Creamy Lemon Chickpea Asparagus Pasta

When asparagus is in season, do you also find yourself buying pounds and pounds of it and eating it with everything? Well that is me and I think I do it because one, I only eat asparagus when it is in season which is now and only for a little while so I eat it when I can. And two, there is not a whole heck of a lot in season right now so asparagus it is until other stuff starts growing. Oh and three. I really freaking love it so you know, theres that.

This is just a quick pasta dinner situation that involves the fine spring time asparagus. Nothing fussy, takes all of 15 minutes to make and fills you up all happy like. Its creamy from sunflower butter, lemony from lemon, and full of protein from the chickpeas because we all love chickpeas. All of it is tossed together and tastes fantastic in your mouth like all food going Ito your mouth should.

Now to the pasta.

The stuff. Asparagus, chickpeas, angle hair pasta, sunflower butter, a couple cloves garlic, a lemon, soy sauce, and black pepper.

Grab asparagus and cut of the woody ends then cut the stalks into smaller pieces.

Place the cut ap asparagus onto a sheet pan along with the chickpeas. You can toss with a little oil if you want.. I didn’t.

Cook up pasta. You know what to do.

Then mince up the garlic and zest the lemon .

Once pasta is cooked (air on the side of al dente) strain the pasta but reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the starchy liquid.

Once asparagus ans chickpeas are cooked, remove from oven.

Once the pasta is out of pot, make the sauce. Add garlic and a teaspoon of oil to pot along with a splash or water. Cook for a few minutes until it get fragrant then add in the sunflower seed butter, soy and about a 1/4 cup pasta water. Mix around until it forms a paste then add in another 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin it out.

Add in the cooked pastas and toss until evenly coasted with the sauce.

Then dump pasta into a big bowl. Dump the cooked asparagus and chickpeas into the pasta and toss around.

And all is left is for you to grab a couple bowls and pile it in and eat.

Simple.

-C

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creamy Lemon Chickpea asparagus Pasta

serves 2-3 people

• 1/2 pound long noodle pasta (I used angle hair)

• 1/4 cup sunflower butter or tahini

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (drained from liquid)

• 3/4 pound of asparagus

• 1 lemon

• 2 gloves garlic

• 1- 1 1/2 cups water (use water from pasta)

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• black pepper

Preheat oven to 425

Grab asparagus and remove any woody ends of the stalks. Cut the stalks into smaller pieces anut 1- 1 1/2 inches long. Place on a baking sheet along with the drained chick peas. If you want, toss around in a teaspoon or so of olive oil. I did not and did not miss it. Place baking sheet into hot oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the asparagus is cooked to your liking. The chick peas are done when the asparagus is done.

While the asparagus and chickpeas are roasting, make pasta. Boil water and cook the pasta for the amount of time the it takes (check package). Once cooked, stain pasta from pot but reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the starchy water.

And mince up the garlic and zest the lemon.

In the now empty pot add in a teaspoon of oil, a splash of water, and the mince garlic. Cook on medium heat for a couple minutes just to soften the garlic up. Turn the heat off then add in the sunflower butter or tahini, the soy, the juice of the lemon and about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water. Mix until completely incorporated and pasty. Add in another 1/2 cup of the pasta water to thin it out.

Add pasta to the sauce and toss until completely coated then dump it all into a big bowl. IF the sauce if to thick to toss with pasta, add in a little bit more starchy water to lose it up. Grab the roasted asparagus and chickpeas and toss them into pasta along with a teaspoon or so of the lemon zest. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

Now Eat.

Can be serves hot, room temperature, or cold.

Spaghetti with Roasted Green Tomato Sauce

If you are a gardener or farmer (or know one) you know. It’s that time of year where there are so many tomatoes, and I right? And with the bounty of ripen tomatoes comes the many green tomatoes, There are always green tomatoes and they are not to be dismissed.

