Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Summer Veggies and Pasta Alfredo

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I’ve waited all year for this.  Zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, green peppers, green beans, tomatoes and eggplant.  The veggies are starting to ripen faster than I can cook them.  It’s wonderful!

So, here’s last night’s supper. 

I started by making an Alfredo sauce.  It’s easier than you think.

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Start by melting butter (the real stuff, please) slowly in a sauce pan.  This  is not quite one stick of salted butter, about 6 tablespoons.

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Next, add some diced garlic.  I used the rest of my rosemary roasted garlic

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Now for the heavy whipping cream.  Add it slowly, about 1/8 of a cup at a time to allow it to warm slowly on medium low heat.  It took me a few minutes to add the full 2 cups, stirring frequently.  Don’t rush this part or the butter will separate, leaving a greasy mess.

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Now for the parmesan cheese.  Add about 1 cup, finely grated.  I used to be too intimidated to buy that expensive wedge of parmesan, but then I found out how far it goes!  One wedge will last me a few months, and we eat this cheese a lot.  I use my Kitchen Aid grater attachment to grate it up, one small piece at a time.  I leave the larger piece of the wedge in the fridge, wrapped tightly.  It keeps longer if it isn’t grated.

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Leave this yummy concoction on a low heat setting to simmer, stirring frequently.  Don’t rush this yummy goodness.  It will take about 30 minutes for it to thicken up.  Feel free to dip a spoon in from time to time to taste-test.  Add salt and pepper as you like.

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Now, for the veggies.  I cut up an eggplant and soaked it in a small amount of buttermilk.

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Then, they moved to the whole wheat flour with salt and pepper…

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Into some sizzling hot oil.  I don’t know enough about preparing eggplant to do anything other than frying it, but it sure is good.  Our supper didn’t include any meat, so I figured this would fill that crave.

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Sam helped by eating raisins and playing with some measuring spoons and cups. 

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With the eggplant out of the way, I rinsed my pan, added olive oil and all those yummy diced veggies with salt and pepper.  Look closely and you’ll see yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, and green beans.  I cooked the veggies until they just started to tender up a bit, adding some yellow cherry tomatoes at the very last moment.

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Add a little angel hair pasta, and it’s the perfect summer meal.

2 comments:

  1. This looks really good. I'd like to try it,but I'm a little nervous to make the sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't be afraid of Alfredo. Just take your time and it'll be great!

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