Happy Wednesday! May you have a wonderful Over the Hump Day!

truth be told tuesday

Ain't that the truth! Amen, Julia!

Lightened Up Pasta Carbonara

Pasta alla carbonara was always a dish that I had heard about, yet never researched. However, when we went to Italy, the land of carbohydrates, olive oil, thick crusty bread, and, pasta, we had pasta carbonara more than once. It would be served in large bowls, sitting in a small pool of the tastiest olive oil we'd ever tasted. 

Followed up by a scoop or two of gelato and a stroll along the boulevards bustling with mopeds and Fiats, pasta carbonara is the perfect taste of Italy, and, in my opinion, the perfect taste of Summer. 

Unfortunately, the dish can be very heavy; if you don't be careful, you'll definitely be feeling the rich prosciutto, heavy cream, and egg mixture the next morning.

 I've made the original version and it is without a doubt, one of the most delicious experiences I've had. Making a true pasta carbonara will inevitably a) restore your faith in humanity, b) restore your faith in your own cooking ability, and c) make you want to take a nap.

In a effort to cut down on our cholesterol intake, I whipped up this lighter version. I would absolutely recommend trying out the original version first, it's hard not to want a pool sized bowl of it to dive headfirst into. If creating healthier versions of a traditional Italian meal sounds appealing to you, then give this a try. Mangia!

Ingredients:

1 package of large slices of prosciutto
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 lb. whole wheat thin spaghetti
1/2 c. grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
1 tbsp. parsley
2 eggs

Method:

Boil water and cook pasta according to directions. 

Slice garlic and prosciutto.

Add your prosciutto, rough cut into small chunks. Allow prosciutto, garlic, and olive oil to meld together, on a low heat. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 c. grated parmigiano and the 2 eggs. Set aside. Once pasta is ready, drain in a colander, reserving 1/4 c. water. Combine pasta and all ingredients, including eggs and cheese in a large pot or bowl, and stir for about 1-2 minutes, making sure the pasta is thoroughly coated. 

Sprinkle with parsley and you have a filling and scrumptious supper looking right at you!

Walla Walla

A few pics from our recent trip to Walla Walla... we walked til our legs were worn out, ate European style platters, and took in the sights in this beautiful town. Walla Walla is home to all sorts of fanciful boutiques, quaint restaurants, and a bountiful farmers' market.

A cute puppy dog statue.

Downtown

Walla Walla Bread Company!

A mid-afternoon refresher at Salumiere Cesario.

                                            
 I ordered the Ploughman's Platter; a mini baguette, spicy mustard spread, fine cheese, meat, and roasted almonds. 

And, husband ordered the Lunchbox Special, which included figs, roasted nuts, and fruit!

Here is Sweet Basil Pizzeria, a favorite of my father's. He's been known to purchase growlers there. If you don't know what a growler is, research it. 

We came here for lunch about a year ago on our first trip to Walla Walla, and loved it's trendy interior and plethora of New York pizzas and fresh salads.

After more walking, we drove through the campus of Whitman College. It reminded me a little of where we went to college; old brick buildings brimming with history, and long tree lined streets. For a moment I longed for new notebooks, brainy professors, and studying in the quad. 

If you haven't been to Walla Walla, please visit. You won't be disappointed in the sweet town. Also, if you are a wine lover, you can't find a better place to spend a relaxing weekend. Wineries are plentiful on either side of Walla Walla. Now, that would be a great future post...

Hugs,

k

Ina's Blog

If you love the Barefoot Contessa like I do, then you'll want to check out her blog! Lots of fantastic recipes, as usual!

Whole Wheat Calzones

   If I'm eating flour in my homemade meals these days, it has strictly been whole grain, whole wheat, buckwheat, etc. Honestly, I just can't see the point in not getting nutritional value from what I'm creating in the kitchen. And although they do not even begin to compare to calzones we enjoyed in Rome, they are the same general idea.

   It's funny that I say that now, because my whole wheat calzones just happen to be stuffed with cheese and (turkey) pepperoni. But hey, what's a girl to do when she's got whole wheat pizza dough in the fridge ready to go, she's been sweating at the gym for quite some time, it's the weekend, and... she's hungry. You've got it. She makes two monster mondo-sized calzones. And eats hers up. And her husband eats his too, because sometimes the best choice you can make is to eat carbs with cheese.

