Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioli in Browned Butter with Crispy Sage

I've said it before, pasta making is the labor of love. Bruce was sweet enough to offer to help me make ravioli this Sunday. He had greatly underestimated the amount of time and effort he had signed up for. 2.5-3 hours later we had a (mostly) beautiful batch of tender, delicious ravioli piled into a Tupperware for my Monday night dinner party.

You learn countless lessons when you attempt to make pasta. First lesson is you literally can't use too much flour. Second, you shouldn't cut pasta with a chef's knife on a veneer dining room table. Third, and probably most significant lesson, do not put fresh pasta in Tupperware and store in refrigerator - eat it the day you make it. The pasta gets damp and fuses together. You'll need to perform surgery to pull it apart. My once cute, almost professional looking ravioli turned into mangled versions of themselves. Whomp whomp. 

Did I throw it away and make boxed spaghetti? Almost, but no. I tried frying them up in a pan with a little butter and sage, and it was delicious! 

These ravioli were the main course of my "fall" themed dinner party I threw in honor of leaving my studio apartment. Everything is more fun when it has a theme - I learned that in college. The rest of the fall menu included:

grapes / Brussels sprout chips / roasted almonds

arugula salad with figs, toasted walnuts and shaved Parmesan

maple apple crisp with walnuts / vanilla maple ice cream

I found the recipe for the butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli on Xoxo Create, the only difference was that I fried mine up in a skillet with the browning butter instead of boiling it beforehand. Click link for full recipe.  

Shrimp in Marinara over Pearled Barley

The purpose of tonight's post is educational. I just wanted to cover a few bases. First, marinara: not just for pizza or pasta. Put it on shrimp for the healthiest way to satisfy Italian food cravings while using stuff you probably have in the freezer and pantry. Second, barley: not just in beer. Pearled barley (especially the Trader Joe's 10 minute barley) is the most hearty and healthy pasta substitute. FYI - Barley is a good source of manganese (supporting blood, bones and sex hormones), dietary fiber and literally 80 other nutrients. Who knew?

Shrimp in marinara over pearled barley was the perfect home late from a meeting, healthy but ready in 15 minutes dinner. And a glass of wine, because of aforementioned late meeting.

Shrimp in Marinara over Pearled Barley

(Serves 2)

1 cup pearled barley (recommend TJ's 10 minute barley)

1 pound shrimp, frozen or fresh

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 cup favorite marinara sauce

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

dash red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

2 handfuls of arugula

freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

In a medium pot, cook barley per instructions. In a large skillet, heat olive oil before adding in shrimp. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip the shrimp and add lemon juice, marinara, basil and red pepper flakes. Cook shrimp through 1-2 minutes then finish with salt and pepper.

Stir arugula and Parmesan into cooked barley. Serve barley in bottom of bowl and top with shrimp and marinara. Finish with more grated Parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

Sweet Corn Soup with Balsamic Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

Summer is wrapping up. When I was younger I associated that with the end of Fun. Now I couldn't be more excited - I get to put away my puffy jacket, bring out the skirts and tank tops, and buy myself some pumpkin flavored groceries. So soon!

In the meantime, I will eat this soup because it is good. Summery, and good.

Sweet Corn Soup with Balsamic Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

(2 servings)

2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon bacon fat (or olive oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup milk (or almond milk)

salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

8 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

In a large pot, heat bacon fat (or let a slice of bacon cook in the pan for a minute or two then remove). Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in corn, setting aside 2 tablespoons worth of kernels to add in later, and cook another couple minutes. Pour broth and milk into the pot and bring to a simmer, 5-7 more minutes.

Put diced tomatoes and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

In a blender (or use immersion blender) puree the ingredients for 2-3 minutes or until very smooth. Pour into bowls and serve with remaining corn kernels, tomatoes, and goat cheese. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. Fresh basil would be a nice addition, if you have it on hand.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

I may have said this before but chocolate chip cookies are my favorite food. My weakness. I can't say no. One of my best friends, Alanna and I always say "you can't pass up on a chocolate chip cookie, because you don't know when the next opportunity will be when you get to eat one again." I like eating healthfully, contrary to my last two posts, but I like to think these are healthier versions of the classic because they're full of protein, coconut oil and fiber.

I've been on a baking bender recently. I had to scratch the cooking itch after our Friday night chef-inspo at a Feastly dinner party. The idea behind Feastly is that chefs can book one of their venues, sell tickets to a themed dinner and strangers can come together to share a meal and a few bottles of BOYWine. 

Our dinner was Persian themed. I can't say I've ever had Persian food - and knew it - before this. Dinner was fantastic - feta with herbs and freshly cracked walnuts to start. The main course was a tender meat broth soup with sesame flat bread and pickled vegetables. Dessert of rice noodles in icy rose water with fresh lemon juice.  

I love the Feastly concept. But I digress...

Original recipe inspired by Beaming Baker's vegan and gluten free cookies, which I made gluten-forward and non-vegan by sake of what was in the pantry. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

¾ cup flour

¾ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 cup natural, unsalted peanut butter 

¼ cup melted coconut oil

½ cup sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or greased foil. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: oats, oat flour, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients: peanut butter, coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla.

Add the dry mixture to wet mixture. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir and fold until you get a cohesive dough. Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized cookie dough balls onto the cookie sheet, spaced evenly apart. Flatten to desired shape--these cookies won't spread too much. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Using a spatula, carefully lift the cookies off the baking sheet and place onto a cooling rack. 

Lemon & Blueberry Muffins

I'm moving again! After one year in this pricey marina studio, I'm packing it up and heading to Duboce Triangle to live in a three bedroom with a couple other Tar Heel girls. While it is definitely the financially responsible thing to do, the place is also pretty great. The amenities alone are bringing me back into the 21st century. Like the good southern girl that I try to be, I whipped up a small batch of blueberry muffins for my second visit to the apartment.

There are healthy muffin recipes out there. This isn't one of them (though I did substitute in Greek yogurt for sour cream). 

Man, I'm going to miss those blue counters...False. I will not. 

The recipe I used came from Yammie's Noshery but I added lemon zest and plopped in a couple blackberries. 

Lemon & Blueberry Muffins
2/3 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest from 1/2 lemon
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place eight muffin liners in the pan. Combine the sugar, egg, oil, milk, lemon zest and vanilla in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt. I stir the baking powder and salt into the flour right on top of the wet ingredients so I don't have to get out another bowl. Once the baking powder and salt are pretty well distributed in the flour, stir them into the wet ingredients until combined. Don't over-mix, but stir until it's no longer lumpy.

Stir in the yogurt just until well distributed. Fold in the blueberries (I left about half for the top so some would be visible on the crown of the muffin).

Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin tin. If you are making 8 high crowned muffins, you will be filling them all the way to the top. If you want to make shorter muffins you could probably fill 12. If you saved some berries for the top, sprinkle them on and press them in lightly. Sprinkle the tops with the 1 tablespoon of sugar for added crunch.

Bake muffins for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.