Is it beach weather where you live yet (or I guess depending on where you live I should ask pool, lake or picnic weather)? Is our weather finally on the same page across the country?

My family and I started hitting the beach on the weekends early last month. I don’t necessarily wait till the weather warms up to enjoy the beach, I LOVE the beach pretty much all times of the year , every season (fall and early spring might be my favorite), any time of day (early mornings and late afternoons are the most peaceful for me), every weather condition (where I come from we flock to the beach when a hurricane is brewing). I spent most of my life just 10 minutes from the ocean (and was lucky to work at my parents restaurant that was just a few feet from it) and can honestly say that I am my calmest and happiest self near the water. When I lived at home with my family, going to the beach consisted of grabbing a towel, a bottle of water and a book and heading out the door. My hometown beach is small and quaint so parking or finding a quiet spot on the sand was never an issue.

It was and still is my favorite place to be.

These days though, I live close to 45 minutes from the beach. Sadly, we (I) don’t get there as often as I would like. And my “new” beach is not like my old quiet and quaint beach, it’s pretty much the exact opposite. My new beach is a destination beach and there are lots of cars, peoples, hotels, bikes and stuffs going on. It’s a little different. It’s a lot different. But you know what? Once I settle into my chair and see the backsides of my kids running out toward the water, it’s all good. I’m at ease and in a happy place (though sweaty and a little winded after lugging a ridiculous amount of bags, chairs, towels, toys, a cooler and an umbrella, I guess it counts as workout of some sort right?). There is absolutely nothing like that fresh ocean breeze and the subtle sounds of waves crashing, sigh…even if there is a Spring Break USA scene going on behind me.

For fun…last spring, I tweeted a photo of my kids to our weather guy… how excited were we to see it on the afternoon news later that day!

I always pack up a big cooler when going to the beach. We get hungry. It usually consists of lots of sandwiches, fruit, snacks, beverages. On our last beach day, I wanted to eat something a little different. I very quickly and easily put together this mayo-free pasta salad using basic ingredients I pretty much always have on hand. Since there’s no mayo, it’s easy to serve at any outdoor get together you may be planning or having over the next few glorious months of summer!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Beach Day Macaroni Salad
Recipe created in Aggie’s Kitchen

For the dressing:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon mustard
good pinch of salt and pepper

Prepare dressing in an air tight container or glass jar. Add all ingredients to container and shake well for a few seconds until well blended. Taste for salt and pepper.

For the macaroni salad:

1/2 lb whole wheat elbow macaroni, cooked and cooled
2-3 celery stalks, rough chopped
2-3 carrots, rough chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (I use Bush’s Best Garbanzo Beans)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add half of the dressing to the pasta and veggies and toss gently to cover. Taste for salt and pepper and season accordingly. Add more dressing if needed or set aside to add at a later time (if not serving immediately, you may have to redress your salad a bit, the pasta tends to soak in the dressing when it sits in the fridge for a while. I also like just splashing on red wine vinegar on its own to freshen it up.)

More mayo-free pasta salads for you to enjoy:

Pasta Salad with Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette

Easy Mayo-Free Pasta Salad from Delicious Dishings

Shrimp Pasta with Strawberry Champagne Vinaigrette from Mommie Cooks

Spring Orzo Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Artichokes from Food For My Family

Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad with White Beans and Spinach from My Kitchen Addiction

**Giveaway Now Closed** Congrats to Erika of Itzy’s Kitchen!

You are going to want to make this granola. I insist that you make it, actually. Not only will it make your house smell incredible, but it is the perfect snack to take with you while you are running errands in the car, watching tv, or just playing around on the computer. It’s great sprinkled over yogurt or even some vanilla ice cream. I warn you though, portion it out because you might be surprised at how much you can eat of it in one short sitting. It is definitely addictive.

This Cranberry Spice Granola recipe is the first of many recipes I have flagged from a new cookbook written by my colleague and blogger friend, Kelsey…also knows as The Naptime Chef. I’ve been following Kelsey’s blog for years, and recently got to know her even better through writing for Babble’s Family Kitchen blog together.

