Spaghetti with Chilli Garlic and Veggies

Pasta is one of the most comforting foods and most often, a quick-and-easy meal on a busy day when you have less than a half hour to put dinner out on the table. The inspiration for this recipe is from two different sources - First source: I was watching Giada De Laurentis's show "Everyday Italian" a couple of years ago on Food Network and she made this quick and easy Pasta with chilli oil and garlic. It looked so delicious that I made it right then, right after I was
done watching the show. Love Giada's recipes! Second Source: I had this delicious veggie pasta at my good friend Mel's wedding Reception last year that had roasted red peppers, spinach and Mozzarella. So I figured I'd get one heck of a flavorful pasta if I put these two together.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 1 lb Pasta (Spaghetti), Red pepper(1), Spinach (1 cup- fresh or frozen), Broccoli( 1 cup - florets), Garlic( 1 bulb), Red Chilli flakes(2 tsp), Lime juice (3 tsp), Pine nuts(1/2 cup), Shredded Mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup), Olive oil (1 Tbsp + 2 tsp), Salt, Pepper

Cook away...
> Cook the Pasta till it gets al-dente according to the instructions on the package
> Chop the Red Pepper and garlic into thin long slices, separate the broccoli florets
> Put a Tbsp of olive oil in a pan and drop the Red Pepper slices, broccoli and spinach and saute on medium heat for 5-7 minutes and remove
> In a separate hot pan, add 2 tsp olive oil and add the chilli flakes and let it cook for a minute or so. Then add the garlic slices and saute for a few minutes, till garlic turns golden brown and remove from stove top
> Before draining the Pasta, store a couple of Tbsps of pasta water.
> Drain pasta and drop it in the serving bowl
> Add the pasta water, Red Pepper and the veggies and toss gently.
> Now add the Chilli Garlic mixture and toss some more
> Add the Mozzarella cheese and toss lightly
> Top with Pine nuts
> Dig in!

My Thoughts...
> If you are not a big red chilli flakes person, cut it down to one tsp. Same thing with garlic, if you are not a big garlic eater, limit it to a couple of cloves. I LOVE garlic and tend to use it a lot in my cooking. The nice thing about this recipe is it is quite flexible in terms of the ingredients. You could probably add in more veggies like Zucchini or green peas.
> I made a "kiddie" version of this last night for my two-year old. Before adding the chilli garlic mixture in, I took some of the pasta out into a bowl(with the veggies already added) and added some tomato basil marinara sauce to it. Two-in-one meals, gotta love them!

Coming soon... recipes for some spicy, yummy Indian dishes. Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool.

Berry Summer-y Smoothie

Hot blazing summer days...I'm always looking for tasty, healthy, caffeine-free choices to cool off on a 90 degree day (I do love my iced Mocha from Starbucks, but caffeine after 3pm is a BAD idea). We went to visit friends last weekend and they offered us this smoothie-like beverage that was so yummy, I had to make it and add some of my personal touches to it.

Prep time: 5 minutes (or even 3 maybe)

Serves: 3 (about 10 oz per serving)

Ingredients: Blackberries (3/4 cup - fresh or frozen, I used fresh), Raspberries(1/2 cup - Fresh or frozen), Low fat vanilla yogurt (1 cup), Low fat Plain yogurt (1/2 cup), Sugar(to your taste, I added about 1 Tbsp), Ice cubes

Blend away...
> In the blender, add all the above ingredients and blend until you get a semi-solid Smoothie consistency
> Add some Milk if you want a more juice-like consistency

My thoughts..
> Great way to get your kids to eat some yogurt and for the whole family to load up on the antioxidants in the blueberries
> Want to make this more decadent? Add Vanilla icecream instead of the Vanilla yogurt and top it with some whipped cream. yum!
> For a low calories version, You can substitute the sugar for splenda (cuts down about 100 calories), the low fat yogurt with non fat versions (cuts down an additional 60 calories)
> Don't have Raspberries on hand? Throw in some strawberries and a banana.

Cheers! Stay cool..

Quinoa Salad with Black-eyed peas, avocado and corn

This recipe is my first tryst with Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa). I've heard and read so much about Quinoa and it's nutritional value and decided it was time to try it. This recipe is a modified version of the "suggested" recipe on the Organic Red Quinoa box (Love you, Trader Joe's!)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 (or 2 really really hungry people)

Ingredients: Organic Red Quinoa (1 cup), Black-eyed peas (1 15-oz can), Avocado (1), Corn (about a cup - frozen, fresh, whatever you have on hand), Red onion (half, diced), Tomato(1 - I used Roma, recipe suggested grape tomatoes), Cilantro (Half a bunch, but I just put in tons of it, there is never enough cilantro if you ask me!), Lime juice (about 2 tsp), Pine nuts (about 1 Tbsp, if you have them), Salt, Pepper, Olive oil

Cook away..
> Cook the Quinoa according to the instructions on the box. Typically 1 cup Quinoa with 2 cups of water, bring it to a boil and cover with a lid and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes
> While the Quinoa is cooking, put about 2 tsp of Olive oil in a pan and roast the corn and onions for about 5 minutes until golden brown (You can skip this step, if you like and just use raw onions and corn, I just like mine sauteed a little). Put these away in a bowl
> Cut the avocado into 1/2 inch pieces, dice the tomato
> Drain and rinse the Black-eyed peas (can use Black beans too, or even Dark red kidney beans)
> Chop the cilantro
> Now combine the sauteed onions and corn, avocado, tomato, black-eyed peas and half of the cilantro and toss lightly
> Add salt and pepper and a tsp of lime juice and toss some more
> Turn off the stove once the Quinoa is done and add some olive oil, salt, pepper and lime juice to the cooked Quinoa and toss it
> Let the Quinoa cool a little
> In the serving bowl, spread the Quinoa and add the combined black-eye peas mixture and toss lightly. Add the rest of the lime juice and garnish with the remaining cilantro and top off with the toasted pinenuts
> You could use any store brought salad dressing to go with this, I personally loved the Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette with this salad. Recipe suggests Cilantro salad dressing

My thoughts...
> A decent not-too-big serving of this dish was quite filling, because of the high quantities of fiber and protein in the Quinoa, the good fats in avocado (monounsaturated fats that reduce bad cholesterol, raise good cholesterol..someone stop me or I'll go on and on about avocado), the protein in black eyed peas.
>The pine nuts are optional but I love them and you taste that little crunch in every bite.

Do try this and leave your comments or suggestions for improvement. Enjoy!