Hispanics have long lacked access to quality healthcare in this country, and as a result suffer disproportionately from health complications like diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, and more. This campaign advocates for improving that access to care, and empowering the Hispanic community to take charge of their health and well-being. Learn more by picking up a copy of the campaign in the LA Times or by reading the digital version online here.
Yesssss!!! It’s him, the amazing, the talented, the worldwide popstar artist, the one and only Pitpbull!
I’m so honored and thrilled to be part of this project with him and can’t stop spinning to his songs!
Did you hear me say spinning? Oh yes, and you can read abut it too, on this article, part of our campaign, about how I discovered joy in exercising.
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Pão de Queijo is legend in Brazil. The mere mention of them evokes images of a good smelling kitchen, or a grandmother rolling the dough and serving to their grandchildren. Pão de Queijo is addicting, and nobody can eat just one.
A golf-sized little roll that is chewy, cheese, steamy, and almost succulent, Pão de queijo is the result of yucca alchemy.
It’s the national snack. With a cafezinho (small coffee) on a side in the middle of the afternoon this is one of the most traditional habits.
But when it comes to making them, the sad truth is that many people, especially Brazilians, don’t. Why? Why are so many tropical souls intimidated by a little piece of cheese roll? The main reason is that Pão de Queijo is very easy to buy frozen. But so are chocolate chip cookies! That doesn’t stop millions of Americans to head into their kitchens with a good cookbook on a side and prepare batches and batches of the American classic while they still might have a bucket of Nestle Toll House dough in their fridge, which they use as well.
It also doesn’t stop magazines and cookbooks to continue publishing new versions of it repeatedly, stimulating the former action. So, let’s take it from the beginning and make it from scratch, shall we?
Photos on this post by Rodolfo Sanches
Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Makes 35
3½ cups (630g) povilho azedo
1 cup (250ml) water
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 cup oil
3 teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs
227 g Parmesan, finely grated
Freshly ground nutmeg
Few twists of freshly ground pepper
Place the manioc starch in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Set aside.
Place the water, milk, oil, and salt in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Immediately pour the hot liquid mixture in one stroke into the starch and turn the machine on at low speed. Mix until the dough is smooth and starch is all incorporated, about 2 minutes. Pause the machine and add the eggs. Continue to paddle at low speed until the dough develops structure and turns pale yellow about 5 minutes. The dough will feel sticky.
Add the cheese and mix until well incorporated.
Season to taste with nutmeg, cayenne, and freshly ground pepper.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wet your hands with olive oil (alternatively, you can flour your hands with manioc starch) and use an ice cream scooper to make 1-inch balls, rolling them with your hands. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving about 1½ to 2 inches between each (you can freeze them at this point by storing them in a zip-lock bag for up to 3 months).
Bake the cheese rolls in the oven until they puff up and look lightly golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. To ensure even baking, rotate the pan once during baking time.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the rolls in a basket lined with a nice cloth. Serve immediately while they are still at their warmest and chewiest.
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Refreshing, cool, sweet, and relaxing, Caipirinha is Brazil. And if Caipirinha is Brazil, then cachaça is our national shrine.
In the US, cachaça is also called Brazilian rum and the distillation process is quite similar indeed. The difference between them is that rum is distilled from molasses (which also comes from sugar cane) while cachaça is distilled from the fresh juices of sugar cane. Good cachaça has an intense aroma and flavor of fresh sugar cane. Essentially, caipirinha is a simple cocktail based on a mixture of mashed lime with sugar, ice and cachaça.
Caipirinha
Makes 1 drink
2 limes
1 tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons cachaça (adjust amount to taste)
Ice cubes
Cut the two ends of the lime and cut lime into medium chunk wedges.
Using a muddler, mash the lime with sugar, making sure to squeeze all the juices and to dissolve the sugar in the juice.
Transfer the lime mixture to a shaker. Add the cachaca and ice cubes. Shake well (about 8 to10 times) and pour into a large (but not tall) sturdy glass.
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As a Jewish girl born and raised in Brazil, I can’t help but compare, cherish—and cook Falafel, one of the most iconic foods of Israel, to Acarajés, one of the most iconic foods of Brazil. They are first-degree cousins! Better yet, they are twins. Twin Fritters! Well, non-identical of course. One lives in Israel, one lives in Brazil.