What you will love the most about her cookbook (which is now available on Amazon) is that there is something for everyone in the book. The premise behind her blog, and now her cookbook, is that you don’t have to compromise on good eating after having kids because your time is limited. Kelsey finds a way to create and recreate recipes that fit into a busy parent’s schedule. And I love the “naptime stopwatch” she includes with every recipe, making it easy to plan ahead.

A few dishes I’m anxious to try are Orzo with Artichokes, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts, Soba Noodle Salad, Baked Sesame Tomatoes, Sticky Orange Drumsticks (my daughter will LOVE these!) and the Artichoke Lasagna. Did this list just make you as hungry as it did me?

In the meantime though, I’ll just continue to snack on this granola.

If you have never had homemade granola, then you’re in for a treat. Homemade granola is incredibly versatile, change it up based on what you have on hand. I happened to be out of the pecans that were called for in this recipe, so I easily subbed in sliced almonds.

Cranberry Spice Granola
Recipe from The Naptime Chef, with permission

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I cut this down to about a 1/4 cup)
3 cups old fashioned oats, not quick cooking)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I used the unsweetened variety)
1 cup chopped pecans (I used sliced almonds)
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with a little vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, nuts, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Gently stir together with a spoon until the oats and spices are completely mixed. In a separate bowl, combine oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup and apple juice or cider and pour over oat mixture. Stir the oats carefully and gently until completely combined and coated with the liquids.

Spread the oat mixture on your baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take your baking sheet out of oven and carefully stir the granola so that it will toast up evenly. Place back in oven and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and add cranberries to granola, stirring to combine. Let cool.

Once cooled, store in a cool dry place in a container with a tight fitting lid.

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will receive their own copy of The Naptime Chef cookbook

Starts today, Saturday, March 10 and ends Thursday, March 15 at 12 noon (EST)

(Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only. Winner will be chosen randomly using Pick Giveaway Winner plugin application – winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be selected.)

To enter into the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite snack is.

Additional Entries can be earned by:

(leave a separate comment after you complete each item, each comment will count as an entry)

1. “Like” Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook. (if you already a fan, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

2. Follow @AggiesKitchen on Twitter (if you already follow, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

3. “Like” The Naptime Chef on Facebook.

4. Follow @TheNaptimeChef on Twitter

5. Share about giveaway on Twitter: “I want to win The Naptime Chef cookbook from @aggieskitchen http://su.pr/19C84T #giveaway ”

6. Share about giveaway on Facebook with link to this post.

7. Subscribe to Aggie’s Kitchen RSS feed.

(and of course…I’m required to tell you…)

Disclaimer: I received my own copy for review for this giveaway but as always my opinions on this blog are always my own.

I think I may have mentioned that I’m drowning in cabbages and salad greens a few times and to a few people over the past few weeks. If you didn’t know, I joined a CSA last month and every Thursday evening the kids and I get in the van and drive over to our pick-up spot to get our share of local farm fresh produce to take home. The process of coming home with two huge bags filled to the rim with veggies (some I don’t always recognize) was a little overwhelming at first, I will openly admit. Since the veggies are literally coming straight from the farm and off of a truck into my hands, I have some work to do when I get home. I start before I leave the house by cleaning my sink well. When I get home with my bags, I open them up and sort through what I have. I fill up my sink with cold water and start cleaning the veggies by cutting off any roots or yellow leaves and letting them soak for a few minutes.

I lay out 2 or 3 clean dish towels on the counter next to the sink where I let everything completely dry for a good hour or two afterwards, before putting it all away in the fridge, either wrapped in dry paper towels or in ziploc bags.

I have to say, 4 weeks in, I’ve got a good system down and it really has become an interesting and delicious experience for my whole family.

(and the scraps are keeping the compost bin entertained and full!)

I will say, joining a CSA isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like to be too adventurous with your cooking, or like to have very planned meals, then it’s probably not something you want to invest in. Though you do have somewhat of an idea of what you will be taking home each week, it’s really not the same as pushing your shopping cart through the produce section of the grocery store with a list. Instead, your CSA bag is basically filled for you by a farmer and filled with whatever nature is growing for you that week. I love the whole concept of it and I really enjoy the surprise of what we take home. But it is a challenge.