   I didn't have any tomato sauce in the pantry, so I made up for it by dicing some tomatoes and garlic, which has a fresher, sweeter effect. It also cuts down on the "mush factor" that tends to happen with large amounts of dough and sauce.

   This would also be good if you made a fancy dipping sauce as many people enjoy sauce on their calzones, however, in the interest of time, I opted for a green spinach salad. 

Ingredients:

makes 2 very large calzones

1 pre-made whole wheat pizza dough, (Trader Joe's has some delicious options)

2 large ripe tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. Italian seasoning (dried basil, oregano, thyme)

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 c. diced black olives

1/3 c. diced mushrooms

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/2 c. turkey pepperoni

2 tsp. grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1/2 c. flour, for dusting and rolling dough out on

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

   Allow dough to reach room temperature. Dust some flour on your rolling surface and on your rolling pin. Roll dough out to a large oval, until it reaches about a 1/3-1/4 inch thickness.

   Mix the tomatoes, olive oil, and seasonings with the olives and mushrooms in a bowl. Throw in pepperoni last. Splitting the ingredients in half, sprinkle them on one end of your calzone, leaving a border of dough around it. Fold over the rest of the dough and press the edges down with a fork. Next, poke holes in the top of the dough and sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano.

   Do the exact same thing to your second calzone. Carefully place calzones on a pizza stone, and bake for 20-25 minutes, when the edges turn golden brown.

   Enjoy your Italian treat with a glass of wine and some Dean Martin playing softly in the background.

Ciao,

k

Pumpkin Apple Harvest Bars

   I'll warn you: this recipe is entirely my own creation. They are done in a traditional Kathleen fashion, by stuffing as many healthy ingredients into a creation, hoping it will taste good at the same time!

   So, here we go! Feel free to include any type of protein source you'd like, or to change the toppings around. I personally love these combinations because it gives me a taste of autumn, which I am very much looking forward to. Fortunately, these are full of goodies, such as protein, fiber, and Omega 3 fatty acids from the flaxseed. I ate a Harvest Bar for breakfast, but they were also scrumptious right out of the oven with a scoop of natural frozen yogurt. 

Ingredients:

for the bars

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. clover honey

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 can (about 12 oz.) of a 15 oz. Libby's Pumpkin Filling

1/3 c. soy protein powder

1/3 c. flax seed

1 large apple, diced

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tbsp. nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

for the topping

1/2 c. oats
2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. walnut pieces

1 c. crushed or sliced almonds

1 tbsp. soy milk

1/2 c. dried cranberries

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the first four ingredients and whisk or mix with a stand or hand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing on medium speed until they are well combined. 

Next, spread in a 9 x 13 pan or cookie sheet. I used a cookie sheet and luckily remembered to wipe it down with a little butter first.

Mix up the topping ingredients and spread all over the bars.

Bake for 20 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

Enjoy!

-k

Delancey & Essex

I've talked about my obsession with Ballard, pizza, good food, and the blog Orangette before. And coincidentally, I am reading A Homemade Life, and loving it so much. But, a few weekends ago, we were lucky enough to have a quick trip to Seattle before a family Labor Day get together. And...we went to Delancey. We got to meet up with my very dear friend Sarah, who I keep around mostly in case I get into trouble and I need an attorney to back me up. Really, it's true. I have some pretty cool friends, and like I tell her, she's one of the Top 5 Coolest Friends of mine. In addition, she has been known to make certain people delicious carrot cake for their birthdays, too.

 This is a rather old picture of Sarah and I. Technically she was my "boss" when this picture was taken, but believe me, our friendship runs much deeper than our love for legal research.

Anyways, it just so happens that even though she assists with cooking classes at The Pantry, next door to Delancey, Sarah and her boyfriend, had only experienced Delancey pizza one other time! Since they are such fabulous and supportive friends, they satisfied our (okay, my) burning desire to check out the restaurant and the new bar, Essex, that just opened. That's right, we went to a buzzed about bar shortly after it just opened its doors. And, it was featured in the Seattle Times. So we put on our party hats and headed out to Ballard, our old stomping grounds. Luckily, we had an hour wait ahead of us at Delancey, so we headed over to Essex. And wow, was it neat. The cocktail list was concise, but complex. I ordered a cocktail carefully crafted with elderflower and herbs and Sarah tried a light breezy citrus beverage. Our significant others ordered cocktails too, but clearly I was too enamored with mine to remember what they were.