A young Baiana frying Acarajés in there sweets of Bahia, Brazil.
Falafel is made with raw chickpeas; Acarajé is made with raw black-eyed beans.
They are both soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator but never cooked. The beans will cook when they fry but not before then. In fact, if you cook the beans or use cooked canned beans—for both, the batter will simply melt away in the oil and you end up with a disaster. But don’t worry, once the beans are soaked and pureed in the food processor, they fry beautifully, and they hold quite well.
Twin Fritters
For both Falafel and Acarajé, the beans are pureed with raw onions.
In Brazil, we season the Acarajé with salt, pepper, cayenne, and a bit of paprika.
In Israel, we season the falafel with salt, jalapeno, cumin, and coriander—and fresh herbs, very important—giving that bright green color and fresh taste to the batter. Sesame seeds and garlic also go in the falafel mixture.
When seasoning, I encourage you to try lots of combinations and know that these little twin fitters can stand up to lots of hot seasoning.
In Israel, falafels are rolled and shaped into a walnut-size ball and stuffed in pita bread along with hummus, Israeli chopped salad, and Tzatziki sauce made with yogurt and/or sour cream and dill.
Acarajé looks like a big meatball and there is no bread around it. The acarajé is a vessel for the stuffing. When fried, the baianas split them in half with a serrated knife and ask what kind of filling you would like. The options are chopped salad, very similar to the Israeli chopped salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, although in Brazil you’ll see bell-pepper as well;
Vatapá (a mixture of fish, shrimp, peanuts, cashews, bread, coconut, and palm oil)
Vatapá
or Caruru (made with okra, dried shrimps, coconut, cashews, and peanuts).
Caruru
Falafel is fried in canola or vegetable oil. Acarajé is fried in palm oil (iconic foods), yielding that reddish-orange vibrant color on the fritter.
Prepare the Chickpeas: Place the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with 4 inches of water and soak in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, place them in the bowl of a food processor, and process until they’re pulverized into large crumb-like pieces, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the parsley and cilantro to the processor with the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and 2 tablespoons of water and pulse until a unified and bright green mixture is formed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary, 20 to 30 seconds (add an extra tablespoon of water if necessary).
In a small bowl, combine the salt, cumin, coriander, and sesame seeds. Just before frying the falafel, add the spices to the food processor and pulse until incorporated, 10-15 pulses.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat until it reads 350˚F on a candy thermometer, or a small piece of white bread begins to sizzle and brown immediately when dropped into the oil. Set a colander over a bowl or line a plate with paper towels. Using two spoons or a small ice cream scoop, shape the falafel into balls the size of small walnuts. Fry in batches, making sure not to over crowd the skillet or let the oil temperature drop below about 340˚F, until deep golden, 1-2 minutes but no more. Serve hot, seasoning with more salt if desired.
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This recipe for Ground Meat with Olives, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts is a great new addition to your repertoire. Who doesn’t love meatloaf, hamburger or meatballs? Sauce Bolognese? Steak Tartare? We can keep going when it comes to ground meat, one of the most versatile cuts of beef, and the star of many classics from all over the world.
Stores don’t label where the ground meat comes from, but most ground beefs are a concoction of different cuts like chuck, eye round, sirloin, or brisket. Different amounts of fat are injected to add moisture to the meat. The leaner the ground meat, the dryer. Of course, for some recipes, that’s’ what you want; like for croquettes for example where you want to avoid fat inside the meat. For most other recipes like sauces, hamburgers, meatballs and meatloaf, you might want to choose ground beef with some amount of fat in it.
What you do find in stores is the indication of fat: regular, lean or super lean, varies between 10 to 15 to 20% of fat.
In terms of storage, ground meet has to be used within one day after buying since the meat will turn “gray “on the outside. If this happens, remove the gray part and use the remaining “pinkish” part. Technically speaking you can freeze ground meat. Personally, I don’t like to. I usually plan to buy my meat the day of, or the day before cooking.
This recipe is an easy one. It doesn’t have the iconic reputation of the previous classics mentioned above, but it’s a recipe to make over and over again. It’s ground beef cooked with spices and embellished with chopped garnishes. It takes very little time to prepare and once cooked, it’ll give you many meals. You can pair it with plain rice, or potatoes, or rice and beans, or crack a fried egg on top.
