Whole Wheat Pasta with Asparagus Pesto

I don't make that much pasta as I often associate it with empty calories and decadent meals.  Although I consider myself a huge foodie, I'm very self-conscious of what I eat and how much I eat.  Thus, pasta is frequently one of those calorie-rich, nutrient-absent meals that most Americans gorge themselves on because it's clearly "good."  And I'm not the only one who thinks this way: Russ, a podcaster from Fat 2 Fit Radio, once said (and I paraphrase): "I don't often think of making pasta dishes because...well...they're just not that good for you."

Russ's comment was actually said in defense of a healthy pasta dish and I feel that if he had tried and read about this recipe, he too would be a believer in healthy pasta.  Here's why this pasta dish is different: whole wheat pasta instead of regular white pasta, pesto instead of white sauce, and smaller servings instead of the "eat until you're can't breathe" mentality round the dish out at about 400-450 calories max.

This dish is healthy, green (and we should strive to eat all things green!), and clearly delicious.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Asparagus Pesto
This recipe comes from nowhere in particular, but if you're looking for a recipe that combines pesto (any form) with pasta, see Elise Bauer's "Asparagus Pesto with Pasta" for an example.

Ingredients:
* 1 serving Whole Wheat Pasta, Spaghetti
* 2-3 tablespoons asparagus pesto, see recipe here (made with Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil)

1.) Begin by bringing a medium pot of water to a boil.  Season water with 1 tablespoon salt.  Remember, Italian cooks believe that good pasta should have flavor, and the way in which to get that flavor is to make pasta water taste like sea water.

2.) Add whole wheat pasta and cook until tender, but still firm (al dente).  Always tatse pasta before it's done--there's nothing worse than uncooked pasta.

3.) Remove from heat and strain.  I prefer not to give whole wheat pasta a cold water bath (frankly, it doesn't need it).

4.) Place on serving dish.

5.) Add 2-3 dollops of pesto.  Mix to integrate and enjoy! Makes 1 serving.

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Asparagus Pesto w/Basil Infused Olive Oil

Asparagus Pesto.  Wait.  What? You can make pesto with asparagus? HOLD ON.

Yup, "pesto" literally translates to "paste" and can be made with any number of green ingredients (basil, peas, asparagus, etc.).  Equally flexible in pesto recipes are the nut contents--pine nuts can be traded out for walnuts, pecans, or my personal favorite--pistachios.

I came across this recipe while searching for pea pesto on The New York Times website.  I had it last summer (almost exactly a year ago) at a friend's house and was blown away by its yumminess as well as the fact that it was made with PEAS.  I had no idea pesto could be made with other ingredients (like the ones outlined above), and boy was I in for a surprise.  Although I'm still searching for said recipe, this asparagus pesto packs a unique yumminess as it is both its own entity--asparagus pesto--and also a close friend to traditional basil pesto--I've substituted Vom Fass's Basil Olive Oil for regular EVOO.

Eat this recipe with pasta, on a cracker or bread, mixed into a grilled cheese sandwich, and you've got a seriously green and clearly delicious treat!

Asparagus Pesto
This recipe comes from The New York Times food & dining section (May 7, 2010) and can be found here. For an instructional video on making this dish, see Mark Bittman's short here.  I've made one major change to the recipe--instead of using regular Olive Oil, I used Vom Fass's Basil Infused Olive Oil (you can find it here on their website).  The change is fanastic: although not a basil pesto at all, this asparagus pesto packs a basil kick that reminds one of the most common and flavorful version.  Try this recipe with, or without the basil olive oil, or feel free to puree some basil during the cooking process.

Ingredients:
* 1 lb asparagus, woody ends trimmed
* 2-4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced, to taste
* 1/4 cup pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, or pistachios, finely chopped
* 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
* salt & pepper to taste

1.) Trim woody ends of asparagus.  For a video on how to remove asparagus woody ends without using a knife, see here.

2.) Cut asparagus into 1 inch spears.

3.) Bring 1 small-to-medium pot of water w/salt to taste to a boil.  Add asparagus and cook until tender.  As Mark Bitter notes in his video, asparagus is done when a knife, held up to their skin, punctures straight through without pressure, or resistance.

4.) Strain asparagus and allow to cool.

