A goodbye kiss to summer!

Hello friends! It's Emily.

It's been a while so, here is what has been going on with me since last I blogged. I...

- Moved back to Delaware from Pennsylvania
- Tagged horseshoe crabs and it was awesome (Don't ask. I'm a marine ecologist!)
- Did lots of experiments
- Got engaged to my beau :)
- Gardened my the summer away, all the while enjoying the payoff of lots of yummy veggies and fruits to eat

So about that last little factoid...I think I should come clean. While I do love plants, I am known by many in my circle of friends as a "plant serial killer". You might have even heard tales of me in your local paper. I go around purchasing houseplants and seeds from garden supply shops. I buy cutesy planters and even high-capacity misting bottles for my would-be photosynthesizing friends. Once I get them home, I quickly place the plants in a lovely, well-lit area and water them with care. This lasts for about a week and then...my busy research/life schedule gets the best of me and I ensure that they die the slow painful death of neglect and wilting**. Luckily my husband-to be has got quite the green thumb and is excellent at remembering that plants need water. This could quite possibly be why we actually have veggies and fruits successfully growing in our garden plot. This past summer we had the best luck with cantaloupe, basil and tomatoes, among a few others. This recipe is a reflection of that and trips to the farmer's market. Oh and listening to Nessum dorma, as sung by Pavarotti, one too many times while cooking.  Buon appetito!

Pavarotti Farmer's Garden Pasta


Ingredients

• Eggplant
• Fresh Basil 
• Tomatoes (mine were small, but not cherry variety)
• Vegan sausage 
• I used Tofurky Italian Sausage, but it does contain wheat. 
• If you can't digest gluten but want  to keep vegan, maybe give this Gluten-free Sausage Recipe a whirl. I haven't tried it, but it looks delicious
• Tomato-based pasta sauce (whichever catches your fancy)
• Angel hair pasta
• I use Barilla brand pasta, but Bionaturae brand has good gluten-free pasta options if needed
• Nessum dorma, as sung by Pavarotti 
• Note: the version by Andrea Bocelli will do in a pinch
• Sea salt
• Garlic/Garlic powder
• Extra virgin olive oil

Veggie prep

1. Add a generous amount of olive oil to a skillet. Roll the oil around to coat the pan's surface.
2. Add a pinch (literally a pinch) of salt in the oil. Add sliced garlic/garlic powder to oil as well. Place on medium heat.
3. Cut the eggplant cross-wise into 1/4 inch slices (~ 2-4 slices per person)
4. By this time the pan is getting hot. Nice! 
1. Add the eggplant slices. Be sure to space the slices so that they get crispy, not soggy.
2. Let cook for about 10 minutes (meanwhile, prepare the pasta and sauce)
3. Flip! and cook for 5 minutes on other side.

Pasta and sauce prep

1. Begin boiling water for the pasta. In the meanwhile...
2. Slice the veggie sausage cross-wise
3. Slice tomatoes in half
4. In a small pan, add olive oil and sausage. Cook covered on medium heat.
5. As sausage starts to brown, add tomatoes and cook until the skins begin to peel away (about 3 minutes).
6. Add pasta sauce to pan, add a few basil leaves, stir and cover.
7. Once water boils, add in pasta and cook for recommended time on package, occasionally stirring.
8. Drain when done.

                                                                                                                               Pulling it all together    

1. On a plate, place a portion of pasta and eggplant.
2. Ladle sauce with sausage and tomatoes on top of this.
3. Garnish with basil.
4. Enjoy! 

**Side note: I am very good, expert in fact, at killing plants around the house and yard (see earlier comments). However, I do feel it necessary to point out that I am not good at killing all plants. For whatever reason, orchids love me as do gardenias. While I am very proud of this, I have to wonder, did they not get the memo about my track record of (un)successes with their leafy cousins??

Adventures in lunching at the Raw Can Roll Cafe!

Sampler Platter - Hummus, Veggie Crisps, Thai Spring Rolls,
Garden Salad, Delicate Pasta, and two types of dressing, including
Japanese Citrus Ginger. And no, it did not taste like one big salad! 