Imagination has no limits when it comes to ground beef.
Ground Meat with Olives, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 fresh bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb ground meat
2 teaspoons sumac,
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons harissa paste
½ cup chicken or beef stock
7 tablespoons pine nuts
1 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
Procedure: Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a medium bottomed frying pan for which you have a tight- fitting lid. Add the garlic and cook until it’s just starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes, then add the onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s soft, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the ground beef, season again with salt and pepper, and brown well, another 4 minutes. Add the sumac, cumin, harissa paste and chicken stock. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes, until the meat is moist and tender. Before serving, add the pine nuts, tomatoes, olives and parsley. Mix well and enjoy!
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We often associate rhubarb with pie, tarts and crumbles recipes, but it was OMG at first sight when I saw this bunch at the farmer’s market and used it as an inspiration for this gleaming new recipe for Chilled Rhubarb Soup. Think Pink! Sweet and sour, it subtly glimmers for an occasion that blends easy elegance with a casual spirit.
Characterized by a unique tangy taste, each slurp of this soup celebrates your hand in the kitchen. The soup’s distinctive taste is created by slowly cooking rhubarb and some ginger in a sugary syrup. The result is one of the most gorgeous foods you’ll ever create. I’m not kidding! Look at the color of this soup! Rarely we see recipes as photogenic as this.
We are entering rhubarb peak season during the months of May, June and July.
If any association with celery comes to mind, yes, look for crisp, refreshing stalks. You’ll see shades of green turning to shades of pink and it’s that passage of color in this unique vegetable that makes rhubarb so unique in taste and appearance.
When buying rhubarb, choose a bunch as you would celery. You’re looking for crispy stalks. I like to wrap the ends of the rhubarb in a wet paper towel and keep it well wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. It should last a good two weeks in the fridge.
This soup is so refreshing from the ground up! After many winter months, a new season feels like a miracle and rhubarb has the power to transform an entire menu, whether it’s creating a healthier neutral base or taking center stage as dessert. For a modern spin, garnish the soup with strawberries pistachios and a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Every year I like to explore rhubarb in a variety of different recipes. You might like this recipe for Rhubarb Strawberry Pie here on the site and boy, oh boy, oh boy, this recipe is dreamy!
6 ½ cup sliced, trimmed rhubarb (about 2½ pounds untrimmed)
1 ½ ounces fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced into 12 quarter size slices
For Garnish:
Serve with some quartered strawberries or raspberries in the soup.
Chopped pistachios
Green Yogurt
Procedure:
In a large saucepan over medium high-heat combine the sugar and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer gently for 1 minute, then turn off the heat.
Add the sliced rhubarb and ginger to the pan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break down the rhubarb. Do not let the soup boil or the foam will turn bitter. Force the soup through a medium sieve discarding the solids. Pour the soup into a bowl and let it cool completely. Chill the coup until cold, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. To serve, scoop a small mound of Greek yogurt in the middle and ladle each into chilled bowls or soup plates and garnish with strawberries and pistachios.
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If you’re looking for Olympian baking, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart is! For those of us crazy for the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, this is the apex in a tart format.
There are 3 components to this tart: the cookie crust, the peanut mousse and the chocolate ganache. Don’t fret. It really doesn’t take that long, and the entire tart can be prepared and assembled up to 5 days ahead of time and you’re all set.
This recipe is adapted from one of the most respected bakers in the U.S, Rose Levy Beranbaum, and it’s her attention to details that make this recipe work so well. I love how she mixes a bit of milk and bittersweet chocolate in the ganache. However, if you’d like to incline one way or the other, feel free to use just milk, or just semisweet.
Respect the ingredients – this recipe can handle season patterns from misty rain to artic blast to summer vibes. Remember, because we care about the ingredients, we also care about temperature. When baking, make sure to bring all ingredients to room temperature before starting.
