KarmaFree Cooking

The easiest Baked Penne… ever!!!!

This is one of the easiest recipes… ever!!

The funny thing, it has not been even 24 hours since I learned about it. I was perusing one of my favorite food blogs – Serious Eats… and in one of the Talk threads there was a discussion about making mac & cheese without boiling the pasta first. Then, one of the participants – his/her name is hanak– mentioned this recipe for Baked Ziti without even boiling the pasta. I always get stumped at what to do for lunch… so when I read this today, my lunch dilemma was immediately solved. I would do this while I finished some stuff at the computer. God bless hanak and the Baked Ziti recipe…

I modified the recipe a little – as you know… can’t bear to make a recipe “by the book” not even once. Here is the recipe as it was given to me today and with notes on the modifications I made to it today at 1PM:

THE EASIEST BAKED PENNE

8oz whole wheat pasta – I used penne, but ziti or any tubular pasta would work

28oz can of crushed tomatoes – I used a 26oz carton of Pomi crushed tomatoes

6 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp chopped garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Mozzarella – optional

Grated Parmesan cheese – optional

Soak the dry pasta in the olive oil for around 20 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

This is a picture of the pasta at this point. It is DELICIOUS just like this!!!! A bit oily to my taste, so maybe the next time I will try to see if I can cut the oil in half… but believe me, it’s been a while I tasted a pasta that I would eat as is, without any cheese. This one is awesome. I even bragged to my mom about it already…

I decided to use up some leftover fresh mozzarella cheese… so I added a few pieces in the dish, sprinkled some grated parm/romano cheese and put it back in the oven with the residual heat after I turned it off. It is really good, but as hanak said… it does not need it.

Thanks a lot to my fellow online foodies, but specially to hanak and this awesome Baked Pasta recipe… they are all a source of inspiration and hunger-relief.

GRACIAS!!!!

Tags: crushed tomatoes, garlic, whole wheat pasta

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Categories main courses

Food for Love – Goat Cheese and Almond Pasta

14 Feb

It’s Valentine’s Day – the day to celebrate everything and anything romantic… so why not celebrate by cooking something to stir all your senses, including that aphrodisiac part of you. Reading about aphrodisiac foods, I was amazed to learn how many of them I have in my pantry and fridge:

Almonds

Sweet Basil

Avocados

Arugula

Bananas

Strawberries and Raspberries

Nutmeg

So I decided to make something that will contribute to the loving theme of the day using almonds and sweet basil… I adapted this dish from a Martha Stewart Living magazine. Enjoy!!

GOAT CHEESE AND ALMOND PASTA

1/4 lbs whole wheat pasta -penne, rigatoni or any other tubular pasta would work

Small handful sun-dried tomatoes – the dry ones… not the ones packed in oil

1/3 small log of goat cheese

Small handful toasted almonds – I used marcona almonds

About 10 Fresh Basil leaves, torn or cut in strips

Salt and Pepper to taste

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. During the last 3 minutes of boiling the pasta, throw in the sun dried tomatoes to rehydrate.
Drain the pasta well, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. Return pasta to the pot.
Drizzle pasta with a bit of olive oil. Add goat cheese in small pieces, basil leaves, pepper and almonds. Add a bit of the pasta water to create a sauce. Toss to combine. Add more water if you feel it’s too dry.
Garnish with added almonds on top.

There are other several recipes I have created for you already that might help you to create romance any day you are in the mood:

Coquito – Nutmeg

Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes – Basil

Arugula-Red Onion Salad – Arugula

Quesadilla Caprese – Basil

Strawberry Banana Smoothie – Strawberries and Bananas

Strawberry Kanten – Strawberry

Baked Pasta and 4 Cheeses – Basil

White Lasagna with Spinach and Almonds – Nutmeg and Almonds

Tags: almonds, basil, Goat Cheese, pasta, sun-dried tomatoes

Comments 2 Comments
Categories main courses

Vanilla Powder

11 Feb

Vanilla – one of the most versatile spices there are… it works in desserts, beverages, milkshakes, side dishes, main dishes… I use it all the time.

A few years ago it was brought to my attention that most vanilla extracts are mostly made with alcohol, and in the yoga center I attend and cook for some times a month, we are not supposed to use anything with alcohol as an ingredient. So, we need to buy some alcohol-free vanilla syrups or some locally made vanilla extracts, which many times are difficult to find. I have used fresh vanilla pods, but I can’t find them here in Puerto Rico easily… I have to buy them when I travel to the US or online, when I can find a provider that will ship here…

But last year I found this great product – VANILLA POWDER. Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder from Nielsen-Massey . It’s a sugar-free and alcohol-free dry product which can replace vanilla extract in any recipe. It extracts the essence of vanilla beans and is infused in a natural, dry base. And the smell is… AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!!

I bought my initial bottle in Indiana, when I visited my sister last year… but I was very pleasantly surprised to find it now in the spices section of my local Freshmart supermarket.

To me, this powder is far superior than any McCormick product out there… go out and look for it. You’ll never go back to alcohol-based or vanilla flavored products. Mark my words…

Tags: nielsen-massey vanillas, vanilla, vanilla powder

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Categories MY EDITORIAL

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Onions

11 Feb

This is one of the recipes I did in our last Yoga Center Menu for February.

I just wanted a sweet counterpoint to the savory lasagna and other veggies, without recurring to my trusted ripe plantains… They’re sweet but savory at the same time and loaded with beta carotene. I made this recipe using 10lbs of sweet potatoes… and fed about 20 people. You can definitely adjust to feed your smaller crowd.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH ONIONS

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes

1 large onion, sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garlic salt, optional

Olive oil to coat

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a baking sheet or roasting pan, place sweet potato pieces and onion slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss with your hands, until all pieces are coated with oil and seasonings.
Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes, moving sweet potatoes around about halftime.
Check the sweet potatoes for doneness before removing from oven.

Tags: onions, sweet potatoes

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Categories side dishes

Quesadilla Caprese

7 Feb

I love Caprese salads… fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Mmmmm!!! So when Rachael Ray proposed in one of her shows to make quesadillas with an Italian twist, I was all eyes and ears.

I tried this one night I wanted a quick dinner… this Quesadilla Caprese works great alone or accompanied with a salad. As an appetizer or as lunch or light supper. The fresh mozzarella is very watery and oozes a bit when you’re making it, but the flavor is amazing.

QUESADILLA CAPRESE

1 whole wheat tortilla

4-5 fresh mozzarella slices

3 tomato slices

4-5 fresh basil leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brush some olive oil.
Place whole wheat tortilla to warm up. Flip over to the other side.
Place 1/2 of the mozzarella slices, tomatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper, place basil leaves and the remaining mozzarella slices. You need cheese next to the tortilla side to act as the “glue” that will keep the quesadilla closed and together.

5. Press down with a spatula. Some of the moisture of the cheese will ooze out. Don’t worry, keep the skillet warm enough and the tortilla will not wilt. Actually it helps to build some crust on the outside rim. Flip it a few times to get the cheese well melted on both sides.

6. Dress with a additional drizzle of olive oil.

Try it… it’s awesome.