Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta Salad Recipe

Even though it's still only spring, we've been having some gorgeous warm days here in the Seattle area. Days that remind me that this is a beautiful place to live, and that I'm very lucky to call Washington state my home. And when I think of the warmer months to come, I think about outdoor grilling, and beach picnics, and our favorite foods for the season.

My family and I are huge fans of pasta salad. We  love them as a side dish with grilled meats or chicken, or as a main meal when meats are added to them. And they are great and easy to transport for picnics or taking to someone's house for a potluck.

What makes this pasta salad one of my favorites is that it's made with oven roasted tomatoes. I slow roast the tomatoes at a low temperature for a couple of hours, and the flavor is so intensified and delicious. They can be stored in olive oil in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. I also add them to spaghetti, salads and pizza. The time spent to roast them is well worth it, especially when you consider how expensive they are at the grocery store.

I made this pasta salad for the 4th of July last year and shared it here on the blog. It was a big hit with friends and family, so I wanted to share it with you all again. It's super easy to put together, and can be made ahead of time too.

Here's how I slow roast tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Wash, dry, and slice in-half two pounds of Roma tomatoes.
Lay the tomatoes cut-side down on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of granulated sugar.
Roast for 2 - 21/2  hours, or until tomatoes are lightly dried and slightly darkened. Store in the fridge in a jar with olive oil.

Recipe for Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 pound colored rotini pasta, cooked and rinsed with cold water
1 cup oven roasted tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the Italian dressing, Italian herbs, and pepper. Add the pasta and tomatoes, and stir to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and give it another stir.
Serve or refrigerate.

Makes 6 servings.

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait for summer to come this year. Beach days, good food shared with friends and family, and a glass of chilled wine at the end of the day sound heavenly to me right now.

I remind myself that it will all come back, even on days like today when it's cold and windy outside and hot coffee is what I want most.

Pineapple, Ham and Cream Cheese Sandwich with Reformulated Oroweat® Whole Grains 100% Whole Wheat Bread & Giveaway #ad

*The coupons for free product, information, and gift card have been provided by Oroweat® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Oroweat® Whole Grains 100% Whole Wheat Bread. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Oroweat®

Sandwiches are a weekly dinner item in my house and each day I work I take a sandwich in my lunch. We definitely go through a lot of bread in my house. I buy a few brands of bread and change the brand depending on sales, coupons and the type of bread I am looking for. For sandwiches Oroweat® is a great option and they have many varieties. It's a great brand for pre-sliced bread to have in the cupboard.

When I make my son one of his lunchtime favorite's,  Pineapple, Ham and Cream Cheese Sandwich I like to use a whole grain and whole wheat bread. Oroweat® has recently reformulated their recipe making it tastier and healthier for you. I am all in for changes in recipes when it is for the better. Oroweat® Whole Grains 100% Whole Wheat sliced bread is premium bread with a whopping 21g of whole grains per slice! Oroweat® Whole Grains 100% Whole Wheat sliced bread is 90 calories and has no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors or flavoring. 

Since I work 5 days a week and always take a sandwich to work I often make them ahead of time. I made a few of these Pineapple, Ham and Cream Cheese Sandwiches and put them in the fridge. I love being prepared with my lunch already made so I can savor a few more moments with my son before I head our the door.

What is your favorite easy to make sandwich in your family?

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*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 7, 2016 and ends on March 14, 2016 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. 

Brown Sugar Butterscotch Chip Cookie Recipe



One of the things I love about blogging is that it forces you to be creative. In a good way of course.
It's kind of like the chicken and the egg situation. Do I do things to blog about them, or am I already going to be doing something, so I blog about it?

It turns out to be a little of both. Take these fabulous cookies, for instance. Since I live with my daughter and her family, my granddaughter Ashley loves to bake with me. And it's pretty hard to resist that sweet little four year old and her bag of butterscotch chips who begs you to make cookies with her.

So that's exactly what we did yesterday, we made these yummy Brown Sugar Butterscotch Chip Cookies. And I get to blog about it, which of course Ashley suggested I do. She is absolutely a blogger in the making, and I predict she will probably have her first blog by the time she turns five.

These cookies are super duper yummy. They are crunchy and soft at the same time, and they are rolled in brown sugar which gives them the best flavor. The butterscotch chips go perfectly with the brown sugar, and these cookies are sure to become a favorite.

Pair them with a glass of milk and you have a little bit of heaven. I plan to make them again for a book club meeting, and I totally expect to bring home an empty plate.


