Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Peas with Fettuccine, Basil & Sunflower Seeds

This recipe comes from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food and is ready start to finish in less than 30 minutes. An amazing dish for how simple it is to prepare! I served this with grilled patty pan squash fresh from Brooke's Dad's Garden (thanks Mark!) and some fresh bread.

Serves 2
$8

Ingredients

  • Fresh fettuccine for 2
  • 4 TBLS Olive Oil
  • 1 & 1/2 cups frozen peas
  • 1/3 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  • 10 fresh basil leaves - torn into small pieces
  • 1 clove garlic - minced
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Toast the seeds on a baking sheet in a hot oven or under the broiler until their brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool a bit.
  2. Boil plenty of water for the fettuccine. When it's ready toss the noodles in with a little salt. Drain.
  3. While the water's boiling/noodles are cooking, heat up the olive oil in a skillet.
  4. Toss in the peas, minced garlic and basil and cook stirring frequently for about 7 minutes.
  5. Combine all of the cooked ingredients in a big bowl and toss, adding black pepper if you'd like.
  6. Enjoy!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Poor Man's Pork Picadillo

This recipe's great and simple! You can make sandwiches out of the filling if you'd like, but I serve it up with boxed Spanish rice and black beans. It's great for leftovers too!

Ingredients

Serves 4
$16

  • 1 medium organic onion - diced
  • 2 cloves organic garlic - minced
  • 1 lb natural ground pork
  • 1/2 cup organic raisins
  • 1 - 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup organic green olives from the deli section - chopped
  • From the cupboard - 1 Tbls chili powder, 2 Tbls red wine vinegar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp salt
  • 1 can organic black beans
  • 1 box organic Mexican rice
Directions

  1. Put the rice on to cook according to the directions (or cook from scratch if you've got the time...I recommend Rick Bayless Red Rice Recipe if you're cooking from scratch).
  2. Throw the onion, pork and garlic in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the pork begins to brown. Don't worry about adding any oil, the oil from the pork will be great to cook the veggies in. Stir the pork around and crumble it up really good!
  3. Add the raisins, spices and vinegar to the pan and stir it all together.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, leaving a nice spicy coating of goodness on the meat.
  6. Drain the Black Beans and add them to the red rice for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  7. Add the green olives and stir
  8. Enjoy!