My kids think it’s pretty cool too.

Needless to say, I’ve been having to stay on my toes as far as finding recipes and ideas for how to use up all of this wonderful produce. One thing I’ve been getting  a lot of is asian cabbages like napa cabbage and bok choy.

You already saw the Asian Stuffed Cabbages I made for dinner a couple of weeks ago that turned out to be a hit. Here’s another Asian-inspired dish I made recently using up the rest of the cabbages I had in the fridge. A delicious, soba noodle stir fry that fed me at lunch for two days. That’s right, fed me…meaning, my husband and kids never even got to try it. Oops.

I guess that means I have to make it again soon. Soon meaning probably this weekend.

You can find my recipe for Stir Fried Soba Noodles with Napa Cabbage and Bok Choy over on Family Kitchen this week. Enjoy!!

Last weekend, after receiving my little stash of meyer lemons I immediately started playing with some recipes. I made this really flavorful pesto one afternoon with the huge bunch of arugula that was in my last two CSA pickups. I love the peppery bite of arugula and paired up with parmesan cheese and sweet meyer lemon juice, this sauce really brightened up a simple bowl of whole grain pasta.

Now, I have to admit a huge goof on my part. I always add pine nuts when I’m making my traditional basil pesto, and had toasted up some walnuts to add to this arugula pesto. Well, I forgot to add them and didn’t realize it until pasta was tossed and in our bowls ready to eat. So instead, I used the toasted walnuts as a crumbly and crunchy topping for the pasta. It worked. And I would make it exactly the same way next time.

You can find my Meyer Lemon and Arugula Pesto Sauce recipe over at Babble’s Family Kitchen.

And while you’re here, don’t forget to enter into my current giveaway for a chance to win a tote of meyer lemons and a$25 gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma (did I mention I’ll be picking two winners for this one??).

Have a great week!

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Does anyone else feel like they are being swallowed up alive by the holidays? Man, it just gets SO busy this time of year. There’s just so much to do…some of it being obvious obligations like work and school, but there’s also so much other fun stuff going on that’s it’s so hard to fit it all in (and when you do then your house looks like a tornado hit it and you’re eating out almost every night). I was talking with a friend this morning and we were both saying how ‘overwhelmed’ was exactly what we didn’t want to be feeling 10 days before Christmas. We have talked the last few weeks about staying ahead of the game, not over committing ourselves, enjoying the moments, taking the time for reflection and family, but here we are…feeling overwhelmed. Sigh.

If you can relate, I’m sorry, but I just don’t know what to tell ya.

I guess all we can do is take a few deep breaths, wrap some gifts to get them off the list and make pasta. Because we all know pasta is the easiest and quickest way to get dinner on the table when you just don’t have it in ya to get dinner on the table.

Seriously…make this pasta. Your kids and husband will gobble it up. And so will you. If you don’t have kids or a husband, then you can have extra. Lucky lucky…

Bowties with Creamy Pumpkin and Parmesan

Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

serves 4

1 box whole wheat (or regular) bowtie pasta
2-3 tablespoons butter
3/4 15 oz can pumpkin puree (that’s what I had, but I would not have a problem using whole can next time)
3 tablespoons light sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup pasta water, reserved
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (lots of it!)

Cook pasta according to directions. When pasta is cooked, set aside 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. After draining pasta, put back into pot used for cooking.
Add butter, pumpkin, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and pasta water to pot. Gently stir until combined and creamy. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve with a freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Let me tell you, I have been devouring this quinoa salad all week long. I first made this meal back in May when I guest posted for Jenna, and since then it has become a staple in our home. We eat fish pretty often, my kids absolutely love it, so that makes things easy. They didn’t always, but the best advice I got as a young mom was to just keep trying, keep exposing them to food you want them to eat, and it’s so true…kids will eventually start trying everything on their plate.

Now the quinoa salad, my kids were not a fan of. That’s okay…they’ll eat quinoa a little more plain, this quinoa was a little too lively for them if you know what I mean.

I ended up keeping the leftover quinoa salad in the fridge and it became my lunch for a few days. And a good lunch. Even better doused with some green Tabasco sauce. Oh man…it was so so good.

