Lemon Buttermilk Pudding

 

Lemon Buttermilk Pudding

2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 cup sugar plus one tablespoon
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
zest of one lemon
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan place sugar and cornstarch and mix well making sure there are no lumps. Add buttermilk, heavy cream, and lemon zest and stir well. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks till light and fluffy and set aside. Cook milk mixture on medium heat till just shy of boiling. Add milk mixture to eggs 1/3 cup at a time stirring constantly so eggs don't scramble and so on. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in the pan. Cook till slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Cook again till mixture starts to thicken. Let pudding cool slightly and pour into serving dishes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with fruit or your choice. Makes 4 servings.

Mascarpone and Sage Pasta

Mascarpone and Sage Pasta

1 pound gf pasta of your choice
1/2 cup cooked pasta water
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
1/2 cup gf fine plain bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic minced fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, room temperature

Mix cheeses together and set aside. Add olive oil to pan and sauté mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next sauté garlic, bread crumbs, and sage in butter till lightly brown, then set aside. Meanwhile your pasta should be cooking. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Mix cheese mixture into pasta, then add bread crumb and sage mixture, reserve a little of the bread crumb sage mixture for presentation. I had harvested my sage in the pot but the sage in the ground was still usable. Oh brother this was some delicious pasta. I liked the fresh sage better than the fried sage often seen on cooking shows.

 

Sliced Sweet Potato Casserole

Sliced Sweet Potato Casserole

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced on mandolin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 butter
4 garlic cloves minced
sprigs of fresh thyme stripped from stems also
a few fresh branches of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or Aji Amarillo pepper
garnish with some pomegranate seeds of you wish

Coat bottom of 8 x 8 baking dish or similar size with olive oil. Arrange potato slices in pleasing manner inside the baking dish which you coat with the olive oil. Melt butter and sauté garlic and thyme. Drizzle this mixture over arranged potatoes. Bake at 400 F in foil covered dish for 45 minutes to one hour, then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner slices of potatoes. So delicious and none of those yucky marshmallows

Carrot Top Pesto

Carrot Top Pesto

1-2 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup nut or seeds of  your choice
1 bunch carrot tops, stems removed
1/2 cup parley leaves, stems removed, or other herb of your choice
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/4 cup more or less of real maple syrup
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt to taste

I decided that using the whole carrot was something I should do. Put the carrot tops to good by using every part of the vegetable. Blend olive oil, garlic and nuts till mixture looks creamy. I used unsalted cashew nuts. Cashew nuts have a good amount of magnesium which is often low in diets. Add carrot tops and herb leaves of your choice. Add in lemon zest and juice and maple syrup. Usually a sweetener is not used with a savory pesto, but carrot greens can be slightly bitter. Hence the addition of another herb besides carrot greens. Add parmesan cheese. if mixture is too thick, add more olive oil. Serve over potatoes, carrots, or protein of your choice. We had a grilled turkey thigh and dipped a bit in the pesto with each bite. We still have enough of the pesto for use with pasta or other dishes.