Love in the Kitchen - making fast, healthy, homegrown meals you'll enjoy

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Pasta Raccolta Estivo

Today I'm sharing this post with the readers from The Frugal Foodie Mama to celebrate Carrie's (Frugal Foodie Mama herself) birthday week!

We love Italian food in my house.  My grandparents were Italian - something must have been passed down I guess.  And I think that Italian food is a wonderful way to use the beautiful produce that comes from the garden throughout the year.

In the spring, we make Pasta Primavera.  Pasta Primavera is a dish that consists of pasta and fresh vegetables.  The dish may contain almost any kind of vegetable, but cooks tend to stick to firm, crisp vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, peas, onions and green bell peppers, with tomatoes. Pasta primavera is usually highlighted by light flavors, aromatic herbs and bright colors ('primavera' meaning spring).

Cacciatore showcases fall flavors.  Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with tomatoes, onions, herbs, often bell pepper, and sometimes wine.

I've always thought we needed a special dish for summer - something between primavera and cacciatore.  Something that is simple to make, light and quick to assemble.  So we created Pasta Raccolta Estivo - pasta from the summer harvest.  We




Pasta Raccolta Estivo

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces vermicelli (angel hair pasta)
  • 1½ cups diced tomatoes with liquid (of 1 15 ounce can)
  • 1 red onion, cut in julienne strips
  • 2 sweet bell peppers, cut into julienne strips
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly slices
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • handful of basil, chopped
  • 4½ cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups fresh (or frozen) peas or sweet corn
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup light sour cream
  • chopped hot peppers (such as jalapeno or habanero) to taste (if desired)

Directions:

Place pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, basil, salt and black pepper in a large skillet. Pour in vegetable broth.



Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated until there is about one inch of liquid left in the bottom of the pot.

Add peas and cooked chicken and stir.  Simmer for an additional 3 - 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are heated.


Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and hot peppers (if used).


We loved this spicy and creamy pasta dish.  The flavors of the herbs and vegetables blend together wonderfully with the creamy sour cream, and the heat from the hot peppers was the perfect addition.  This was so easy to make - and with just one skillet to wash afterwards, we had a lot of time to enjoy our summer evening!





Thanks for reading along as always, and be sure to stop by and wish Carrie over at The Frugal Foodie Mama a Happy Birthday!

zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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Monday, August 26, 2013

Tuesday's Table for August 27, 2013 - And a *Giveaway*!!









Time to fill Tuesday's Table!

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week.  I appreciate all the thoughtful comments - what a lovely group of people y'all are!  I chose Culinary Flavor's Fish Plaki as my feature. I think this is perfect for a lovely summer dinner!  You need to head over and see this recipe.!





Please grab a button  - and thanks so much for sharing!



We also had a giveaway last week.  Picked randomly, the winner is <drumroll>

#5- Sherry at Jazzy Gourmet Cooking Studio!</drumroll>  Please send me your mailing address and I'll get that out to you right away.


Here's what I'll be giving away this week:

Kitchen Art Scrap Trap



To enter, link up your recipes, crafts and ideas. And for each link you add, you will get one entry. And if you send over a friend who follows me and adds a comment telling me who sent them, you get an extra entry!

Only a few guidelines:
  • Please share as many links as you like, but only if you haven't shared them here before.  
  • Add a link back to Tuesday's Table (or grab a button above!) so others can join in the fun.  
  • Follow me via Google+ or Bloglovin.
No other requirements, but visit the other links here, and I'd love for you to sign up for my email reminder here!

And now, for this week's link party!




zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Lemonade for National Lemonade Day

Did you know it is National Lemonade Day today?  To celebrate, I've 10 fabulous lemonade recipes from around the internet (plus a few special lemony treats of my own!) to share with you.

























Not tempted even after all of those great ideas?  Perhaps these will do the trick:














Hopefully one of these recipes gets you into a lemonade kid of mood.  Which would you try first?  Do you have a favorite lemonade or lemonade treat?


zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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In the Garden - Week of August 18, 2013

Lots of red in my harvest this week.  Aside from the hot peppers (and we've got plenty of those!) we had lovely red strawberries, our first batch of red potatoes and some tomatoes!




Though our tomato harvest is not going to be very plentiful this year, at least the few we are getting are beautiful.



ItemWeight lbs.
Anaheim Pepper
0.25
Basil
0.75
Boysenberries
0.48
Broccoli
0.18
Carrots
4.07
Cayenne Peppers
0.63
Cherry Peppers
0.19
Fresno Peppers
0.13
Ghost Peppers
0.66
Habaneros
0.16
Jalapeno Pepper
0.73
Lemons
5.48
Oyster Mushrooms
1.18
Peas
5.2
Potatoes
11.71
Scorpion Peppers
0.31
Scotch Bonnet Peppers
1.33
Serrano Chiles
0.34
Strawberries
3.68
Sweet Bell Peppers
1.52
Tomatoes
3.52
Grand Total
41.80


What's coming up in your garden this week?   I've linked up with Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday and An Oregon Cottage's Tuesday Garden Party ... hop on over and see what is popping in gardens around the world this week.


zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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Monday, August 19, 2013

Tuesday's Table for August 20, 2013 - And a *Giveaway*!!









