A Lighter Creamy Pasta Sauce

Paaaastaaaaa. *drool* If you have the same Pavlovian response that I do to even the mention of creamy pastas, then you might also share my remorse in the carbo fat bomb nature of the dish. I've found a lighter way to create my favorite creamy pasta sauces without sacrificing on flavor or creaminess. In fact, what would you say to a plate of creamy pasta with 12 grams of fiber, 19 grams protein, and 2-3 servings of vegetables, all while staying under 500 calories and 10 grams of fat? I would think you would say, "Yes, please!"

This is my big one people. I use this trick to make creamy clam sauce, creamy garlic "alfredo" sauce, creamy tomato "rose" sauce, and creamy white wine sauces. I've shared this secret with very few people, and now I'm sending it out to my loyal readers (all three of you). To introduce you to my favorite trick, here are a couple versions of creamy, yet much lighter, vegetable farfalle. The unexpected twist: low fat cream cheese. Neither cream nor butter required.

Squash and Vegetable Farfalle in Creamy White Wine Sauce

Do not substitute the non-dairy milk alternatives with regular dairy milk. Milk will curdle when mixed with the wine. Serves 2-3.

6oz Whole Wheat Farfalle (I like Mara's Pasta because it has a lot of fiber and protein and stays under 200 calories per serving, but many brands, such as Barilla and Ronzoni, have their own healthier whole grain lines)
1 cob corn, kernels removed
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 Tbsp shallot, minced
1/2 medium acorn squash, cooked, peeled, and chunked
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup unsweetened original flavor almond milk or unsweetened original flavor light soy milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat pan sprayed generously with Pam over medium-high. Sauté carrots and corn for 6 minutes, or until carrots are nearly tender-crisp. Add shallots and sauté another three minutes, or until shallots start turning translucent and carrots are tender-crisp. Add spinach and squash and continue sautéing another couple minutes until the spinach wilts, salting to taste as you stir. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low and respray empty pan. Add almond milk and wine; bring to an almost simmer. Add cream cheese and heat until melted and fully incorporated, stirring often and salting to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of the parmesan and stir gently and minimally to prevent the cheese from clumping as it melts. Add vegetables and mix thoroughly, yet gently. The squash will melt into the sauce as you stir. Take this final opportunity to add any additional salt or pepper to taste. Toss in pasta and remove from heat to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan to garnish.


Vegetable Medley Farfalle in Creamy White Wine Sauce

You can grill vegetables on the George Foreman instead of sautéing, if you prefer. Do not substitute the non-dairy milk alternatives with regular dairy milk. Milk will curdle when mixed with the wine. Serves 2-3.

6oz Whole Wheat Farfalle (I like Mara's Pasta because it has a lot of fiber and protein and stays under 200 calories per serving, but many brands, such as Barilla and Ronzoni, have their own healthier whole grain lines)
1 small bunch asparagus, tough ends removed, chopped on the bias
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup unsweetened original flavor almond milk or unsweetened original flavor light soy milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup cashews
Lemon wedges

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat pan sprayed generously with Pam over medium-high. Sauté asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion until tender. Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté another 30 seconds to one minute until garlic becomes fragrant, salting to taste as you stir. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low and respray empty pan. Add almond milk and wine; bring to an almost simmer. Add cream cheese and heat until melted and fully incorporated, stirring often and salting to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of the parmesan and stir gently and minimally to prevent the cheese from clumping as it melts. Add vegetables and cashews and mix thoroughly, yet gently. Take this final opportunity to add any additional salt or pepper to taste. Toss in pasta and remove from heat to serving dish. Drizzle with juice squeezed from the lemon wedges and sprinkle with remaining parmesan to garnish.

Farmers' Market: Salmon Orzo

Have y'all tried Google Hot Pot, yet? Oh man, it's fun. It's where I've been doing all my food writing the last few weeks. You can find my new slate of reviews there; my Hot Pot nickname is "vhamster." Anyway, for the most of you who haven't yet heard about it, Hot Pot is a new recommendation engine. You can rate and review places (especially restaurants, in my case), and Google works its algorithmic magic and recommends other places you'll love, like Netflix does with movies. The more you rate, the more accurate the results. If you do the whole social networking thing, you can see what your friends like and have that factored into your recommendations, too. That's really helpful when you want to see, say, what sushi places in Berkeley your friends recommend. Or say you have that one friend who's a pizza expert. You can check out his reviews when you get a hankering for some cornmeal crust. As a major bonus, the UI is so much super fun. I can rate and review like 25 places in the time it takes me to do 5 on Yelp. And you get 10 "BEST EVERS" to distribute how you like, which I've been super stingy about using so far. Anyway, I can go on and on about it. The husband man is one of the lead software developers on the project, so I know way more about it than the average user. They've only had a soft release so far, so you can get onboard as an early adopter. I'm totally hooked.

