Quinoa Pasta with Roasted Zucchini and Cheese

Mar 26, 2012 by lovelypantry

Last nights dinner was so very interesting to me. I knew I had to roast some zucchini that was begging to be eaten. I also wanted to try the Quinoa Pasta that I bought a few days ago. I had never seen it before and I wanted give it a try so I could see how it tasted and how the texture compared to regular pasta. And there’s the cheese. I’ve always had a thing for cheese. It’s not something that I will give up easily, so bear with me as you see cheese all over this recipe. I kept it subtle. Promise 🙂 …Although I purposely avoided measuring how much cheese I used…

It was tasty, meatless and certainly something I intend to have again. My hubby thought it was quite nice. I don’t think I could convince him to have this without some meat though. He is far from a part-time vegetarian, like what I’m on the path to becoming. Baby steps. As I read more about it and find recipes that suit my palate, I’m truly considering reducing my meat consumption.

Here’s the finished result…another freestyle recipe 🙂

 

 

As for the Quinoa Pasta, I realized that it takes a little longer to cook than regular pasta. The package suggested 13-15 minutes – spot on. Anything before that, it’s still rather firm. Also, you have to eat it right away. I decided to toss it in a cheese mixture in order to make it moist on the outside. I don’t do dry pasta very well. A cream sauce or olive oil is pretty much mandatory. The texture of quinoa pasta is just fine and I would not have noticed the difference at all. I will buy it again, if I come across it. Its Quinoa. I can’t go wrong. Right?

 

 

 

I got my son to eat the zucchini. I had to basically emphasize that it had cheese on it. Not that there was too much, but he needs encouragement to eat “new” veggies. He has lettuce, green beans and broccoli under his belt. He needs to conquer zucchini so I can move on to another vegetable. Goodness rules in my house!

 

 

 

 

Roasted zucchini, fresh out the oven. So fragrant. Even the crispy parmesan stuck to the tray looked good to me.

 

 

 

 

Zucchini never tasted so good.

 

 

What a way to start the week. Happy Monday friends!

~Lyn

 

read more

Polenta with Parmesan and Parsley, Mozzarella and Tomato

Mar 19, 2012 by lovelypantry

I  haven’t made polenta in some time now. A friend of mine recently asked me if I had a recipe – which I did. But because this friend is super special to me and one of my BIGGEST supporters, not only of The Lovely Pantry, but of me as a person… I wanted to do something nice and a little different. A delicate dish that was smooth, flavourful and good for the body. I think I’ve accomplished that with this recipe and presentation.

In Jamaica, the term “Polenta” is rarely used however, I believe Jamaicans are becoming more aware of the term. Polenta is quite like a dish we call Turn Cornmeal or “Tun Cornmeal” – which is a dish of a similar consistency but includes ingredients such as coconut milk, escallion, garlic, thyme and of course, scotch bonnet pepper. Just like Polenta, Turn cornmeal can be served in a variety of ways and with different meats or sauces. Personally, I don’t like my Polenta mushy. I prefer it crispy on the outside and soft but firm on the inside.

Todays dish is meat free and fabulous. I hope to make more dishes like this. I believe this could be a snack, a breakfast or an appetizer. What do you think?

 

 

This is basically how I make my polenta but you can certainly make variations. If you don’t have parsley, chop some spinach or kale. Add some sweet corn. Get creative! I have made polenta using water and I’ll never do that again – too bland. I will always add a broth because I find it to be more flavourful that way. I decided to dress up my polenta with mozzarella (more cheese, I know!!) and broiled tomato slices topped with a seasoned breadcrumb mixture.

 

Looks a lot like cornmeal porridge here!

 

 

I love the splash colour that parsley adds.

 

 

Spread the polenta evenly into the baking tray as best you can. It is quite thick at this point and needs “encouragement” to get into the corners.

 

 

I used a cookie cutter only because I wanted to stack with other ingredients that were round. Otherwise I would have just used a sharp knife and cut square pieces.

 

 

So here’s the thing. I don’t love tomatoes. But I’ll eat them like how I’ve prepared them here – with breadcrumbs. I know, I know. Weird. I’m trying to eat more though. So good for you.

