Recipe : Bow-tie Pasta with Snap Peas and Asparagus

This pasta dish is great served along side chicken, sausage or even marinated or fried tofu. Also would be great with one of those mixed into it!

Bow-tie Pasta with Snap Peas and Asparagus // Serves 4

1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 pound bow-tie pasta

1/2 pound sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 or 7 garlic cloves, depending on your taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)

Additional freshly grated parmesan cheese

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• Add asparagus to large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until just crisp-tender. Transfer to bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Add pasta to the same pot of water and boil until just tender but still firm to bite. Add snap peas and boil 2 minutes. Drain well. Add oil to the same pot and then the minced garlic. Saute for a minute or so then pull off the heat. Return pasta, peas and asparagus back to the pot and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with additional cheese if wanted.

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Recipe: Veggie Chili

Veggie Chili // Serves 4 to 6 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 zucchini (about 1 pound total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 can (19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1 or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
2. Add zucchini, carrots, chili powder, and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are between crisp and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, and 1 cup water. Simmer until slightly thickened and carrots are soft, 8 to 10 minutes more.

Recipe: Tomato Sauce

Couldn't be simpler. This recipe is regular and familiar, bright and garlicky, with a bit of spice. The olive oil gives it body and a rich mouth feel. 

This is great served under pan-fried gnocchi, and sprinkled with lots of chopped basil and Parmesan, or on it's own slathered on grilled bruschetta, or even on pizza. You could thin it out with a bit of broth, blend it a bit, and add a splash of crème fraîche for a soup. And it's delicious on pasta. I'm sure you can think of other ideas as well!

As far as beer goes, we have a Cascadian Dark Ale is fermenting away. The next step is bottling. I'm excited and my fingers are crossed that it'll turn out.

Tomato Sauce // Makes about 3 cups

I don't peel the tomatoes, but you could. You can also double this batch. The sauce will keep refrigerated for about a week. 

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Chop the tomatoes into 1/4-inch chunks and set aside.

Combine the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a cold medium sauce pan. Heat the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until the garlic begins to sizzle. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for a couple minutes, just until the tomatoes to start breaking down a bit. Remove from heat, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Recipe: Kale Salad with Lemon and Seared Salmon

This salad is my current obsession. Kale is tough, and somewhat bitter. It's tossed with a light tangy dressing, and salty parmesan. It’s amazingly simple and good for you. You could easily serve this salad with some roasted chicken, marinated tofu or even a poached egg.

Kale Salad with Lemon and Seared Salmon // Serves 2

Make a little extra! When dressed, the kale salad only gets better, kept in the fridge.

4 Cups Kale (lacinato or cavolo nero best), rinsed and dried
1/3 Cup Fresh, Whole Grain Breadcrumbs
1/3-1/2 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese
Red Pepper Flakes to taste

2 (5 oz.) Pieces Wild/Sustainably Raised Salmon Filets
1 Tbsp. Dried Basil
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
Ground Pepper
1/2 Cup White Wine

// Dressing //
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
Pinch of Salt/Ground Pepper

1. Remove the ribs from the kale, lay leaves on top of each other, and slices into 1/4” ribbons. Put them all in a bowl.
2. For the dressing, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves and pinch of salt, pepper and red pepper in a blender/food processor and blend to combine. Taste for spice and lemon to olive oil ratio, I find that this is a personal preference. You can also add a touch of honey to mellow out the tang if need be. Pour desired amount over the kale and toss so the leaves marinate in the dressing while you finish the salmon.
3. Dry both sides of the salmon, and gently rub on the garlic salt, pepper and dried basil. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat with a bit of oil to avoid sticking, add the salmon filets, and allow them to get crispy on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the filets, sear for a minute, and add the 1/2 cup of wine to the pan. Cover and cook until just cooked through. This will likely take another 5 minutes, but will vary depending on thickness of your filet. Use your judgement and watch the center of the fish. Remove.

4. Add the breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, a bit more dressing and give the salad another toss to combine. Serve each plate with a hefty portion of kale, and a piece of salmon.

Recipe: Summer Squash Casserole

Summer squash is easy to grow, sometimes so easy that I end up with much more than I need and am constantly trying to think of new ways to prepare it. One simple way is to drizzle it with a little olive oil and sprinkle on some sea salt and ground pepper, then bake it at 350 for 20 minutes or so. 

Summer Squash Casserole // Serves 4

3 cups sliced summer squash — yellow, zucchini, patty pan, crookneck, whatever you have
1 shallot, chopped
3 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup milk, cream or half-and-half
about 1/2 cup of Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter, chopped into pieces
about 1/2 to 3/4 cup Grated cheese (Parmesan is very good)
A dash of Salt and pepper

Butter a medium baking dish. Arrange squash slices and sprinkle shallot over the top.

Beat eggs in a small bowl, mix milk with the eggs and pour over the squash.

Top with bread crumbs. Distribute butter over the crumbs. Sprinkle grated cheese, salt and pepper on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until squash is tender and the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Recipe: Zucchini Curry Soup

Zucchini Curry Soup // Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly minced
• 2 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• 1 large potato, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 4 six inch zucchini, chopped
• 1 quart veggie stock
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• Heat the oil in a large pot. Stir in the onion, garlic and season with curry powder and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in potato, carrot, and zucchini. Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, until the veggies are very tender.
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• Remove soup from heat and serve with some good bread.
• You could also puree this soup if you like it less chunky.

Recipe: Summer Salsa

Summer Salsa // makes 2 cups

1 1/2 pints tomatoes (about 1 and a half pounds) chopped
1/2 cup minced cilantro
2 tomatillos chopped
the juice of 1/2 of a lime
1/2 tsp good salt (or to taste)
1 hot pepper, minced
1 or 2 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped (optional)

Prepare all of the ingredients, then toss them in some kind of food processor. I put them in a bowl and used an emulsified blender to chop everything to the right consistency. You could also use and blender, food processor, or if you like salsa really chunky you could just chop things more fine.