Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday FoodIngredients:
Course salt and ground pepper
1 lb. asparagus ends trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
1 lb. sugar snap peas (strings removed)
1 lb. bow tie pasta (farfalle)
4 Tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ripe avocado halved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 Peccorino cheese plus more for serving, if desired
Directions:
In a large pasta pot of boiling salted water cook asparagus and snap peas until bright green. Be sure to not overcook! I made the mistake of not watching the pot closely. Do not cook more than 2 minutes! With a slotted spoon or spatula, scoop out vegetables and transfer to a bowl.
Return water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Meaning not soft, but not uncooked! My trick is to keep tasting it until I think it's cooked enough. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Set pasta aside in colander.
In pasta pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add asparagus, snap peas, and garlic: season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Although if you accidentally over cooked your veggies the first time around, don't bother cooking again. Just toss everything in! Add remaining 2 Tbsp butter, cooked pasta, avocado, herbs, cheese and reserved pasta water. Toss to combine, season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with additional cheese, if desired.
With all of the family stuff I had to do the last couple of weeks and Halloween, I have been remiss in my regular cooking habits. But, I'm back today. The night before Super Tuesday is a chilly one in Los Angeles and it inspired me to make some warm yummy curry. All you need here are a few ingredients to get you going.
Ingredients:
10 Baby Carrots, sliced
5-8 Mint Leaves, chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
1/2 of a Ginger, minced
1 Tbs of Canola Oil
1 Package of Thai Baked Tofu from Trader Joe's, sliced
1 Jar of Green Thai Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Powder
Rice
If you want to serve your dish over rice you can save time by cooking it before you start preparing the ingredients. When you're ready, place the sliced carrots in a pan with some water. Boiling the carrots first will soften them enough to be able to sauté them with the peppers. Poke the carrots with a fork to make sure they are soft enough. You want your carrots to still be a bit crunchy so don't boil them for too long. Next heat a pan with oil. In the meantime, drain your carrots. Throw in the salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder, peppers, mint and carrots into the pan. Stir. Keep cooking for a few minutes until the peppers soften a little. Now you can put the tofu in. Stir. If the ingredients start to dry out stir in a little curry sauce. Keep stirring. Once the mint looks a little cooked. Pour in the rest of the sauce to finish. Place lid over pan to let the steam heat the sauce and cook the vegetables a little more.
The sauce from Trader Joe's is a bit tangy so it's perfect over rice!
Maybe you already know this, but just in case... I have a suggestion for those of you who have purchased fresh mint for a specific recipe and then wonder what you to do with the leftovers.
You can simply make mint tea, (hot or iced) by chopping fresh mint and soaking it in boiled water.
Required: Fresh Mint Leaves, Water, Honey
Pour desired amount of water in a tea kettle. Place on high heat. Chop some mint leaves. Take your leaves and place them in a French Press or teapot. If you don't have one, you can put them in a tall glass. Place 1 Tbsp (or to taste) of honey into the press or glass. Pour boiled water. Stir to mix up the honey. Let steep for about a minute or two depending on how strong you like it. If you are doing this in a glass, be sure to keep stirring so that the water absorbs the leaves. They'll be floating to the top.
For the iced version, once your leaves are finished steeping. Drain and pour only the water into a glass full of ice.
Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food
