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Just wanted to wish my brother a very Happy 36th Birthday! He is one of my biggest supporters! Please send happy thoughts his way!

I couldnt find any recent pics of Gennaro alone. Hes always the one taking the pictures! Isnt he a handsome guy?!?!?!

Happy Halloween! Be Safe!!! If anyone wants any neat Halloween recipes check out http://www.bakespace.com/. The talent there is beyond belief!

Ive been so busy this past week with Steves birthday that I havent had a chance to post but I have been taking pictures. Let me start by wishing my other half, Steve, a very Happy Birthday! I love you! XOXOXOX




Now about the food. While visiting with Steves parents this past weekend I noticed a cookbook on the bookshelf that I have never seen before. Its called "Eat Right, East Well - The Italian Way" by Edward Giobbi and Richard Wolff, M.D. There are a ton of wonderful recipes in this book and I look forward to trying more. I made very slight variations to the recipe because I wanted to use what I had on hand but nothing that really would compromise the end result. This recipe can be found on page 138-139 of the cookbook.

Pasta with Chicken Breasts

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:


1 whole chicken breast, cut into strips about 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound tubular pasta, such as ziti, rigatoni, or penne
6 cups broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons pesto (page 426)

Directions:

Marinate cut-up chicken breasts with garlic, soy sauce, pepper and lemon juice for several hours.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Remove chicken from marinade and cook for several minutes over high heat. Add marinade and cook, tossing, for 10 seconds or more. turn off heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt and potatoes. When water returns to a boil, add pasta. Stir, cook about 4 minutes, then add broccoli and cook until pasta is done al dente. Drain. Reserve some of the water - 1/2 to 3/4 cup - and mix with the pesto until it has a thin saucelike consistency. Add to pasta and vegetables in a large serving bowl. Add chicken and juices and toss.

Pesto - page 426

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup walnut meats
4 cups tightly packed fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Put in a jar, add 1/2 inch oil on top of pesto , and refrigerate. It will last all winter.


My changes were simple. I did NOT use this recipe for pesto. I included it here because it is a part of the recipe and I want you to have the option. I have my own recipe for Pesto but I didnt follow that either because I didnt have a lot of basil. So I basically just added the basil I did have (less than a cup), 1/4 cup parsley, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/4 cup romano cheese, 1/2 tsp salt and extra virgin olive oil. I used my normal recipe as a guide and used less since I didnt have a lot of basil. It worked and it was delicious. So dont be afraid to make this if you dont have pesto or dont have all the ingredients for pesto.

When I cooked the broccoli it broke down a lot, almost to the consistency of the broccoli in a broccoli soup, so to me this was almost like a broccoli pesto. I loved that and I think thats the way its supposed to be but then again there was no picture so I dont know for sure. Either way, I liked this dish the way it came out and I would definitely make it again.

Dear friends, wishing you all a Very Happy New year! It is a beautiful day for us. The morning was spent calling our families. I found out that my mother-in-law, co-sister, and I had prepared the same menu for New Year – this was a sweet surprise. We prepared Rava kesari, venpongal, vadai, sambar and coconut chutney although mine was a little bit trimmed down as hubby dear wanted to maintain his diet even today. I had made a sugar-free kesari with cracked wheat and also cracked wheat pongal. I have posted the recipe for the kesari here. I guess everybody must know this since it is such a common sweet. This is a totally diabetic-friendly dessert, a little bit healthier than the regular one, I hope you all like this idea :)

INGREDIENTS:

1. Cracked wheat, small variety, 1 cup.

2. Water, 3 cups.

3. Sugar or any artificial sweetener, 2/3 cup or more depending upon sweetness.

4. Cashews and raisins, 2 tablespoons.

5. Ghee or any low-fat unsalted butter, 2 tablespoon.

6. Cardamom, 2 pods.

7. Salt, a pinch.

8. Red or orange food color, a pinch.

PREPARATION:

Dry roast the rava for 5 minutes and let it cool. Crush the cardamom pods finely and keep aside. Heat a pan and add the ghee. Add the cashews and raisins when the ghee starts melting and fry for a few seconds until the raisins plump up and the cashews turn golden brown. Add the water along with the food color, cardamom powder, salt, and sugar or sugar substitute. Let it come to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, add the cracked wheat slowly and keep mixing while adding the wheat. Keep stirring under low flame until the kesari thickens. Switch off the stove when the kesari has a slightly watery consistency, it will thicken further as it cools. Enjoy!