5.) While asparagus is cooking, you can prep your other ingredients--measure and chop nuts (whether pine nuts, pecans, pistachios, etc.), peel garlic, measure parmesan, and get olive oil ready.  Here, I use Vom Fass's Basil Infused Olive Oil (you can find it on their website here).  It gives the pesto an extra kick than regular non-basil based pesto.  Technically, this dish isn't a basil pesto, but the use of basil olive oil adds a hint of the familiar to your pureed asparagus.

6.) Add strained and cooled asparagus to a food processor.  Pulse to combine until pureed.  Some asparagus may require the addition of a 1/4 of water depending on how quickly/easily they puree.  If you find that the asparagus is still retaining its form and not pureeing, then add the water; this trick will fix your texture-retaining hang up!

7.) Add other ingredients:

8.) Pulse to combine and taste.  Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

9.) Serve with Pasta, bread, cheese, grilled cheese, sandwiches, or other clearly delicious treats.

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Mike's Monkey Bread

The first time my friend John told me about his fabulous boyfriend Mike, it was in a picture text message.  The image: Monkey Bread.  The subject: Mike's badass cooking skills.

The text had me hooked--I knew, just KNEW that Mike had to be fabulous (who else makes Monkey Bread that delicious?), and I've been bugging him for this recipe ever since.  I bugged him so much that he was pretty much obligated to make it the first time we met.  There were no leftovers.

The thing I love best about Mike's monkey bread is the incredible presentation it makes versus the short amount of time required to make it.  Just take canned biscuits, chopped pecans, some cinnamon, melted butter, and brown sugar in a bundt pan, bake and VOILA: the most decadent dessert you've ever had.  This monkey bread is not for those on diets.  It's for those who just ran ten miles and deserve a clearly delicious treat.

Mike's Monkey Bread
Mike got this recipe from the Pillsbury website (the original can be found here), but really, he's been eating it since he was a little kid.  The recipe below has some variations from the original as Mike has doubled the cinnamon for an earthier, spicier kick, added pecans instead of walnuts, and called for raw instead of processed white sugar.  I highly suggest following these substitutions!


Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup raw sugar
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle Biscuits
* 1 cup chopped pecans, or walnuts
* 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 3/4 cup butter, melted

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan/bundt pan.

2.) Mix sugar and cinnamon.

3.) Open 2 cans of biscuits.

4.) Cut biscuits into 4 pieces each.

5.) Place cut up biscuits in sugar/cinnamon mixture and flip until fully coated.

6.) Toss coated biscuits into well-greased bundt pan making sure to add pecans among the biscuits.

7.) Pack 1 cup of brown sugar.

8.) Add brown sugar to 3/4 cup melted butter and stir to combine.

9.) Drizzle/pour melted butter/sugar mixture over bundt of biscuits.

10.) Bake for 30-35 minutes in 350F oven or until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.  Turn upside down onto a serving plate and enjoy! Makes...well...a lot: 8-10 servings.

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Chocolate Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

On a pretty regular basis, I think to myself, "I have some really fantastic friends.  I'm a lucky girl."  Not to be a sap or anything, but it's true--I know some wonderful people.  When one of those wonderful people, Ms. Sarah Gregory, helped me out after making a rather goofy mistake, I decided that I would pay her back the best way I knew how: cooking.

Specifically, Sarah requested that I make her an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe that I made her the first time we met, but with one major change: instead of raisins, Sarah wanted chocolate chips.  The result? A cookie that couldn't get any better--a melt in your mouth chocolatey, nutty, oaty experience that seems more like a meal than a delicious snack.  Make this recipe with the original raisins it calls for, OR with chocolate chips.

Chocolate Oatmeal Pecan Cookies
As always, this recipe pays tribute to the one and only Foodblogtress, Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes.  For her original version of this recipe, please see here.  I've adjusted some of her measurements and switched out the raisins for chocolate chips, but otherwise, this cookie is pretty much the same as the one she has listed from her grandmother.


Ingredients:
* 2 sticks butter, softened
* 1 cup brown sugar, packed
* 1 cup regular sugar
* 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
* 3 cups rolled oats (not the instant kind)
* 1 1/2 cup raisins, OR chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup pecans, or walnuts (optional)
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 large eggs, beaten


1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease cookie sheet(s) with butter and set aside.

