Spaghetti Aglio e Olio or Pasta with Garlic & Oil; Light Meal On Monday- Post 2; Stepwise

Hi!

I’m back with another post on ‘Light Meal On Monday’. As I’ve mentioned to you in my last Monday’s post of Spicy Soba Noodles & Tofu Salad in Peanut butter- Basil Dressing, that Monday is when I prefer to eat light. This weekend we did binge as it was S’s birthday and now it’s time to eat light and healthy food to balance all the binging done earlier.

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4th Anniversary, 400th Post, Winner Announcement & Quick Farfalle-Basil Pasta to celebrate

Hi All!!

It seems ages that I posted something here, I have been too busy lately..travelling, guests, health issues and many more things but today no reason, no excuse could keep me away from my blog baby. Yes!! My blog turns 4today and it also happens to be my 400th post here. Yippee, Hurray!!!

I must thank my family, friends, readers and blogger friends for being so supportive, for being there to see me grow, to praise me for my creativity and critically analyze me to improve further. Nothing of this was possible without YOU so a big THANK YOU!!! I hope to see your continued support here. I love reading your feedback so please keep giving me that.

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Green Pasta..Pizza Hut Style??? No, No..better than that ( Step Wise)

 

Hi All!

It seems like ages that I wrote a post, and today as I type this post, I’m wondering, how many things happened in the past few days and I was so involved and engrossed in all those activities that I simply forgot that I have a blog too, which was completely ignored all these days and yes, I did not visit any blogs too..

I want to do so much for my blog but unfortunately I’m not able to. Some times I feel that I’m too slow hence I’m not able to accomplish what I actually want to, but at night, when I sit and try to look back at what all I completed in the day, it appears humongous. I guess I’m just trying to be positive about myself and the life I lead, but must confess, the pressures of life are taking over me.

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Pasta in Roasted Veggie Sauce..a hit with my kid and his friends

Hi.

Making an interesting lunch box for children is an ever daunting task we all mothers have. We all know that the kids love eating junk food and snacks and will finish that easily  as compared to the meals and my kid is surely and easily one of them. So it’s always challenging and interesting to innovate dishes which appear fast food but still are very healthy.

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Restaurant Style Cheese Macaroni

Hi!

Today was special as I started my month long vacation and so thought of treating the kid with his favourite food. A few days back when S was travelling I and the kid went out to have some fun, we played and we ate out. He decided to have pasta from the live pasta corner and ordered a fusilli in cheese sauce with no veggies. One strong look from me and he requested the chef, please add some corn to mine. He loved the pasta which even I personally liked.

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Microwave Creamy Dino Pasta With Veggies & Greens

Hi All!

Today I share a quick version  of Pasta which I cooked in the microwave and was ready to be served in fifteen minutes. It’s a perfect delight for kids and is loaded with veggies. Yes, you got me right, this version was again made so that the junior gets his dose of veggies which he conveniently wants to miss out, but surely not this time again. He had loved the Italian Veggie Squares and now this pasta was a feast again and Mommy was surely delighted to see him gobble up the entire bowl.

I am surely going to make this again for his lunch box as this method does not need to cook the pasta and the sauce separately. It is filling and nutritious too. I have used a dino shaped pasta but one is free to use pasta of their choice.

Ingredients

about cup and a half of pasta

5-6 tbsp chopped french beans

5-6 tbsp chopped carrot

5-6 spinach leaves chopped

a few tbsp of red and yellow capsicum cubed

3 spoons of cornstarch

150-200 ml  fresh cream

1/4 tsp garlic pwd

1-2 tsp white pepper pwd

salt to taste

Method

Take pasta and the chopped beans and carrot in a microwave safe bowl and pour enough water that all the ingredients are immersed in it. Add salt to taste and cook on a 100% micro for about 8-10 minutes or till the pasta is done. Mine was done in 8 mins.

Now add the chopped spinach and capsicum to the pasta.

In the cream mix the white pepper, garlic and corn starch and mix.

Add the veggie-pasta mix to the cream and check the salt.

Cook on 100% microwave again for 3-4 minutes or more till the sauce thickens. One can also add cheese at this stage but I did not find it’s requirement as the cream helped.

Garnish with chopped chives and coloured capsicum.

Sending this to my event,  ‘Only’ Greens hosted this time by Saraswathy.

Teddie Pasta and Veggies in Tomatoey Cheese Sauce and ‘Only’ Series Event Announcement

Hi friends!

I feel glad to announce that I am starting off with ‘ONLY’ series from this month onwards. Every month I will pick up a new topic thus enabling us to innovate more recipes. For this month the topic is “KIDS DELIGHT”.

Kids are a source of inspiration to our cooking as we really have to think hard to provide a tasty and at the same time nutritional food to them, so that they are nourished properly. So feel free to make any kids friendly recipe, which you believe will provide a balanced diet and at the same time will pamper their taste buds too.