Sure a freshly picked gorgeous red or orange tomato, ripe and sweet, eaten within minutes of being plucked from the plant is one of life’s greatest pleasures , but don’t turn a nose at all those tomatoes that don’t make it to ripeness, that fall from the plant. or that you accidentally pick off while getting to the rip ones. Those green tomatoes might not seem like much, but given a little attention, well they can shine just as bright as all those ripe and colorful ones!

All green tomatoes need to be delicious is to be roasted. Then they are amazing, like seriously freaking delicious. Just as bright and flavorful as ripen tomatoes, maybe even more so.

Once roasted you then can make them into sauce. Sauce for pasta, for pizza, for eating straight out of the jar (That is me). It can do anything red tomato sauce can do.

So don’t just let those green tomatoes go to waste. Heck, maybe pluck a few extra green ones before they ripen just so you can enjoy the goodness of roasted green tomatoes!

To the green tomato sauce!

The stuff. Green tomatoes, a large onion, a few cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, spaghetti, fresh basil, and a few rip cherry tomatoes.

Cut the onion into large chunks and slice all the green tomatoes in half (or quarters if they are large)

Place it all on a baking sheet and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Also place the unpeeled garlic into a corner and pop the baking sheet into a hot oven to roast.

Ah, all soft was tender and roasted.

(The garlic was removed after 15ish minutes of roasting, peeled and set aside.)

Dump it all into a blender and blend until smooth. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

And make spaghetti. I trust you know how to do this.

Ripe up some fresh basil and chop the cherry tomatoes in half and…

Place some of the cooked pasta into a bowl, pour in your desired amount of the sauce, and top with fresh basil and a few red cherry tomatoes.

It is ready. Now eat.

-C

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Spaghetti with Roasted Green Tomato Sauce

Makes 5-6 cups

• Around 20 smaller green tomatoes (or how many you can fit on a a large baking sheet)

• a large sweet onion

• 4-5 cloves garlic

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

• salt and pepper

• Spagetthi (as much as you want to eat)

• handful of fresh basil for erving of pasta resh basil

• a few red cherry tomatoes for each serving of pasta

Preheat oven to 450

Cut tomatoes in half (or in quarters if they are large). Peel skin from onion and cut into large chunks. Place both cut tomatoes and onion onto a large baking sheet and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss around and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. On the corner of the pan, place the garlic(still in skin) Place into oven.After 15ish minutes, remove the garlic and set aside. Continue baking the tomatoes and onions for another 35-45 minutes or until the tomatoes are fork tender.

Once the tomatoes are cooked, remove from oven and, being oh so careful, dump or scoop the tomatoes and onion into a blender. Add in the roasted garlic (skin removed) and blend until smooth. Taste the sauce then season with more salt and pepper and add another tablespoon of olive oil if you think it needs it.

To eat with spaghetti.

Make spaghetti as in instructed on box. Once you have cooked spaghetti, drained it, and placed it into a bowl, pour or scoop the green tomato sauce on top. Top with a handful of fresh basil and a few red cherry tomatoes.

Then eat.

Extra tomato sauce can be placed in a jar or container with a lid and refrigerated for about a week.

Parsley Mint Pesto Pasta Salad

Have I told you how amazing my farmshare is? I am sure I have, but if I haven’t lately, well let me just tell you, it is. All summer long we (the members) get to pick a bunch of fresh herbs every week. Basil, scallions, dill, parsely, and cilantro. Planted every few weeks to keep us in the herbs all summer long. And every few weeks there is a herb free for all. Pick unlimited amounts of whatever herb is plentiful. Last week it was unlimited parsley. Yeah there was unlimited basil and that was nice too, but the parsley, the underrated, overlooked herb. That was what I wanted and I picked the shit out of it.

Parsley. No I is not just a green sprig that garnishes your plate at a restaurant. It is a great spicy, fresh, clean tasting herb that plays so well with everything. I really think parsley can, and should, make it’s way into almost any dish. It adds a touch more brightness to any spice blend. And there is just something about munching on some fresh parsley, it just works for me. Parsley is good friends. No. Parsley is great.

