Creamy Penne Pasta Bake with Zucchini

A light and creamy pasta bake recipe for Spring.

Mac and cheese gets a makeover. Just in time for swimsuit shopping (also affectionately known around here as the annual Parade of Shame). It's time to start cooking light again, and give your body a break from all that white rice pasta, butter, and double cheese. It's time to kiss bacon good-bye. Hot weather is coming, Babycakes. The beach and poolside beckon. And I am not prepared. Are you?

I've been lax with my downward facing dogs (actually, I'm forbidden to do downward facing dogs these days, but that's another story). My lumbo-pelvic complex is cranky. My core is catnapping. And my biceps need curling. Or something like that. What it basically means is I've got some flab I need to banish. Remember that roll around my middle I call Doris? She's still here. She has not skedaddled. My usual winter weight gain of five hibernation pounds is eight this year.

I could blame those Raspberry Coconut-Almond Bars my husband keeps making (he who can eat cookies and brownies and still sport flat abs). I could blame fructan and fructose, and various unfriendly members of FODMAPs who may be the bottom line bloat culprit in my ongoing emulation of my halcyon pregnancy days (those of you with IBS symptoms despite going gluten-free might want to look into this fructose and polyol thing- it appears to have some merit).

But mostly I blame how much time I spend on the iMac. Sitting. Typing. Sitting some more. Social networking. The Internet is an amazing gift. But it is damn hard on the body. I'm vowing to get up and move more frequently. Shake my booty. Feel the burn. Or at least feel some heat.

So just in case you're in the same mood, too. I've made a lighter version of the classic baked mac and cheese.

I used gluten-free brown rice penne with rice bran for the pasta. Organic soy milk and Smart Balance vegan "butter" for the cream sauce. Zucchini and garlic and chives for a flavor boost. And it was fab. Light. Creamy. Perfect for Spring.


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Raw Zucchini Pasta in a Vegan Curry Cream Sauce

Pasta made from raw zucchini? Yes, Darling.

I'm not usually one to focus a recipe around a cooking gadget. Though Amazon knows, I love me my kitchen power tools as much as any scratch cook out there. A gluten-free goddess has gotta have some fun, after all. And sometimes, to change things up, you need to break out of your routine and try something completely new. Which, not surprisingly, brings me to pasta.

I love pasta. Especially gluten-free pasta. But I don't love cranking up the gas stove to boil big pots of water when the kitchen is already steamy with late summer heat and I'm faint and famished (and did I mention, hot flashing like some cussing heaving alligator from the swamps of wherever it is they film True Blood?). I may idly dream of gleaming white porcelain bowls heaped with mounds of angel hair or spaghetti kissed by a delicate cream sauce, but I'm not inclined to heat up my kitchen just to satisfy this culinary craving. I get cranky and sweaty just thinking about it.

So I started investigating raw pasta. Which led me to discover a modest little kitchen tool that makes magic happen. A spiral slicer that turns August's ubiquitous zukes into tender strands of pasta. And not like, puny three inch strands. 

I'm talking long, lovely, curvy strands of angel hair spaghetti.

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Roasted Eggplant Tapenade + Pasta Sauce

Roasted eggplant tapenade also makes a delicious pasta sauce.

Yesterday was summery here in Southern California. In a Meg Ryan breezy kind of way- not in a sultry no air peel off your jeans, cowboy boots and socks Jennifer Lopez in U Turn kind of way. Nope. Sunny and warm it was- but not hot like New Mexico.

We've moved into our sublet (above one of Santa Monica's most famous vegan restos). The Honda is Cuisinart and bread machine and wooden spoon free again- after lugging armloads of bags and boxes (via elevator, thank goddess) up to our cozy fourth floor cutie. Yesterday we walked to the ocean, inhaling deep. In truth? I am exhausted. Running on gluten-free fumes. Too tired to shop or cook or make even the tiniest decision, never mind attempt to be clever and insightful and entertaining in a recipe post.

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Vegetarian Puttanesca for Two

Easy pasta putanesca- gluten-free with rice spaghetti.

Oh, you paint, too? is the faint, flat interest we get, we artist's wives who paint. Inevitably followed by, Isn't that difficult? In fact, I assure them, it couldn't be easier. (Try being married to a real estate agent who sprays Sun-In in his hair, I want to say, but don't.)

The scene is my husband's art opening and I play my role with decorum, clutching my plastic cup of Australian Chardonnay.

Do you compete? Darling, this question says a lot more about you than than me. No, I always answer, trying not to audibly sigh. We mutually admire. Then comes the big one. The favorite question.

