Caprese Pasta

Spring is FINALLY here! YAY!!!!!  To celebrate, I'm making Caprese Pasta! :)

Many of y'all out there have had a Caprese (cuh-pray-say) Salad before (you know, the fresh tomato with the fresh mozzarella and basil leaves--- sprinkled with salt and olive oil and maybe even a teensy bit of Balsamic?)

Well-- when you have a beautiful bounty of tomatoes and basil, you should definitely grab a ball of fresh mozzarella and either (1) eat that amazing salad OR (2) throw the ingredients together to make a really delicious pasta dish. :)

Caprese Pasta
--serves as many as you want; I usually proportion 1 pint tomatoes per 2 people and 8 oz. mozzarella can go for 3-4 people; one, 1-lb. box of pasta is good for 4 people.

STEP 1: Gather Ingredients.

• In *my* very tiny opinion, you need 1 Pint of tomatoes PER 2 people. Cause they're full of lycopene and Vitamins A, C, and E --AND other good-for-you-stuff.  :)  My preference for this dish are *cherry* tomatoes but by all means you can use grape-sized-- OR frankly, whatever size you want.  I think the larger tomatoes really change the dynamic of this dish so I never use them.  But, as the Italians would say= fai come ti pare. ("Do what you want"). :)
• If I'm feeling piggish, I can split one 8-ounce ball of Mozzarella per 2 people, but sometimes I feel like it's a little much.  One, 8-oz. ball of mozzarella can easily stretch for 3-4 people.  If you wanna spend a little extra cash, purchase the Ciliegine-sized mozzarella balls (Ciliegine = relates to the Italian word for "cherry"); their small size cuts out a step of chopping up your mozzarella ball.
• You need olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Choose your favorite 1 lb. box of pasta. (Shown in the pictures was penne rigate).
• You will also need a small stem of fresh basil leaves.

STEP 2: Cook!

Gosh, this dish is SO EASY and SUPER-FAST to make.

1) Get a pot of water to a rolling boil; salt it till it tastes like the ocean, :), and put in your pasta.  Be sure to take out your pasta when it still has a bite/is chewy and perfectly done (aka "al dente"/to the tooth). :)

2) While your pasta is cooking--- chop all your cherry tomatoes in half.  If you have a large ball of mozzarella, you will also cut that up.

3) Still while your pasta is cooking, get a skillet; add olive oil and tomatoes.  Then add garlic, salt, and pepper.  (not too much salt though, because your pasta should be deliciously salty.) :)

*When your pasta is almost done, chop your basil with a very sharp knife.  I usually do mine in a chiffonade--- aka take your leaves; make a stack; roll them like a cigar-shape; then chop the little basil roll into little ribbons. :)

4)  Drain your pasta; add to the tomato/oil mixture.

5)  Add the mozzarella and basil and SERVE IMMEDIATELY! :)

buon appetito! :)

1 Dozen Hearty Pumpkin Muffins

When you're a small family like the doctor and myself, you definitely need muffin recipes that only make a dozen.  It's just SO NICE to a) not use up a ton of ingredients at one time, b) not eat whatever type of muffins for days and days and days and days, and c) do a one-bowl, one-pan operation that is faster to bake and faster to clean up!

I adapted this recipe from this website I just found that I will be frequenting!  Looks like the author posts a ton of great stuff! :)  

**Please note that my heart in adapting this recipe was to make them healthy-- I cut down on the sugar, I substituted coconut oil for the butter, didn't use all-purpose flour and subbed whole wheat white plus ground flax seeds (SO GOOD for your heart!).. added more spices for flavor, etc... So when you take a bite of these and they don't knock you over the moon with their sugary-sweetness, don't be disappointed!  Just pat yourself on the back that you made something GOOD for you-- and treat yourself to a second muffin, guilt-free! ;)

And yes, I know it's springtime and 60 degrees Fahrenheit outside... and I should be posting recipes like "Citrus-Marinaded Chicken" or "Asparagus and Pea Shoot Linguine" or springy-sounding things.... But this is one of many posts dedicated to *cleaning out my freezer* from last summer/fall's bountiful harvest.  Today, I wanted to use up some of the AWESOME pumpkin puree I have.... so here goes!

Hearty Pumpkin Muffins (makes 12 regular muffins)

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. (Lately I've been using fancy parchment cupcake liners and they are divine! SO worth the money!)

Ingredients:

1/4 C coconut oil

1/3 C dark brown sugar

3/4 C (heaping!) pumpkin puree

1/4 C milk (can use whatever kind you want! almond, rice, soy, etc. if you want dairy-free!)

1/4 C brewed coffee (could use water OR extra milk if you hate coffee!--- but I don't know how anyone could hate coffee.....?) :)

2 eggs

1 C White Whole Wheat Flour (I just bought some at Trader Joe's and I am IN LOVE!)

1/2 C ground flax seeds

1/2 C oat bran (NOT oatmeal!-- but oat bran!)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. (heaping!) ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

couple shakes of ground nutmeg

couple shakes of ground gloves

Mix oil and sugar.  Carefully beat in pumpkin puree, milk, coffee, and eggs.  In the same bowl, carefully scoop out all the dry ingredients, (just go down the list!), and add them right on top of the wet mixture.  Mix all the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

I used a large cookie/cupcake scoop to scoop out the batter into the 12 muffin cups... but if you don't have on in your kitchen, just use a big spoon or a clean 1/4 cup measuring cup! :)

Before I popped them in the oven, I sprinkled each scoop of batter with some Caramel-Cinnamon Sprinkles my Mom got me.  If you don't have those, you could either 1) leave them plain 2) sprinkle with cinnamon and "sugar in the raw"-type Turbinado Sugar 3) make a streusel topping with flour/butter/brown sugar/cinnamon 4) sprinkle walnuts or pecans... etc.. the possibilities are endless! :) 

Bake at 375*F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean!

ENJOY!  These mighty muffins are PACKED with GREAT ingredients you can really feel good about eating!!!! :)