If you need to lighten things up a bit, or if you need a break from soup and other fall comfort foods, this is the meal for you. Yep, it will pretty much rock your world. Lime and cilantro always make me happy.

Have a great weekend! I’m nervously and reluctantly running my second half marathon Saturday morning and will happily be celebrating that night with some much needed pizza and wine!  Cheers!

Chili-Rubbed Fish with Quinoa, Corn and Black Bean Salad

Inspired by recipes found in Orlando Sentinel and In Good Taste

Ingredients:

For the salad:
(makes 6-8 servings)

1 ½ cups quinoa (pre rinsed)
3 cups water
15 oz can of black beans, rinsed
2 cups fresh or frozen cooked corn
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
big handful cilantro, chopped
bunch chives or green onion, chopped

Dressing:
4 limes, squeezed
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ tsp cumin
big pinch salt and pepper

Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Bring down to simmer and cook until all water is absorbed and quinoa has “popped”, you’ll see a faint white “ring” around grain (about 10 minutes). Take off heat and let cool.

In a jar or air tight container, combine lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously until well combined.

In large bowl, combine cooled quinoa, black beans, green peppers, jalapenos, chopped cilantro, chives or green onion and dressing. Gently toss till completely combined. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Can be made ahead of time and stored in refrigerator.

For the fish:
(makes 4-5 servings)

1 – 1 ½ lbs flaky white fish (I used frozen barramundi, but tilapia, red snapper, or cod will work well)
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cumin
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
lime

Directions:

Combine chili powder, oregano, cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper in bowl. Pat dry each fish fillet and gently brush marinade on both sides.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Gently lay fish into skillet and let cook for about 4-5 minutes or until bottom of fish is white. Carefully flip over fish and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes or until fish is translucent and flaky. Cooking time depends on thickness of fish so keep an eye on it and test for doneness.

Before taking fish out of pan, squeeze fresh lime juice over fillets. Serve with Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn salad.

I like my greens. Swiss chard in particular. I only started eating swiss chard last year and now that I’ve been finding it more often in the produce market I like to shop at, I pretty much cook them up once or twice a week.

In case you didn’t know, greens are good for you…all kinds of good stuff in greens. So go ahead and eat ‘em.

Sometimes I get stumped on how to eat my greens though. I’ve sauteed them in a little olive oil and aleppo pepper and put them on pizza (OMG) and I’ve added them to soups. This time around, I put them in sauce.

I found a recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray (I love this magazine btw, I always find recipes that I want to make when I buy her mag…good easy recipes!) for Chard with Red Sauce and I made it my own by eliminating the bacon (I know, gasp!!), adding a can of rinsed and drained white beans and serving it over whole wheat pasta.

I could eat bowl after bowl of this pasta. It was so good.

Swiss Card with White Beans in Tomato Sauce over Pasta
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen, inspired from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

3-4 servings

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch swiss chard, shredded
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of water (added to crushed tomato can to pick up remnant flavor)
1 15 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed (Bush’s Beans are my favorite!)
a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
red hot pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 box of whole wheat pasta

Prepare pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, heat olive oil and begin to saute onion and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add chard to pan and saute until soft and wilted, about 8-10 minutes. Add can of tomato sauce with additional water to pan. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add can of white beans to sauce and cook for about 2-3 more minutes until sauce is slightly thick and flavors have come together.

Drain pasta and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve sauce over pasta with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

Pasta makes me happy. It’s what I crave when I’m having an off day or am feeling homesick for my family. Or just in the mood for something good.

Total comfort food.

I shared this big bowl of comfort over at Family Kitchen last week. Here’s the recipe for Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Tomato Sauce.

Hope you are having a great weekend….

I know, I know… the word Summer is in the title. It’s almost funny to type with all the Fall love going on right now. But for me…a recipe like this can be enjoyed all year round. It’s just my kind of food. And I’m still finding some great Tennessee tomatoes at the market I shop at and am going to take full advantage of them until the good ones aren’t around anymore.

