|
Hello there! Long time no see. It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post and so excited to get back on it. I thought the best recipe to share after being gone for so long was something that was simple yet sooooo scrumptious. Who doesn’t love pasta? I mean oodles and oodles of carby goodness in different shapes, yummm. My home is notorious for never eating Italian food out or using jarred pasta sauce. For us, we find it so easy, fresh, simple and cheaper to make sauces at home.  One of the first things my sister learned to make was tomato sauce- it was amazing! People underestimate the power of fresh herbs and fresh ingredients and it’s something I want to share with you guys!! Jarred sauce tends to have lots of sodium, sugar and can tend to taste a little flat. By making your sauce at home, you can control the amount of salt and sugar AND make the flavors even bolder with fresh herbs.  Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be sharing with you a tomato pasta sauce and an alfredo pasta sauce so you never have to buy store bought jarred sauce again! So that brings us to this recipe! If you are someone who just doesn’t like tomatoes or just want to try something besides your standard tomato sauce, this herby pasta is for you! It’s sweet and spicy, salty and herby, lemony and do so bright! Coming together in less than 10 minutes, this sauce has an olive oil base with super sweet onions, lots of garlic, a few spices and of course, a handful of basil and parsley.  You will probably look at the recipe and think, half a cup of olive oil?? Just kill me already! Well let’s wait a second, we’re using extra virgin olive oil, not your standard canola or vegetable oil. You know that really good stuff you use for salads or bring out for the fancy dinner parties? Ya we’re cracking out that baby today. Olive oil (in moderation) is actually really good for you and had such a nice flavor. This oil is what will give the sauce that ‘saucey’ part so don’t skimp on it!
You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already so what are you waiting for??!! Clear your calendar as tonight is reserved for some pasta twirling and Netflix binging. 10 Minute Herby Pasta SauceIngredients: 16 oz of spaghetti 1/2 cup extra Virgin olive oil 1 bunch/ cup chopped parsley (I like using half curly and flat parsley!) 1 bunch/ cup chopped basil 2 tsp Herbs de Provence (optional) 1/2 a lemon, juiced 1 tsp red pepper flakes 3 tbsp plus 2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper 1 sweet yellow or red onion, thinly sliced 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped Directions: In a large pot, bring water to a boil with 2-3 tbsp of salt. This is the only chance you get to salt your pasta so you need to add a good amount. 3 tbsp may seem a lot but you will drain most of it out. As the pasta is boiling, heat up a heavy bottom, wide pan with the olive oil. Add in the garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, herbs de Provence and 1 tsp of the salt. Cook until the onions have sweated, becomes translucent and easy to ‘mush’ on medium high heat, around 10 minutes. By now, your water should be at a roiling boil. When you start to see the water rapidly bubbling, add in your dried spaghetti and cook accordingly, except for 1 minute less than the suggested time. We want the pasta to be slightly al dente (with a bite) as it will finish cooking in the sauce. Add the herbs into the sauce along with the black pepper, remaining salt, sugar and lemon juice. Quickly mix it around and by now your pasta should be done cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and transfer your spaghetti to the sauce. Mix it around in the pan while on the heat and add around half of the pasta water- this will help emulsify the sauce and make it stick to the pasta. Taste it and add more salt, lemon juice and red pepper flakes to your liking! Serve a big healing of the noodles as is or mix in some Parmesan cheese. Mmm enjoy!!   Homemade Dumplings with Ginger Broth and Hot Chili Sauce PRINT
Ginger Broth: Ingredients:
Directions: Start your broth before you start the dumplings. In a large pot, add your garlic, onion, spring onions and ginger. On high heat, blister and char the aromatics to release the flavor- around 5 to 8 minutes. Add in your chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat with a lid until your dumplings are ready (at least an hour or longer to intensify the flavor). Before serving, add the salt, black pepper, white pepper and soy sauce. Add sesame oil and fish sauce to taste. Hot Chili Sauce Ingredients:
In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Dumplings: Ingredients:
Directions: The first step is making sure you devein your shrimp. Taking a paring knife, make a shallow incision on the top of the shrimp where you see a black line. Remove the vein (aka the poop, yuck). Search up videos on google or ask your buy pre-deveined shrimp if you don’t know how to do so! Once all your shrimp are deveined and have no shells, pulse them in a food processor or simply take a large knife and keep cutting them until they form a paste. There shouldn’t be any chunks and it should be relatively smooth. In a big bowl, mix together all the ingredients (there really is no order to it). The best way is just to get in there with your hands (wear gloves if needed) and make sure that all the cabbage, pork and shrimp is incorporated well with the spices and sauces. Taking your wonton wrappers, add a 2 tsp dollop of the mixture in the middle. Have a bowl of cold water nearby. Dip your finger in the water and trace around the edges. Fold the wrapper over diagonally forming a triangle. Use your fingers to press the edges together to make sure they are sealed. Now, wet the inside corner of one end and the outside corner of the other. Fold them together to form a package. Make sure both ends are pressed together tightly so that they don’t fall apart when cooking. While your broth is bowling, bowl a small pot of water on the side. Add in your dumplings while making sure it isn’t over crowded. Move them around with your spider or spoon and flip them over after 1 minute. Let them cook in total for 2 to 2.5 minutes until the wonton wrapper is translucent. Remove them and drain off the excess liquid. Set the cooked dumplings aside and repeat with the rest. Boil the bok choy in the same water while the dumplings are cooking, set aside. If freezing, read the following directions. Place your ready made raw dumplings in a flat layer on a plate or baking tray. Freeze them for at least 2 hours. Take them out of the freezer and sprinkle them with flour. Toss them in a bag and now you can keep them in a freezer for up to 3 weeks. Cook accordingly, but maybe for an additional couple minutes. To serve, add the dumplings and bok choy at the bottom of the bowl, pour over the broth, drizzle over the chili oil and sprinkle spring onions and sesame seeds over the top. You can also eat these alone with the chili oil and no broth. This makes the perfect warming and light soup for winter!  Grilled Steak w Chimichurri Sauce, Roasted Root Vegetables and Winter Salad printRoasted Vegetables:
Ingredients: 3 sweet potatoes (I used a mix of Japanese, yams and orange sweet potatoes) 1 red onion, chopped into chunks 1 head of cauliflower florets 1 head of broccoli florets 2 tsp of salt 5 garlic cloves chopped 2 tbsp neutral oil 2 tsp red pepper flakes Freshly ground black pepper Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. To prep your vegetables, wash the potatoes and remove anything sprouting from the outside. Cut them into 1 inch pieces (peel the skin if preferred). Lay the potatoes and onions on one pan, broccoli and cauliflower on another. In a small bowl, mix together all the other spices and oils. Split the mixture among the two pans and toss well. Bake the vegetables accordingly. Potatoes for 15 minutes, and cauliflower mix for 10 minutes, flipping both halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Steak: Ingredients: 10 oz flank steak 2 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp oil 1 tbsp butter 3 garlic cloves Directions: Remove the steak from the fridge and using a paper towel, remove as much moisture as you can. This will ensure the steak cooks evenly and has a nice crust. Once dry, pat in the salt and pepper. Let it sit on the counter for an hour to allow the steak to come to room temperature and marinate. Using a cast iron pan*, add oil and heat it on a high flame for 10 minutes. Once heated, carefully place the steak (fatty side down) into the hot oil. Add in the butter and garlic cloves immediately. My preferred way to cook steak is medium rare. Cook the steak for 3 minutes on one side while spooning the garlic-oil-butter liquid in the pan, on the top of the steak. Flip it on the other side