Light summer eggplant burgers

I can't believe I have been M.I.A. for almost two weeks. I think this is probably a first for me.

The three words that sum up my lack of cooking and posting these days are: work, diet and work.

I won't get into the whole description but I promise every child-free minute I had these days (and some none free-child hours) I spent working.

Oh, and of course my son got the dreaded stomach flu just as I was nearing my deadline... but I will not go into that either, because I really think that would be too much information.

Last but not least, when you are desperately trying to drop a few pounds, having a cooking blog is not ideal. So the only logical thing for me to do (yes, I know it is not an original solution, but hey, I missed you guys) is to share some of my ideas. I know some of you out there are in the same situation and even if you don't need to get rid of some winter blubber, who doesn't want to eat healthy, right?

Because the word diet makes me run (excuse the pun), I need to convince my brain I am eating normal food, real food. So I try to use the best quality ingredients, I make my dishes colorful, I try to come up with original ideas and to keep things as tasty as possible. Which, by the way, helps convince my family to eat what I am having without too much of a problem.

And so I present you the eggplant burger... yes, a vegetarian burger made with eggplant, but an inverted one, and lighter than the one I made here.

Enjoy!

Squid, pesto and asparagus pasta

The ingredients really make the dish here. They are the stars. The added value of your cooking will be practically nihl, but despite the less-than-10 minutes it will take you to make it, your guests will be glad you didn't spend more time slaving over the meal. This dish tastes and looks like spring, with green and pink tones and the freshness of basil and asparagus. 

It all started with a squid. It had been a busy, long day for us and I silently cursed myself for having defrosted it in the morning now that I had so little time on hand. When I made the decision, I still didn't know we would be lugging and building furniture all week end. I had very little time to cook before the kids' bedtime and I was tired on top of it, so pasta seemed like the easiest solution. While I cleaned and cut the squid and peeled a few cloves of garlic I started thinking about how to make the sauce. Tomato sauce and olives? Plain old garlic and parsley? As I opened the fridge to get some water, I heard something crash onto the floor. I looked down and didn't know whether I should curse or laugh when I saw it was the worst thing that could have fallen and broken: a plastic tub of pesto (yes, store-bought pesto). Half of the green, oily and garlicy mass was splattered across my kitchen floor (ugh) but the other half was still usable (the jar had conveniently just split across the bottom). I immediately knew what was going in my pasta. Still, I wanted a vegetable and that is where Tiffany saved the day. I took a couple of the asparagus and used a potato peeler to make thin ribbons of raw asparagus. I sauteed a little garlic and the calamaro in olive oil, just enough for the latter to change color and not turn tough. I threw in the remaining pesto and the asparagus ribbons and tossed it all a few times. When the pasta was ready I drained it, but not excessively, and tossed it with the sauce. Some fresh pepper and voilà, dinner was served.

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 large (or 2-3 small) squid

a half cup of pesto

a couple of asparagus

olive oil

garlic (optional)

500gr pasta

Lasagne al pesto, love and throats

My heart has been bursting these past couple of days. With love for my children.

Of course I always love my children.

But my love for them is like my throat. Yes, that is exactly what I meant to write, I am not hallucinating. You know  how certain parts of your body are just there, a given, even if you don't feel them, like your throat or your spleen? And then sometimes you are aware you have a throat, because it is sore or scratchy. That is like my love for my kids today, not that I want to compare them to an ache or a pain. It is just that they are normally fully integrated into my body, my soul, my life, my heart. But yesterday I woke up actually feeling my heart in my chest and it has been throbbing ever since with a feeling of constant, overpowering love for them.

Am I making any sense? At all?

I think it all started on Monday night, when I went into the childrens' room to tuck them in and dim their night light. As I walked over to my son's crib, I noticed something pink clutched in his dimply little hand. At a closer glance I noticed it was Piggy, my daughter's favorite stuffed animal, the pig she has been sleeping with since she was a wee babe. I don't know if he had been sniffling or complaining or if they were playing together in the semi darkness once their door was shut. All I know is that at some point after the lights went out, my little girl got out of her bed and gave her little brother her most prized posession to sleep with. And he took it and fell into a serene, thoughtless slumber.

That is when I know we did right.

That is all.

I just needed to share. I feel like when I write about my offspring it is more to vent about illness, baby sitter disasters, craziness and lack of time or sleep then to talk about what it really all boils down to. And now that I have started using cooking analogies, I know it is time to give you my recipe.

This is just another way to enjoy the gloriousness of pesto. Sure, you could just smear some on a piece of toast or put some on a toothbrush and brush your teeth with it, but if you want to be a little more refined or make dinner for a large group or a meal that you can freeze in portions for a rushed day in the future, this is the recipe for you. You can use freshly made pesto, or that jar you have in the freezer or you can even buy ready made pesto. I will not judge you. However, I do suggest you make your own bechamel, because it is so fast and really does make a world of difference. I know the measurements are not precise, but they really are up to you and your personal taste.

Trofie al pesto the traditional way, egg salad dip and genes

I am still trying to get that darn freezer empty and I am also working hard on using up everything I have lying around my kitchen before leaving as opposed to buying stuff.

Our previous neighbor was coming to dinner last night and I had a little under an hour to prepare, while bathing the kids and feeding the baby. So I was trying to get organized whilst carrying said  baby around on my hip and in the midst of this, I was wondering why I get myself into these situations? I have repeatedly told myself not to have guests over on week nights. There just isn't enough time to get back from work and take care of the kids and cook. Then again, I thought to myself, I cook for my family every evening and my friend A. and I had agreed it would be a simple pasta dinner and really just an excuse to get together. So why not?