Recipe: Walnut Ricotta Pasta

I saw a cooking show the other day that showed how easy it is to make goat milk ricotta (someday i'll get around to testing that and then I'll post the recipe). The next day, I saw this recipe on a cooking show and tested it. Amazing blend of flavors! Sorry, no ingredient amounts so I just guess, and I'm sure you will too:

Ingredients:

1-2 cups walnuts

1-2 cloves garlic

1-2 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

pasta

Directions:

Place walnuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, but not a paste. Move to a bowl. Add the cheese and parsley, and mix well. Cook the pasta (wide egg noodles work well here). Add the pasta to the cheese bowl and mix (use a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid). Add a little of the pasta cooking water to thin as needed. Serve. Delicious!

I guess you could add salt/pepper if you desire!

No Call From Agent

I left a message for our agent early yesterday - via phone and e-mail, and asked for a call a.s.a.p. about when we can look at houses on Monday.

No call. No e-mail. And a former agent didn't call either. We couldn't even get a seller's agent to show us a listing that we're really interested in.

Is everyone in the real estate business here in the Denver area already taking off for Christmas?

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Meanwhile, today we decorated 2 stockings for Hubby's work. They gave us plain red felt stockings, we decorate and stuff, and return to Hubby's work with what age they're appropriate for. They will go to returning vets who won't have time to shop for their kids. Not masterpieces by any means, but still... we, as a family, decorated amidst arguments, spilt glitter-glue, and watching 2 christmas specials on TV.

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I got around to making both of the brie today... the brown sugar with grapes, and the herbs de provence. I'll try to add the pictures to this posting but it won't be at least until tomorrow. Hubby loved both; he's taking the leftover herbs cheese to work tomorrow (breakfast). I, of course, love all things sweet so together we finished off the 2 grapes and the 1 herbs. Yum! Simple, elegant, and outstanding.

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Tomorrow begins a full-week of 7-th grade testing for the Kid. He's not at all excited about it. Actually, gotta admit, neither am I. He is completely lost in math, so that will be testing at 3rd grade level, but the rest is 7th. I just love schooling him at home! No really, he's a good kid. And loves all of the literature I give him. He starts 8th grade coursework (except math!) in January, and he's excited about reading 1984,Watership Down, Kidnapped and many more. I'm also going to teach him basics for what I call "life skills" like gardening, manners, earning money, health and hygiene, etc. This will be his most intensive and busy school year yet. 12 months (with little breaks here and there). I just love child-led learning/education!

I'm so tired. I still have the lingering cough from the Swine Flu/H1N1-turned-bronchitis and am really really really tired of coughing and taking nyquil at night. They are getting rich off of me. Anyway, it's only 6:17 p.m. and I'm turning in for the night.

Hopefully my blogging will be back up to par soon. Thanks for stopping by! Vikki

Recipe: Goat Brie with Grapes

Finally added pic 12/31/09:


I bought a lot of goat brie on sale last week (I love "orange sticker" sales, don't you?!?!), so I thought I'd do another recipe that Jessica and I did that "cheese-tasting" party. Believe me... this one is very addictive!

Ingredients:
-goat milk brie
-brown sugar
-red grapes

Directions:
Pan-spray a baking pan or cookie sheet. Cut the brie in half, horizontally, to make 2 thin circles of brie instead of having 1 thick circle. Place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle each with brown sugar (we used dark). Cut red grapes in half and place cut side down on the sugared-brie. Bake in 350 degree F oven until the cheese and sugar get bubbly. Serve with plain or dessert cracker. This is a dessert that is beyond yummy!

Be careful as the cheese gets very hot.

Note: I don't usually buy grapes because they are very hard to properly clean, and are among the top items of produce that carry residual pesticides. However, sometimes I feel lucky when I'm in the health food store so I get some.

Can you use green grapes? Sure, if you want to, but green grapes are a little more sour, and the taste won't be as delectable as when you use red grapes. Your choice.

Recipe: Goat Brie with Herbs de Provence

Finally got around to posting the pic... 12/31/09:


I bought some herbs the other day, including a little bulk baggie of "herbs de provence". This is a combination of winter savory, thyme, rosemary, basil, tarragon, and lavender flowers. I had a wonderful idea in mind when I picked them up and put them in my cloth bag. Goat brie topped with herbs.

Funny story. Several years ago, before Hubby, I had a friend, Jessica. She and her family lived in an odd small house, with ducks in the backyard. We (them and the Kid and I) shared a meal from time to time, and it was during one of these easy meals that Jessica and I realized there were so many non-cow cheeses out there that we'd never tried. So... one weekend, we went to the cheese section of the local health food store, and bought all kinds of goat and sheep-milk cheeses. There were several packages of brie. Here's what we did with one:

Ingredients:
-goat's milk brie
-herbs de provence

Directions:
Pan-spray a cookie sheet or baking pan. Cut a circle of brie in half, horizontally, so that you'll have 2 circles of brie. Place each on the baking pan. Sprinkle herbs de provence on each, pretty much covering them. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until melted and bubbly.

Serve with crispy crackers or toast points. It's ok to eat the rind! And be careful... the cheese is very hot on the roof of your mouth!

Guess what Hubby gets this weekend! Can't wait!