my own. They were perfectly ripe red jewels. I set aside a few baskets to eat as is, baked with them, placed them in salads, pureed some and put them into pancakes and the rest were cleaned up and placed into the freezer for a little December strawberry delight.

But I couldn't think of a better way to start July than with strawberry shortcakes. I don't think there was ever a childhood Summer where I didn't enjoy one of these tasty cakes. I always preferred mine loaded with fresh strawberries and not as much whipped cream, the same is true today.

These aren't your traditional shortcakes though. And definitely not the spongy little cakes that come wrapped in plastic, that for some reason I remember were always slightly sticky. What was that?

The inspiration for these shortcakes actually comes from a favorite cornbread recipe that I've been making for years (although I've yet to share it here, I'd better get on that). A subtle taste of lemon and a grassy earthiness from the thyme makes these something different. The cakes themselves are actually vegan, but you wouldn't know it.

They bake with a perfectly thin and crisp crust on the outside and a soft, delicate crumb interior. I could eat them on their own, like a scone with a cup of tea, but when topped with strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream well, lets just say I went in for seconds.

I also wanted to share something sweet with you as a sort of bribe for info from all of you. In about a week we'll be headed down to San Francisco for the Renegade Craft Show. We've only spent a brief amount of time in this incredible city, and even though this trip is more work related, I'd love to get inside tips on places to go, see, and of course good places to eat. 

Budget friendly places are always most helpful, but really anything you've got I'd love for you to share. And if you happen to be in the bay area on July 9th and 10th you should come and stop by.

This recipe make 6 single serving shortcakes, but can easily be doubled if you'd like more. If you're unsure about the lemon or thyme, leave them out, you'll still have a perfectly delicious vegan shortcake, sans the whipped cream of coarse. I used white whole wheat flour to keep them from straying too far from their original light color, but feel free to use whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour if that's what you have.

Lemon Thyme Strawberry Shortcakes

makes 6

shortcake

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cane sugar

zest of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 3/4 tablespoon fresh

6 tablespoons coconut oil, not melted

3/4 cup almond milk

juice of half a small lemon

whipped cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoons cane sugar

a pint of strawberries, sliced for serving

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat baking mat.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and thyme. Using your fingers, rub in the coconut oil until little pebbly pieces begin to form and mixture is crumbly.  

Pour the almond milk and lemon juice into the bowl. Gently stir until a soft dough starts to form. It will be a pretty wet and sticky dough, but make sure that you incorporate all the flour at the bottom of the bowl. You just don't want to over work it.

Divide the batter into 6 equal portions, about a half cup each. I like a more rustic look and just plop the onto the baking sheet, but you can try patting them into a more uniform shape.

Place them in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. They should be puffed up, slightly golden, and have a slight give with lightly pushed with your finger. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

To make the whipped cream, pour the cream into a mixing bowl along with the sugar. Whip at a high speed until soft peaks begin to form, do not over-beat. Keep covered and chilled until ready to serve.

When ready to assemble, carefully slice the cakes in half with a serrated knife. Place strawberries and whipped cream on the bottom half, then cover with the top half and serve.

I think the cakes are best eaten on the first day, but stored in a tightly covered container they will keep for a couple days.