Monday Munchies: Curry Pasta!

Monday is here again! And if for quite a number of people it can be a bit of tough Monday, going back to work after the Xmas break (here in Spain), we should always look forward to a new week that starts!

For this week's Monday Munchies I'm gonna take a break from all the cupcake recipes I've been sharing as of late, and share something a bit more healthy and more everyday like meal, which combines two of my fave things: pasta and curry! I love the smell of cooking with curry and spices, it makes me think of India and the bf!

Curry Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr farfalle (or any other pasta you have around).

- 2 onions

- 2 apples

- 1/2 lemon

- 1 teaspoon curry (or more, as you like it)

- 1 teaspoon corn flour

- 150 ml cream or double cream, the one for cooking only

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

Method:

- Peel, core and cut the apples in bite size bits. Squeeze the half lemon and pour it over the apple so it doesn't darken. Peel the onions and slice them, so you get long but thing onion bits.

- In a deep pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion for about 8 mins until it is soft and transparent. Add the apple bits, and also add with curry and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. Disolve de corn flour in the cream and add it to the pan. Cook in low heat for about 12 minutes stirring with the wooden spoon.

- Boil the pasta in salted water, according to the packet instructions. Drain them and mix them with the onions and apples. 

- Serve hot & Enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't like onions much, I don't and I love this dish! The onions aren't the main flavour here, and if you cook them right, they won't have the crunchy taste you might dislike!

Traveling Thursday: Italy!

Welcome everyone to my second edition of Traveling Thursday!


I've been to Italy twice, and I'd love to go back there at least once a year, and I'm sure my dear friend & bestie Náyade would love that! She moved there when we finished college/nursing school in 2002 cause she couldn't find work here, and she's been living there since, in the very gorgeous and amazing city of Firenze!


My visits to Italy have always been to visit my friend and also do a bit of sight seeing. On my first visit we saw Firenze, and did a few quick visits to Pisa, Lucca and Venice. I had a great time, and it was my first trip on my own, Náyade was picking me up on the airport, but I was doing the whole flying and layover in Nice on my own. Traveling on your own makes you realize how important it is to always bring a book with you, some music, and speaking English (and being able to understand & babble some Italian too ("Io capisco ma non parlo" is my fave phrase).

FIRENZE

Piazza de la Signoria with the fake David behind me

Ponte Vecchio and view of the Arno river

On top of the Duomo's dome, if there's a place with a few hundreds of stairs to claim, I'm all over it!

Piazza dei Miracoli (or where the leaning tower is) in Pisa

The leaning tower of Pisa was supposed to be just another Campanille...

VENICE

On top of the San Marco basilica

On Ponte Rialto

Any simple bridge has a beautiful view of the city really

On my second trip to Italy, I also visited my friend Sally in Milano. I have no pics of that trip on the lappy (either they were film and they're not scanned, or I lost the files on any of the previous deaths of laptops before I had my external HD back ups), but it was a fun trip. I landed at Firenze's airport, got the bus to the city, that stops at the train station (luckily for me) and had to run through it with my suitcase to catch the train to Milano. Shared a cabin with a stereotypical mamma and her sons, experienced the delays of the Italian regular trains, had a brilliant time in Milano, went out clubbing with Sally, had some vodka shots when we returned home, saw some Milano the next day and then went back to Firenze via the EuroStar (amazing fast train experience). Back in Firenze I waited for 3 to 4 bloody hours to see the Uffizi gallery (word of advice, always go with someone to queue for such a long time, it gets too bloody boring on your own!) and also managed to see the real Michelangelo's David.


After all the visits to Italy I always go back home with amazing photographs, some fun stories and a few extra pounds! But the amazing food (I love pasta!) and the even more amazing gelatos (that's ice cream, and the rest... well, can't compare!) are impossible to resist!

Monday Munchies: Macaroni with broccoli and tomatoes!

Monday Munchies are back! Mondays will be days to feed the tummy or the mind, so I'll keep alternating between books and recipes from now on!


Today's recipe is perfect for the warmer days ahead, it's very easy to make, very healthy and very quick! As usual, has been taken from the Spanish magazine "Easy Cooking" and translated by yours truly.




Macaroni with broccoli and tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1 small broccoli head
- 1 onion
- 1/4 kg cherry tomatoes
- 300 gr macaroni
- 80 gr grated cheese
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash the broccoli and cut the head into flowerets. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, cook for 8 to 10 minutes until it's al dente (tender but not too much). Drain and reserve them.

- Peel and cut the onion into julienne. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute the onion for about 8 minutes, till it starts to brown. Add salt and pepper, then the broccoli and saute 2 more minutes.

- Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Add them to the onion and broccoli and saute for about 3-4 more minutes. Add half a glass of water and a pinch of salt. Cover and let boil for 5 or 6 minutes, till all the juices are gone.

- Mix the veggies with the pasta. Mix well, add a drizzle of olive oil. Serve sprinkled with the grated cheese.

- Enjoy!