Summer Pasta

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I hope you're having an equally lovely day as I am having today (is that actually a proper sentence?).
I just gave my friend Louise a chapter to read (yes, the one I haven't managed to get into proper draft form for like 3 weeks now...), the sun is shining through my window and it's a balmy 16 degrees outside.
If I was allowed to exercise these days (long story involving a wasp, my arm and a couple of visits to the minor injuries unit at 3am last week, but for once I'm listening to my mum - dear mum, I hope you notice how much effort this takes to not go and enjoy the sun on a run!) I would sooo go out and enjoy the weather some more - perhaps I'll go for a gentle stroll later this afternoon.
Anyhow, as I am re-learning how to eat when I'm not exercising I am rediscovering the wonders of summery pasta dishes. I can't seem to get enough of the many possibilities these days.
Yesterday I was inspired by Alex's mum's pasta recipe, but I thought I could share two of my favourite combinations with you today. They both follow the same principle and the quantities for the veg are based on a 40-50g portion of pasta - i.e. if you are a fan of larger pasta portions, use some more but at the same time I probably wouldn't treble the amounts if you want to have 150g pasta.

So what I normally do is stick some thin pasta (the type I use is called spaghettini but then again they seem to have a different name depending on the brand and the country, I am talking about the kind that takes 5 minutes to cook, and no, not the quick-cook kind) into some boiling salt water and then get on with sorting out the veg/fruit.

Courgette Pasta
150g Courgette (that is 2 small (12-15cm) courgettes), washed and the ends cut off
15-20g Parmesan, grated
Salt, Pepper
Some nice Olive Oil

Using a vegetable peeler, 'peel' the courgette into thin strips and set aside, then you grate the parmesan cheese. Wait until the pasta is nearly done (i.e. you feel like it's going to need another minute), then add the courgette and, after that additional minute, drain the pasta. Put the pasta into a bowl, drizzle with some olive oil, season with some salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parmesan.
See, that didn't take that long...

Pear and Gorgonzola Pasta
1 Pear
30g Gorgonzola

While the pasta cooks, wash the pear, core, and cut it into thin slices.
Cut the gorgonzola into smaller pieces and put the pieces into the bowl you'll eat the pasta from. Once the pasta is done, drain it but don't worry about all the water draining off. Mix the pasta with the cheese (the remainder of the cooking water that didn't drain off should turn some of the cheese into a creamy sauce that will stick to the pasta), then add the pear slices and smile while you enjoy this super quick lunch.

Prawn Pasta

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You know the feeling when you are standing in front of your fridge and there isn't really anything in there that you want to eat?
I've been having that a lot lately. So earlier this week I decided to go back to basics and make a quick and simple pasta dish.
It's bursting with flavours and is simply perfect for a quick spring dinner (or so I think). You can throw it together in 15 minutes (10 if you're going for really thin pasta) and concentrate on your guests rather than the cooking part of the whole thing.
It's also a perfect comfort food for when all you want to do is watch some crappy TV in your favourite pair of sweats (wanna guess which of the two options I went for? :) )

Prawn Pasta
1 handfull Freshwater Prawns per person
1 tsp Lemon Zest per person
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Dried Pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then cook the pasta until it's done.
While the pasta is bubbling away, drain the prawns if they came in some brine. Grate the lemon zest if you haven't done so already.
Drain the pasta, pour it into a bowl, mix in some lemon juice and some olive oil. Then toss in the prawns.
Season with salt and pepper, then add the lemon zest.
Serve in a pretty bowl and let the flavours and colours make you feel better.

Tomato & Bread Salad

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Here's another idea for your lunchbox that shouldn't take you more than 5 or 10 minutes.
I know it's not really tomato-season yet (ok, not even remotely) but I had one of those 'I don't care, I want something summery' days. So let me tell you that it's nice in the spring but if you make this in the summer it will blow your mind (if you can get really nice heirloom tomatoes go for those).
Anyhow, you don't really need a recipe here but let me give you the following advice:

-I'm lazy so I don't remove the skin from the tomatoes. It's really nice though. Put the tomatoes into boiling water for a few seconds, then transfer them to a bowl of ice-water, then you can peel the skin off without any issues.
-When you cut the tomatoes, take the squishy seed stuff out but don't throw it away, if you put it into the dressing it will give you a really nice flavour.
-Use nice olive oil :)
-It's ok if the bread you're using (sourdough is really nice for this purpose) is stale. I wouldn't go for rock-solid but if it's been sitting in your bread tin for a couple of days it will be perfect because it won't go too soggy.
-It's also really nice with some onions and some capers and grilled peppers, but if I'm just making some for my lunchbox, the ingredients below are what I go for.

Allright, so what do you actually need?

Some tomatoes (2 medium ones per person is a good start)
Some bread
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Cut the tomatoes into pieces and keep the seeds (just put them into a small bowl or so). Break or cut the bread into pieces that are a bit bigger than the tomato pieces. Mix the tomato seeds with some salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar.
Now you're ready to 'assemble' your salad :)
Put the tomatoes and the bread into a bowl, spoon over some vinegar-tomato mix (don't drown the bread but be generous at the same time - if that makes sense), then drizzle everything with some olive oil.
This salad is a bit boring just after you have made it, so take it to work with you and enjoy it in a few hours or over lunch.

Citrusy Blueberry Muffins

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Today's recipe is for Valentin who just handed in his Master's thesis. I am so excited for you!!!
And to have the last word in our conversation about muffins from ages ago, here's my take on the blueberry muffin :)
These muffins are based on the blueberry muffins in Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's 'Baked' and since they have blueberries in them I believe eating more than one will bring you closer to your five-a-day :)
Anyhow, they are super fast (25 minutes from when I started pulling the butter out of the fridge to taking the baked muffins out of the oven) so they would also make a lovely breakfast treat.

Citrusy Blueberry Muffins
Zest of 1 Satsuma and 1 Lime
125 ml Orange Juice
125 ml Milk
2 Egg Whites
60 g Butter (melt it, then let it cool)
40 g Ground Almonds
20 g Flaked Almonds
110 g Plain Flour
110 g Kamut Flour
170 g Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
75 g Blueberries

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 cups.
Mix all the liquid ingredients and the zest in a jug. In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients (make sure the baking powder is well distributed and there's no lumps - trust me, it really won't taste nice!). In a tiny bowl toss the blueberries in some flour (this will stop them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins).
Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are just combined (remember: well-mixed muffins = chewy muffins), then fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the paper cases, then bake for 15 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Take the pan out of the oven and after another 15 minutes remove the muffins from the pan.
Enjoy your muffins with a glass of milk or a relaxing afternoon coffee and keep telling yourself that spring is nearly properly here :)