Recipes :: Quick & Easy Meals

I made this meal in twenty minutes and so can you. I have been exploring something lately. I realize that SO many people do not cook, whether it be laziness, not having enough time, not feeling confident enough and so on. I realize that most people may not have the same passion for food and cooking as I do. But I hope to inspire more people to cook and to show them just how easy it can be to prepare high quality, flavorful and healthy dishes. I am by no means a chef, I am just a girl that happens to of spent most of her life being one hundred percent in love with food and every corner of the industry. It's something I love doing and it benefits you in so many ways.

I have been brainstorming ideas for a new blog. This one will revolve around people and what they eat. "The Food Diaries" will be about what people actually eat, how much time they make for cooking and their experiences with food. I will interview a wide range of people; from food industry professionals, to home cooks and everyone else in between. I am just getting structure behind it and will hopefully get it launched within a few weeks. If anyone is interested in being part of it please reach out to me. As for the dishes above I made this quickly and easily after a long day at work. So if I can do it, so can you. Here's how.

Having a few great tools in the kitchen really can make a difference. My mandoline or hand slicer is fabulous. You can get a great one for as little as $15 bucks. It makes fast, thin slices of any vegetable. You can make a salad in a matter of five minutes that can impress anyone, that will make even none vegetable lovers love it. People who hate veggies, hate them because they havent had them prepared properly. It doesn't take much for a vegetable to shine. As little as a squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. It tastes great and you actually feel better after you eat it. Another tool I swear by is my Micro plane a long wand of razor like blades that will shave anything. Great for cheese and zesting. A little lemon zest can really brighten up a pasta or dressing. One of my biggest no no's is bottled dressings. They suck! They are usually too heavy and strong. So much so that they completely overpower a salad. Not only that they are usually totally fattening. This is not all dressings and I correct myself in saying that. But I find that usually a little splash of vinegar or lemon with olive oil really is a serious improvement. Now on to the actual recipe! Enough of my non-sense. :) Happy Cooking!!

I made two dishes one large salad and a quick light pasta dish.

Ingredients

for salad

mixed greens (mine had herbs in addition)
fennel bulb
can of white canellini beans
radish
red wine vinegar
olive oil
pepper and sea salt

for pasta

fresh fettucine (a lot of stores sell fresh pasta as apposed to dried)
handful of basil
sundried tomatoes
olive oil
lemon
parmesan

Method

Heat a pot of water for your pasta. Meanwhile place salad greens in a bowl, using a mandolin slice fennel and radishes. Rinse white beans and throw in the salad. Drizzle with olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) and a splash of red wine vinegar (1 tablespoon). Season with sea salt and pepper. Toss and adjust seasoning to preference. With a handheld emulsion blender (or blender or food processor) blend a handful of fresh basil with a little olive oil. Season with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. Cook pasta to directions, fresh pasta cooks a lot faster, mine took 4 minutes. Drain pasta and toss in the fresh basil puree and add a handful of chopped sundried tomatoes. Once again check seasoning. Shave fresh parmesan on top. Finito.

© Nicole Franzen Photography