Earlier this year my virtual friend Maria Speck (whom I met on Twitter and is one of the nicest most genuine people ever) sent me her book Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. I was really excited about her sending me this book…not only because it was a super nice thing to do, but because I have such a love for whole grains. Not sure when my obsession with whole grains began, but the more of them I try, the more comfortable I am cooking them and the more appreciation I have for their nutrition and goodness. This cookbook pretty much demonstrates those exact same feelings. And like Maria, although I absolutely love and appreciate whole grains, I would never pass up a crusty piece or two of good “white” baguette or Italian bread.

Looking through Maria’s cookbook just makes me hungry. There are so many recipes I have flagged to try: Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust, Brie Cakes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Chewy Almond Butter Bars. All of these recipes really creatively use whole grains in ways that you can include them into every day meals. And the photos…the photos are gorgeous.

What I really love about this book are the tips, shortcuts and advice Maria offers throughout the pages. Her words really help you feel less intimidated about how to cook something you may have never handled before.

So let’s talk about farro. I was first introduced to farro last year when I was in California. Farro salads were on menus in almost every restaurant I ate in, and I was instantly hooked on this new-to-me whole grain. It’s got a nutty, chewy texture that I really enjoy.

I finally got around to cooking my own farro at home. It wasn’t an easy grain to find in my area but I did pick some up at The Fresh Market and then saw it again in bulk-sized bags at Costco alongside quinoa. Farro is great to substitute for any grain in salads like this, or even as a filler in a dish like stuffed peppers.

The recipe for Summer Tabouli with Farro I found in the Ancient Grains for Modern Meals cookbook was exactly the recipe I needed to start my experimentation with cooking farro at home. This recipe is so simple and one you want to make to enjoy for a few days. As Maria suggested, I topped it with feta (the sun-dried tomato variety) and it was a perfect no-fuss meal to have ready for me in the fridge.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Summer Tabouli with Farro

Recipe courtesy of Ancient Grains for Modern Meals Cookbook, Maria Speck

Farro:

2 cups of water
1 cup farro
2-inch spring rosemary, or 1/2 teaspoon dried (optional)

Tabouli, and to finish:

2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes, (3/4 pound)
1 cup loosely packed chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon minced hot green chile (optional)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. To prepare farro, bring the water, farro and rosemary to a boil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook until the farro is tender but still slightly chewy, 20-25 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig, drain any remaining liquid, and transfer the farro to a large serving bowl to cool.

2. Once the farro has cooled, make the tabouie by adding the tomatoes, parsley, onion and chile to the serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

3. To finish, pour the dressing over the tabouli and toss to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes for the flavors to mingle, and serve.

To get a head start, make the farro (as in step 1) ahead.

I really hope this recipe doesn’t scare you off. I know that it’s a little…different. It is honestly so delicious…I was hooked on it for days when my husband was out of town and I was dining alone in the evenings. Well, I wasn’t exactly alone, but when it’s just me and the kids, the kids are pretty happy with a bowl of buttered noodles and veggies while I am usually looking for something a little more exciting.

This tortilla pizza was exciting.

It was a random put together. I had sauteed some rainbow chard (oh how I love rainbow chard!!!) in a little olive oil and Aleppo pepper…and needed to eat it with something. I had some homemade salsa in the fridge, and the rest just happened. It was a building process…the beans and Ezekiel tortilla were my protein, the greens my super veggie, and the salsa was the flavor.

I can seriously eat like this everyday.

Rainbow Chard Tortilla Pizza

Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

Ezekiel Sprouted Tortilla
Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Aleppo Pepper
Pinto Beans, drained, rinsed and dried (I prefer Bush’s Beans pintos)
Red Onion, sliced
Homemade Salsa

Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 400.

Take your defrosted Ezekiel tortilla and place on baking sheet (tip: to keep bottom of tortilla crisp and to avoid getting too soggy, I preheat baking sheet with the oven so that it’s already hot when the tortilla hits it). Spread thin layer of salsa on tortilla then top with thinly sliced red onion, sauteed rainbow chard and pinto beans. Bake in oven for about 5-7 minutes or until tortilla is crisp and slightly browned. Take out and let cool. Drizzle salsa over top, slice and serve (to yourself).