But, awesome as Hot Pot is, it can't keep me from my blog forever! The JCC had one of it's random farmers' markets today, so I have INSPIRATION. Of course, they never really advertise these markets, which only happen every three months or so, so I'm always caught without cash and bags. Too bad, because it's been a long time since I could walk to a farmers' market. I decided to focus the limited resources in my wallet on some smoked salmon, one package cold smoked lemon pepper and one brick hot smoked cracked pepper. My mind is reeling with all the fun stuff I'm going to do with them, but for tonight I made a tried and true recipe I invented years ago, my famous Salmon and Vegetable Orzo. The recipe is very simple and lets the flavors of all the ingredients really sing. It's a great way to showcase quality salmon and veggies. Sweet, ripe tomatoes and fresh spinach perfectly compliment the smoky salmon and mild bocconcini.

Salmon & Vegetable Orzo

Serves 2

4 oz. orzo pasta

half a small or medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2-3 very large handfuls fresh baby spinach

Salt & pepper to taste

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes (I like Sweet 100s), halved

2-3 T chopped black olives

4 oz. cooked salmon (I love the smoky, salty flavor of hot smoked salmon in this, but you can use any cooked salmon), loosely shredded with a fork (the pieces will break down further as you stir it all together, so don't make the shreds too small)

half a dozen or so bocconcini fresh mozzarella balls (I like the marinated ones for this so I can use the oil, but you can use ones packed in water), quartered

2 T shredded parmesan

1/2-1 T oil from the marinated bocconcini, or olive oil 

Cook orzo in salted water according to package directions. Meanwhile, preheat skillet sprayed with Pam to medium heat. Sauté onion for a few minutes. Add garlic and sauté about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add spinach and continue to sauté. Add fresh ground salt and pepper as the spinach wilts. After spinach has wilted most of the way, add tomatoes, olives, and salmon. Heat until just hot. Add drained orzo, bocconcini, parmesan, and oil. Toss over heat until bocconcini begins to melt. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Half a Week of Cooking

A friend suggested I blog about a successful three days in the kitchen. We all struggle with keeping our meals healthy, affordable, and interesting. As we've all discovered, dining at home is no cheaper than going out if you don't actually eat the leftovers. But who wants to eat off the same dish all week long? Even your favorite lasagna or casserole gets old on the third go around. I've found that, with a little creativity, one batch of groceries - including full crispers and fruit bowls - can deliver a myriad of delicious dishes much of the week. When you pick an ingredient at the market, think about a few different ways you can use it BEFORE the first meal. This week I've been playing a lot with my George Foreman counter-top grill during this process. This isn't so much a list of recipes as an inspirational guide.

Day 1

Lunch
Salmon Fillets & Corn on the Cob

I always wished my counter-top grill could tackle corn on the cob, but it's nowhere in any manual or cookbook. This week I said "screw it!" and gave it a try myself. It worked beautifully and I'm filled with tauntings of singsong nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nahs in the cookbook writers' general direction. Rip the leaves and silk from corn. Brine for 10-30min in a bath of water mixed with a couple of tablespoons of salt and sugar (tip from either America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country, I don't remember, but does it matter? Either way, same great group of folks!) Preheat grill to 375. Close cobs in grill perpendicular to grooves. Cook for 30 minutes, turning partway around every ten so they blacken evenly. Spread with your favorite butter substitute (or the real thing) and sprinkle with fresh ground salt & pepper. For the salmon, dust fillets with your favorite seasoning. Layer the top of each fillet with lemon slices. Grill according to manual. Enjoy 3 or 4 ounces of salmon and a cob of corn for your first lunch. Keep leftover salmon and uncooked cobs in the fridge.

