Thursday, May 15, 2008

Confessions of a Food Blogger...


My boyfriend jokingly commented that I've been eating like a five year old lately. So what if I have been making Kraft mac and cheese, ordering pizza and having peanut butter sandwiches? I am an adult and I can do what I want...Ginny whines, stomping her foot.

Yes, I know, I just wrote a post about trying to be more healthy but then I hit a few stressful days and found myself reaching for some quick comfort food. I had no inspiration to cook so I relied on some old favorites.

Before this short diet derailment, I had challenged myself by trying to make dinner without the use of olive oil or butter...yes, maybe, I should get a life but culinary games are so much fun. Recently, I made Allen of Eating Out Loud's Citrus Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables served with seared scallops and some roasted salmon. It was absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend making it! This left me with some leftover red onion and asparagus. I decided to caramelize them with some balsamic and put it over my latest favorite find, Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend with Israeli Style Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans, and Red Quinoa. I am sending this over to Ruth's Presto Pasta Night. Check it out for more great pasta ideas!

And please do not stop reading my blog because I eat Kraft mac and cheese occasionally. With the Spiderman shapes, how can you resist? We all have our secret anti-foodie pleasure. Actually, what is yours?

Balsamic Asparagus and Red Onion Pasta

1/2 bunch Asparagus (chopped into small 1 in pieces)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 pound of pasta

1. Spray frying pan with Pam and throw in the crushed red pepper.
2. Saute asparagus and red onion in the frying pan.
3. Mix in balsamic vinegar and cover with a lid to steam the vegetables. When they are tender and carmalized, remove from heat and mix with pasta.

P.S. I sprinkled some shredded mozzarella over it because I wanted something a little gooey. I wish I had some goat cheese instead as it would have added a good flavor to it. Michelle over at Tarheel Table just made a Pasta with grilled chicken and vegetables with a goat cheese sauce that would be great with something like this.

22 comments:

LyB said...

My son would flip if he knew that somewhere, someone was eating Kraft Mac&Cheese with Spiderman shapes! Yes, we eat that stuff too, I mean come on, I cannot have my kids growing up without having Mac&Cheese from a box once in a while! :)

I wish I could find that Harvest Grains Blend, your recipe sounds delicious!

Manggy said...

Hahaha! Sorry, Ginny, I totally still see you as that little girl in the picture. So I'm not too surprised that you eat like a 5-year old. (Actually, you're probably older than 5 in the pic. 9 years old?)

I'm sure Allen will be very glad to know you enjoyed his recipe! Very inventive, how you improvised too :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

No worries, Ginny! Sounds like you're back on track with that Balsamic Asparagus & Red Onion Pasta - yum!

cakewardrobe said...

Sometimes my meals are alphabet soup and I sing the commercial song! Tee hee

test it comm said...

Mac and cheese with Spiderman shapes? I must be living under a rock... The asparagus pasta sounds simple and tasty. The quinoa salad sounds good as well.

RecipeGirl said...

It's funny- I was thinking that recipe by Allen sounded good when I saw it on his blog. I haven't tried quinoa yet!

Ginny said...

LyB- awesome! Yall should come on over...we can make mac&cheese for your kids and some Harvest Grains Pasta for us! :)

manggy- yikes! I really need to get a more recent picture up here soon! haha!

veggiegirl- Thanks! :)

cakewardrobe- That is fabulous! Thanks for sharing!

kevin- and spongebob and scooby doo...mac and cheese is awesome! Quinoa is also excellent!

recipegirl- it is really good! I took Allen's advice and nixed the garlic. I like working with quinoa plus it is good for you. Go for it!

Mama Mia said...

yea, I know what you mean. I have those weeks where I eat like a 5 year old too. haha!

Anonymous said...

LMAO, I think we all eat mac and cheese and pb&j once in a while. Right? I highly doubt it's just you and me. ;) My comfy 5 year old food? Packets of chicken noodle soup, with an egg dropped in, or a packet of cream of tomato served with a grilled cheese. LOL

Anonymous said...

Lately I've been eating a lot of wheat thins, garden vegetable flavor. Like for dinner.

Emily said...

Hmm. I love store bought ice cream. Well, all ice cream, actually.

Peanut butter sandwiches are scrumptious!

Elle said...

Guilty pleasure? Campbell's Tomato Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich...with American cheese!

Helene said...

Love the sound of this recipe! Quinoa...good! Roasted veggies...good!

Pixie said...

Stress just SUCKS! reach for the carbs I say lol - great dish ginny and thanks for stopping over with kind words

Mike of Mike's Table said...

lol, did someone say spider-man shapes? :o
But dinner without butter? Say it ain't' so!

Kidding aside though, this looks tasty and delightfully simple to put together.

Ginny said...

Linda- I think we are entitled! :)

canarygirl- chicken noodle soup with an egg? that sounds excellent!

renaedujour- mmm...i had some with hummus last week too! :)

emiline- but you make such good ice cream?

elle- I've been known to reach for that too! haha!

tartelette- Thank you!

pixie- Thanks! carbs are a great comfort food!

mike- oh don't I know! haha!

Chibog in Chief said...

Kraft mac n cheese with spiderman shapes...oh im jealous hehehe

btw, i love the sound of this recipe citrus quinoa and roasted vegetables..sounds delicious!!

Lore said...

Well I might as well confess: I love potato chips and fondue cheese...a lot!!!
Your pasta recipe sure sounds good for my breakfast today. Yeap that's another guilty pleasure: I would eat for breakfast almost anything that is usually served for dinner :)

Ivy said...

Aren't we all trying to cook healthier? Some times we can, sometime we get tempted. This is a great opportunity to share some healthy recipes as Ben and I are hosting a Food Event on "eating healthy stuff" so would be glad to see you participating as well as your readers.

Pam said...

Yeah, I'm with you. Lately, I've been heading for spinach dip - one pint of sour cream (I go "healthy" and use fat-free), 1 block of frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry), and 1 packet of Knorr vegetable soup mix. And Utz potato chips to go in it. I'll make myself sick on that;)

Neen said...

heehee. Yeah, we went on a blogger hiatus because that's all we could muster too! I think last week was a combination of ramen, take-out, leftovers, eggs and breakfast sausage links, and bread-and-cheese. Pathetic! I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we're starting to pull through the food funk. What brought yours on, or was it just the need for brainless comfort food?

Ginny said...

dhanggit- thank you!

lore- oh, that sounds like a great idea...i like cold pizza for breakfast so I understand dinner for breakfast too!

Ivy- great idea! I'll check it out!

Neen- haha! I understand that...life was just a bit more stressful than usual...lots to deal so I was reaching for the comfort food.