2.) In a standing mixer, combine butter (cut into 1 inch cubes and softened) and sugars.  Beat until fluffy.

3.) Add eggs one at a time.

4.) Add vanilla and almond extract, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix to combine.

5.) Measure 3 cups rolled oats and add them to the batter slowly.

6.) Add 1 1/2 cups flour.  Mix to integrate; scrape down sides to fully combine.

7.) Add 1 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips.

8.) Add 1/2 cup pecans, or walnuts and mix to fully integrate.  Scrape down sides for any leftover dry ingredients and mix one last time.  Remove mixing paddle and bowl from mixer.

9.) Now, begin to dish out your cookies.  The best technique when making cookies of any kind is to use an ice cream scoop as your dough dispenser.  So, scoop out cookie dough evenly and in perfectly spaced dough balls the same way you would ice cream.

10.) Bake in 350F oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  (NOTE: a key tip when making this recipe is that at about 10 minutes, the cookies will be thoroughly cooked, but decently chewy.  Any longer will increase the crispiness of the cookie and run the risk of burning.  Thus, if you prefer crispier cookies, then by all means add a minute or two to the cooking time, but no longer!)

11.) Try not to eat them before transferring them to the plate!

12.) Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool.  Makes about 3 batches at 12 cookies each (36 cookies).  Enjoy!

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Banana Bread

I have the best memories of my mom making banana bread when I was a kid--it was soo moist, flavorful, and delicious.  I never cared much for bread when I was young, but banana bread was like candy! Especially the kind with nuts.

About two years ago, I had a cooking itch to make one of my mom's favorite recipes.  BUT, with no recipe on hand, I had to give myself up to the fates of google's search engine.  That's when I found THIS Banana Bread recipe on Elise Bauer's food and cooking blog, Simply Recipes.  This was the very first Elise recipe I ever made, and I've been going back to her website for dinner ideas ever since.

Follow the below recipe for a banana bread that is fast, easy, and clearly delicious.

Banana Bread
The below recipe can be made with either 3, or 4 bananas.  I typically make it with three large, very ripe bananas, or four small ones.  Add according to your taste preferences.  You can find the original recipe here.
Ingredients
* 3-4 bananas, cut into pieces, and mashed
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup pecans, or walnuts
* pinch of salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 5 tablespoons butter (1/3 cup), melted

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut up 3-4 bananas and mash (either with a potato masher, or whisker in a bowl, or a Kitchenaid mixer).

2.) Add 1 egg and beat to combine thoroughly.

3.) Cube up butter and place in a microwave-safe bowl.

4.) Melt in microwave and add to banana/egg batter.

5.) Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.

6.) Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt.

7.) Add 1 cup sugar and mix to integrate.

8.) 1/2 cup at a time, add 1 1/2 cup flour.  Mix to integrate.

9.) Measure 1 cup pecans.

10.) Scrape down sides of bowl, add pecans to mixture, and mix one last time.  Pour batter into a well-greased loaf pan.

11.) Cook at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour.  The bread will be done when it's both golden on top and a knife comes out clean.  Remove from oven.

11.) Transfer to plate and allow to cool.  Serve in 1/2-to-1 inch slices.  Makes 10-12 servings.

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Cranberry Nut Bread with Citrus

There are a handful of sweetbreads that I regularly make for my friends--banana bread, pumpkin spice bread, and this one, cranberry nut bread.  When scrolling through Elise Bauer's "Bakery" section on Simply Recipes, I was thrilled to see this variation--a cranberry nut bread that calls for citrus and juice.  The first time I saw this recipe, I was lying in bed, thinking about what I wanted to bake that morning (yes, baking urges often come first thing in the morning) and I thought, "My...with a little bit of spice and vanilla extract, that would be clearly delicious!" Below is the resulting hybrid recipe from Simply Recipes & Clearly Delicious.  See Elise's for a basic recipe, and mine for a spice and apple sauce infused item that really is clearly delicious.



Cranberry Nut Bread with Citrus
The original of this recipe comes from Elise Bauer over at Simply Recipes and you can find it here.  However, the below recipe calls for multiple changes--instead of using orange juice (which works FANTASTICALLY), I use a combination of apple sauce and apple juice, whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, and a handful of spices to give it a little oomph.