Bake with love! This recipe is guaranteed to take you to paradise. And dream of Para-para-paradise! Para-para-paradise!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Pie and Pastry Bible, Scribner 1998
Makes one 9-inch tart, serving 8 to 10 people
For the Peanut Butter Mousse
7 tablespoons cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup peanut butter (smooth)
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup heavy cream, softly whipped
For the Chocolate Ganache
3 ounces milk chocolate
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Sweet Peanut Butter Cookie Tart Crust
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup smooth peanut butter, preferably Jif at room temperature
½ large egg (beat the egg lightly before measuring out half of it)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Equipment: 9-inch tart fluted pan
Prepare the Cookie Tart Crust:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a food processor, process the sugars for a few seconds until very fine. With the motor running, add the butter cubes. Add the peanut butter and process until smooth and creamy, about 10 seconds. With the motor running, add the egg and vanilla and process until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and pulse just until combined. (you can also use an electric mixer if you don’t have a food processor).
Scrape the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Press the dough evenly into the tart pan. You can use a piece of plastic wrap to do this and invert onto the tart pan and then press against the sides. If the dough softens and sticks, refrigerate it until the plastic wrap doesn’t stick. If the dough tears, simply press it together or use the scraps to press into any empty areas. Cover the tart pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Bake the tart shell, without weights in a preheated 350˚F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. It will puff at first and then settle down at the end of the baking. The sides will be soft but spring back when touched gently with a finger. Cool on a wire rack.
Prepare the Peanut Butter Mousse:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, preferably fit with the whisk beater, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar just until the mixture is uniform in color. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla. Beat in ¼ cup of the whipped cream just until it is incorporated. With a large rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whipped cream, mixing until the mixture is well blended but still airy.
Scrape the mousse into the sweet peanut butter cookie tart crust and smooth the surface so that it is level. Refrigerate the tart while preparing the ganache.
Make the Chocolate Ganache:
Chop the milk and bittersweet chocolates with a serrated knife very finely and place it a glass or stainless-steel bowl.
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute allowing the heat to melt the chocolate. Whisk slowly from the center out until homogeneous and then a bit more vigorously, making sure the ganache is completely smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk again. Cool to temperature before glazing the tart.
Assemble the Tart:
Pour the ganache over the peanut butter mousse in a circular motion, being careful so that it does not land too heavily in any one spot and cause a depression in the mousse. Using a small metal spatula, start to spread the ganache to the edges of the pastry, then spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of the tart. Refrigerate the tart for at least 2 hours to set or up to 5 days.
Remove the tart from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Unmold the tart and cut it with a sharp thin bladed knife, dipping in hot water after each cut to make a clean cut.
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I made this Steak Tartare Recipe for a very special occasion, my father’s birthday. Knowing his passion for Steak Tartare, from the glory days of Rio de Janeiro, back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s when Steak Tartare was a delicacy, prepared tableside at special restaurants, I decided to revive the recipe in his honor.
The reason this simple dish is quite extravagant is because you want to make it with the freshest and best quality filet mignon you can possibly find. And let’s be honest here – filet mignon, to this day, can be a little pricey.
It’s important to invest in good quality meat. One gram of fat can virtually threaten the entire dish, given it’s eaten cold and raw. That’s the beauty of Steak Tartare. It’s raw meat seasoned so well, so intensely, that it transforms the flavor of raw meat.
It’s also important to cut the meat by hand. You don’t want to make this with ground meat. Oh no! You want to slowly chop the meat, paying attention to each and every dice and making sure the meat stays cold at all times.
For the potatoes, if you don’t want to make your own shoe-string potatoes, by all means, buy store bought.
Although, if you decide to make it, you’ll be so pleased! Unlike the classic French Fries that need to be fried twice, shoe-string potatoes only need one frying process, making it a much easier operation. Also, you can fry the potatoes up to 3 days ahead of time and store them in a plastic container at room temperature.
For the lettuce, I like to use a combination of arugula and mesclun. Even parsley goes well in the mixture. Be careful not to use a strong dressing for the lettuce or it might overwhelm the meat tartare. I like to use a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, with a few twists of pure Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper. If this seems too plain for you, go ahead and use a more complex dressing.
Steak Tartare
Serves 6 to 8
For the Potatoes:
2 Idaho potatoes
1-quart canola oil to fry
For the Meat:
1¼ pound filet mignon, very cold
½ medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons capers
8 cornichons, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 anchovy fillet, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Kosher salt and Freshly grated black pepper
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
For the Lettuce
4 cups mesclun lettuce
Olive oil, Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fry the Potatoes
Cut the potatoes into a julienne cut, using a mandoline. Let the potatoes soak in cold water as you cut them, changing the water at least once. This will wash away the starch in the potatoes.