Dinner
Rosemary Balsamic Portabella Sandwich

I marinated the portabella in a balsamic rosemary dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar friends brought us from Italy, crushed garlic, freshly trimmed rosemary, soy sauce) before grilling it on my George Foreman. I used some of the leftover marinade to make a quick aioli. Luckily, I had simmered rosemary infused olive oil earlier to drizzle over air-popped popcorn per a Giada de Laurentis recommendation. I used a few drops in a pan to toast the sandwich thins - a perfect touch to elevate a simple sandwich to restaurant quality. I topped it all with fresh ground sea salt and black pepper, spring greens, red onion, organic tomato, and thick slices of fresh mozzarella. I stored the leftover marinade in the fridge to dip tomatoes and mozzarella as a snack or to dress a salad. Notice the incorporation of tasty, healthy snack ideas within meal preparation.



Day 2

Lunch
Soyrizo Burrito

I love me some Papalote. I crave their soyrizo burrito on a wheat tortilla with veggies instead of rice. I decided that, since I can buy soyrizo from the store just as easily as they can, I might as well make Papalote at home! I started with a warm low carb/high fiber tortilla, green chili refried beans (organic, vegetarian, fat free), soyrizo, mixed veggies grilled on my trusty Foreman (mushrooms, eggplant, red onion, carrots, zucchini, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh ground sea salt & pepper), plus my favorite brand - Casa Chicas - roasted salsa & guacamole. The California taqueria flavors I love packed with vegetables and fiber, and all coming in around 350 calories. Don't forget to make a lot of that veggie grill - we use leftovers in this household!




Dinner
Salmon Pasta in White Wine Sauce

Time to use up some of those leftovers! I tossed leftover grilled salmon & veggie grill with a light but creamy white wine sauce & whole grain farfalle. A squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of cashews makes the dish spectacular. The best part is how easy it was since the salmon & vegetables were ready to go!


Day 3

Lunch
Soyrizo Nachos

There's all that yummy soyrizo biding its time in the fridge, and that just won't do. It must be in my belly! A handful of Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips in your choice of flavor, a scoop of those refried beans, a serving of soyrizo, a modest portion of shredded cheese, and the rest of those grilled veggies popped under the broiler for a few minutes comes out gooey and delicious. Top with salsa and guacamole to add another serving of vegetables to the mix.

Dinner
Salmon Patties & Elote con Queso

Now that I knew my grill could tackle corn on the cob, I just had to begin experimenting with one of my favorite Mexican dishes: Elote con Queso, or Corn with Cheese. Traditionally, the corn is grilled with cayenne pepper, coated in lime crema, and dipped in cotija cheese. Utilizing what I had on hand, I grilled the corn with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Right after it came off the grill, I drizzled it with a few squeezes of lime juice (I didn't have any sour cream and figured it was healthier this way anyway), and then rolled it in grated parmeggiano reggiano. For an even simpler dish, it was delicious enough without the cheese to skip it. We can always do the traditional recipe another day!

The salmon patties are a variation on crab cakes I saw Ted Allen do on Oprah years ago - way back when Queer Eyes were all the rage. It's a crunchy, baked alternative to the fried patties my mom made growing up. Basically, I mix salmon with a dressing of egg, SmartBalance mayo, lemon juice, Tabasco, and other seasoning & let it set in the fridge. Then I make patties coated with cornflake crumbs - the crunch factor. After another stint in the fridge, they get baked until crispy and hot. Serve with aioli or tartar sauce. Experiment with flavors - spicy dijon, Deliciously Dill, sweet & salty teriyaki, classic Old Bay. Whatever whets your whistle!


And that's 3 days of the same ingredients popping up over and over without things getting boring or redundant. Salmon 3 ways, soyrizo 2 ways, grilled veggies 3 ways, corn 2 ways, and so on and so on. Even minor ingredients make multiple appearances: lemons, parmesan, rosemary, beans, salsa, guacamole. Few items get used only once. Toss in healthy breakfasts and lots of fruit to snack on, and you're set!

We all have to stay on budget by eating our leftovers, but that doesn't mean our meals need to become predictable. Whatever it takes to pull you out of that rut, grab it! Because if we're not excited about our food, why bother? So, what's next for me? Maybe a couple chicken breasts on the grill - shred one into a mushroom lentil casserole (using up the last of that giant bag o' sliced mushrooms!), save the other for curried brown rice salad... Getting inspired, yet? Or should I keep going?