Does he influence your work? (The subtext being, of course, he is the man, after all.)

I influence his, I answer, slugging down the last warm drop of wine. They will smile their awkward smile at this and wobble toward the grapes and brie. The word tedious comes to mind.

I catch my husband looking at me through the peanut nibbling crowd. He raises an ironic eyebrow. I laugh. A sparkled perfumed woman leans in to him for a kiss on the cheek. He is polite. I will tell him later he smells like Bloomingdale’s.

At home he will make me an ice cold vodka martini. We will kick off our shoes and eat spaghetti to Chet Baker. So what's on your agenda for tomorrow? he will ask. Maybe painting, I will say with a yawn. Or blogging. I'm not just an Artist's Wife, you know. 

Nope, he always says. You're the cutest girl ever.

Yeah, I remind him, You're lucky I'm a new-school feminist.

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A Vegan Basil Mint Parsley "Pesto"

A lip smacking raw vegan pesto. Yep. You heard me.

We're getting so close to our departure now I can taste it. The house is swept and cleaned, boxes and bags are packed. Anticipation is hanging in the desert air. You can almost hold it in your cupped open hands. The hardest part will be trying to sleep Saturday night. I told Steve, If it's 3 AM and we're lying side by side in the dark listening to the whir of the ceiling fan, just waiting, can we get up and go? Why not? he responded.

This earned him some extra bonus points.

Not that he needs any. His bonus point status is pretty high to begin with these days. We've had an exciting week. I'm so proud of him. His first script sale, an independent movie titled The Canyon just released its first trailer. If you'd like to catch a sneak peek at the movie, see The Canyon trailer here. You'll see why I fell in love with Yvonne Strahovski and Will Patton when we visited the set.

So what does all this California dreamin' taste like? I decided it tastes like basil and mint with a bite of parsley. 

Green. Earthy. Alive.

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Vegan Pasta Pie with Mushrooms, Garlic and Tomatoes

My vegan version of a savory pasta pie- 
no eggs, dairy or tofu. Seriously.

This savory pie recipe reminds me of a roasted vegetable frittata. Or my Roasted Vegetable Noodle Kugel, even. I invented it because I was craving a simple one-dish pie for supper- something easy and light and bordering on picnic food- with guaranteed leftovers. Because- and I tell you this with all the happy feet gyrations of a gypsy heart locked inside a hot flashing nest-eschewing body- we're boxing books again- we're storing art and family pictures and files and (most of) our movie collection. We're selling our furniture, consigning everything from roomy chairs and Mexican tables to Kilim pillows and punched tin mirrors. A truck arrives today to haul the lot to Santa Fe.

Even though the house has not sold.

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Penne Arrabiata with Brown Rice Pasta

Gluten-free penne arrabiata- spicy and easy

The last meal of our two-week honeymoon in Italy was in Rome- on the way to the airport. And I'll never forget it. It was penne tossed in a spicy red sauce. My first Arrabiata. Here's my gluten-free version- a simple and fast recipe perfect for a weeknight supper.

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Sexy Spring Pasta- with roasted asparagus & tomatoes

Simple and romantic: pasta with roasted asparagus and tomatoes.

Today's recipe is a romantic, sexy spring pasta sauce with balsamic roasted asparagus and tomatoes. Because it's snowing. There's a foot of the white stuff. Ridiculous. Our morning appointment with our real estate broker was canceled. Oh, did I mention? We're putting our house on the market. Los Angeles beckons.

Aside from my husband's screenwriting momentum, these ole bones of mine (not to mention, my spare parts) are too creaky for winters with snow. Two years ago, when we planned our big move west, I was naive enough to imagine kinder temperatures. A January with no snow shovels. February afternoons sunny and warm enough to peel off your apple-green cardigan, roll up your sleeves, and drink in vitamin D old school style. Maybe south, in Las Cruces.

But not here north of Santa Fe. And so I find myself once again turning toward the new, welcoming change. Packing away family photos and books to simplify rooms and coax potential buyers into imagining their own conversations and meals and lovemaking in this space.

This space in the desert that has been my shelter- and my tabla rasa. Where I have shed old skins and birthed a new sense of self- in startling and unexpected ways. Interesting, isn't it? Living here has been so different than I imagined. Difficult, even. And yet. So good for me. It's been all about the process of change.

And lucky for me- I think change is sexy.

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The Best Vegan Baked Mac & Cheese Recipe

My favorite gluten-free mac and cheese is 

also vegan and dairy-free. Seriously.