and cook for another 2 minutes. Cook longer if you prefer a less-pink steak. Once cooked, remove from pan and let it rest on a cutting board or plate for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to soak in. Don’t throw away the pan drippings! Serve the juices along with the steak. Chimichurri Sauce: Ingredients: 1 bunch of parsley (with stems) 1 bunch of cilantro (with stems) 10 basil leaves 2 serrano chilies ½ red onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves 1 thai chili (optional) 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp sugar Freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp olive oil Directions: I work at a smoothie place on my college campus so I’ve basically become a professional when it comes to blending. If you have a super powerful blender, like a Vitamix, you can throw everything in at once and blend away. Unfortunately, I have a really small and weak blender in my kitchen, so here’s a strategy when blending. Make sure all your ingredients are chopped before hand. For the herbs, chop them roughly so the the stems won't get stuck in the blades. Put your liquids and herbs at the bottom, then your onions and garlic and finally all the other seasonings. Blend away! Serve with the steak and roasted veggies! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. Winter Salad: Ingredients: 10 oz of chopped and cleaned kale 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp honey 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt Freshly cracked black pepper 1 grapefruit 1 orange 1 pomelo (or citrus of your choice) 1 cup of cucumbers, chopped 1 pomegranate, seeded 1 whole avocado, cut into wedges ½ red onion, thinly sliced Feta cheese, to top Directions: Using a big bowl, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and black pepper. Add in your kale and ‘massage’ the greens with the dressing. This will help your break down the fibers in the kale making it easier to chew and softer. Next, supreme* the citrus. If you read this last sentence and had no idea what I was saying, see the notes at the bottom explaining what supreming is and how to do it. Once your citrus is supremed, squeeze the remaining core that’s filled with pockets of juice straight into the kale. Add the citrus segments, cucumbers, red onion, pomegranate, avocado and feta cheese into the kale. Toss together. Notes:
Pumpkin Pie Spice makes: around a half cup Ingredients: 4 tbsp ground cinnamon 2 tbsp ground ginger 1.5 tbsp allspice 1 tbsp ground nutmeg Directions: In an airtight container, mix all the ingredients together and store in a cool dry place. Use in place of cinnamon for some extra flavor!  Pumpkin Waffles printmakes: 20 waffles Ingredients: Batter: 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup maple syrup 4 tbsp butter melted 1 cup pumpkin purée Spiced Whipped Cream: half pint heavy whipping cream 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 2 tbsp maple syrup To Serve: maple syrup powdered sugar Directions:
 Pumpkin Spiced Lattes printmakes: 2 cups
Ingredients: 1.5 cups milk of your choice 1 tbsp instant espresso powder 1/2 cup warm water *2 cinnamon sticks *1 cardamon pod *1 half inch piece of ginger *3 cloves 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 2 tbsp brown sugar/ maple syrup 1/4 cup pumpkin purée 1 tsp vanilla Directions:
Chimichurri Sauce printmakes 1 cup  Ingredients: 1/2 serrano chili pepper 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 2 garlic cloves 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp red wine vinegar 1 whole lime juiced and zested 1 whole lemon juiced and zested 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup cilantro chopped 1/2 cup parsley chopped 1 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp sugar Directions:
Romesco Sauce printmakes 1 cup  Ingredients: 16 oz jar roasted red peppers, liquid drained 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 3 garlic cloves 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup pine nuts or almonds 3 tsp tomato paste 1/2 tsp salt Directions:
Tzatziki Sauce printmakes 1 cup  Ingredients: 1/2 cup greek yogurt 2 tbsp lime juice 1 Persian cucumber grated, liquid drained (1/4 cup) 1/4 tsp salt 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp fresh dill chopped Directions:
The Everything Asian Sauce printmakes: 1 cup  Ingredients: 1/2 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 tbsp sambal (chili garlic paste) 2 garlic cloves minces 1 inch knob ginger 3 tbsp honey Directions:
Lime Chipotle Mayo printmakes: 1 cup  Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo 1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 1 whole lime juiced and zested 1/4 tsp salt Directions:
Turkey Apple Grilled Cheesemakes: 1 sandwich Ingredients: 2 slices sourdough bread (or your favorite kind) 1/2 apple cut into thin slices 1 garlic clove smashed 1/2 red onion cut into thin slices 1 tsp flavorless oil 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning 2 slices turkey cold cut 6 slices provolone cheese butter Directions:
Caprese Grilled Cheesemakes: 1 sandwich Ingredients: 2 slices ciabatta bread (or your favorite kind!) 2 slices ripe tomato, cut in half 3 basil leaves 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (or glaze) 4, 1/2 inch slices fresh mozzarella cheese 1 slices prosciutto (optional) freshly cracked black pepper butter Directions:
Cuban Grilled Cheesemakes: 1 sandwich
Ingredients: 1 french roll cut in half lengthwise (or 2 slices of your favorite bread) 2 tbsp mayo 1 tbsp mustard 2 slices ham cold cut 1 cup shredded or 6 slices cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and swiss cheese) sliced pickles (I used dill) butter Directions:
 Watermelon Feta Salad print  makes: 2 servings Ingredients: 2 cups cubed watermelon 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 5 leaves basil sliced 2 tbsp balsamic glaze or vinegar 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper 4 cups mixed greens Directions:
Creamy Lemon Pasta Salad print  makes: 4 servings Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups cooked pasta, still hot (fusilli, bowtie, penne...etc.) 1 pint halved cherry tomatoes 1 bunch asparagus 1/2 cup parsley chopped 6 oz goat cheese* (or any other creamy cheese) 2 lemons zested and juiced 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil 1/2 cup roasted pine nuts 1/4 tsp salt + pepper each salt + pepper to taste Directions:
Notes: Goat Cheese: I made this salad with both goat cheese and this “Boursin Gournay Cheese”. The ones I bought were already flavored with garlic and herbs. If you are using an unflavored cheese and want that extra garlicy flavor, cook a few cloves of minced garlic in a pan and add it to the salad. You can also use garlic salt in place of the regular salt or garlic infused oil. Massaged Kale and Mango Salad print  makes: 4 servings
Ingredients: 10 oz bag of chopped and cleaned kale 2 whole mangos peeled 1 whole red onion thinly sliced 1 + 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper 1 lemon juiced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 person cucumbers 1/2 cup fresh mint chopped 5 leaves fresh basil sliced 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped Directions:
      Guac, Chips and Salsa printIngredients:
Guacamole: 3 large or 5 small ripe avocados 1 large tomato chopped 1/2 red onion chopped lime juice to taste salt to taste 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 cup cilantro chopped 2 garlic cloves minced Salsa: 3 large or 5 small tomatoes chopped 1/2 red onion chopped 2 tbsp lime juice salt to taste 2 garlic cloves minced 1/2 tsp chili chopped (optional) 1/2 cup cilantro chopped Chips: 8 regular sized tortillas (whole wheat or white flour) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp chili 1/2 tsp cumin 2 tbsp flavorless oil Directions:
I really don't know what is more satisfying than a big spoonful of gooey chocolate cake with melted chocolate dripping down your spoon. The iconic Valentine's Day dessert with a spin! I have always loved the idea of chocolate and spice and felt this was the perfect opportunity to jazz up the traditional lava cake!  My mouth is actually watering at the oozing center. If you're intimidated of the use of chili in this recipe, don't be! It's a nice warming taste that you can of course add less of if you are not a big fan of heat. The cinnamon and chili perfectly balance out the rich, sweet chocolate making it a go to dessert!
|
Follow My Social Media!
Who's Rachel?
Hey! My name is Rachel. I am a typical 16 year old high school student living in the bay area, California, loaded with academics, clubs, sports...and more stuff you are all probably familiar with. The not-so typical part of me is that I. LOVE. TO. COOK. learn more here!
Subscribe to My Newsletter!
Insta Pics! |