So now we match said parsley with another bright herb, mint, and blend it up into a pesto. Magic on the tongue. And a no brainer for pesto is pasta, although this pesto would make a great spread or smothered on grilled veggies or scooped into soup.

A summery pesto pasta salad dish situation. Perfect for all the times that you are hungry and need food.

To the pesto pasta salad!

The stuff. Parsley. mint, a few scallions, toasted almonds, garlic, a lemon, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Also pasta, a cucumber, and a big handful of cherry tomatoes.

First for pesto. Start by pulsing the almonds in a food processor until they become a nice crumb. Remove about 1/4 cup and set aside.

Grab the herbs and scallions and remove any really wooden stems (keep the more tender ones) and rip the herbs into smaller pieces.

All the parsley, mint, and scallions now go into food processor with almonds, along with the garlic, nutritional yeast, the juice of the lemon, and a pinch of salt and some crack pepper. Pulse the food processor and stream in the olive oil until everything comes together. You might need to stop and scrape the sides a few times.

And then you have pesto!

Now you need pasta. Cook it to the directions on the package you got it from. Cook it all the way through then when you strain it, rinse it with a little cool water.

Chop up the cucumber into small chunks and half or quarter the cherry tomatoes.

And to put it all together. Pasta goes in a bowl. Add in the pesto. If the pesto seems a little on the thick side and not easily mixes, add in a little warm water to thin it out a bit.

Add the cucumber and tomatoes.

Mix some more, sprinkle on lots of the crumbled almonds you set aside, maybe a few more springs of parsley and a few more leaves of mint for good measure and call it done.

Be ready to eat cause this salad is ready to be eaten.

-C

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Parsley Mint Pesto Pasta Salad

Makes a pound of pasta

• 2 cups packed parsley (Curly or flat. I used curly)

• 1 cup packed mint

• a few scallions if you have them

• 3/4 cup roasted almonds

• 3 cloves garlic

• a lemon

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil

• salt and pepper

• 1 pound bow tie pasta

• Big handful cherry tomatoes

• a tender skinned cucumber

Note. This recipe makes a big batch of pesto and big pasta salad. You can totally make the all the pesto and only use half and only boil half of the pasta. Just stored left over pesto in a jar in the fridge for about week or so or stick it in the freezer for a few months. And you can use it for all sorts of great things like sandwiches, salads, as a dip… whatever you want.

To make the pesto. Place almonds in food processor and pulse until crumbly then remove about a 1/4 cup and set aside. Add in the garlic and pulse a few times. Then grab the parsley, mint, and scallions. Remove any tough stems and rip the herbs into smaller pieces. Add them to food processor along with the nutritional yeast, the juice of the lemon, and a good pinch or two of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse while slowly adding in the olive oil. Stop, scrap sides, then pulse until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Half or quarter cherry tomatoes and cut cucumber into small chunks

Cook the pasta. Big pot of boil water with a pinch pf salt. Cook until fully cooked, then drain. Give it a quick rinse of cool water. Dump the pasta into a big bowl.

To make the pasta salad. Scoop pesto into bowl with the pasta and mix it until all the pasta is evenly coated. If pesto is really thick, just add a little warm water to thin it out. Add in the cut up tomatoes and cucumber, mix, then top with the reserves ground up almonds and a handful more of chopped fresh mint and parsley.

Eat.

Left overs should be stored in fridge for a a few days. Left over pesto a week or so and or in the freezer for a few months.

Gnocchi with Chunky Tomato and Onion

Farm share started last week (HOORAY!!!!) but always, at the beginning when things are still getting on growing, we are only getting a few things. Lot of greens which I will never get enough of, and lots of potatoes. Also, I made the mistake of buying a very large bag of potatoes last week right before farm share and now I am basically swimming in potatoes. And so the story goes….