Though this  is a vegetarian  blog I will accept non-veg entries also as many kids only eat non-veg. Send in your fresh entries (no limit) but I will accept only two archived posts if reposted. E-mail  to cookingoodfood@gmail.com  with the Subject- Kids Delight   in the following format:-

Your Name

Blog’s Name

Recipe link

Picture of size 350pixel

Link back your post to the event page. Use of logo is Mandatory as it helps spread the word. Non bloggers can also participate, just send in your entry and picture to the above mentioned email and I will post your recipes in my space.

Here is the list of people hosting the events for the next few months.

Month Host Theme Round Up August’10 Pari Only-Kids-Delight      Part I      Part II Sept’10 Piya(Yallapantula) Mitharwal Only-Low Oil/ Low Calorie Food      Part I October’10 Preeti Binniwale Only-Festive Food      Part I Nov’10 Pari Only- Chaat      Part I Dec’10 Saraswathi Iyer Only- Greens Jan’11 Prathibha Garre Only- Salad Feb’11 Pari Only-Cooking with Bread March’11 Nivedita Only-Original Recipes April’11 Only- Fusion Cooking May’11 Nayana Kanabar Only- Coolers and Mocktails June’11 Reva Only- Ice-Creams July’11 Harini-Jaya Only- Baked

Coming to the recipe,

My kids love different shaped pastas, dino, mickey, teddie and so on. My co-sister keeps providing me with small goodie bags of these cute shaped  pastas. These are very light to digest and extremely easy to cook. My job is to make different kinds of sauce and add the pasta to it. Earlier I have shared a recipe with dinosaurs pasta too.

Today, I share another very tasty and hassle free preparation and is loved by my kids. The cheese sauce is very simple to make and the addition of tomato puree gives it a mild tomatoey flavor and a beautiful color. I have kept the spice level and flavors as per my child’s palate, one is free to make suitable changes.

I had made this for my kids lunch but this can also make a heavy evening snack too. My kid loved it and to my delight did not even observe that there were veggies going in it which were beautifully hidden under the thick cheese sauce.

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups milk

5-6 cheese slices

1 tsp butter

3-4 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp white pepper pwd

1 tsp oregano

a large pinch nutmeg pwd

a few celery leaves

about 3 cups boiled pasta (I used mickey shaped)

mixed veggies cut into triangles ( I used zucchini and colored bell peppers)

1 garlic pod finely chopped

1/2 onion finely chopped

about 1/2 cup grated mozzarella-cheddar cheese

Method

Boil the pasta as per the directions given on the pack.

Remove it in a colander and pour cold water on it.

 

In a pan tip in the veggies and drizzle a few drops of oil, some salt and pepper and cook for a min.

Heat butter in a pan and add garlic to it followed by chopped onion and saute lightly (do not let it brown).

Add the milk and bring it to a boil.

Add the  white pepper, oregano, celery and nutmeg.

 

Mix thoroughly.

Add the cheese slices and tomato puree, let the sauce thicken.

Mix the cooked pasta in it.

Grease a baking dish and pour the pasta. Top it with the veggies followed by grated cheese.



Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes/ or till the cheese melts.

   
Serve it hot with some garlic bread.

This is my first entry to my event and also sending it to Mita’s  MM- party treat event guest hosted by Saraswathi of Sara’s corner.

Egg Plant-Zucchini Lasagne in Tomato-Ricotta Cheese Sauce

Hi Everyone. Wish you all a very Happy HOLI.

Italian food is very diverse, as Italy is a country of changing climates and landscapes, so every region has a it’s own particular dish. The Northern Italy with it’s fertile plains, mountains and lakes produces good quality wines and dairy foods in contrast to that the sunnier, rockier south is the home to olive trees, tomatoes and fresh herbs.

Surely there are regional differences in the cuisine and the reason for this culinary fragmentation is simple: With the exception of the nobility and the clergy, before WWII most Italians simply didn't travel, and as a result every town and every valley has something unique. Neighboring towns and valleys will also share techniques, or recipes, albeit with individualistic twists, but from one end of a region to the other the picture can change completely. But they do have certain features in common ..the ingredients are fresh, the techniques simple, the recipes are traditional and the cooking home style.

Some regions of Italy are Piedmont which means ‘at the foot of the mountain’ and is the area bordering on both France and Switzerland. Liguria often called the ‘Italian Riveria’, this region is rich in natural resources and has abundance of herbs, vegetables, fruits and olives. I will surely talk about other regions in my next posts on Italian cooking…

Lasagne originated in the Emilia-Romagna region of north central Italy where authentic egg pasta was born. The wide flat sheets of pasta originally made by the Romans were called lasagne. Although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy, one theory is that the word "lasagna" comes from the Greek ‘lasana’ or ‘lasananon’ meaning ‘trivet or stand for a pot’.The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", in Latin, meaning "cooking pot". The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. It wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.

Coming to the preparation this recipe asks for colourful alternate layers of pasta covered with eggplant and zucchini, softened and creamed by the tomato- ricotta sauce. It’s a very filling preparation with rich aromatic flavors of the fresh herbs used in the preparation. The rich baked dish is topped with mozzarella cheese and baked until golden brown. This recipe can be prepared upto 24 hrs in advance and kept in refrigerator until needed.