 

 

I loved the smooth and creamy texture that the mozzarella added to this combination. You don’t need too much, since the flavour is very mild.

 

 

Picture perfect Polenta!

 

 

 

And there you have it! A tasty way to make polenta.  Left over polenta is awesome pan-fried for breakfast with some maple syrup. Its like the breakfast of champions!

To my friend, Nicky – Thank you!

 

Happy Monday to you all!

 

read more

Chocolate Stout Cake

Mar 13, 2012 by lovelypantry

I tried to resist making this. I really did. But I had all the ingredients! I just had to.

I picked up a little recipe book called Irish Favourites and the recipes were interesting… as in, I’d make most of the recipes in the book! It was perfect timing seeing that St.Patrick’s day is right around the corner. The original recipe had a cream cheese frosting but I opted out. The chocolate cake is bad enough. And by bad, I mean good.

 

 

 

Look what I found – Jamaican Dragon Stout. The sweeter alternative to Guinness. My hubby had a stash and was nice enough to let me use one. I’m not a stout drinker myself, but I think I may like cooking with it.

 

 

 

The recipe called for a 13 X 9 inch baking pan but I thought it would be more interesting to use a Bundt pan. Okay, I just really wanted to use it. This is my first Bundt cake. Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake. Sounds good!

 

 

Glazing was some messy fun! Me and my daughter had green fingers for a while…

 

 

 

 

A rich but not too sweet chocolate cake, made with a Jamaican stout…just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

 

 

About how long do I need to walk on the treadmill to fix this?

read more

Sweet & Sour Muffin Meatballs

Mar 12, 2012 by lovelypantry

I love when I find a good recipe. Better yet, I love when I find a good recipe that I can improve on 🙂 A while back, I wanted to make meatballs but not just regular plain meatballs – nothing boring. I came across Sweet & Sour Muffin Meat Loaves from myrecipes.com so I decided to try. The first time I made it, I wasn’t sure of the texture and it certainly did not have the colour I was hoping for. I tried again, taking notes on the changes I made and I never looked back. Instead of calling them meat loaves, I’ll say that these are awesome baked meatballs, full of flavour and a nice rich colour.

I wanted to serve it with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots but.. since the meatballs were super spectacular, I’d have to jazz up the company! This was such a great meal! It was different and comforting.

 

 

 

And here’s the fun part!

 

 

 

After about 20 minutes, the meatballs will look something like this

 

 

Brush the meatballs with the remaining sweet and sour mixture

 

 

Pop them back in the oven for about 10 minutes or so. Your kitchen will smell marvellous. Don’t let your meatballs burn! Watch them carefully. Cover with foil if needed.

 

 

I especially love the dark, caramelized sweetness of the meatballs and the sweet and sour sauce. I found that it paired well with the carrots and potato. Each component complimented each other quite nicely.

 

 

Take a bite!

 

 

Seriously. I’m hungry.

 

Happy Monday, friends! ~ Lyn

 

 

read more

Buttermilk Quick Bread

Mar 7, 2012 by lovelypantry

I’m quite fond of quick breads. I love how easy they are to make and the wide variety and variations of each recipe that I come across. I have yet to make a quick bread that I did not like. Granted, I scrutinize the ingredients very carefully before I decide to make it. Please allow me to formally introduce you to Buttermilk Quick Bread. A very simple bread that I have been making on the weekends if I have any buttermilk in the fridge. I found this recipe on one of my daily sources of inspiration: The Kitchn, and knew as soon as I saw it, that I was going to make it. I’ve made it 4 times already – twice plain, once with raisins and this past weekend, with blueberries. Versatile little quick bread, isn’t it? The original post, has a few other variations that look interesting to try too – like Pesto Loaf. (Are you imagining a green quick bread?)

I love that this plain bread is like a canvas. You can tweak it to your liking and chances are, it will turn out great.

 

The consistency of the batter is quite thick, so you have to gently spread into the corners with a spatula.

 

 

Ah! Perfection!

