A couple more cookbooks to my stash...

This was "My Christmas Present to Myself"!! I have been wanting this cookbook since it came out and I thought that now was a good time to make myself happy!
I couldn't be more merry than with new cookbooks around, and omg, this book is amazing, I LOVE it!!! (Have you seen the amount of recipes with chickpeas in the index? Awesome!)
As an unconditional fruit and vegetable lover, I eat lots of vegetarian meals and with this book on hand I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great veggie cooking year!
Recipes and pics will follow, for sure!
Hope you all had a great holiday and treated yourselves with something you like, just like I did!
I absolutely adore cookbooks, they are one of my favorite things to buy and read on my free time!
Ana

I also got this one as a Christmas present from Matheus - I did raise him right, didn't I? He sure knows how to make mommy happy!

Merry Christmas!
Feliz Natal!
To all my friends and family, and to those who never gave up on my blog and kept coming back to check up on me, a Very Happy Christmas and a Wonderful 2010 full of cooking and fun!
May Santa bring all you have wished and more!
Love all,
Ana

Something I have been eating, and loving, lately!

Almond butter... have you tried? If you like almonds you have got to try this! Roasted almonds, are not only super healthy and good for you but they are , nutty and delicious. Now, picture your almond in creamy form and you have almond butter!
I am not much of a peanut or peanut butter person, but I am totally hooked on this almond butter thing.
It is absolutely delicious, the roasted almond flavor and the creaminess of it is just awesome!
I have been eating it on top of graham crackers (these are the ones I like, they are not too sweet) and adding blobs of almond butter to my oatmeal (if you have been following the blog you might know I am an oatmeal lover!). It sorts of melts inside the warm oats and make it all taste sooo good that I have been eating oats every day for more than a month, just so I can have my almond butter goodness in it.
Then, the almond butter and oats combo brings me to another thing: oats in a jar. Have you seen that yet? I first saw it on Caroline's blog, and then on some other spaces through the "blogsphere", then I stopped and starting thinking about it: so you have an almost empty jar of almond butter (or another nut butter you like), and you usually put some of that on your oatmeal every day. What is the best thing to do in order to get the most of that scrumptious almond butter from that little jar? Of course, put your oatmeal in the jar - Genius!













As soon as my first jar of almond butter was getting close to emptiness I poured my oats in there, and it was awesome! I like to eat my oats in mugs sometimes (instead of a bowl), so the jar acted just like that, plus the warm oats got infused by the the flavor and last bits of almond butter left in the jar, not to mention the last teaspoon or two of it that were in the bottom, ohhh, it is pure bliss when you reach that part!
I just wanted to share here something I discovered recently and have been eating and loving for the past months. It is not only delicious but also very healthy stuff!
If you haven't had almond butter yet do give it a try! Hope you like it as much as I do!
Ana

Ps: This is not a brand commercial, and I didn't got paid to talk about this specific product here. I just discovered and really feel in love with almond butter and wanted to share. The trader joe's brand was my choice due to it deliciousness and affordability!

Pumpkin Pasta!

I bet you are wondering what I have been making with all that amazing pumpkin I got, right? Well, with work and school out of the way and two weeks of winter break ahead of us I am back to post all recipes I have been making and saving pics on the last few months. My goal is to post something everyday, and hey, you can come back and bug me until I do!
I also have some interesting and unusual product reviews I want to post.
But first, onto the recipe of the pasta pictured above. It is an easy and delicious pasta combination that fitted the bill perfectly with the mounds of pumpkin puree we had on hand.
It is actually and older Rachel Ray recipe that I had made before and was repeated a few times. Easy and tasty, truly worth of trying!
The original recipe had hot sauce added to it but I didn't think that it would go with the pumpkin and the spices used in this recipe, so I omitted that - with great success I might add, I cannot imagine this with hot sauce, really.
Don't be intimidated by that pinch of cinnamon in the recipe, it will add a touch of warmness that will complement the pumpkin beautifully, even though you won't taste it or know it was there.
Also, note that I forgot to add the sage before I took the picture, but don't forget to add it there (even though you can make it without it), because sage + pumpkin is a wonderful combo too!
So, here goes my adaptation of Pumpkin Pasta, hope you all enjoy and I will come back with more!
And how's getting ready for Christmas going? I need to wrap presents, and think about the food, can you believe I haven't done that yet? Well, still got plenty of time!
Ana










Pumpkin Pasta

1 pound of penne pasta
1 tablespoon Olive oil (more if needed)
2 shallots or half onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (1 1/2 cups puree)
1/2 cup heavy cream
A pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Pepper
Salt
Fresh sage leaves (about 4 of them), chopped
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta in boiling water until all dente.
While pasta cook saute garlic and onions (or shallots) in olive oil until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and pumpkin and whisk together to incorporate. Add the cinnamon and the heavy cream, mix together and add salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low and let it cook for a few minutes to thicken the sauce to your desired consistency, add the chopped sage and the cooked penne. Toss all together and serve with lots of grated Parmesan on top!