Helloooooo everyone. What a wonderful day it was! I can’t get over how much I love summer and sunshine. Today my boyfriend and I went to EAT! Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We gathered samples from a whole bunch of booths and munched our way through the entire event!
Several hours later though, I was hungry! I had bought some Kamut pasta at Whole Foods and I was very excited to use it. Since I am following a very specific diet to rid my body of candida, white pasta or even whole wheat is not the greatest for me to eat. Kamut, on the other hand is a variety of durum and is a very high protein wheat. It tends to cause fewer allergic reactions and is lower on the glycemic index, making it a great option for those who are sensitive to wheat or diabetic.
I decided on a recipe I have been wanting to try for quite some time now- “Pasta Della California” from “Veganomicon”. I’ve adapted it in several ways, though it is no longer vegan. Along with the use of kamut pasta, there are other ingredients in this recipe to make it quite healthy. The spinach is a fabulous source of vitamin A which is super important for your eyesight as well as a whole bunch of other lovely things like immune function and red blood cell production. The avocado contains healthy monounsaturated fats and plenty of potassium, B-vitamins, and fiber! Add in the garlic and broccoli and you have got some amazing health benefits all from one dish!
Pasta Della California-Sorta
- 1 16 oz. package kamut pasta (I used Artesian Acres brand)
- 3 cups broccoli (sliced into tiny florets and thin stalks)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp crushed garlic (this equals about 4-6 cloves…still less than the original recipe calls for!)
- zest of one lime
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
- 1/4 white whine
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- juice of one lime (about 2 tbsp)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- lots of freshly ground pepper!
- 4 cups loosely packed spinach leaves (excellent vitamin A! Woohoo!)
- 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, sliced into 1-inch chunks
- a couple of tbsp of pesto
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prep all your ingredients while you wait. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. Bear in mind that in the last minute of cooking you will be adding the broccoli.
Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, lime zest, and red pepper flakes. Gently heat, stirring often for about 2 minutes.
Pour in the wine and raise the heat to bring to a boil, to reduce the wine, about 2 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, lime juice, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, lower to a simmer. Add the spinach.
When the pasta is almost done, add the broccoli to the boiling pasta and cook for one more minute. Drain into a colander.
When the spinach is wilted, add the broccoli and pasta to the pan and use a pasta spoon to toss-get that garlic on everything!!
Cook for about 3 more minutes. Add the avocado and pesto and turn off the heat. Gently toss, but don’t smush the avocado!
Serve with generous grinds of black pepper and add a lovely basil garnish.
Enjoy!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take a picture of it so I shall link you to the original recipe and a lovely picture. BUT, I couldn’t post this without ANY pictures, so I decided I would let you all in on my garden! It’s my first time having a vegetable garden and everything I planted is growing like crazy!
The garden as a whole
“upside-down” tomatoes
My beautiful romaine lettuce!
Yummy parsley!
