Pasta Alla Carbonara

The other day while at Trader Joe's, I noticed they have a little container of pancetta that is chopped into little cubes.  And what better to do with that than make Pasta all Carbonara!  This gem from Trader Joe's saves you the time that it would normally take to chop the pancetta. This was my first time ever making this pasta, and I was a little nervous about the egg - either it scrambling or being too raw.  But voilà! it came out great!

Here is how to make it:

Boil the water for your pasta with a little salt. In a bowl whisk together 2 eggs with 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Heat about 1 TBS of olive oil in a pan and cook the pancetta until it is browned, about 8-10 minutes. Then add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in about 1/3 of a cup of dry white wine to de-glaze the pan and cook for another minute. When the pasta is al dente, toss it in the pan with the pancetta until well incorporated. Then pour the pasta and pancetta into the egg mixture bowl and toss vigorously to heat the egg and coat the pasta. Season with salt and pepper and parsley. Serve and eat immediately.

Caprese Salad

I love a caprese salad!  Anytime, anywhere!  It's so easy and so good!  Last night I went to TJ's and they had these brown tomatoes called Kumatos that looked like they could be tasty, so I decided to try them and make a caprese salad.

I sliced the "kumatos" and mozzarella and topped them with some chopped basil.  Then I put a pile of arugula in the center, and drizzled olive oil over the entire thing along with some freshly ground salt & pepper. Yum! Yum! and Yum!

Lentil and Tuna Salad

Here is another healthy snack that is super easy to make, and one that could be varied in many ways.

 To make this salad, I used one package of steamed lentils from Trader Joes, one can of tuna (I will only use the gold can of Bumblebee tuna), a bunch of cherry tomatoes cut in half, a little thinly sliced onion, some chopped parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and S&P.  Just mix it all together in a bowl and season it to your liking.  It is very fresh, filling and healthy!
Next time I might try a similar salad but with cannellini beans, sliced celery, and parsley, dressing it the same way I did here. 

Holy Mango!

These mangoes are being sold at Trader Joes right now and they are sooooooooo good!  So sweet and perfect!  This type of mango stays green even when ripe so don't be fooled!  I just ate it when it was a little soft and smelling sweet.  Carlinhos and I were bent over the kitchen sink eating it because it was so juicy!  Better go buy some before they're gone!!!

A Couple Things I Love

The first  gem I have loved for a long time...our love runs deep.  It is dried mango from Trader Joes that is unsweetened but it is so naturally sweet!  I eat some when I want dessert but don't want to eat anything bad, and it satisfies that craving!

The other gem is one that I just discovered.  They were giving samples at Trader Joes and I had to buy it.  It is called Toscana Cheese with Black Pepper.  It reminds me of a cheese that mom gets at Whole Foods that is a Parmesan/Gouda mix, but this one has black pepper on the edge that adds a nice element to the cheese.  Try it!

Tiny Brats

With all the talk of wieners these days, I thought I'd point out another recent TJ's find that I'm very excited about. These tiny Bratwursts! We picked them up just to try - I was a bit skeptical as they didn't really look like the typical brat. But let me tell you they're delicious! A very nice traditional bratwurst flavor.

Quickly heated in a skillet, served with some lovely spring asparagus, little pan-fried potatoes, a good mustard and a crisp Hofbräu Original... a nice little würstlparty.

Easy Snack! and it's healthy too!

Mom turned me on to this one. All you need is one package of steamed lentils and one of the fresh bruschetta sauce from Trader Joes (both in the refrigerated section). Mix them together in a bowl and voila! you've got yourself a lovely little snack. I eat it just like that, but you could also put them on toasted bread just like you would normal bruschetta. Bon appetite!