Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

*This is not a low fat meal. But man, it is delicious. Of course, I have a thing for arugula. Ever since my friend Stacey introduced it to me a couple of years ago, I have been hooked.

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream (I also think half and half would work if you want to cut out some fat and calories)
3 lemons (or one fresh lemon and some lemon juice from concentrate - adding by taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta (this is really only for looks and isn't necessary if you don't want to add it). Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

*I like it vegetarian as is, but you could add some chicken for protein.
*If you know you won't eat it all in one night, you can save some of the sauce separate from the salad and mix it together the next day when you are going to use it. Or just pour it all on and then reheat it the next day like I did. It was just as good as left overs.

[Recipe compliments of Barefoot Contessa]

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Any Cafe Rio fans out there? I love it and crave their salads. I was pretty disappointed to find that there aren't any here in Washington. My friend Eryn was nice enough to give me this recipe, which is supposed to be the actual pork salad recipe. The dressing is delicious. Make it tonight. [The picture above is actually not of this exact recipe, but of a similar chicken taco salad. I was so excited about the salad, I forgot to take a picture. I will replace this one when I make it again.]

Meat:
About 1 1/2 lbs. Pork tenderloin (you can also use chicken if you prefer)
1 cup salsa
1-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
Cook in crock pot about 5 hours on low, cut fat off and shred.

Creamy Cilantro dressing:
Put the following in a blender and blend until smooth:
3 fresh tomatillos quartered
1 package Ranch buttermilk dressing mix (or regular Ranch mix if you can't find buttermilk)
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup buttermilk (or put 1 Tbsp of lemon juice in 1/2 cup of regular milk and let it sit for a minute before adding it to the other ingredients)
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 a jalapeno or Serrano pepper, no seeds

(If you have extra dressing, you can put it in a ziplock and freeze it for next time.)

Pico de Gallo recipe:
6-8 small tomatoes diced up
1 small onion diced up or half a medium onion
1 small jalapeno chopped as small as possible,
no seeds, start with half and add the second half after you've
tasted the salsa for hotness.
about 12 sprigs of cilantro chopped up finely
about a 1/2 tsp. salt
juice from 1/4 a lime or more
1 clove garlic minced (or about 1 tsp. if using minced garlic from a jar)
juice from half a lime. or about 2 -3 tsp.

Put everything together and taste to see if you need to add more of anything.

Guacamole:
Mash up the following:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Tabasco or 1-2 Tbsp. salsa

While you're making everything, cook up some rice.

To serve, pile on a plate in the following order:
Romaine lettuce
beans and rice
pork
a scoop of pico de gallo
a scoop of guacamole
crumbled tortilla chips
dressing

You can also serve these as burritos instead of a salad.

Citrus Asparagus

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed
1 lemon
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T. freshly chopped parsley


Slice each of the asparagus stalks diagonally into 1/2-inch thick pieces, but leave the tips 2-3 inches long, and set aside. Cut the lemon in half. Cut one half of the lemon into wedges, place them in a small dish, and reserve for service. From the other half, remove the zest, reserve the lemon half for use in the cooking process, and set it and the zest aside. In a non-stick skillet, saute the asparagus in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, the reserved lemon zest, season the mixture with a little salt and pepper, and saute an additional 2-3 minutes or until the asparagus is tender. Add the chopped parsley, squeeze some juice from the zested lemon half, and toss well to combine. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the reserved lemon wedges along with the asparagus. Serves 2-4

*Recipe compliments of www.veganchef.com

Roasted Garlic on Focassia Bread

Roasted Garlic

2 whole garlic heads (bulbs)
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel the outer skin of the garlic only but leave the garlic bulb whole. Slice 1/2 inch of the pointed end of the garlic bulbs. Put the garlic head in a small oven proof dish, garlic roaster, or pan. Pour 1/2 tsp. of olive oil over the top of each bulb and let it sink in between the cloves. Wait two minutes and then repeat with another 1/2 tsp. of olive oil over each bulb.

Cover and bake one hour or until cloves are browned at the exposed end and soft throughout. Remove from oven.

Allow garlic to cool and remove cloves from head as needed. Garlic may be stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for several days. To puree, crush garlic cloves with the flat of a knife.

For the bread I made, I didn't have any extra garlic. I bought crumbled gorgonzola cheese and poured it on top of the bread. Then I melted it in the oven on 250 degrees for a few minutes (not completely melted though). Then I put the roasted garlic on top.

You can also put in on flat bread, or on baguette bread with cream cheese.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

2 C. split peas, rinsed
6 C. cold water
5 C. chicken or vegetable broth
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stock with leaves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
dash each of parsley, thyme, marjoram and cayenne pepper
2 C. ham (this is good soup to make after you have a honey baked ham - I used the leftovers from ours and it was really good)
1 potato

*Optional: 1 tsp. sugar, barley

(For the barley, while the peas are simmering, in another pot, cook 1/2 cup of barley with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed. Drain and rinse barley with cold water. Add to soup.)

Directions: In a large pot add peas with 6 cups of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for one hour until the split peas are tender (longer if needed).

Add chicken (or vegetable) broth, carrot, potato, celery, onion, garlic, sugar, lemon juice, ham, bay leaf and all spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 1/2 hour or until carrots are soft.

(Note: I didn't add the potato because I thought it was thick enough already. You can also puree the soup in a blender before adding the barley but I didn't.) Yum!

Simple Spinach Salad

Very simple, consisting of spinach, red onion, yellow pepper, Gorgonzola cheese, ground pepper, and then I added some peas as an afterthought after I took the picture (frozen peas which I put in the microwave for about 20 seconds so they weren't frozen but still cold). I also used Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette dressing on this salad. Yum.

My Favorite Summer Salad

For this salad I used:
*Organic greens (because they were on sale) and Spinach
*Strawberries
*Avocado (I like to squeeze some lemon juice on the cut up avocado so it doesn't turn brown).
*Red Onion
*Mushrooms
*Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled) (I found this in both the deli area and cheese isle at my grocery store)
*Fresh ground pepper

I also sometimes add almond slivers and I think peas would be good in this one too. I just made this up so I don't have exact amounts - but just use however much you need for how many you are feeding. (I took this to a dinner for six people so I made a lot.) Then, and this is very important for the salad to have the full effect, I use Brianna's Blush Wine salad dressing, as pictured above.