Ingredients
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon orange peel, freshly grated, or preserved
* 1 cup chopped cranberries
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans
* 1/2 cup apple sauce
* 1/4 cup apple juice
* 4 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 egg, beaten

1.) Preheat oven at 350F.  Begin by combining dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and mix to integrate.  Add chopped cranberries and nuts and stir to coat thoroughly with the flour mixture.  Set aside. 
2.) Hookup your Kitchenaid mixer (or other electronic mixture) and add the following ingredients into the metal basin: melted butter, beaten egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, sugar, apple sauce, apple juice, and extracts.  Mix on low until fully integrated.
3.) Add dry mixture to wet mixture SLOWLY. Remember Alton Brown's anthem: "Speed Kills" both in baking and other arenas (as I have been told).
4.) Coat a bunt pan with butter and flour and pour batter into pan.  Smooth out thoroughly (as this version yields a rather thick batter) and bake for 30-45 minutes.
5.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!


Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Spiced Nuts

Spiced Nuts.  Doesn't everyone love spiced nuts? No, this is not a "that's what she said" joke, but rather a very tasty, crunchy, candied appetizer.  I made these spiced nuts several weeks ago to compliment the appetizers at Lydia's surprise birthday party, and they were a big hit.  Once you start snacking, you just can't stop!

Plus, the recipe is incredibly easy--melt down your ingredients, stir in your nuts, spread on a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven until crispy and delicious.  And...well, that's what she said.

Spiced Nuts
This recipe is a concoction of my own desire for sugary, salty yummyness.  Although not necessarily peanut brittle (there isn't nearly enough caramel), it does have a candied crunch that sticks to many of the nuts when cooled.  Plus, most of us have these ingredients in our kitchens already, so it's easy, fast, and rather economic to make.

*1 16 oz package of pecans or walnuts
* 1 stick butter, salted
* 2 tablespoons cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon nutmeg
* 1/3 cup sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Now, begin by melting the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and whisk to integrate fully.
2.) Turn off heat and sprinkle in nuts.  Stir to integrate so that nuts are completely coated with sugary buttery mixture.
3.) Spread nuts over a standard, ungreased cookie sheet.
4.) Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the nuts are sizzling in the oven.  Actually, a good rule of thumb is a saying that one of my family friends always says, "The Nose Knows!"  Basically, if you can smell the nuts cooking in your house at around 10 or 15 minutes, they're done.
5.) Remove from oven when the "nose knows" and allow to cool for about five minutes.  You'll want to remove the nuts from the pan and transfer into a serving dish/tupperware while the candied coating is still warm enough to break up fairly easily.  If you let the nuts cool completely, you're gonna have some very dangerous scraping business ahead of you--although some nuts may come off pretty easily, others will be stubborn and literally GLUED to the pan.  This is not only a pain in the butt to detach, but also a great opportunity to lose your nuts...that's right...lose your nuts.  Too much scraping and sticking and before you know it, you'll have nuts flying all over the kitchen.  Unfortunately, since these nuts come in a candy-ish coating, they cannot be salvaged with the five second rule.  Otherwise, you'll have family and friends wondering why your nuts are covered in dog hair.

And on that note, did I mention that nuts in dog hair are not tasty? Also, did I mention that nuts covered in candied cinnamon are clearly delicious? Enjoy!


Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Roasted Vegetables and Fall Salad

What do you get when three PhD ladies who haven't seen each other, like really seen each other in waay too long, get together? Eat, drink cocktails, and watch a movie but of course, silly!

However, what happens when one of these ladies is a vegan, one a former vegetarian, and one a girl who just likes her peas? A meal that's primarily vegetable based (and very healthy) including roasted vegetables and a fall salad.  Yum.

The roasted vegetables recipe below is one of the easiest recipes to whip up, and a big crowd pleaser.  Eat it as the main course as we three veggie loving girls did, or eat it alongside a more carnivore-friendly dish like steak, or chicken.  Finally, the salad is one of my favorite ways to eat salad and I never make it any other way: walnuts/almonds, green lettuce, or spinach, lots of tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with garlic, herbs, and cranberries.  SOO GOOD!

Roasted Red Potatoes and Carrots
This recipe comes from no source in particular.  The combination of olive oil with balsamic vinegar, red potatoes, and other veggies comes from my friend Laura.  However, after making this recipe a good 10-15 times, I've perfected the combination of the below ingredients and the correct ratios for this combination.