Time to fill Tuesday's Table!

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week.  I appreciate all the thoughtful comments - what a lovely group of people y'all are!  I chose Simple Living and Eating's Duck Breasts with Fresh Peaches as my feature. This looks deliciously French and delightfully simple!  You need to head over and see this recipe.!





Please grab a button  - and thanks so much for sharing!



We also had a giveaway last week.  Picked randomly, the winner is <drumroll>

#1- Tumbleweed Contessa!</drumroll>  Please send me your mailing address and I'll get that out to you right away.


Here's what I'll be giving away this week:

Amco Rub Away Bar



To enter, link up your recipes, crafts and ideas. And for each link you add, you will get one entry. And if you send over a friend who follows me and adds a comment telling me who sent them, you get an extra entry!

Only a few guidelines:
  • Please share as many links as you like, but only if you haven't shared them here before.  
  • Add a link back to Tuesday's Table (or grab a button above!) so others can join in the fun.  
  • Follow me via Google+ or Bloglovin.
No other requirements, but visit the other links here, and I'd love for you to sign up for my email reminder here!

And now, for this week's link party!




zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Skillet Cobbler


Sometimes you need a quick dessert for a summer dinner.  This cobbler goes together in just a few minutes, and is made with only a few simple ingredients.  And it makes use of some of that delicious summer fruit!  I used my grandma's cast iron skillet for this, and it was the perfect vessel for this tasty dessert.


Skillet Cobbler - with Concord Grapes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups Concord grapes (or other summer fruit of your choice - chopped if not bite-sized already)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the butter in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet and transfer to the preheated oven to melt.






Meanwhile, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in the milk, 1 cup sugar, the lemon juice, zest and vanilla to combine. Mix together the remaining tablespoon sugar and the grapes in another bowl. Remove the hot skillet with the melted butter from the oven and pour in the batter. Top with the sugared grapes. Bake until brown and the batter has risen up and around the fruit, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly.





This is a superb summer dessert - sweet and fruity, with a bit of crunch on the bottom.  I think a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be a perfect addition!






zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Tuesday's Table for August 13, 2013 - And a *Giveaway*!!









Time to fill Tuesday's Table!

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week.  I appreciate all the thoughtful comments - what a lovely group of people y'all are!  I chose Savvy Saving Couple's Easy Summer Vegetable Soup as my feature. Love soup any time of the year - and this one is full of garden-y goodness!  You need to head over and see this recipe.!





Please grab a button  - and thanks so much for sharing!



We also had a giveaway last week.  Picked randomly, the winner is <drumroll>

#24- Nicole at Cookaholic Wife!</drumroll>  Please send me your mailing address and I'll get that out to you right away.


Here's what I'll be giving away this week:

Norpro 583 Grip Ez Chopper, Scraper



To enter, link up your recipes, crafts and ideas. And for each link you add, you will get one entry. And if you send over a friend who follows me and adds a comment telling me who sent them, you get an extra entry!

Only a few guidelines:
  • Please share as many links as you like, but only if you haven't shared them here before.  
  • Add a link back to Tuesday's Table (or grab a button above!) so others can join in the fun.  
  • Follow me via Google+ or Bloglovin.
No other requirements, but visit the other links here, and I'd love for you to sign up for my email reminder here!

And now, for this week's link party!




zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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In the Garden - Week of August 11, 2013

We've had really mixed results in our garden this year.  The tomatoes have been pretty bad and the corn has been disastrous, but the peppers?  Holy cow!

Sweet pepper's are just beginning to ripen.


This is just one day's worth of hot peppers.  And the (extraordinarily prolific hydroponic) ghosts have not even started to ripen yet!


While the strawberries haven't been exceptional, we get enough for The Mr and me to have a bowl every evening.  They just keep coming, and they are so sweet!



ItemWeight lbs.
Anaheim Pepper
0.25
Basil
0.75
Boysenberries
0.48
Broccoli
0.18
Carrots
4.07
Cayenne Peppers
0.63
Cherry Peppers
0.19
Fresno Peppers
0.13
Ghost Peppers
0.51
Habaneros
0.16
Jalapeno Pepper
0.73
Lemons
5.48
Oyster Mushrooms
1.18
Peas
5.2
Potatoes
10.30
Scorpion Peppers
0.31
Serrano Chiles
0.34
Strawberries
2.69
Sweet Bell Peppers
1.52
Tomatoes
1.38
Grand Total
36.76



What's coming up in your garden this week?   I've linked up with Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday and An Oregon Cottage's Tuesday Garden Party ... hop on over and see what is popping in gardens around the world this week.

zentMRS - Love in the Kitchen
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