Tag Archives: healthy

Rotini with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans

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Rotini with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans

Rotini with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans

It might still be a little early for zucchini, but it looked yummy at the grocery store the other day so I decided to make one of my “pasta concoctions”…this is one of the creative moments that causes Jon to call me the McGyver of the kitchen (because I can seemingly concoct a dish out of string and a tin can)!

Zucchini with Garlic

Zucchini with Garlic

I started off by sauteing some onions and slivered garlic. To add in some savory spice, I put in a good amount of allspice and a little nutmeg.

After the onions were all soft and flavorful, I added in the sliced zucchini and the cannellini beans.

Zucchini with Cannellini Beans

Zucchini with Cannellini Beans

After tasting it, I decided it needed a little bit of a sourness so added in a small amount of rice wine vinegar, plus some red chili pepper flakes to give it a little kick. I mixed in the rotini pasta plus some of the pasta cooking water to thicken the sauce and it was ready to eat. It was like a little bowl of early summer! Yum!

Rotini with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans

Rotini with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans

Orecchiette with Simple Tomato Sauce

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Orecchiette with Tomato Sauce

Orecchiette with Tomato Sauce

I was so happy today when in Whole Foods I discovered they now have whole wheat orecchiette! Yeah! This is one of my favorite pasta shapes, but since I couldn’t find it in whole wheat I would only use it on “special” occasions. So of course I had to make it immediately (well, not in the store, but today). Hopefully they will read this and keep it in stock regularly just for me…

I decided to make a simple tomato sauce to go with the orecchiette. I started by sauteing some onions and garlic with Aleppo pepper (a wonderful slightly-spicy red chili pepper), a littler turmeric, Celtic sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.

Onions and Garlic Sauteing with Aleppo Pepper

Onions and Garlic Sauteing with Aleppo Pepper

Chopped Tomatoes

Chopped Tomatoes

Then I chopped up some baby tomatoes and added them in to the sauce. After simmering for a while, they got all melty and released all their yummy tomato juices.

Simple Tomato Sauce

Simple Tomato Sauce

My lovely orecchiette had been cooking, so I added some of the pasta water to thicken the sauce.

Orecchiette

Orecchiette

After draining the pasta, I spooned some of the sauce over the orecchiette and enjoyed the whole wheat goodness in a great pasta shape. Yummy and healthy!

Whole Wheat Orecchiette with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Whole Wheat Orecchiette with Simple Tomato Sauce - yummy and healthy!

 

Spinach “Feta” Pie

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Fresh Baked Spinach Pie

Spinach Pie Fresh from the Oven

At the end of another gorgeous spring day, I decided to make a spinach “feta” pie for dinner. The filling for the pie was the inspiration for my homemade spinach ravioli I made several weeks ago.

Spinach

Spinach Seasoned with Nutmeg

I started with the filling by defrosting some frozen spinach and then squeezing out all the water from the spinach while trying not to send half of it down the drain! I mixed in some nutmeg, salt, and pepper to season it.

Then, I made the “feta” by mixing some white vinegar and salt into crumbled tofu.

Preparing the Spinach Pie

The Best Way to Get Jon to Eat Spinach...Hide It!

Rather than using pie crust, I use phyllo dough for this dish. My favorite is actually a whole wheat phyllo dough. I layered some down in a pie tin, brushing it with olive oil. I have rarely been able to master the art of separating each thin sheet of phyllo, and this time was no exception!

I layered in some vegan cream cheese (which gets all warm and gooey in the oven), the “feta”, and the spinach, topped it with some dollops of the cream cheese, then folded in the layers of phyllo dough.

Spinach Pie Ready for the Oven

Spinach Pie Ready for the Oven

After brushing it with olive oil, sprinkling it with chunky Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper, it was ready for the oven! It takes about 25-30 minutes to cook, allowing Jon to get in a little video game time before dinner. :-)

When it came out of the oven, the crust was browned and crispy and the filling was warm and gooey. A perfect healthy meal for a spring evening!

Fresh Baked Spinach Pie

Spinach Pie Fresh from the Oven

Spinach Pie Served

Spinach Pie Served on My Favorite Dragonfly Plates