pasta with spring peas, mushrooms & greens

spring peas are in season and for sale all over town...at the farmers' market, the local organic and "health food" store, at roadside stands.  i have been buying them by the bushel and adding to just about everything i cook.

i love the whole process of shelling peas.  it is one of those tasks that just feels like summer.  sitting on the front porch, enjoying the breeze, imagining recipes for quick, easy and delicious dinners...one of my favorite pastimes.

happily it is "spring pea" week at food network's summerfest .  i look forward to all the amazing sounding recipes my blogger friends will submit.  i made a spicy pea, asparagus & pine nut with brown rice salad over at my other food blog red or green?  and today i made a very simple pasta dish with a mix of greens, baby bella mushrooms and sweet english peas.  just what i want on a warm summer day.   just remember...don't over cook the peas...you want that "fresh from the garden" taste.  they only need a minute. of course, i eat half of the bushel raw as soon as i shell.  the cooks treat and so very delicious.  happy summer everyone!

pasta with spring peas, mushrooms & greens
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, quartered & sliced
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz mixed greens, chopped (kale, bok choy, spinach, chard, mizuna, tat soi...whatever you like)
1 cup white wine
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 lb whole wheat pasta
1 lb spring peas in pod, shelled
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese( i use a vegetable peeler)

bring a large pot of water to a boil.  cook the pasta according to package directions.  remove pasta from water 1 minute before directed.

in a large skillet, warm the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  add the onion and mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes or until soft and mushrooms release their juices. add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  add wine, raise heat to high and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. reduce heat to medium and add greens. cook for 3-5 minutes or until greens are wilted and wine reduced a bit.  season with sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  add pasta and cook for 1 minute.  add peas, stir and cook for an additional minute. (do not overcook peas)  taste and adjust seasonings if needed. serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmigiano reggiano cheese.

it is "spring peas" week at food network's summerfest roundup. check out the other delicious sounding recipes from my blogger friends. have a favorite peas recipe?  share in the comments section and/or link to your blog if you have one:

Dishin & Dishes: Smashed Pea Bruschetta with Mint
Feed Me Phoebe: Sweet Pea and Green Onion Soup
Taste With the Eyes: Peas and Pasta with a Garlicky Yogurt Sauce and Smoky Walnuts
Weelicious: Peas and Pasta
Devour: Quick Salad with Peas
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Pasta with Spring Peas, Mushrooms and Greens
Red or Green?: Szechuan Spring Peas, Asparagus, Pine Nuts and Brown Rice Salad
Blue Apron Blog: Sweet Corn & Pea Fritters with Pea Tendril Salad
Pinch My Salt: Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole
Domesticate Me: Clean Out Fridge Frittata
Virtually Homemade: Summer Lasagna with Skinny Alfredo Sauce
The Sensitive Epicure: Pea Puree with Roasted Salmon and Chives
Daily*Dishin: Marinated Spring Pea Salad
The Heritage Cook: Pea, Potato and Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
FN Dish: Favorite Shelled Pea Sides

best,

diane
napa farmhouse 1885
red or green?
california girl in taos
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mixed berry tea cake

happy summer everyone!  my favorite season of all.  this week makes the start of food network's summerfest, and we are starting with berries.  when i think of summer fruit desserts, i want something easy to make with an emphasis on the fruit.  crisps, cobblers...that kind of ease.  i will save layered cakes and homemade pies for winter, spring and fall.  summer? i want to be outside.

so i was thrilled to find recipes for tea cake a few years ago.  a dough that comes together in minutes (with NO rolling), this is a cross between a cake, drop biscuits and cobbler.  (does that sound odd?).  my favorite  is from the book Rustic Fruit Desserts by cory schreiber and julie richardson.  their version is delicious, but made with white flour and sugar.  i experimented a lot and tweaked the original to create my recipe which follows their exact directions, but is made with white whole wheat flour**, cornmeal, coconut sugar and coconut.  you can use any type of fruit...they used stone fruit. today i am using strawberries and blueberries.

when you make this recipe for the first time you will be surprised by the dough.  it will be very soft, almost cookie dough like.  that is the way it is supposed to be.  just wrap it in plastic, pat down to form a 1 inch thick disk and freeze for 1/2 hour.  here is a tip from me....double or triple the dough recipe and keep in the freezer.  you will want to make tea cakes all summer...nothing is easier than pulling the prepared dough out of the freezer...patting into the pan, piling in the fruit and baking.  served with ice cream, whipped cream or just as is, you will eat this often!  happy summer everyone.

mixed berry tea cake
adapted from "rustic fruit desserts"
(serves 10-12)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups white whole wheat flour**
1/4 cup cornmeal, finely ground
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 pints ripe strawberries, halved
1 pint blueberries
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
1 tbsp coconut sugar

Whisk flour, cornmeal,baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beater or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition, then stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir just until a smooth dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk, and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a shallow 10-inch round baking pan, tart pan or fluted pie pan.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread fruit over the dough. Sprinkle coconut over fruit. Break remainder of the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and distribute atop the fruit, then sprinkle the tbsp coconut sugar over the dessert.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Storage: Wrapped in plastic wrap, this tea cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. (The top will soften a bit.) You can also freeze the unbaked dough; if wrapped well, it will keep for up to 3 months. You can freeze a whole, unbaked cake with fruit (again, wrapped well) for 1 month.