Ingredients

6 Lasagne sheets

2 onions finely chopped

5 large tomatoes chopped

6-7 garlic finely chopped

1 zucchini sliced

1 large eggplant sliced

2 tbsp red chili flakes

200 gm ricotta cheese

2-3 tbsp chopped celery

1 –2 tbsp chopped oregano

mozzarella cheese

salt to taste

black pepper crushed

olive oil and some butter

Method

Cook Lasagne as per the instructions given.

Use olive oil and saute  the Zucchini and eggplant separately with some salt and pepper till they are almost cooked.

Heat some butter and tip in the chopped garlic and onions, saute and add the tomatoes. Add salt, when the tomatoes are mushy tip in the herbs, red chili flakes, some freshly ground pepper and ricotta cheese. Let this sauce have a loose texture but surely not watery.

Grease a baking dish and spread three sheets of Lasagne, this needs to be done very carefully if the sheets are precooked as they turn fragile and break easily on lifting.

Now, spread a layer of Zucchini followed by eggplant slices pour half of the tomato- ricotta sauce. Repeat the layers again.

Top it with grated mozzarella and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 mins or more till the cheese melts and turns golden brown.

Serve it hot. This portion can serve about 6 people. Sending this to Pasta Party at Panch Pakwan and also to Cooking with Pasta an event hosted by creative Saga.

Baked Fusilli in Marinara and Healthy-Spinachy Bechamel Sauce

Hi friends.

The word Italian brings in the thought of Pizza, pasta, risotto, wine….and Cheese to my mind. Ritu Dalmia who is a famous Italian Chef and her show Italian Khana is never complete without the description of the famous Italian wines. Now I am surely not a person who has any knowledge and inclination for wine but I surely have an interest for the cuisine so I do watch the show for the food and the humour.

Today I take you to the world of baking with a very tasty and healthy Italian recipe. Italian cuisine has become very popular amongst the young and the old so how can my family be spared. We were planning to enjoy an Italian buffet in a place called Fresco but our plans have got delayed and postponed. I had not baked for a while and the upcoming baker in me was asking me to bake and I surely wanted to cook Italian for my elder one as he is quite fond of Italian cuisine. So one of these days I made this recipe to please everyone and the baker in me.

The journey of cooking this was satisfying as the baked dish surely smelled good. My elder one who kept asking me questions through out his eating…which sauce is this, what have you put in that, which cheese have you put in that? The not so confident me kept answering his questions and then at the end I asked him, why are you asking me so many questions? It’s very nice Mummy, that’s why,  is what I heard. So I was all collar’s up at the end!!!!

Now that I have boasted so much about the recipe and myself let me tell you the ingredients and the method..

Ingredients

2 cups boiled Fusilli (the screw shaped pasta, I used made Durum wheat pasta)

100 gm grated cheese

for Marinara sauce……

1 large onion chopped

3 garlic pods

1/2 inch piece ginger

2 tomatoes chopped

5-6 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp freshly crushed pepper

1/2 tsp chili flakes

salt to taste

evoo for cooking

for spinachy- bechamel sauce (white sauce)…

25 leaves of spinach blanched

7-8 spoons of whole wheat flour

about a cup of milk

1/2 cup of water

salt to taste

freshly crushed pepper

4 tbsp home made butter

Method

Boil the Fusilli in 6-7 cups of water with some salt and a few drops of oil.

For the Marinara sauce..

First take the onions in the pan and then pour EVOO over it, this avoids overheating of the oil and it losing it’s valuable properties. Saute the onions and add crushed or finely chopped ginger-garlic. Cook till the raw smell disappears.

Now add the tomatoes, salt and sugar.

Once the tomatoes are cooked add the tomato puree and the herbs. Mix and switch off the flame.

 For Spinachy- Bechamel sauce

In a pan take the butter and add the wheat flour. Roast for a minute but do not let the colour change. Mix the water and milk and add this to the wheat flour stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. This process has to be done fast so I could not take the pics. Unlike the white sauce made with APF this sauce does not thicken a lot on cooling so one must keep that in mind while making the sauce and checking it’s consistency. Season with salt and black pepper.

Blanch the spinach leaves.

Grind the leaves and add it in the bechamel sauce.


Now we start the layering.
Grease a baking dish. Spread the first layer ..that’s the marinara sauce.

Above the marinara sauce spread the second layer..that’s of fusilli.

Now comes the third layer …spinachy white sauce/ spinachy bechamel sauce.

Finally the cheese..spread the layer of processed cheese or cheese of your choice.

Bake the dish at 200C for about 15 mins or till the top layer melts.




Sending this healthy and tasty preparation to Arundhuti’s Gourmet affair as this was made and served with loads of love to my family & to CFK-Creative food for picky fussy eaters hosted by Sara’s corner and the brainchild of Sharmi, as I found this a very healthy way of adding spinach and other veggies to their diet.