Simple Recipe

Pesto Pasta Salad

The beginning of beefsteak tomato season is here! Cecarelli Farms of Northford, CT just brought us some native field-grown tomatoes perfect ready to enjoy. Jeanette Chen of Jeanette’s Healthy Living blog shares this simple recipe which really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. This is enough pasta salad to serve 10-12 when served with other dishes at a barbecue or over lettuce for the family.

Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients

3 cups chopped chopped tomatoes

4 small pieces fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, cut into bite size pieces

1/3 cup fresh pesto 4-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil salt

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

a handful of fresh grated Parmesan cheese,

optional 1 pound dried gluten-free or whole grain pasta

Directions

In a large serving bowl, toss together tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, pesto, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let marinade for an hour or longer. When ready to serve, cook pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid. Toss hot pasta with tomato mixture, adding some pasta cooking liquid to loosen up sauce. Serve. Click here to read Jeanette’s wonderful post.

Simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest & Ginger

With Organic Asparagus on special this week and Easter this sunday now is the perfect time to give this simple spring recipe a go. As the weather turns warmer here in New Canaan, Eila can’t wait to start grilling. This simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest and Ginger recipe is one of her favorites. “It just tastes like spring! My whole family really enjoys this side dish. I love that we can get local asparagus, and that it takes 10 minutes to make, start to finish!” In addition to being a Certified Health Coach and culinary instructor, New Canaan mom of two young children, Eila Johnson, writes the full plate blog. The site, which was named to Forbes’ Top 100 Sites for Women and Forbes’ Top 10 Sites for Parenting and Homemaking, teaches busy parents how to make simple, nourishing recipes for their families and friends.
Simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest and Ginger
(Makes 6 servings)
2 lbs asparagus (I like the Foxy organic brand)
olive oil (I like Olave brand’s garlic or lemon infused olive oils)
zest of two lemons
½” fresh ginger, grated with a zester (I use a Microplane zester)
sea salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat your grill (or broiler if we get a cold snap). Snap the ends of your asparagus at the natural breaking point. This ensures that the asparagus will be tender. Lay asparagus on a piece of tin foil, and drizzle with a bit of your favorite oil. Sprinkle with lemon zest, grated fresh ginger root, salt and pepper. Grill over medium-high heat until asparagus starts to blister (about 8-10 minutes). Serve warm or room temp.
Pairs wonderfully with any of Walter Stewart’s marinated meats and grain salads.

asparagus eila johnson full plate blog grilled asparagus side dish Simple Recipe

Simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest & Ginger

In addition to being a Certified Health Coach and culinary instructor, New Canaan mom of two young children, Eila Johnson, writes the full plate blog. The site, which was named to Forbes’ Top 100 Sites for Women and Forbes’ Top 10 Sites for Parenting and Homemaking, teaches busy parents how to make simple, nourishing recipes for their families and friends. As the weather turns warmer here in New Canaan, Eila can’t wait to start grilling. This simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest and Ginger recipe is one of her favorites. “It just tastes like spring! My whole family really enjoys this side dish. I love that we can get local asparagus, and that it takes 10 minutes to make, start to finish!”
Simple Grilled Asparagus with Fresh Lemon Zest and Ginger
(Makes 6 servings)
2 lbs asparagus (I like the Foxy organic brand)
olive oil (I like Olave brand’s garlic or lemon infused olive oils)
zest of two lemons
½” fresh ginger, grated with a zester (I use a Microplane zester)
sea salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat your grill (or broiler if we get a cold snap). Snap the ends of your asparagus at the natural breaking point. This ensures that the asparagus will be tender. Lay asparagus on a piece of tin foil, and drizzle with a bit of your favorite oil. Sprinkle with lemon zest, grated fresh ginger root, salt and pepper. Grill over medium-high heat until asparagus starts to blister (about 8-10 minutes). Serve warm or room temp.
Pairs wonderfully with any of Walter Stewart’s marinated meats and grain salads.

asparagus eila johnson full plate blog grilled asparagus side dish Simple Recipe

Beef, Mushroom & Snap Pea Stir-Fry

When Katie, “The Parsley Thief“, saw this recipe in Bon Appétit, she thought she’d give it a try. It looked so good and she knew her family would love it.

“Stir-fries are generally easy to make, quick-cooking & healthy. In the past, I’ve made chicken stir-fries, this delicious spicy tofu one, veggies only varieties…but, steak? Never made one. Maybe because I think of them as being healthy…a lot of the time, diet worthy. Somehow adding red meat to the mix seems counter productive. But, I live in a home with three boys…and, my boys love steak. The original recipe didn’t really need any tweaking, but I did change a few things to suit my taste. It called for using shiitake mushrooms, which I love. But, I decided to add in some portabellas too, because I love the combination of steak & portabella mushrooms. I also substituted sugar snap peas for snow peas…I’m not the biggest snow pea fan.

While making a stir-fry is quick in the pan, it usually requires a bit of effort in the prep department. This one is no different. But, once you get everything washed, peeled & chopped, the actually cooking part is super quick.”

Beef, Mushroom & Snap Pea Stir-Fry

Adapted from Bon Appétit, October 2010 by The Parsley Thief
Serves 41 tablespoon minced ginger
12 ounces mixed shiitake & baby portabella mushroom caps, sliced
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound NY Strip steak, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
8 ounces sugar snap peas, cut into small pieces
1 bunch scallions, sliced {divided}
1 cup cilantro leaves {divided}
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sriracha chile sauce {or, to taste}
1/4 teaspoon 5-spice powderSeason the beef with salt & pepper. Combine the hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha & 5-spice powder in a small bowl. Whisk to combine & set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the mushrooms & minced ginger. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid & begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add in the beef; cook until the beef is browned, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the snap peas, half the scallions & half the cilantro. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, or until the snap peas are just tender. Add in the sauce, and stir to combine & heat through. Transfer the stir-fry to a serving bowl, scatter the remaining scallions and cilantro on top & serve.
Note: I recommend adding 1/2 the sauce to start & then adding a bit more, until it’s well coated. Serve the remaining sauce on the side. For kids, you might want to take some of the stir-fry out before adding the sauce, as it’s a bit spicy.