Rigatoni Al Forno

Yesterday we had friends come over to our "Swedish" home for dinner and a Uno card game. I made this dish. It's great because you can "hide" a lot of vegetables which could otherwise be hard for some to eat such as carrots for Bella.


Rigatoni Al Forno
6 cup cooked Rigatoni pasta
2 cup tomato pasta sauce or my lentil bolognese sauce
1 tbs canola oil
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1/3 cup leeks, diced
1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
Salt to taste
Chili pepper
to taste 2 tbs margarine
2 tbs white all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup milk (I used oat)
1 cup cheese (I used rice)

Preheat oven for F450/226C
Heat oil in frying pan and fry carrots on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and leeks and fry another 3 minutes. Add corn, salt and chili pepper and blend well. Blend in a baking dish with pasta. Melt margarine in a sauce pan on medium heat and when melted and flour and blend quickly to a paste. Add milk and whisk until there are no lumps. Bring to a boil. Blend tomato sauce and white sauce with pasta mix carefully. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Sprinkle cheese over and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Yummy for my tummy in Stockholm

So sorry about the lack of postings lately but there are many things going on in my life right which I soon will share. I have arrived to Stockholm and having a few days to my self before James and Bella arrives. I have spent most of the time enjoying the summer in the city, vegetarian lunch at Herman's and swedish strawberries. At Herman's I ate a wonderful white lasagne and raspberry pie for dessert. Swedish strawberries are amazing and different from the american ones. They are smaller and sweeter and before midsummer very expensive. I still enjoyed a box of them. I've been a little pale and tired lately so I've been working on adding more iron to my diet and strawberries contains good amount of iron and vitamin C. For dinner I had spinach soup which normally would also be a iron source but I made it with oat milk containing calcium which depletes the iron.

Lunch from the best vegetarian restaurants in the world

Little berries with so much flavor

Spinach soup

1 tbs canola oil

1 cup spinach, fresh or frozen

2 tbs all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil on medium heat in a pot and satay the spinach until wilted or melted if using frozen. Sprinkle flour all over and blend quickly. Add milk and whisk until no lumps. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Baked apples

This is a super easy and semi-healthy dessert I made for my family yesterday and they absolutely loved it. I served it with some yogurt but I think ice cream or cream would be fantastic.

Baked granola apples

1 large apple, peeled and diced

1/2 tbs agave nectar

1/2 cup granola

Preheat oven for f400

Place apple pieces in a oven safe dish, drizzle agave nectar all over apples. Sprinkle the granola in a even layer and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Bean stew

I'm sorry for my lack of post. The past two weeks has been all about nursing our family back to health from stomach flu which now have gone through the whole family. This stew was nice creamy stew which is inspired from a recipe from the Mayo clinic cook book but instead of using only Tuscan white beans I also added green lentils. It's a perfect family dinner meal.

Bean stew

1 cup white beans, soaked over night

1 cup green lentils, rinsed

6 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

2 tbs olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cup vegetable stock or broth

Place water, beans, salt and bay leaf in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered with a lid for about 45 minutes. Add lentils and keep cooking for another 15 minutes or until beans and lentils are soft. Drain beans and lentils, saving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Remove bay leaf. Take the liquid and 1/2 cup of beans mix. Mix to a paste and mix in with the remaining bean mix.

In the pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat and fry the onion, carrot and potatoes for about 5 minutes. Add stock, pepper and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Fancy oatmeal

I love my oatmeal in the morning and now I'm having fun blending different kinds to make a fun and more nutrient rich breakfast.

Fancy oatmeal

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/8 cup quinoa

1/8 cream of wheat

3 dried apricots, diced

1 tbs flax seeds

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup water

Blend everything in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until quinoa and oats are done.

Healthy again and loving it

There is nothing like having the stomach flu for a few days to make you appreciate feeling better. Unfortunately, Bella got sick again but as of today she is feeling better to, phew. I had a simple vegetable soup for lunch today and made a grilled sandwich to go with it. It's very simple and fast but along the soup it made a hearty lunch.

Grilled sandwich

Ciabatta bread, sliced

mustard

sliced tomatoes

cheese (I used rice)

Paprika powder

Preheat oven to 450F

Spread mustard on bread. Place sliced tomatoes and cheese over. Sprinkle paprika and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.