So what do you do with a shit ton of potatoes? Yeah, I thought potato cannon to but then I realized that I would have to use my potatoes and sure I have a lot, but I am not wasting them on that. So gnocchi they became. Gnocchi. Basically a boiled french fry or a mashed potato meat ball. Or maybe more like a ravioli. Whatever they are, they are loved by potato loving people and are fun to make. I mean, when do you ever get to use the ricer? ( Don’t worry, you can make gnocchi without a ricer.)

To the gnocchi.

The stuff. Potatoes, flour, an onion, some tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Note. Make sure to use russet potatoes because they make the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi. You could probably use Yukon gold, but any hard wax potato just won’t do.

First step is to make baked potatoes. Place potatoes in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft and tender. Just like you would when you eat it as a baked potato. Once cooked cut them in half and let them cool off for a few minutes.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out of skins. Keep skins for soup or a snack for later.

And the fun part. Flour the counter then rice the potatoes. You can also do this with a food mill or even grate the potato with a box grater. Once all riced, cover with flour and start to fold and mix the potato into the flour gently until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems really sticky and wet, add in a tablespoon or two of flour, to dry and crumbly, add in a tablespoon or two of water. The goal is a nice fluffy dough that hold it shape but is not overly dense.

Gnocchi dough.

Cut off a potion of the dough, roll it into a rope about an inch thick, then cut into inch long pieces.

To cook gnocchi. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in a handful of gnocchi into the water. They are gonna sink, but after a minute or two they start to float. Once floating, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.

Cooked and ready… Ready for what? For anything you want but these are going into a tomato and onion situation.

Mince garlic and dice tomatoes and place into skillet with a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Place on stove and cook until slightly tender. Dice up tomatoes into small chunks and add to skillet along with a cup of water (if you have gnocchi water, use that) Turn heat up and cook until mixture start to bubble, then turn heat down to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.

Looks good right?

And then drop in gnocchi. Keep on heat until the gnocchi are warmed completely all the way through.

Sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and something green if you want to be fancy.

And then you eat them.

-C

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Gnocchi with Chunky Tomato and Onion

Makes 3-4 servings

• 2.5 pounds russet potatoes

• 2/3 cup of all purpose flour

• 1 large onion

• 3-4 tomatoes

• few cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

• water

Place potatoes directly into oven on one of the oven racks and bake on 450 degrees until soft and tender. Should take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.

Once cooked, remove from oven carefully, cut in half, carefully, and let cool for a about 10 minutes, just so you can handle the potatoes without burning yourself. In the mean time, get a large pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil.

When the potatoes are not to hot to touch, grab them and with a spoon, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skin (keep skin for a snack or for soup). Lightly flour the counter and start ricing the potatoes directly onto the counter. (You can also use a food mill or a box grater if you don’t have ricer). Once all potato is rices, cover with floor and gently fold potato over into flour, over and over, even using a knife, to kind of cut the potato into the flour, until it all mostly comes together. Be careful to not overwork the dough or else it will become dense make the gnocchi chewy. If the dough seems is sticky, add in a few more tablespoons of flour, to dry and seems crumbly, add a few tablespoons warm water.

Once you have the dough, make sure the water on the stove is still there and has not evaporated and is at a gentle boil. Cut dough in thirds then roll out a portion into a rope about an inch thick. Cut the rope into inch long pieces. Repeat with the rest of dough.

When all the gnocchi are made, grab a rimed baking sheet, coat with oil, and place close by the boil water.

Now to cook them. Drop a handful of gnocchi into water carefully. They will sink. Watch and after about a minute or two, they will start to float. Once floating, take a slotted spoon and take them out of water. Place them on the greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. (when done cooking, save a cup of the cooking water)

After the gnocchi is cooked, you can do whatever you want with it, like eat it right away with salt and pepper or whatever, but to make the quick tomatoes onion situation, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Place into a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on stove and start to cook. Dice up the tomatoes and once the onion is tender, add in the dice tomatoes and about a cup of the gnocchi cooking water. Turn the heat up until the water is bubbling then reduce to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and tender. Once cooked, add in the gnocchi, toss them around, and cook until the gnocchi are fully warmed through.