 
* 1 bag of carrots (preferrably organic)
* 1 bag of small red potatoes
* 1/2 of an onion, chopped
* olive oil (to taste)
* balsamic vinegar (to taste)
* 5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
* freshly grated pepper, to taste
* kosher salt, to taste
* 1-2 tablespoons of dried or fresh rosemary
* 1-2 tablespoons of basil, chopped

1.) Chop all of the vegetables (red potatoes, onion, and carrots) and throw into a roasting pan; red potatoes should be in eighths, or whatever size seems bite-size enough and will cook thoroughly, and carrots should be the size of carrot sticks.  I prefer using large carrots over baby carrots because they are higher in beta-keratin, and more flavorful.  Plus, organic carrots are even more flavorful in their larger form!

2.) Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I have not put a specific ratio of olive oil-to-balsamic vinegar above simply because I think this an issue of preference.  Laura prefers more balsamic vinegar and less olive oil, whereas I prefer an equal amount of both.  Just go with what you like!

3.) Sprinkle with remaining seasonings--pepper, basil, rosemary, and kosher salt.  Salt and pepper should be to taste because again, this is an issue of how you like to prepare your food.  Finally, press/mince garlic over the vegetables and stir to integrate.  Cover with an oven-friendly lid or aluminum foil.

4.) Roast in oven at 400F for 35 minutes and check for ready-ness (ready-ness = potatoes are soft enough to chew in your mouth, but not so soft that they will mash when being served).  It's possible you will need to cook the dish longer depending on the stove (in my gas stove, 35 mins. is perfect, but in an electric, it will possibly take longer).  Let cool, and serve!

Fall Salad
I have been making some variation of this salad for as long as I can remember.  Every now and then, I switch up the ingredients (i.e., dried cherries instead of cranberries, spinache instead of romaine, you get the picture), but the core ingredients are below.  

* 1/2 head of romain lettuce, or 1/2 bag of spinache
* 1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, or 1 whole regular tomato
* 1/2 cup walnuts, or almonds
* 4-5 cloves garlic minced/pressed
* 1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into circular halves
* 1/4 cup olives, black or kalamatta (heck, even green if you're into that sort of thing!)
*  1/2 cup craisins, or dried cherries

1.) Wash and chop vegetables--lettuce/spinache, tomatoes, cucumber.  Place in bowl.
2.) Add remaining ingredients--nuts, garlic, olives, and craisins.  Toss together.
3.) Add any salad herbs you might enjoy with your salad.  I sometimes toss ground pepper, mint, or basil in between, but these ingredients are not necessary.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Souffle

I've been sitting in front of my laptop typing papers for about 3 days now. AND, this week is going to be exactly the same--between grading for the LSU ENGL 1001 semester assessment and finishing my last 20 page paper, I made sure to cook foods ahead of time so that I could eat healthy and not have to cook with my writing schedule.

Well...we'll pretend the below post is healthy. In between my writing this weekend, my friends Joe and Lydia came over in the hopes of distracting me from homeworking. Part of that distraction involved converting 2 baked sweet potatos into a souffle.

What I love about this recipe is how easy, fast, and tasty it is. Lydia and I ate so much of the souffle that I had to go for a run right after dinner because the souffle tasted too good to be true!

Sweet Potato Souffle
The below recipe is my own version of a basic sweet potato souffle only minus the butter and extra calories.  Thus, this recipe is pretty low in calories and nutritional (protein and fiber anyone?!) depending on how heavy you make the brown sugar-pecan-marshmallow crust.

Ingredients:
* 3 sweet potatoes, cooked
* 1/2-to-1 cup sugar (depending on your sweet tooth, or calorie preferences)
* 1/2 cup carnation milk
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon nutmeg
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/2-to-1 cup marshmallows
* 1/2 cup pecans

1.) Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Peel potatoes and add to a mixing bowl.
2.) Add sugars, milk, egg, and spices to the potatoes. Mash thoroughly.
3.) Add ingredients to a souffle pan and sprinkle with with brown sugar, pecans, and marshmallows.
4.) Cook in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until marshmallows are dark gold.
5.) Let cool for a few minutes, and enjoy!