Bribery Pasta by Michael Anthony

Dinner the other evening was green from start to finish, and to boot, gluten free. Now, you don't have to go that route if you love your traditional semolina pastas. I have been trying to limit my glutens a bit, as I have a skin condition that seems irritated by too many glutens (as well as other baddies) in my diet. SO! I tried out Barilla Pasta's chick pea pasta. I have to say that we loved its nutty flavour. I cooked it al dente so it never got mushy, which can happen real fast with other GF pasta products.

Anyway, the real star of this dish is all the fresh green veg in the slice and dice. Just look! Broccoli, Swiss chard, green onions and their slivered green tops, plus onions and garlic. There is far more veg in this dish than there is pasta.

Chicken with Broccoli and Cashews

Nothing beats a good fast, stir-fry. In the time you can velvet the meat and steam a pot of rice, you can also slice and dice vegetables and aromatics, mix a thickener and get your wok good and hot. Then, it's all slapdash toward the finish - a gorgeous bowl of chicken with broccoli and cashews.
Here's how I did it.

Harissa Ravioli and a Red Japanese Maple

... there is nothing like a good bowl of veg and pasta ...

Creamy Polenta with Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

We're getting really beautiful broccoli from the garden right now! The other day, we picked a head that was as large as a bridal bouquet ... so lovely with nice tight florets and brilliant green stems with that lovely velvety look. Golly, I love the summertime produce!

Orzo Salad and Roasted Chicken Breasts in Garlic and Lemon

Oh, man! I love high summer ... it seems that the garden is giving up all sorts of good stuff. It's time for new broccoli and last night's dinner consisted of a warm orzo salad made with broccoli florets, pignoli, slivers of avocado, bits of shallots, and a dressing made with broccoli pesto, a touch of sour cream and lemon zest. A salad like this just cries out for a nicely roasted piece of chicken or grilled salmon or bluefish ... we opted for roasted peppery chicken breasts that were laying in a dozen pieces of roasted garlic cloves and big fat slices of lemon - luscious! Just imagine our plates rounded out with fat, juicy slices of tomatoes and cold, crispy cucumber spears ... Oh, man! I love high summer ... but you already knew that! Right?

Two Words ...

New Cookbook

Roasted Vegetables

Cold Eggs

Fresh Herbs

Salad Bowl

Broccoli Gribiche

Building a Better Pizza ...

 ... vegetables and lean meat under some cheese

I love thick snowy white crusted pizzas that are loaded with cheese and sausage and peppers and mushrooms, but ... my backside and midriff don't so much. Sooo ... I'm making a pizza with a higher fiber crust, some very lean chicken, broccoli florets, red pepper slices, a bit of onion slivers, a more reserved amount of part-skim mozzarella ... and some herbs and garlic.  I'm also cutting way back on the amount of olive oil that gets slathered, the dollops of basil pesto that would get dropped, and the salty black olive bits. I'll def miss those salty bits and all that herb-y slather, but ... this will still be a great pizza!