Swiss Chard and Ravioli

This is a great combination...layers of Swiss chard, ravioli, a simple bechamel sauce, dash of red sauce, mushrooms, gorganzola and parmesan cheese. It's a quick fix—a matter of building a dish rich in flavor and texture. Pre-heat oven to 400F. In a ovenproof plate layer Swiss chard that has been chopped and sauteed, add a layer of cooked ravioli, cover with a thin layer of white sauce (to make add heaping TBS of flour to 1 C.cold skimmed milk, season and heat, stirring until thick) , sprinkle with grated fresh nutmeg, drizzle with a ready-prepared red sauce, top with sauteed mushrooms and a layer of gorganzola bits, finally top with a layer of grated Parmesan, Bake a few minutes and then switch to broil until bubbly. Serves two

Pumpkin Ravioli with Brandy Ginger Cream

Here's a way to dress up store bought fresh pumpkin/butternut squash ravioli. Slice three small onions and start to carmelize in olive oil. Add 5 Tbs candied ginger and 1 cup walnuts until all are browned. Add 1+ cup soy creamer, 1 Tbs non-fat yoghurt, 2 Tbs marscapone, 1 tablespoon pumpkin butter...simmer. Remove from heat and stir in 3 Tbs brandy. Add a 1 Tsp ginger powder and bring back to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over ravioli that has been drained and top with grated parmesan. Serves four with six ravioli @ person

Zuchini Mint Summer Soup

This crunchy cool summer soup is a snap to make and is fat-free!. Take four small zuchinis , cut into thick slices and steam for a few minutes until tender but crisp. Into a food processor, throw in a large handful of fresh mint , four stalks of celery heart (roughly chopped), 1 cup of no-fat Fage Greek yoghurt, 2/3 pint fat-free soy creamer, the zuchini slices and a large tablespoon of mint sauce. Chill. Serves 2-3
For the mint sauce, which is great with lamb, put into a food processor: 2-3 cloves garlic, a large handful of fresh mint, a cup of rice vinegar and sugar to take the edge off...your call. You can play around with the quantities depending on how much of a bite you want by up or down sizing the garlic.

Salmon n' Citrus Salad

This is a quick salad for a hot summer day. I combined 1 tin of salmon with thin slices of fresh fennel ( 2 small), 1 raddichio, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper, fresh chives & dill, salt and pepper plus two cups of penne. I tossed these ingredients with a dressing of 1/3 C freshly squeezed tangerine juice (orange juice would do)whisked with olive oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 TB Lemonaise Lite , 1TB honey mustard. Unlike a vinaigrette I used more juice than olive oil for a lighter dressing...the mayonnaise and mustard gave it more body. Served 3 generously

Lemon Shrimp Pasta

This dish tosses shrimp, sugar snap peas,and orrechietto pasta with a lemony garlic sauce. First, I microwaved the sugar snap peas, defrosted some frozen ready-to-eat shrimp under running cold water, set them aside and put the pasta water on to boil. When the pasta is about ready, saute 5 cloves of garlic cut into small pieces and 3/4 of a thinly sliced lemon in olive oil until soft. Then add 1 TBS lemon oil, a splash of Madeira, some tarragon, 1 heaping TBS of creme fraiche, a shake of Mrs. Dash ( a salt free seasoning), stir and add shrimp. Cook for a few minutes and add peas until flavors are well melded ( 1-2 minutes). Toss in the pasta and serve. This recipe gives you ample servings for two in about 30 minutes.

Something different

I've been busy painting and haven't had time to write up any kitchen art..hope I haven't lost you. Here's an easy to prepare pasta dish with some unusual ingredients that turned out to be fabulous. Boil up some zucchetta pugliese pasta(they look like zuchinni-ends) or whatever pasta suits your fancy. While the pasta is cooking, dice four slices of Italian speck ( air dried bacon somewhat like prosciutto) and brown in olive oil with two cloves of diced garlic. Add one summer squash sliced on the diagonal, 1/2 sliced red pepper, a handful of walnuts, some thinly sliced radicchio ( aboout a half) and some herbs de Provence. Add a dash of Marsala and saute until tender. Then add 3 TBS crumbled goat cheese, a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese and a touch of soy creamer to thin mixture. Simmer for a few minutes and then toss in pasta and serve. Serves two

Cold Snap & Mellow Food

All I need is a winter storm and a cold snap to think of comfort food and a good excuse to turn the oven on in the kitchen. After New England's recent storm, this meal was a warm welcome to a dreary day. I browned a pork loin which I had seared in a cast iron pan— seasoned with Mrs. Dash
( no salt) and herbs de Provence— and then put in it a 325 degree oven. After 15 minutes, I slathered it with a mixture of 1/2 dijon mustard and 1/2 fig sauce and added a splash of port to the pan.
A half hour before the roast was done, I added more port to deglaze the pan. For sides, I microwaved some sweet potatoes, and made some sweet sour red cabbage with apple and onion. It's a quick fix...slice an onion, saute in a cast iron pan, add shredded red cabbage and a thinly sliced apple, pour blasamic vinegar over the mixture, stir, add a little water, and some sugar to taste. Cover until tender. After you slice the roast, deglaze pan again with port and then add a dollop of creme fraiche... or for fewer calories a TBS of soy creamer. Drizzle sauce over pork.