I recently had a lunch-time adventure at the
Raw Can Roll Cafe in Douglassville, PA. The idea of working more raw foods into my diet sounded good in theory and I figured that if I could get someone else to make my lunch for me, all the better! Never having been to a raw foods restaurant before, I have to admit that as intrigued as I was, I felt a bit skeptical...exactly how exciting   could a bunch of carrot sticks and celery stalks get? Would it all just taste like one big salad? I had previously heard good things about "going raw" from my Mom*, so I figured I'd give this raw lunch a shot. As it turns out, this little Cafe was right on the money and got me inspired to eat more raw food. The combinations of flavors, textures and colors were both creative and delicious. The veggie tortilla crisps and Jimica salad were amazing. I've been dreaming of them ever since.

Leah enjoying Thai Coconut Juice straight
from a Thai Coconut!

Common food allergens like dairy, eggs, and gluten weren't an issue either. If you have food allergies, then you know what a pain the %&# it can be to barrage restaurant chefs and wait-staff with questions about what is "safe" to eat. My friend Leah came with me to check out the Cafe. Between the two us, we have 3 food allergies and lactose intolerance. Fun dinner company, right? After asking the initial, "Is your food really dairy/peanut/gluten-free?", we were completely set. Sweet! What's even better, I left the cafe feeling completely satiated.  Definitely check out their webpage for photos of their food and make the pilgrimage out to Douglassville if you can - it is so worth it!

Raw Can Roll Cafe

39 Old Swede Road 

Douglassville, PA 19512

*I often joke that I was that kid in elementary school who brought a sandwich on whole grain bread (not Wonder Bread, sigh!) along with carrots and raisins and juice to lunch. I think it goes without saying that next to no one ever wanted to trade lunches with me in the cafeteria. While I went through various food-rebellions growing up, now as an adult I practically kiss the ground whenever I think about my mother and all of the nutritional wisdom that she's passed on - THANKS MOM:)

Creamy Dreamy Shells and Salad to make you dream of the seashore

Based on emails that I've been receiving from people, I take it that you  noticed that I have been MIA for a while. Okay, a LONG while. First of all, I'd like to say 'Thanks. I'm glad that you noticed!'. I've been so wrapped up in my work and just life in general that I didn't post. Also, I have to admit that I kind of wondered if my Mom was the only one reading my blog. Guess not! (But you're still my #1 Fan Mom!) 

Secondly, I'd like to say that I've got a mostly good reason for being silent for so long. I'm temporarily living in a cabin in rural Pennsylvania for my research. Yes, you read right, a log cabin. Being the coastal dwelling creature that I am this has been a big change for me, but I am loving it! I mean, come on, I get to live in a place that looks like this:

Sickeningly picturesque, right? All I can say is that I wish that I had cable television here (oh! and all of my kitchen supplies and seasonings). On the upshot, I've been getting a lot of work, knitting and reading accomplished:>)

I present to you, the first recipe from my little cabin out in the middle of almost nowhere...

"Creamy Dreamy Shells and Salad" (almost guaranteed to make you dream of the seashore!) 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

- Seashell pasta 

- Chreese (optional; a dairy-free replacement for Mac & Cheese)

- Daiya brand shredded soy cheese (http://www.daiyafoods.com/)

- Portobello mushroom

- Avocado

- Baby spinach

- Extra virgin Olive oil

- Garlic powder

Portobello Mushroom

1. Wash and slice a mushroom
2. Put a little little olive oil in a pan with a sprinkle of garlic powder
3. Place slices in pan and drizzle a little olive oil over them. Follow up with another sprinkle of garlic powder.
4. Cook on medium-low heat until tender (about 8-10 minutes)

Pasta/Pasta and Chreese

1. Prepare Pasta shells/Pasta shells and Chreese as you would normally
2. Place drained shells/shells and chreese in a warm pot on low heat
• Slowly stir in the soy cheese shreds 
• Note: Any brand will do but I like Daiya brand best because it tastes like cheese and melts like it too...it fools dairy-lovers all of the time - no joke! 
3. When "cheese" is melted (~3-4 minutes), scoop out desired portion of pasta on serving plates.

Finishing touches

1. Rinse and drain baby spinach
2. Prepare chunks of avocado 
• Cut avocado in half and discard seed
• Slice fruit in shell, first length-wise and then across
• Scoop out chunks
3. On plate with cheesey pasta shells, add:
• Cooked portobello slices
• Avocado chunks
• Handful of baby spinach
4. Enjoy! Oh and be on the look out for the following qualities of this recipe:
• Comforting cheesey good-goo of the pasta shells 
• Sweet creaminess of the avocado 
• Meatiness of the portobello 
• Spinach greens keep the recipe from being too rich