Spread the potatoes onto a baking sheet pan or a tray, covered with paper towels, and let them air dry for 5 minutes. Idaho potatoes will hold color up to 5-10 minutes if exposed to air. After that, they will start oxidizing and turning brown, so be careful not to let too much time pass before frying them.
Pour the canola oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole and heat the oil to 350˚F as measured by deep-fat thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop one potato into the oil – when you hear a sizzling sound and see it turning golden brown, the oil is ready.
Fry the potatoes in batches until they are lightly golden brown. It is important not to crowd the pot with too many potatoes or the oil will cool down and the potatoes won’t stay crunchy. Carefully transfer to a plate lined with a double thickness of paper towels and sprinkle them with salt. Set aside until they are ready to be used.
You can prepare the potatoes up to 3 days ahead of serving, just be sure to keep them in a plastic container, covered with a tight-fitting lid at room temperature.
Prepare the Meat:
Remove the beef from the refrigerator. It should be very cold. Using a very sharp chef’s knife cut the steak into think ¼-inch slices. Stack 3 of the slices and slice lengthwise, every ½-inch holding the stack in place. Then cut across the stack, again every ½-inch, cutting the steak into ½-inch dice. Hold the chopped steak in a bowl set over crushed ice in a larger bowl. When all of the beef is chopped, add the onion, capers, cornichons, parsley, anchovy, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Gently mix with a fork until just combined. Add the mayonnaise and mix gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Dress the mesclun salad with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Serve on individual plates with the potato and mesclun lettuce on the side.
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From Buenos Aires to São Paulo to Singapore to Connecticut, Gaby Baumatz is making the most spiked (and delicious!) ice cream ever.
When the government announced plans to lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, Gaby Baumatz searched for comfort in the kitchen.
“My grandmother used to make ice cream, and I was trying to replicate it a few years ago. I decided to try it again, just for fun”, said Baumatz.
As the pandemic extended beyond our predictions, she continued to experiment in the kitchen and decided to embark upon a new venture devoted to the production of a new style of ice cream rarely seen before: alcohol-based ice cream. Alchimista Spiked Ice Cream was born.
But before launching a business, a lot had to happen. She reached out to an ice cream expert based in her hometown, Buenos Aires, and learned the ins and outs of ice cream science.
“Once I had the chemistry information, it became easier to understand what I was doing in the kitchen”.
A close up in the science of Alchimista Spiked Ice Cream
Her family was astonished by the delicious tastes of alcohol-infused ice cream and jumped in. Her kids, Julia, Sami, and Tomas all came on board to help, especially because everyone was home.
A family ice cream affair!
The vote was unanimous: “Let’s start an ice cream business!” The plan gradually started to evolve. From her home kitchen, she started to produce a small inventory of ice cream. As social distancing was required, Baumatz started to host outdoor ice cream tasting events. “People love it! She says, with a smile on her face.
Spiked Lemon Mousse is prepared with a subtle addition of Cointreau
Tasting Events
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been to an ice cream tasting? While this kind of event is barely an American practice, it should become one. I was there, mesmerized by the colors and flavors of the collection, hosted by Gaby Baumtaz herself. First, it’s a social gathering, and in times like these, we all need a really good excuse—like ice cream— to meet. Second, the tasting is conducted in great fashion, not too different than a wine tasting; pen and paper, everyone taking notes and comparing tastes. Third, I ended buying two containers that didn’t last more than three days in my house.
Gaby Baumatz was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After a degree in architecture, she met her now-husband Adrian Isman and the couple have three children, now young adults. By courtesy of Mr. Isman’s job, the family became world travelers, moving first to Brazil, then to Singapore, to Brazil again, and then to Connecticut, where the family arrived in 2017 and is currently established.
Hazelnut Cream infused with Baileys
“With all this world experience, I feel like ice cream is a continuation of my creativity. From home designer to ice cream maker”, Baumatz jokes. This ice cream is the apex between flavor, texture, package, and image. “I look for a strong flavor, powerful colors, and ice cream with a personality made with fresh ingredients and excellent quality. It’s a very unique product.”