Recipe for Brown Sugar Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips
 extra brown sugar for rolling cookies, about 3/4 cup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, put in butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed with a hand held mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat on medium speed until combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until all ingredients are just combined. Stir in butterscotch chips.
Use a tablespoons worth of dough to form a ball. Roll balls in extra brown sugar and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool cookies on baking rack.

Makes 24 cookies.

Carrot Tea Cake From Martha Stewart's Cakes Book

I have to say that carrot cake is one of my all time favorite cakes. But the thing is, they can vary so much in quality. And they are rather time-consuming to make.

I came across this easy recipe for whenever I need a quick carrot cake fix. It's moist and delicious, and the cream cheese frosting is simply fabulous. It's baked in a loaf pan, and the perfect size for snacking, or having a slice with a cup of tea or coffee.

It is from the book Martha Stewart's Cakes. I just love this book, and it includes over a 150 cake recipes, including ones for bundts, loaves, layers, coffee cakes, and more.

Recipe for Carrot Tea Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed grated carrots (from about 2 carrots

For Frosting:

8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan, dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
Beat in carrots. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until just combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top with spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Turn out cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Spread frosting over top of cake.


I published this last March, and it's so good I wanted to share it again. Enjoy!

Inspiration For Creating A Yoga Practice With Yoga At Home Book

I started doing yoga about eight years ago, around the time I turned fifty. I had thought about trying it for many years but had always felt too intimidated to walk into a yoga studio, where I was sure everyone was young and skinny, and able to do all the poses with ease.

My first class was truly amazing and most of my preconceived notions turned out to not be true. Sure, mainstream media shows us the gorgeous yoga models and movie stars coming out of yoga studios with their mats, but yoga really is for everyone who makes the commitment to practice it.

Last year when I had a physical I was very surprised to learn how healthy I was. I was totally grateful in every way, but surprised none the less. My blood pressure was normal, my cholesterol just fine, and all my tests came back normal. Now for someone who is my age, has some extra weight I'm carrying, doesn't eat healthy all the time, and feels stressed out every single day, this was downright amazing!! And when I talk about being stressed out, I mean really stressed, about money, how am I going to find my own place to live, how my kids are doing, and so much more that I don't even talk about.

So you can see why I was so surprised to learn how healthy I am. It's a great blessing to have your health, and one I don't take for granted, especially when I know of so many people who are sick. So I had to ask myself, why am I in good health, when my circumstances wouldn't indicate that that should be the case?

And then I thought about my yoga practice, something that I do usually three times a week, for about forty minutes. I truly do believe this is the answer.

Now don't for a minute think I'm some super yogi who can twist myself into a pretzel and does headstands all day long. Not at all. It's not about how far I can stretch, or what poses I can do. What yoga does for me is that I am more flexible, more balanced, more in tune with my body and my mind.  And that's a lot, that's everything.

I don't have the money or the time to go to yoga classes, so from the very beginning, I started a home yoga practice. At the time I was still married and had two kids at home, and was busy running a household. But I made it a point to take my yoga mat in the bedroom when no one was home, lit a candle, and just started doing poses. It took awhile to make it a routine, but I stuck with it, and eventually it became something I needed, and something that brought me great emotional comfort, especially after I separated from my husband. Those were very dark days, and I cried a lot on my mat, and yoga was one of the things that helped pull me out of that hole.

Both physically and emotionally, I believe yoga has the power to make us stronger, happier, and healthier people. But like anything worthwhile in life, it takes effort and commitment to make it happen. If I can do it, I know anyone can.

I know a lot of people struggle to practice yoga at home. It's great to go to a yoga studio and be surrounded with other students and a caring teacher to guide you during class. But in reality, very few people can go to classes a few times a week, so an at practice becomes essential if you want yoga to become a real part of your life. It's hard to find the motivation sometimes, this is so very true about a home practice, but the reward is so worth it.

Last week I picked up this very inspirational book about starting and maintaining a home practice called Yoga At Home by Linda Sparrowe. It's filled with great stories and photographs from students and internationally recognized yoga teachers. It gives an intimate look at well-known teachers practice spaces and what motivates them to share their love of yoga with others.

I found the book to be very motivating and insightful, and made me grateful for this look into other people's yoga practices and lives. It reinforces my belief that yoga is for everyone, that yoga can bring something special and sacred into our lives if we let it.

Namaste.