Zucchini Noodles with Ham and Peas

My mom got me a spiralizer for Christmas and I've been having fun trying out new recipes with it. We had some leftover ham so I made a ham and pea pasta with zucchini noodles - really tasty, and a lot lighter than a big bowl of pasta. (Get ready for more recipes like this - I just found out I have gestational diabetes so goodbye carbs for the next two months.)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis, ends trimmed

1/4 cup chopped up ham (feel free to use bacon if you don't have ham)

1 cup of frozen peas

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 pinch red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Pecorino or parmesan cheese for grating

optional: basil leaves for garnish

Mini Berry Tarts

This is a great, quick little dessert. If you can't find speculoos (delicious French/Belgian cookies that taste like a mix between a graham cracker and a ginger snap) you can use graham crackers, or ginger snaps. The crust with the speculoos and browned butter is delicious, and perfect with the tart berries and slightly sweet whipped cream. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Berries

About 1 cup mixed berries

3/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

squeeze of lemon

Tart

6 speculoos cookies

1 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp sugar

Whipped Cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cardamom and Lime

This is another great recipe from Ottolenghi. I love butternut squash, and in this recipe it takes on a really different flavor than the usual roasted squash. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 limes

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lb)

2 tbsp cardamom pods

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 cup greek yogurt

2 1/2 tsp tahini

1 tbsp lime juice

1 green chile, thinly sliced

2/3 cup picked cilantro leaves

Butterscotch Bourbon Ice Cream

This homemade ice cream is so creamy and perfect. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of it scooped out, so you'll just have to take this one of it churning. A few summers ago, the New York Times came out with a fantastic ice cream article and recipe with a basic base and a whole bunch of ways to customize it with different flavors, aptly titled, "The Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need." They had a butterscotch bourbon flavor that I tried last weekend - yum! It's really, really good and I will definitely make it again. It's rich and creamy and has just a hint of bourbon - it's not overwhelming at all. (I don't like my desserts to taste like booze).

Maya's Coconut Tart

There's a great restaurant in St. Barth called Maya's that my family goes to every year. One of my favorite parts of a night at Maya's is finishing off with a slice of coconut tart. It's so delicious and crunchy and caramelized. We were having friends over for dinner last weekend and I was trying to think of something new to make for dessert. I googled around wondering if Maya's recipe had made it online, and it had! Jean-Georges published it for Food & Wine! (You can see it here.) It was so good and tasted just like how Maya makes it. Coconut fans will love it. Definitely get fresh coconut and shred it yourself - do not get the pre-shredded coconut. It will be too fine.

Vegetable Garden Week 1 - March 13

What a beautiful weekend! It was so warm and springy - the perfect time to start the garden. My sweet husband did all the heavy lifting since I can't really be lugging topsoil bags or turning soil at this point. 

Sautéed Bay Scallops on Cauliflower Purée

Bay scallops are the best. The season is November through March so Jamie and I always load up on them anytime we go to Southampton. They're sweeter and smaller than sea scallops. The flavor is so good so you don't need to add much. Simple butter and lemon is really all you need. Yum!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bay scallops

1 tbsp butter

Zest and juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper

Cauliflower purée 

Pear Crostini

There was a recipe in Plenty for pear crostini and this is inspired by that but a little different. I love pears and cheese, so this is a great mix. It's sweet and a little tart and creamy, it's delicious. Great appetizer. 

Ingredients:

1 pear

1/2 tsp sugar

Black pepper

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp pecorino

2 slices good bread

Olive oil

1 clove garlic

Soft goat cheese