Strawberry Basil Pasta Salad

I love anything that you can turn from a dish into a meal.  Throw a few little extras into a simple salad, and in no time you have a side dish gone full meal deal.  This salad had a lot of different flavors going for it, but they all seemed to work together nicely.  I will definitely make this again.

What you'll need:
6 cups dry pasta (Your favorite kind. I bought mine in bulk, so I have no idea how many ounces it is)
1 small cucumber diced, about 2 cups
3 cups sliced strawberries
1 can white or navy beans rinsed
1 3oz package prosciutto thin sliced
15 medium to large fresh basil leaves sliced into strips
3/4 cup feta crumbles
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon pesto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
Bag of baby spinach

Cook pasta, rinse with cold water and set aside.  In a large bowl, add diced cucumber, sliced strawberries, beans, prosciutto, and basil.  Toss until combined.  In a small bowl combine pesto, olive oil, pepper and salt.  Once pasta is cool add to large bowl.  Pour pesto dressing over pasta and toss until everything is well coated.  Serve over a bed of spinach.

This was really quick and full of flavor.  I love the contrast of the salty prosciutto, the sweet strawberries, and the creamy beans.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

This ice cream isn't messing around.  I have never bought or I'm not even sure tasted mascarpone, but I have now.  I didn't know what to expect, but I liked it.  Thick and creamy, the perfect addition to an ice cream base.

What you'll need:
1 small container mascarpone cheese (I think its 6oz)
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup strawberries crushed
1 cup sugar divided
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Shortbread cookies

Combine first 5 ingredients and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl and mix until almost doubles and looks more like whip cream, about 5 minutes.  Freeze according to ice cream makers instructions.

In a medium pan bring water, other half sugar and corn syrup to a boil.  Add strawberries.  Continue to boil for another 5 minutes or until has a syrup consistency.  Pour through mesh strainer into a small bowl and press with a spatula until just strawberry seeds and goop (not sure what you jam makers call that) remains.  Cool syrup in fridge or freezer to speed up.

Break up short bread into pieces.  You will want 2-3 cups depending on how small you crush your pieces.  Once ice cream is done, fold in cookies.  Don't add your strawberry sauce until it is completely cool.  Layer ice cream and syrup.  Let sit over night before serving, usually ice cream is really good fresh out of the ice cream maker when its more like soft serve.  I think this one defiantly needs to be solid.

I finally remembered to show you my Mini Yum Yum Machine.  Thanks Mom!

Good thing these recipes don't make a large batches.  Other wise I would never fit into my wedding dress.  Kam keeps telling me I need to stop cooking.  He doesn't mean it, at all. Enjoy!

Strawberry Gelato

It's becoming strawberry and blueberry season.  In my world, those are two different food groups that must be consumed in large quantities during the summer months or else certain death.  Its a rough life, but tolerable.  So Costco has the larger flats of strawberries in now, so I bought one of course!  Naturally the next thing to do was make ice cream, or gelato.  I actually made it 2 weeks ago, and never got around to posting it.  Then last night Kam looked at me as I was walking into the kitchen and told me to whip some up....riiiiight.  I'll just quickly throw that together for ya babe!


What you'll need:


3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar (divided 1/2 and 1/4)
2 egg yokes
1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


In a food processor or blender add strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Coarsely chop strawberries until you have about 1 1/2 cups.  Set aside.


Heat milk to a simmer.  In another bowl, whisk your egg yolks and sugar together until well combined.  Add cornstarch and salt.  Whisk until sugar/egg is no longer clumpy.  It will be a little dry, but if you use a whisk, it will combine.  Slowly add half of your simmering milk whisking continuously.


Slowly return mixture back into saucepan, whisking until all is combined.  Turn heat up to medium and switch to a wooden spoon.  You do not want it to boil so you may have to adjust your heat a time or two.  Keep stirring until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon, 4-5 minutes.  (If it gets too hot, the egg will begin to cook.)


Pour mixture through strainer into a bowl that will fit into a second bowl for an ice bath. Add strawberries and vanilla and whisk one final time.  Transfer bowl into large bowl with ice and water and leave until mixture is cool.  About 45 minutes.  Give it a quick stir every so often to keep a film from forming on top.  Once cool, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture.  Store in the fridge over night before adding to your ice cream maker.


I had a strawberry sauce that I had made for pancakes and stored the leftovers in the freezer a while back.  I thawed it out and we had that over our gelato.  Here is the recipe for that if you are interested, but the gelato is perfectly yummy without it!


Strawberry Sauce - (You may want to half this if you don't want a ton of left overs. Sorry, no process pictures.)


What you'll need:


5 cups crushed or chopped strawberries
1 1/2 cups water (divided)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice


Add strawberries, half of the water, and lemon zest into a medium pan and heat to boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Dissolve sugar in remaining water.  Remove strawberries from heat and mix in sugar water, lemon juice, and corn syrup.  Return to a boil and boil for another 5 minutes, stirring fairly often.  Allow to cool and serve with whatever your heart desires!  

Thank you Costco and California!

Not quite there....

The gelato was super light and creamy on its own, the sauce gave it an extra punch. I find the gelato be best after you remove it from the ice cream maker and freeze it for about 2 hours.  Its hard at this point but not too hard to scoop.  The next day, you may have to let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!