I think this is a great dish when you’re thinking of spring, of primavera. This dish is adapated from Serious Eats, and besides the bit of cream it was very healthy. I’d also recommend using wheat pasta although you don’t get quite this bright almost neon green sauce. Johnathan hates peas but ate this disguised dish gladly. Here’s how it goes:

Serves 2

1/2 pound of pasta, any kind you have

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium onion diced

1 package of frozen green peas

3/4 cup of cream

3 slices of Canadian Bacon cut into bite sized pieces, browned

salt, pepper, parm for finishing

1. Bring pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the box - al dente is best.

2. Meanwhile, heat a teaspoon of butter, or olive oil, or I like Smart Balance in a medium skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes until they sweat. Add the frozen peas and cook another 2-3 minutes until they’re cooked through.

3. Transfer peas to a food processor or blender. Blend and add the cream until it’s thick and pulverized. Place a sieve over a small saucepan. Pour the pea purée into the sieve, pushing it through with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Discard solids. Over a low flame, warm the purée through. Remove from heat and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Optional: a pinch of ground nutmeg will accentuate the sweetness of the peas.

4. Toss the pea sauce, pasta and Canadian bacon together in a large bowl and serve with freshly grated parm.

I haven’t eaten a baked potato in a really long time. It’s not a comfort food I crave when it gets cold. It was however something really easy to make and I needed to use up some veggies and toppings before they went off. I also baked the bacon in the oven, and it tastes so much better - crispy, flat, and the fat drips below, so it’s not cooking in it. The salad is all from the farmer’s market, and was a nice warm compliment to the potato, rather than a cold salad. Here’s how it happened:

Serves 4 (or 2, then 2 for lunch the next day)

4 Large Russet Potatoes

4 strips of bacon

1 shallot, minced

1/2 lb green beans

1 bunch of spinach

1/4 lb of Shitake mushrooms

salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Wash potatoes, and puncture with a fork so they don’t explode. Rub with salt and olive oil. Place on a foiled cookie sheet in the oven for 1 - 2 hours. They’re done when you can stick your fork easily through the skin.

2. Place bacon on a roasting pan, with slats, and bake in the oven with the potatoes for about 20 minutes.

3. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat add couple tablespoons of olive oil and add the shallots. Let them cook for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for another couple minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for a minute, and then add spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.

4. Slice open potatoes and fill with your favorite stuff - I used creme fraiche, bacon, raw onions, and chives. Johnathan had cheddar cheese on his rather than the creme fraiche. Use whatever you have on hand!

You can use any white fish fillets for this dish - whatever is on sale, or in my case, what the fishmonger had at the farmer’s market. I actually had rather thin fillets, so I folded them in half so they didn’t cook too fast, and they look prettier. You can adjust this recipe to serve as many as you want - I just had it for Johnathan and I. Here’s how it goes:

2-6 white fish fillets, cut 1 inch thick, skinned and pinboned

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and very finely chopped

zest and juice of 2 lemons

fresh ground pepper

3-4 slices of thinly sliced bacon or pancetta for each fillet

4 tablespoons of mayo

2 bunches of asparagus, trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Season the fillets with the rosemary, finely grated lemon zest and pepper -you don’t need to use salt because of the salty bacon. Lay your slices of bacon or pancetta together, slightly overlapping, put a fish fillet on top and wrap the bacon around it.

2. Lightly heat a large ovenproof frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and lay your fish, prettiest side facing up, in the pan. Fry for a minute, then place the pan in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickenss of the fish, until the bacon is crisp and golden.

3. While the fish is cooking, you can make your lemon mayo. Add enough lemon juice to make the flavor slightly too zingy. When you eat it with asparagus and the fish, it will lessen slightly in intensity. It’s ok if the mayo looks a little thin, it should be delicate.

4. Boil or steam the asparagus. Once its cooked, toss it in the juices from the fish pan. Serve asparagus next to fish fillets with a bit of lemon mayo drizzled on top.

I can’t believe September is already over. The past few days have been cloudy, cool, and gray in NYC, so it gives a great taste of what’s to come this winter…. Johnathan requested a couple comfort foods this week, and I also went back to my favorite, Jamie Oliver. There’s also a sub theme of bacon - can’t wait. I also wanted to buy up the last of the summer tomatoes, which will probably include some pretty tomato and mozzarella salads. Here’s what’s cookin’ this week:

Monday: White fish wrapped in Smoked Bacon with lemon Mayonnaise and Asparagus

Tuesday: Turkey Meatloaf

Wednesday: Roasted Sausages (hopefully local) with stuffed fingerling potatoes

Thursday: Mini Calzones

Friday: Butternut Squash and Bacon Stuffed Crepes

Deliciousness!

Sweet, salty, crunchy, and sooooo good. I think having perfectly ripe tomatoes and corn also helped. Actually, everything except the bacon was local… hmmmm…. The tomatoes were super super sweet and salted just right. I think next time I make the roasted tomato soup, I’ll do this quick version - 350F for 40 minutes instead of the 200F 8 hour method - oy. This definitely does not have to be a breakfast dish - we were so full and it just looks and tastes like a great summer alternative to latkes. Bill’s of Sydney, really hit the palate right with this. Ok, enough babbling, here’s the recipe:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh corn kernels from the cob

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped cilantro and parsley (combined)

4 tablespoons veg oil

to serve

8 halves roast tomatoes, arugula, grilled bacon, and a dribble of olive oil

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and paprika into a large bowl, stir in sugar and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and milk. Gradually add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. The batter will be quite stiff.

2. Place corn, peppers, onions, and herbs in a mixing bowl and add just enough batter to lightly bind them (about 3/4 cup). Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan aon medium heat,then drop in 2 tablespoons of batter per fritter and cook 4 fritters at a time (I could only fit 3). Cook for 2 minutes, or until the underside of the fritter is golden. turn over and cook fritters on the other side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm while cooking remaining fritters.

3. To Serve - place one fritter on each plate and top each with 2 halves of roast tomato, a small handful of arugula and a couple slices of bacon. Finish with a second fritter and drizzle olive oil around the base of the stack. Serves 4.

*** Note*** You can save the fritter batter for up to 3 days!! but do not mix the batter with the veggies more than an hour before you’re ready to cook or the fritters will be soggy.