** i love unbleached white whole wheat flour, whole wheat which has been milled from the lightest wheat kernels...so light they are almost white. contains all the fiber and nutrients of regular whole wheat but lighter in color and taste. note...this is not white flour...the color is light brown when baked. i like the king arthur brand**

it is "berries" week at food network's summerfest roundup. check out the other delicious sounding recipes from my blogger friends. have a favorite berry recipe?  share in the comments section and/or link to your blog if you have one:

Feed Me Phoebe: Gluten-Free Blueberry-Almond Pancakes
The Lemon Bowl: Strawberry Mango Chia Smoothie
Dishin & Dishes: Crunchy Topped Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Gingered Blueberry Shortcakes With Light Creamy Topping
Taste With The Eyes: Blueberry Limoncello Pavlova
Sweet Life Bake: Paletas de Fresca y Aguacate
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Mixed Berry Tea Cake 
Red or Green?: Strawberry & Blueberry Crisp (Red or Green-style)
Virtually Homemade: Blueberry Mint Margaritas
Haute Apple Pie: Triple Berry Ice Cream
Pinch My Salt: Strawberry Peach Cobbler With Almond Biscuit Topping
Cooking With Elise: Dehydrating Blueberries, Plus Blueberry and White Chocolate Cookies
Devour: Four Healthy Berry Recipes
Domesticate Me: Summer Berry Crisp
Weelicious: Brainy Breakfast
The Sensitive Epicure: Strawberries With White Balsamic Vinegar Caramel, Orange Zest and Black Pepper
Daily*Dishin: Fresh and Easy Blueberry Pie
From My Corner of Saratoga: Mixed Berry Freezer Pops
FN Dish: Wake Up With Berries

best,

diane
napa farmhouse 1885
red or green?
california girl in taos

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summerfest 2013

so happy to announce the return of "summerfest", a collaboration between food network and a group of food bloggers.  a specific summer fruit or vegetable is selected each week, and food network chefs and bloggers each contribute a recipe featuring the item.  the recipes are shared on foodnetwork.com and all of the blogs so readers have a plethora of options to use up all the delicious summer produce.

this year's schedule is as follows:
June:

19: Berries

26: Peas

July:

3: Corn

10: Tomatoes

17: Watermelon

24: Cucumbers

31: Peaches

August:

7: Eggplant

14: Avocados

21: Peppers

28: Figs

September:

4: Beets

11: Grapes

18: Potatoes

wanna participate?  share your favorite recipe in the comments section of my posts...or link to your blog if you have one.  you can do this on all the other participating blogs too.  c'mon, the more ideas the better.  this is the time to raid the farmers' market, or your csa, or your overflowing garden and overindulge in fresh, local organic or sustainably grown summer produce.  on second thought, is it possible to overindulge in this area?

happy summer everyone!

best,
diane
napa farmhouse 1885
red or green?
california girl in taos

please follow me on facebook




i have started sharing my taos experiences on my newest blog"california girl in taos". please visit and let me know what you think.

shrimp stew, a la martha

long time readers know i usually write about recipes that i have created.  or i post family recipes.  once in awhile i talk about recipes that i have "tweaked" from another source, giving proper credit to the original of course.  today i am sharing a recipe straight from martha stewart living...no edits or tweaks.  it was just that good.  so, just in case you don't get the magazine....or hesitated to try this dish...make it this week.  you will not be disappointed.

i have made the shrimp stew three times so far. the first was during a visit to my parents' home.  i spent two weeks with them and cooked most nights.  i purchased all the ingredients and started preparing only to discover they were out of white wine. i improvised with vodka and the result was delicious.  i have made the stew two additional times, once with white wine and another with the vodka.  both work so use what you have.  also, if you have never peeled/ deveined shrimp, please do not be intimidated.  and whatever you do...do not skip this step.  the shells add tons of flavor to the dish.  this process is not hard, but it does take some time so plan accordingly. here is a "how to" video from serious eats.  enjoy!

shrimp stew, a la martha
from martha stewart living magazine, may 2013
(serves 6)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, shells reserved, and deveined
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup dry white wine (i used vodka one time when we were out of white wine)
• 16 ounces clam juice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 1/2 cups) and washed well
• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (about 3 1/3 cups), fronds reserved for garnish
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, finely ground
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream (i used half and half to lighten up just a touch)
• 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Add thyme sprigs and cook 1 minute. Add wine, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add clam juice and water and simmer 15 minutes. Pour broth through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids; discard solids.
2. Melt butter in pot over medium-high heat and add leeks, fennel, and fennel seeds. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until vegetables just start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp broth and cream; cook until warmed through.
3. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Divide stew among 6 shallow bowls and garnish with fennel fronds.
   
   
   

best,
diane
napa farmhouse 1885
red or green?
california girl in taos

please follow me on facebook


Follow @dianeintaos

i have started sharing my taos experiences on my newest blog"california girl in taos". please visit and let me know what you think.