Simple Veggie Pasta

Spring 2012

When I set out to cook a simple, healthy and quick dinner the other night this photo was the inspiration. I was dead set on remaking this dish even if I couldn't remember exactly how I made it. I bought the ingredients I knew I used with hopes I could recreate the dish. It didn't happen and I'll still be damned if I can remember how I made that dish above! I will try again! 

I came across these beautiful yellow tomatoes so I had to give them a try.

Even though the dish didn't turn out as I wanted, it was still delicious. Once I realized it wasn't going to turn out like I wanted, I got creative. I substituted the Feta cheese for Parmesan because I had some to use up. I also decided to add some other ingredients I had sitting around in the kitchen. What I created was a simple, somewhat healthy and quick dinner that was delicious. 

Without further ado here is the recipe for a taste bud party with fresh tomatoes and asparagus being the VIP guests. 

Simple Veggie Pasta

Ingredients:

10 ounces Sunburst or Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 lb Asparagus
1 medium Onion 
1 clove Garlic, minced
juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, extra for topping
4 Tablespoons Butter or Olive Oil
1/4-1/2 cup dry to semi-dry white wine 
1 teaspoon dry parsley or equivalent fresh
dash of salt
dash of pepper
2 cups dry pasta, cooked

Directions:

1. Saute onion in 1 Tablespoon Butter. Cut tomatoes in half, chop asparagus and mince garlic while onion cooks. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes.
2. Add white wine, lemon juice and asparagus. Cook until asparagus is almost done.
3. Add tomatoes and cook just until tender. Add cheese, remaining butter, parsley and salt/pepper.
4. Cook until cheese is melted and serve over pasta. Top with cheese and enjoy!

Mini vacation to Madison Indiana

If you haven't heard of Madison, IN you are certainly not alone. It is a gem that many don't seem to know about. Madison is located in the southeast corner of Indiana right along the Ohio River bordering with Kentucky. It's a little historic town full of charm and a very relaxed vibe. I highly recommend checking it out. Today I'll share some photos, must visit shops/restaurants/locations, and local food from my trip this year. 

This is "Hanging Rock Road" where you can drive under the rock and waterfall. If you wish to visit this spot the road name is Cragmont Street.

This year was my second trip there to spend a weekend. After visiting Madison for two years in a row, I almost want to start making it an annual mini vacation. During this visit we managed to eat at only local restaurants and we ventured out to discover more of what the area had to offer. In our adventures we found some good food, genuinely nice people, a twisty (slightly scary) road through some forest covered hills that had some amazing views once you made it to the top, and some decent wine. That's just the short story of what we discovered this weekend. Again, I highly recommend checking out Madison. 

When you visit Madison (I know you will!) I recommend a few strolls down Main Street. It's full of historic buildings and great shops and restaurants. I highly recommend you check out Hinkles Hamburgers. They are perfect little sliders for a late evening meal or a lunch snack. The Downtowner offers a good atmosphere, service and delicious food (they're famous for their large cookies). I stopped into Galena Garlic Company this time around and I can't wait to test the ingredients I purchased there (more on that later). In a short drive out of downtown you can find a decent winery (Madison Vineyards) and a few fun places to visit. I purchased two wines, one to drink and one for a dessert, from Madison Vineyards. They offer free wine tasting and their prices are reasonable per bottle. I will be working on recipes this week that include the ingredients pictured above. I'm most excited to create both a savory and a sweet recipe out of the Chocolato pasta! Check back soon for those recipes.

One of many waterfalls in Clifty Falls State Park.

The highlight on both trips for me has been the time I spent in Clifty Falls State Park. There are numerous trails through this beautiful park. The range in difficulty and views. On our visit this year the weather was PERFECT for hiking and photos. Below I will share some of the photos I took along the hike. Enjoy and check back soon for new recipes inspired by my trip!

You can actually walk across this small waterfall. 

There's nothing like standing at the edge of a cliff/waterfall and taking a picture. haha

As a true foodie I couldn't help but have my photo taken next to Cake Rock.  Yes, I was working a weird face. 

While it's still early Spring there were flowers popping up here and there. Beautiful. 

Trail 8. It was so nice to see the start of color popping up all over the park.

One of the coolest paths. It dead ends now as the rock has fallen, but it leads to a good lookout point to a waterfall.

Spring Cupcake How To

                 

               Dreaming of this...

...this is what we see.

Even if there are inches of snow on the ground in these early days of Spring, I'm still imagining the scent of blooming flowers and fresh cut grass. Not to mention the array of beautiful colors and new life that Spring brings. Since I can't look outside and enjoy the scenery I want, I decided to make some cute cupcakes to celebrate the days to come!

When I was asked to make a dessert for a Relay For Life event I instantly thought of cupcakes. Perfect treat for people to pick up and they aren't too messy at all. Perfect. Apparently everyone thought they were perfect as well...they sold out! The choice of decoration was obviously well received. The pictures I shared over on Facebook got some love too. The Birdie Cupcake was favored so I decided to put together a quick tutorial on how I made them. 

I used basic decorating tips to make these cupcakes and they truly are simple to do. I did learn that I should have went with my original idea of making the birds out of fondant. I think they would look better by being more round...Next time! haha For now, this is how you can achieve these cute cupcakes. They are perfect for upcoming Easter dinners! 

What you'll need:

- Your favorite cupcakes

- Buttercream or Whipped Frosting, colored as you wish

- Decorating bags with couplers 

- Decorating Tips (2, 3, 12 (all previous are round tips) and 233 (grass tip))

- A little creativity and imagination 

Here are the steps:

Starting in the center and working out swirl the nest and build the sides as you go around the outer edge.

Once you've built the nest, add a little detail by randomly pipping with the grass tip.

Fill a bag with the #12 tip attached with blue frosting. Pipe one bird at a time. It will have a pointy top, you'll fix that in a few steps.

In each nest place three blue birds. After you've pipped all the birds let them dry for a few minutes. To smooth out the pointy tip on the birds, with a glove on, use your finger to smooth it out. Lightly press each tip down. This will leave a base for the itty bitty yellow beak. 

Prepare a bag for the yellow frosting with the #3 tip and reuse the brown frosting by attaching the #2 tip. Pipe the upper and lower parts of the beak on the base impression you made in the previous step. Once you've added the beak to each bird on each cupcake go back and add the eyes. Do so by adding a very small dot. Do not squeeze the bag too much, you don't want to add a blob of brown for the eyes.

This should be your final product. How cute!

I also made some Spring flower cupcakes. These were even more simple. Pipe grass on to the cupcake as the base. Using various tips and colors, get creative and pipe on some pretty flowers. Fun!

Welcoming Spring! (Lady Bug and Butterfly cookies)

Today I bring you a post to, hopefully, help ring in Spring!