Another Day, Another Ice Cream
Indeed. Alchimista Spiked Iced Cream presents 12 flavors (more to come!). Different flavors present different opportunities to indulge. The Paloma for example, is a Tequila-infused grapefruit sorbet, very much like a palate cleanser. The Chocolate Truffle is a perfect dessert. The Hazelnut Cream is the perfect snack. There will be a chocolate sorbet for those who are lactose intolerant. Baumatz uses two different bases for the recipes: milk-based (chocolate, hazelnut) and water-based (sorbets, grapefruit, lemons, etc). All ingredients are indicated on the label.
As the tastings grew into frequent events, Baumatz rented a commercial kitchen in Mamaroneck for production. She bought Italian gelato machines and keeps them in a special ice cream freezer. Alchimista Spiked Ice Cream delivers all over New York state. For Connecticut customers, a curb pick can be arranged.
You can find more info about Alchimista Spiked Ice Cream:
Here’s a Silky Green Pasta to add to your cooking repertoire! We’ve all seen pasta made with vegetables become a different color. Variations on pasta, and gnocchi for that matter, come in many colors and flavors: beet, spinach, and carrots result in attractive pasta dishes, flavored and colored by the addition of these vegetables to the dough.
This green pasta, adapted from Simply Julia, the newest cookbook by Julia Turshen, is so intense in flavor and color, that any pasta becomes deeply enrobed in this velvety sauce with exquisite taste. Let’s be honest here, cooking pasta and dressing it with a green sauce is a lot less work than injecting vegetables inside the dough. It’s all in the sauce!
In the book, Julia tells the story of Llubav, an artist and mother who makes this recipe often on weeknights. It doesn’t require any chopping at all, and the sauce itself is so delicious, it can and should be used in other combinations, like risotto, or boiled potatoes. To honor the artist, she named the recipe Llubav ‘s Green Spaghetti. The name of the recipe is irresistible: Llubav. Is it Russian, Hebrew, or Croatian? As I made the recipe a few times for my family, we gradually ignored its original title and started calling it Silky Green Pasta. (Hope Llubav and Julia will be ok with this!)
Feel free to use the pasta of your preference. I used Orecchiette and it came out amazing. Once you’ve got your sauce and pasta cooked, you can prepare everything ahead of time and assemble it just before serving.
Julia’s work deserves much attention. Not only her cookbooks are an excellent source of delicious recipes (I have cooked many from her previous books) but Julia also has a big voice advocating for women, equity, and LBGTQ. She is the founder of Equity at the Table (EATT), an inclusive digital directory of women/non-binary individuals in food, and the host of keep Calm and Cook on.
Julia Turshen
I love following her videos on Instagram and her scrap notes (also seen on Instagram) reminds me of life before social media. Before computers. Before technology invaded our lives. A world in which a pan and paper still mattered. Coincidence or not, Julia’s recipes also remind me of that world, with the advantage of being practical, modern, simple, and delicious.
Silky Green Pasta
Inspired by Julia Turshen’s cookbook Simply Julia
Serves 4
Ingredients:
kosher salt
1 lb pasta, preferably whole-wheat spaghetti or whatever pasta you like
5 oz baby fresh spinach
6 large leaves fresh kale (any type), tough stems discarded, torn into large pieces
1 large handful of fresh basil leaves (about 12 large leaves)
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ cup (50g) crumbled feta cheese, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons cream cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Set a large pot of water to boil and salt it generously. Add the pasta to the pot and cook according to the package instructions.
Meanwhile, place the spinach, kale, basil, garlic, feta cheese, cream cheese, and olive oil in a blender and add 1 cup (250ml) of the boiling salted water from the pasta pot. Puree until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper (it might need very little salt, depending on how salty your water is).
Drain the pasta in a colander and then return it to the now-empty pot. Add the green sauce and stir well to combine.
Serve immediately with extra crumbled feta cheese on top. Or if you’re like me, why not some Parmesan?
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If any association with celery comes to mind, yes, look for crisp, refreshing stalks. You’ll see shades of green turning to shades of pink and it’s that passage of color in this unique vegetable that makes rhubarb so unique in taste and appearance.
