Fusilli with Red Pepper Sauce

It has been a while since I've blogged about a new recipe! And it's not that I haven't been making new things. I have. I've just been short on time. And brain cells.

I have to say: this is one of the best dishes I've made in a long time. Of course, I wish I was inventive enough to have come up with this on my own. But, alas, I still have no idea how to create and combine flavors. But whoever created this did a wonderful job, especially considering I used 2 red peppers instead of 3 and half a red onion instead of a whole. All the same, wonderful flavor. And the fresh basil is the perfect finishing touch!

This recipe doesn't give a prep/cook time estimate, but I'll tell you it took me an hour and a half. That's because I was moving slowly, doing dishes as I went, etc. I also used some time to brown a pound and a half of meat, some of which I added to this dish. (The recipe listed is vegetarian.) If you are a skilled dicer--or if you have a handy dandy food chopper--you might get it all done quicker. I didn't even wait a full 10 minutes for the sauce to cool before blending. I waited about 5, transferred it to a bowl, and used my second favorite hand-held kitchen tool, my immersion blender. LOVE that thing!

So, in the end, if you aren't in a hurry, take the time to try this. I'm sure you can substitute vegetable broth for the wine if you'd prefer.

Rigatoni with Red Pepper Sauce

Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound rigatoni
1 large red onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and minced
3 red bell peppers, trimmed, seeded, ribs removed, diced
1⁄4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 cups low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh basil leaves
Pepper

Fill the stockpot 3⁄4 full with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain in the colander.

Set the fry pan over medium heat. When hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sweat the onions, garlic, and peppers until onions are translucent, not brown, and peppers are soft.

Stir in the wine, 1 teaspoon salt, the paprika, and the bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the yogurt and cream cheese to the sauce, and allow to cook until just simmering, but not boiling. Take off the heat and cool for about 10 minutes, or long enough to safely transfer the sauce to the blender without risk of being burned by hot liquids. Blend until smooth and lump-free.

Return pasta to stockpot and mix in sauce until pasta is well coated, or transfer pasta to individual plates and spoon sauce on top. Add freshly grated Parmesan, basil, and pepper, as preferred.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

This was supposed to be the greatest thing. When I saw the recipe, I thought, "This sounds exactly like what my life has been missing!" I was wrong.

Pardon my unedited photo.

This was such a disappointment. I have been loving avocados these days, and there is never a time when I don't love chocolate. But the two of them together is just not where it's at. It could be that I couldn't find any 72% cacao chocolate, but I'm not sure how big of a difference that would make in this particular recipe. Thank goodness I halved it!

Ugh, my heart. So sad.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

4 ripe avocados
1/4 cup light coconut milk
4 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
3 tablespoons honey
2 ounces of dark chocolate (72% or higher), melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Remove avocados from the skin (and pit) and place in a food processor. Blend until combined and creamy. Add in all remaining ingredients, blending until pureed, scraping down the sides when needed to combine. Taste and season/sweetened additionally if desired. Blend for a good 1-2 minutes until completely creamy, then serve with desired toppings.

Tomato Soup

MY EYES!!!

Dicing 5 shallots is no fun for me. The flavor, of course, is essential. (And even though this recipe called for 5, I was only able to use 4, thanks to my very long finger nails getting in the way of my knife blade. Fun times.) But I really need to find me some goggles.

This recipe was kind of a pain in the butt. It took me 2 hours total. I definitely should have managed my time more wisely today, but that's certainly not the soup's fault. I would make this again in a heartbeat, though, as long as I have the time. I made 2 changes--omitted one shallot (on accident) and all of the thyme. Because I hate thyme. I will never ever use it again ever. The next time I make it, I might use less red pepper flakes. I love the spice, but everyone else might not. But considering I'm the only one eating it this time around, I'm very happy with it.

I'm not taking a photo yet, because since the soup took 2 hours, I didn't have time to make my croutons. So if I have time tomorrow to make them, I'll then take and post a photo of the soup.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention: I used my immersion blender to blend it. I did not follow the ridiculous steps below.

Tomato Soup

3 28 ounce cans whole, peeled tomatoes, juices drained and reserved
2 Tbsp brown sugar
5 shallots, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups chicken broth

Heat oven to 450

Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Open cans of tomatoes and pour them into a strainer over a bowl separating the tomatoes from the juice. Use your fingers to open the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds (you can trash them). Place tomatoes flat on the foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the tomatoes cool.

Mince shallots. Set aside.

Heat butter in a stock pot on medium until foaming. Add shallots, tomato paste and spices. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add flour to the shallots and cook until combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add reserved tomato juice, chicken broth and roasted tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and strain the soup to separate the solids and the liquids. Put the solids in a blender with 2 cups of the liquid and puree until smooth. Return the puree and the liquids to the pot and return the pot to the stove. Heat on low for 5 minutes until everything is hot and combined. Correct seasoning with salt, pepper or brown sugar.