Some folks do it up fancy for V-day. Lobster. Steak. Chocolate-dipped strawberries. Not us. This morning when I asked my husband what he wanted me to make for our Valentine's Day meal, he didn't hesitate.

Mac and cheese. You? he asked.

Mac and cheese, I answered.

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Gluten-Free Vegetarian Lasagna

Gluten-free lasagna - my favorite Italian comfort food.

This a hearty vegetarian lasagna recipe spiked with a touch of hot pepper heat and unexpected dots of sweetness from the golden raisins. And the best part? It tastes even better the next day. So plan ahead.

It is wild and windy here by the mesa. Spring has sprung. The skies are thick with sheets of rain, gray and pitted with bursts of hail that hammer our flat casita roof then disappear beyond the mesa as quickly as it came. Low churning clouds obscure the distant peaks of the Jemez. The young jack rabbits are hiding. Even the ravens are tucked away from sight today.

We have been kindling fires in the kiva to warm us. And I have been conjuring comfort. In the form of vegetarian lasagna.

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Spaghetti with White Vegetables and Pine Nuts

In celebration of the first snow- here is a delectable recipe from my vegetarian cookbook, adapted to be gluten-free. Snowy cauliflower and sweet cabbage are accented with the crunch of pine nuts on creamy white rice pasta. Wonderfully delicious.

Spaghetti with White Vegetables and Pine Nuts Recipe

White on white makes an elegant and romantic pasta. The hint of lemon is lovely.

1 pound Tinkyada White Rice Spaghetti
3 tablespoons light olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, peeled, diced
2 cups cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1/2 head white cabbage, cored, cut and thinly shredded
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pine nuts
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
Juice of half a lemon
3-4 tablespoons cream or non-dairy cream

Crumbled fresh goat cheese for garnish

Bring a large pot of fresh salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti till al dente. Warm up a large pasta serving bowl.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat and gently sauté the onion for 5 minutes until soft- don't let them brown too much. Add in the cauliflower, cabbage, garlic, pine nuts, sea salt, ground pepper, and fennel. Squeeze on the lemon juice. Sauté until the vegetables are tender-crisp and the nuts are toasted. Stir in the cream.

When the pasta is al dente, drain and pour the spaghetti into the warmed pasta bowl, and drizzle a little olive oil on the pasta to moisten it. Toss lightly to coat. Add your white vegetables/nuts mixture and stir to combine.

Serve at the table with a small bowl of fresh crumbled goat cheese, for garnish. A crisp green salad of baby greens is the perfect accent.

Serves 4.

Karina's Notes:

If you don't have pine nuts on hand try slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts.

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Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts, Raisins & Pecans

Sexy gluten-free pasta for two.

When I learned I had celiac disease, the first thought I lurched into was: Pasta! No more pasta? That was December 2001 and it was a cold, dark day, indeed. I was devastated. I *heart* pasta. I lurve pasta. Just the very thought of pasta perks up my appetite and sparks my desire for saucy food and spicy romance. You know, sultry jazz and candlelight. Spaghetti dripping with garlicky olive oil. Pesto coated penne. Putanesca sauced linguine. Roasted vegetable stuffed lasagna. Creamy shells. The soft reliable comfort of macaroni and cheese.

My pasta love runs deep and true.

No wonder. My husband and I honeymooned in Tuscany, Italy. Talk about love food! Honey Baby, we have been in love- and in love with Italian food- ever since. Why? If it isn't obvious, let me count the ways.

Start with sensuous and fruity extra virgin olive oil. Or the intoxicating mingle of garlic and fresh lemon. Balsamic vinegar drizzled on a roasted peach. The brilliant combo of basil leaves and pine nuts. Soft, creamy globes of mozzarella sliced thin and snuggled in between disks of juicy ripe tomatoes. Crisp white wine and nibbles of salty sweet Parmesan. Oh my.

What's not to love, Dear Reader?

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Pasta Smothered with Roasted Vegetables

A pan of glorious vegetables and garlic ready for roasting

It's the time of year for roasting. And this sweater-clad goddess couldn't be happier. Roasted vegetables are my favorite comfort food. I love my roasted veggies with unabashed passion. Balsamic vinegar, fruity olive oil and sea salt make for simple, fabulous roasting, complementing the caramelized sweetness of the vegetables with a perfect touch of salty-tart [and darling, who doesn't appreciate a little salty tart?].

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Imagining the New

 Roasted vegetables on brown rice pasta.

