Birthday Dinner

It was my Mom's birthday last Saturday so I cooked up something reaaaaallll nice AND used my favorites from the farmer's market :) This is super easy and looks like you put in a ton of time and effort....ya right.I am proud to say, now that I have a fully stocked pantry - when planning this meal the only things I had to run out and get was the Sourdough bread and blackberries which I picked up right in town at the Farmer's Market. Ahh, life is good.

Menu:
-Tomato, Mint & Feta Salad
-Homemade Sourdough Garlic Bread (Farmers Market Pick)
-Spinach Fettuccine with Artichokes
-Wild blackberry Cornbread Tartlets with Ricotta Cream (Farmer's Market Pick)

Tomato, Mint & Feta Salad

Ingredients:
3 cups small grape and or heirloom tomatoes chopped in half
4 T olive oil
3/4 C feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Handful of fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
Balsamic Glaze (enough to drizzle over dish)

Instructions:
- Toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, a couple big pinches of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Toss with cheese and mint. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over dish a few times, depending on how strong you want it. It's a new take on the traditional TBM (Tomato, basil and mozzarella) I think it definitely stacks up.
This would also taste sinful with strawberries in place of the tomatoes, do you dare?

Homemade Garlic Bread 

Ingredients:

4-5 slices Sourdough Bread ( I got mine at the farmers market)
2 bulb roasted garlic
Olive Oil
Parmigiano Romano cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

Roast glove garlic - preheat oven to 400, slice off top of bulb, place in muffin pan, cover the top with olive oil and cover the bulb with tinfoil. Cook 35 minutes.

Turn oven down to 350. Brush bread with enough olive oil so that it is lightly covered , add about 5 turns of salt and pepper grinder. Add about a  1T of the cheese on each slice and put in the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Then take the roasted garlic and spoon out the cloves which should be soft and spread 1 -2 cloves on each slice depending on how much garlic you like. Add another T of cheese and salt and pepper if you like. Put back in the oven for 8 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Spinach Fettuchini with Artichokes

Loosely adapted from Foodfit.com

3 oz spinach fettuccine
2 t. extra virgin olive oil
8 oz canned artichokes, cut into quarters
2 cups fresh spinach, shredded
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 clove garlic, minced
3 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 t chopped parsley

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the artichokes and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and and spinach and cook for 2 more minutes or until spinach has just wilted.

3. Drain the fettuccine, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Return the fettuccine to the pot and toss with 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese and the reserved cooking liquid. Add the artichoke/ spinach mixture and toss again.
4. Place the fettuccine in a warm bowl and garnish with the remaining Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.

I like to add EXTRA spinach because I had some left over from the farmer's market and because it is so good for you. If you are a meat eater, you could also add some organic or farm feed chicken breast, cut into chunks.

Wild Blackberry Cornbread Tartlets and Ricotta Cream
Courtesy of Vegetarian Times 

Ingredients:

Cornbread

1/2 cup  yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup  unbleached white flour

3 tablespoons  sugar

1 teaspoon  baking powder

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1/2 cup  milk

1 large  egg

2 tablespoons  unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup  fresh or frozen corn kernels (from 1 ear fresh corn)

Blackberries

2 6-ounce  containers fresh blackberries (Farmers Market Produce Pick!)

6 T. sugar

Ricotta Cream

1 cup  ricotta cheese, preferably fresh (1/2 pound)

1/4 cup  sugar

1 1/2 t.  vanilla extract

1/2 t.  grated orange zest

Directions

1. To make Cornbread: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk together milk and egg in separate bowl. Fold milk mixture into flour mixture until moistened. Stir in melted butter until just combined. Fold in corn kernels.

2. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake 14 minutes, or until golden. Transfer pans to cooling rack, and cool 10 minutes; then unmold cornmeal tartlets, and cool completely on wire rack.

3. To prepare Blackberries: Toss blackberries with sugar and pinch of salt in medium bowl; let stand 20 minutes to release juices.

4. To make Ricotta Cream: Whisk together ricotta, sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest in small bowl until creamy.

5. To serve: Slice domed tops off muffins with serrated knife to make flat base. Reserve tops for another use. Top each cornbread tartlet with spoonful ricotta cream and 3 or 4 blackberries. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 151, Total Fat 4.5 g, Saturated Fat 2.5 g, Cholesterol 26 mg, Sodium 120 mg, Carbohydrate 23 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 4 g, Sugars 15 g.

Until next time...eat, love, live and eat some more.