Eat Your Greens Pasta

Here’s something about me you might not guess from all the baked goods I make: I like to eat healthy.  I exercise a ton, take omega-3 supplements, am always trying to eat enough greens (thus my daily kale smoothies); you get the picture.  I also like things to taste GOOD. I mean it – I LOVE food. I love eating.  I also love eating out, which often presents a decision crisis for me: do I eat healthy or delicious or sacrifice a bit of both.  There are the occasional restaurants where this conundrum doesn’t present itself, but the easiest place to eat is my own kitchen.

This homemade pasta fits the bill – it’s packed with greens (basically as much as I could fit in without the pasta falling apart) and tastes amazing.  Like homemade pasta should.

I cooked it up with more veggies (surprise!) and made an awesome pasta primavera.  Just some green onions and an assortment of yummy veggies sauteed together, topped off with white wine, lemon zest, parmesan, and a little pasta water (not to mention the ubiquitous S&P). Oh yum.

You will need a stand mixer for this and either a pasta attachment or a hand-crank pasta maker. Alternatively, you can do this without a mixer, but I read somewhere that you have to knead so hard/long that your butt will sweat.  I recently experienced this making a batch of bagels without a mixer and it wasn’t pretty.  My arms were sore for days (we won’t even discuss the state of my clothing).

Blueberry Plum Paletas

I am moving back to Cambridge/Somerville in a couple weeks. Though I am happy to be going “home,”  I’m dreading the move.  I HATE moving.  The actual move day is horrible, but it’s the packing I can’t stand – and the unpacking.  In an effort to avoid these unpleasant things, I’ve turned to the kitchen.  Since it is too hot for me to want to use my oven, I decided to make paletas or popsicles. Few things taste better on a hot day then a popsicle.

With just three simple ingredients (and no added sugar), these all fruit pops are easy to whip up.

Blueberries and pomegranates make the perfect combo with their anti-oxidant, super-food superpowers.  Not to mention, they taste good.   I threw in plums as well, but any other fruit would do – next up, blueberry peach?!

Marbled Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

One of the best things about living on the east coast is the plethora of pick-your-on farms.  After a super successful strawberry picking excursion when my little sister joined me for a week of baking, I couldn’t wait for blueberry season.

Picking them was not quite as fun as I imagined – recently cut grass and an afternoon rainstorm dampened the experience – but didn’t make this cake taste any less delicious.

Blueberries and lemons are made to go together; they are the perfect marriage of sweet and tart. This cake is proof of this.

Thanks to Cooks Illustrated, my favorite cooking magazine, the blueberries are marbled throughout, as opposed to the typical exploded blueberry clumps you typically find in cakes or muffins.  The use of fruit pectin, helps hold together the filling and allows it to be spread around the cake. This means you get a bite of blueberry and lemon in each bite. I’ve only slightly amended their recipe by subbing in apple sauce for 1/3 of the butter (I swear it still tastes amazing) and doubling the lemon zest (I’m serious about this blueberry lemon pairing).

For an extra lemony bite, you can whip up an easy glaze to drizzle over the cake – not necessary, but definitely delicious.  After I ate 1 slice of cake, I was bullied into adding this glaze (by someone with a serious sweet tooth).

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Muffins

Nothing says early summer like rhubarb. 3 weeks ago, the farmer’s market stalls were packed with the stuff.

Of course, I have been delinquent with posting, so this recipe comes a little late in the season.  The good news is there was still rhubarb at my farmer’s market last weekend – so maybe it’s not too late!

If you are a fan of this eternal combo, you’ll like these muffins.  And like most of my recent original recipes, this one’s gluten free.

Key Lime Pie – Spring is Here

Spring makes me happy. There is nothing nicer than warming temperatures and spring flowers. 

Thanks for the beautiful bouquet, hubby!

I recently went on a quick jaunt to the Florida Keys – it rained the whole time, but it didn’t prevent me from tasting “the world’s best key lime pie” at Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen in Key Largo.  Although many places we passed made similar claims about their pie, it was indeed the best key lime pie I have ever eaten.  I knew I had to replicate it at home so I schlepped a lb of key limes back with me to New Haven.

Since I like a challenge and am always trying to eat less wheat, I decided to make a gluten free “graham cracker” crust.  Although it wasn’t as beautiful as I would have liked, the taste hit the spot. It has great crumbly texture and the perfect graham flavor.  Hubby claims it’s better than any graham cracker crust he’s ever tasted – but I’m never sure if he’s just misremembering. Either way, it rocks. And it’s gluten free.

While reviewing tons of recipes, I came upon a raging argument over whether whipped cream or merengue was a more authentic topping.  Since Mrs. Mac’s used whipped cream (as did the 70’s style key lime pie post card I bought), I did too. Which ever you choose, I recommend whipping up one of these – it is super easy and is bursting with spring flavor.