The house is looking bare now but for boxes stacked in corners [scribbled with colored markers: art books, cook books, fiction, Jungian]. The movers will be here May 1st. We're moving only books, paintings, music, photos, and the boys' artwork/school projects.

The next big thing is the estate sale. I’ve been piling all the odds and ends and books for sale in the downstairs studio. Clothes gathering in the spare closet wait for strange shoulders and hips - somber winter coats and velvet skirts and black designer dresses I will never wear again [not that I wear many dresses – I live in jeans; two dresses still sported TJ Maxx price tags from the fall of 2002.] We’re selling every stick of furniture.

The more I shed the more I want to shed.

Food has been simple, pure comfort food. Last night was Tinkyada brown rice pasta tossed in butter and olive oil and grated Parmesan, then smothered with balsamic roasted vegetables spiked with garlic and capers and charred just enough, so tender and sweet they melted on the tongue. The Pinot slid down easily. We held hands and conjured New Mexico and future margaritas. Kivas and nichos. Vigas and coyote fences. We imagined where we might be. What kind of space? A streamlined loft? A small casita? We are open to everything.

Three weeks to go.

Our Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

Just in time for Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen, Steve brought home two hefty bunches of fresh California basil from our local organic produce market. A big green treat for mid-February. And since basil lore links the peppery-minty herb with amore, I figured the timing was perfect for pesto.

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with the intoxicating seduction of fresh basil and garlic?

Having your way with pesto...

Sauce it:

Classic pesto is served as a flavorful raw sauce, perfect for cooked pasta in all sizes and shapes.

Slather it:

Pesto is terrific spread on sliced focaccia, gluten-free toast, baked potato skins, or your favorite pizza shell. Steve's favorite pizza recipe: Stir a dollop of pesto on cooked sliced red potatoes; spoon the potatoes on top of a partially baked gluten-free pizza crust and top with crumbled goat cheese . Throw on a handful of sliced ripe olives, some roasted red peppers and feta to add a Greek touch.

Stir it:

Pesto is a wonderful flavor spike for Italian inspired soups. Stir in a spoonful to liven up a minestrone, chunky potato, bean, or garlicky chicken and greens soup. Or float a pesto-slathered crouton in a bowl of fresh tomato bisque.

Spike it:

Options make pesto so individual. Add garlic- or don't. Use pecans, walnuts, almonds or pine nuts. Change out the basil for cilantro or parsley and mint. Add a roasted red pepper or some olives. Pesto can be as varied (and inventive), or as traditional as you make it. And remember, it's wise to taste test and balance the flavors. Have a nibble. Is it a balance of herby- nutty- garlicky- cheesy- salty?

Our Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

My husband Steve has become the primo pesto maker in the family. Here's his basic recipe.

3 cups washed, fresh basil leaves, stems removed, patted dry
2-4 garlic cloves, peeled- according to taste
1/3-1/2 cup pecans, pine nuts, almonds or walnuts
10 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional- omit for vegan
Pinch of sea salt, if desired

Combine the above ingredients in a food processor and pulse it on and off until it becomes a smooth paste. Taste test for seasoning and texture adjustments.

Use immediately, or cover and chill.

If it becomes stiff add some extra virgin olive oil and stir till smooth.

Pesto will darken if exposed to high heat and will lose its vibrant green color, so don't "cook" pesto in a hot pan or add it to hot pasta in a hot pot; rather, transfer the cooked pasta into a bowl first- then add the pesto and stir gently.

Serve this basil pesto as an appetizer spread on toasted bread, baked artichoke hearts, or triangles of flatbread. Or toss it with warm pasta, roasted potatoes or carrots. Spoon it on toast, croutons, pizza shells or crackers.

To keep the pesto fresh, I layer mine with a thin coat of extra virgin olive oil on the top before I cover and store it in an air-tight container, chilled. Storage isn't usually a concern, as pesto disappears quickly in our house.

Some folks like to freeze pesto in ice cube trays, but I've never had enough extra pesto to set aside.

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Roasted Vegetables in a Nest

Tender, sweet roasted vegetables in a nest of gluten-free pasta.

Last night was a night for roasting. There's nothing so easy as roasted vegetables. And nothing quite as tender and sweet. All those natural sugars softening and caramelizing into deep toned jewels of melting charred goodness. It's enough to soothe any gloomy girl's heart. Especially against-the-current girls who dream of Venice Beach and don jean jackets and flip-flops instead of downy winter coats and wool scarves.

Especially in February.

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