Gnocchi, Sweet Corn & Arugula in Cream Sauce

I tried this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens magazine on a lark and was pleasantly surprised at how easy and tasty it was. Definitely a great recipe for when you're short on time. The recipe said it would take 20 minutes to prepare and it really did. 


Of course, I had to change a few little things from the original. And, we have declared this a "keeper" recipe so I will definitely be making this again soon. 


Gnocchi, Sweet Corn & Arugula in Cream Sauce

(adapted from the May 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens)

Serves 4

Approximate cooking time is 20 minutes

Ingredients:

 2 cups of fresh or frozen whole kernel corn

1 pound shelf-stable potato gnocchi

1/2
 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup 2% milk

4 oz of packaged or whipped cream cheese (I used a reduced-fat version)

1/2 
teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 
cups torn fresh arugula

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Preparation:

 1) In Dutch oven cook gnocchi according to package directions, adding corn the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Drain gnocchi and corn kernels, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Do not rinse.

2) Meanwhile, for cream sauce, in medium saucepan combine half-and-half, cream cheese, salt, garlic powder, dried herbs, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently using a whisk. Stir in reserved pasta water.

3) Return cooked pasta to Dutch oven. Pour cream sauce over pasta; heat through, if necessary. Stir in arugula. Serve in bowls. Sprinkle with additional salt, pepper, dried herbs, and crushed red pepper.

Notes and Variations: If you don’t love the peppery taste of arugula, you could easily substitute fresh spinach. I also think that you could add in a cup of shredded roast chicken for a more robust meal. And, I am sure that shrimp would be tasty as well. In other words, play around this recipe, it is very forgiving.

Getting Settled in Puddletown

Well, our move to Portland happened and we have been here now for nine days. The journey from Los Angeles to Portland was not without some adventure when Dan's car brokedown on I-5, mine got a flat and we had to spend a day in Los Banos, CA dealing with our various car repair issues. However, we like to think that our little detour to Los Banos was the universe's way of telling us that we needed some rest from our packing and moving travails. All of this put us a day behind but we still arrived in Portland late last Monday evening in time for the movers on Tuesday morning and we were at least a bit rested.

Unpacking has been lots of fun (she said sarcastically). We don't have a enough room for everything in our small house but fortunately, we have a basement and a garage to store things that we do not use on a regular basis. Looks like Dan and I will need to continue purging more of our possessions on our mission to declutter our lives.

We now have a functional kitchen, which is nice since eating out all the time gets to be a drag... and expensive. We baked a loaf of bread the other day and tonight, I will even attempt a pasta dinner.

So, we are getting our new home set-up little by little. More to today, including another trip to Target and Home Depot. At least, we now know how to get there. Hopefully, we will have a little time this afternoon for some more exploration of our new home town. So much to see and do.

Dinner From The Garden

Tonight was our first dinner from the garden. We had two zucchini, as of today, ready to eat. So we decided to go with a simple summer pasta dish. Nothing fancy...just a few ingredients. But, it was delicious. And, so satisfying to actually be eating something that we grew.

I have a feeling though that we will probably be eating more zucchini in a few days given what is growing on the plants right now. Besides the zucchini, nothing else other than the arugula and the herbs is ready for harvesting. Dan and I are hoping that there will be something new by early July to enjoy. In the meantime, I think we may be eating more of this pasta very soon.

SUMMER PASTA WITH ZUCCHINI AND TOMATOES (4 servings)

2 - 3 medium zucchini, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons, olive oil
3 tablespoons, flat leaf/Italian parsley, minced
1 teaspoon, dried thyme
1 1/4 cup, chopped Roma or cherry tomatoes
3 cups, dried orecchiette or similiar pasta
1/2 cup, grated Parmesean cheese

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add, zucchini and saute until it softens and starts to turn golden. Add thyme and garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Drain pasta; return to pot or a serving bowl. Add vegetables, the remaining olive oil and the parsley and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt (preferably kosher or sea) and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.