 

 

It’s best to use a serrated knife to cut this bread since it is a bit delicate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like that because the batter was so thick, the raisins didn’t have the chance to sink to the bottom of the pan 🙂 For some recipes with a batter of thinner consistency, like the Ginger Carrot Bread, you have to toss the raisins (or small fruit like blueberries) in flour before folding them into the batter. So nice that I was able to skip that step.

 

 

Finally, with Blueberries. I wanted to cut the loaf to take a quick photograph however, I was entertaining so I did not want to cut it before we were ready to eat it. Everyone loved it!

 

 

Happy Wednesday! I hope the week has been off to an awesome start! I’ll be back soon.

Cheers for now.

Lyn

 

 

read more

Chicken, Linguine and Crimini

Mar 2, 2012 by lovelypantry

I’m getting to like this business of freestyle cooking (cooking without a recipe). It adds a little mystery to meals. It’s kinda cute when my husband asks “whats cooking?” and I say “Oh, you’ll see *bats eyelashes*” when what I really mean to say is “Honey, I have no idea!”. I’ve always been pleasantly surprised at how great the meals turn out. I LOVE it. One of my recent freestyle meals was Smoked Paprika Chipotle Chicken with Spirali Pasta and Kale Pesto. I had ingredients that I wanted to use and I ran with it.

My ingredient for today’s post is Crimini Mushrooms. I can’t say that I’m a big fan, however I wanted to be adventurous and incorporate it into a meal. It’s a great thing to challenge yourself. I knew I wanted pasta, and I knew I wanted it creamy. I just wanted a quick way of doing it, while utilizing items in my Pantry. So anyway, the idea was born on a recent trip to the grocery store. Crimini Mushrooms were on sale so I grabbed a pack and here is what I came up with.

 

 

I will say, that when I am preparing a freestyle meal, I get really focused and sometimes I don’t get to take photographs of the process. So I only have the finished result today. It tasted great and I got my little man to eat it! He only questioned the mushrooms half way through, but he ate everything in his plate. You should have seen him slurping the pasta. The things that bring mothers joy. *insert big smile here*

 

 

Hows that for dinner in a jiffy?

Have a great weekend!!!

 

read more

Meatloaf & Smashed Potatoes

Feb 29, 2012 by lovelypantry

Have you ever had meatloaf before? It may sound strange to ask. But when I had meatloaf for the first time, I knew I was missing a great deal! I saw the recipe on Everyday Food and decided to give it a go. Of course, I made changes to their recipe. I generally do. Ha! I enjoyed preparing it but found that it’s really a lot of meat! I may have to find a way to prepare it differently or make mini meatloaves or something. All in all, it tasted great and the family enjoyed it. I chose to mix the meats to get the most flavour. Originally I was going to use the usual ground turkey but felt the flavour would not be rich enough. I’m sure there are many variations of meatloaf so if you’re a food blogger, and you happen to come across my version, please leave a comment and a link to your recipe. I’d love to see.

Oh, and as for the smashed mini potatoes – I saw Laura Calder do it and I thought it was hilarious! But after the first few times I did it, I found them to be cute little things. And I LOVE the taste of baked mini red potatoes. LOVE.

I have to tell you guys that my son ate his dinner with no fuss. Knowing that he would not eat meat for so long, and finally he’s eating like a “big boy” really makes me happy. My daughter is now going through this meatless phase, so I’m being patient with her but I look forward to when she can eat just like her brother. She might even start asking for broccoli or string beans with her dinner, just like her big brother! It’s a daily task, offering her different veggies, and foods, but she’s just 2 and still trying to figure it all out. I’m here to help and show her by example. A mother’s work is truly never done.

I’m proud of my first attempt at meatloaf. Here’s the recipe and photographs.

 

 

 

 

While taking into consideration the fact that some ovens are hotter than others, I wanted to ensure that the loaf was cooked through. You can never be too sure.

 

 

It looked great, and smelled wonderful. I couldn’t wait to cut it into slices.

 

 

The tomato sauce was so sweet… a perfect combination.

 

 

When will you be making meatloaf for your family?

 

 

Take care folks! See you again soon 🙂

 

 

read more