And then eat it. Maybe a little more salt if needed, definitely lots of pepper, and whatever else you want.

Sesame Noodles

It is getting oh so much nicer out yeah? Springing and such, well kind of. Still a wee bit chillier then it should be around here but still, it is spring and I am taking it.

And with the spring, I feel the itch, the itch to spend all of my free time outside. Out doing things that are not inside because I spent the last 7 long months inside way too much. I needed to be outside as much as possible and as it gets even nicer and warmer and garden temperature-able, I am basically going to be living outside.

Bring in sesame noodles. Super fast, super easy, super duper in every way. Make a big old batch and eat now, eat later, eat hot or eat cold. Everyone loves them, they love you, etc. etc… A perfect meal to have in rotation when you know that you are not going to have or want to spend much time cooking in the kitchen because you will be outside playing in the dirt and soaking up the sun. And think about all the picnics and BBQ’s to come. These suckers are fantastic to have at any outdoor eating event. They are even peanut free so you can safely bring them to potlucks and such and don’t have to worry about accidentally kill a peanut allergy person. And you can make them gluten free as well if you sub in your favorite gluten free pasta. These noodles, I am telling you. They are a winner in every way.

So with out further ado, the noodles!

The stuff. Spaghetti noodles, tahini, a few cloves of garlic, some toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, honey (used whatever sweetener you like), red pepper flakes, tasted sesame seeds some cabbage, half a red onion and a carrot.

Get pasta cooking. Boil water, drop noodles in, you know the drill. Cook as long as the the noodles need cooking, just make sure to not over cook them cause soggy noodles are nasty.

Chop, shred and julienne the cabage, onion and carrot. Nice and thin.

Mince the heck out of the garlic. Or use a garlic press if you want.

Now make the sauce. Add the minced garlic, along with the soy, sesame oil, vinegar, sweetener, and chili flakes to the bowl with the tahini. Mix, mix, mix until it is all incorporated and not lumpy. And that is that.

Noodles should be done by now so strain them out.

Add the prepared veggies to a big bowl.

Add in the cooked noodles

Cover with sauce and toss all around until all the noodles are coated and delicious. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a pinch or so more of pepper flakes.

And then it is time. Eating time.

Happy spring!

-C

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Sesame Noodles

serves 3-6

• 3/4 lb (3/4 of a package) of your favorite spaghetti noodles (or linguine or similar noodle)

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 1/4 cup soy (low sodium if you have it and gluten free tamari if needed)

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 3 tablespoons tahini

• 2-4 teaspoons red chili flakes

• 1-2 teaspoons sweetener of choice (maple, honey, or brown sugar)

• 4-5 cloves garlic

• 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

• about a 1/4 head of cabbage

• a carrot

• small red onion

Bring a pot of water to a boiling cook the noodles as directed on package. You want them al dente, cooked all the way, but barely. No soggy noodles. (unless you like them soggy)

In the mean time, shred the cabbage, julienne the carrot (or shred it) and slice the onion so very thinly. Place into a large bowl. Now mince garlic and place into a bowl along with the soy, sweetener, vinegar, tahini, sesame oil and a teaspoon or two (more for spicier) of chili flakes and whisk until completely incorporated. Taste and adjust if needed. Add more tahini for more body, more sweetener if needed or more hot pepper flakes for more spice.

Once noodles are cooked, drain and place into large bowl along with the shredded and julienned veggies. Pour in the sauce and toss it all around until all the noodles are covered. Sprinkle in the toasted sesame seeds and a small pinch more of the red pepper flakes.

Eat. Eat warm, room temp, or cold. They are delicious any way.

Any left overs just stick in fridge. Can be reheated or not. Also, you can make the sauce and the noodles a few day ahead of time of when you want to have the dish Just mix the sauce with the noodles when you are about to serve them… So simple!