Farfalle with Roasted Cauliflower and Breadcrumbs

How good does this look???  

Farfalle with Roasted Cauliflower and Breadcrumbs
(serves 6)
for the roasted cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Place florets in a bowl and toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Roast in a 400 degree oven on a baking sheet for 20 minutes.  If your florets are bigger, cooking time may vary.  Place roasted caulflower in a large bowl and set aside.

to make the pasta
1 pound farfalle pasta (I like to use Barilla Plus)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon anchovy paste (If you are a vegan just omit this.)
3 garlic cloves, minced using a garlic press
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs (seasoned is okay too)
1/2 a teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Boil pasta according to the directions on the box. Meanwhile, over a medium flame pour olive oil, anchovy paste, garlic, and red pepper in a large pan.  Stir and simmer until oil is fragrant but without letting the garlic burn, about 5 minutes.  Add breadcrumbs and salt to the pan and continuously mix the breadcrumbs until they become golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.  Transfer breadcrumb mixture to the bowl with the roasted cauliflower.  Add chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts to the bowl as well.  When pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and add hot pasta to the bowl.  Mix until well combined and drizzle with a dash of olive oil and serve.  Enjoy!

Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps

Every now and then I spend several hours and days just browsing through food blogs, some that are more known and some that are not.  While browsing around one day, I found this recipe on Dinner with Julie.  I was so happy when I found it because I actually love Lesley Stowe's Raincoast Crisps!!  My friend introduced me to them one day at her house and directly after leaving I went to purchase my own box at Whole Foods.  They are in the cheese section.  They are really yummy and have a a few flavors to choose from.  I have only had the Rosemary Raisin Pecan version.  There's a nice balance between the sweetness from the raisins, crunch from the pumpkin seeds and pecans, and even a little umami from the sesame seeds.  On top of all that there's flax seed meal and buttermilk in them as well!  They go great with any and all cheeses, but my fave is spreading them with a creamy brie!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!  This recipe is taken directly from Dinner with Julie.

Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps
(makes 2-3 small loaves, depending on the size of pan)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the raisins, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until blended.
Pour the batter into two 8”x4” loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. You can leave it until the next day or pop it in the freezer. Slice the loaves as thin as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I like to slice and bake one loaf and pop the other in the freezer for another day.) Reduce the oven heat to 300° F and bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden. 

Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread

1 french baguette, or ciabatta bread, sliced lengthwise

6-7 garlic cloves

1/2 bunch parsley (about 1 cup)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Blend all ingredients, except the bread, in a mini food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Spread parsley and garlic mixture on both sides of bread.  Place closed bread in a 350 degree oven, on a baking sheet, for about 10 minutes and then open faced for another 10 minutes.  Take out cut into pieces and enjoy with your favorite meal!!

Banana Bread

This recipe was adapted from Cooking Light magazine, the October issue.  I changed and added a few things and it came out great and pretty healthy too!  I brought most of the banana bread to my friend's house the other day but I've been eating the other half for breakfast with my morning coffee! It's also a great afternoon snack, if you can contain yourself to eat only 1 slice, that is!!

Cooking Light says that if you the loaf yields 16 slices each one has 167 calories and 29g of protein.  I'm thinking my version is probably around 240 calories (don't quote me on that) and probably has a little more protein because of the Greek yogurt.  I was only able to slice my loaf into 12 slices so my calculations are for a loaf that yields 12 slices instead of 16.

Banana Bread
(makes 1 loaf)

3 mashed ripe bananas
1 container (6-oz) Plain Greek Yogurt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup vanilla flavored protein powder (I used whey protein.)
1/4 flaxseed meal, or whole ground flaxseed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed.  Add both sugars, beat until combined.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add flour mixture to the banana mixture, beat just until blended.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden tester inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Balls or truffles, either way it tastes amazing!

Today I worked on something I've been wanting to do ever since I took a bite of Momofuku's birthday cake truffles.  I started to research how to make cake balls, and found out (thanks to Bakerella) that it requires some sort of cake and then icing.  You basically mix them together and you form balls and then either roll them in some sort of nut or cookie crumb mixture or place a popsicle stick in it and make them into lollipops.  Be sure to dip the pops into some sort of chocolate mixture.  And even after they have been dipped you can roll them in cookie crumbs or nuts!

So today I got a final product and I created my own concoction.  I call it Peanut Butter Banana Balls.  I made some rolled in crushed graham crackers and kept them as balls or truffles.  And then the rest I made into pops, to be dipped in chocolate tomorrow..  I'll freeze those for the next time I entertain at my apartment.  I also reserved some of the batter to make mini banana bread muffins and kept the extra icing in a plastic ziploc baggie to ice the cupcakes at a later time and date this week.  

Meanwhile here are some photos to get your mouth watering....If you are wondering who took these marvelous pictures, I'll have to give the credit to my friend Anny, those are her little fingers helping me cut the kebab sticks (that's all I had at home).  Also pay close attention to the action shot of the graham crumbs getting sprinkled on top of one of the balls to ensure a nice even coating of grahams!  Gorgeous! Enjoy!