Mine is the pink one with pretty flowers floating in it! Tres chic!

An hour later, we continued on to pizza...

Delicious, just delicious. The environment is simple, yet very Seattle-y, with local art and photography lining the white walls. To be honest, I did not get a lot of pictures of our pizza, because I was too busy consuming it. Pictured above is the bacon onion, a magical combination of pure flavor explosions. We additionally ordered (and finished) a pepperoni, a white pizza, and a mozzarella.

All in all, a wonderful night full of good drink, good friends, and good food. A girl can honestly ask for nothing more. Go visit Delancey, and have a night you won't forget.

Ciao,

k

Local Fun

My husband and I decided to explore some quaint nearby towns today, squeezing in a morning trip before we settled down to watch our alma mater's football game. We met in college, so obviously it's a special place for us, and we'd never miss a game!

Our last stop on the way home was the town of Prosser, our county seat. I'd wanted to check out the town for some time, because I heard that the antiquing was quite good, not to mention the abundance of wineries. Anyways, we checked out a few antique shops and galleries, I picked up some pretty vintage earrings and a necklace, in addition to seeing lots of fun ideas for restoring some old furniture!

After strolling around this historic town, we stopped to have lunch at Davey's Burger Ranch. Now, we're not ones to typically visit burger ranches. Not to be a snob, but I pride myself on healthy eating and local ingredients. However, the growl of our stomachs would not be ignored, so we crossed the street. I ordered a grilled chicken fajita, the husband got some sort of gut wrenching burger, and we agreed to try fried asparagus.

 Don't worry, I am not going to extoll the wonders of fried food. In fact, fried chicken gives me stomach pains just thinking about it. But the opportunity to try some tasty vegetables at a local joint was just too great. And yes, of course it was delicious.

We followed it up with a nice soft serve peanuty chocolate sundae. We had a lovely, indulgent Saturday and I highly recommend Prosser for those who love wine, good food, and an old town feel. Of course, for all my friends and family, we will be visiting there when you stop by, because I couldn't get enough of it!

PS. Go Dawgs!

Upside Down Peach Rhubarb Pie

It was somebody special's Half Birthday last week! (Hint: somebody very special to me) After a tasty meal of chicken sliders, I whipped up my very own recipe for an upside down pie. Now, I have only made one other upside down peach pie, about a year ago. They're delicious.

Believe me, there's something very special about eating your fruit from the top, instead of being forced to eat it from the bottom, or worst of all, stirring it, a la yogurt with that icky syrupy fruit. Anyways, I had seen a quick recipe for sour cream muffins some time ago, and I knew I had some of that in the fridge. Just add some butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, and I've got a crust! So here we go, let's recreate this tasty Half Birthday Pie.

Ingredients

for the crust:

1.5 c. white flour, preferably sifted

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. sour cream

1 egg

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. butter, room temperature

for the fruit:

1 tsp. butter, melted for the pan

2 sliced peaches, skin removed

2 long stalks rhubarb, sliced very thinly

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. honey

Heat your medium sized skillet to medium-low heat and throw the fruit, sugar, and honey all in with the melted butter. Let the fruit sit, bringing to a boil. Lower the heat to low, and allow fruit to simmer while you mix up the topping/crust, about 15-20 minutes.

*Note, because your skillet will be going in the oven, make sure it is able to bake in the oven. Most brands are capable of this, especially Cuisinart and All Clad.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a stand or hand mixer, whip the sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, taking breaks to mix. Be sure to include the remaining dough that sneaks up the side of the bowl!

Once the dough is finished, bring the bowl over to your stove top and carefully spoon the dough over the fruit in dollops. Smooth the topping over the fruit and when you're satisfied pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Continue to keep and eye on your upside down pie, and when it looks like it is turning golden brown on the edges, check with a toothpick or fork. Once it seems done, remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Now, here comes the tricky part. However, the good news is that it's really not all that tricky. You may need to grab an idle body to come help, but believe me, you can do it yourself too. So what you'll need to do is place a large circular platter on top of the skillet, but make sure you have enough room to hold both the platter or plate and your skillet with both hands. Next, run a knife around the inside of the skillet, loosening up the crust. Now, flip the whole thing upside down and lift up your skillet (which should now be empty).

Voila! A glorious, beautiful, fruit-on-top treat for you and your loved one. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.