An OK pasta and an excellent mocha.

White-Wine Cream Sauce With Spinach and Pasta-

I bought some white cooking wine on sale for a $1.50 a few weeks ago and decided to finally open it up and make myself a pasta. The pasta turned out pretty well. I didn't put spinach in it though, which turned out not to be a big deal. It's definitely not one of the best pasta's I've ever made but it tasted pretty good. I'd give it a 3/5. Here's the recipe (from http://blog.vegcooking.com/2009/04/whitewine_cream_sauce_with_spi_1.php):


1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water (or more, if desired)
1 Tbsp. vegan margarine
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup cooked spinach
4 cups pasta, cooked

•In a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

•Add the white wine and water then bring to a low simmer. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

•Add the margarine and flour, stirring until completely combined and the sauce begins to thicken. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more water until you reach the desired consistency, then season with salt and pepper.

•In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, pasta, and white-wine sauce, then toss until the pasta is completely coated.

Makes 2 to 4 servings


Easy Mocha-

As you may or may not know, I absolutely love coffee. As you also may know I'm currently unemployed and can't head over to the coffee shop everyday. I love mochas and I found this great mocha recipe. It's really simple too, which is a plus. This mocha definitely deserves a 5/5. Here's the recipe (from http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/61/Great_Mocha49286.shtml):

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon cocoa
2 teaspoons sugar (if you like it sweet, add more)
1 splash vanilla
1 pinch of salt
1 cup of milk
a very small amount of hot water
Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]


Directions:

In a saucepan, put the cocoa, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour just enough hot water over to melt the cocoa and sugar (you don't want much). When melted, add milk. Heat over medium heat until hot. (This is also a GREAT cocoa recipe.)

Make coffee. I use a plunger and make good coffee. A drip machine will work. Or you can just use instant. Fill mugs halfway with cocoa and the other half with coffee. Stir. Enjoy. d

Mmmmm strawberries!

Saturday June 13th, 2009 (I know I'm publishing this on Wednesday):

Strawberry Cake-
One of my friends had a birthday so I made him a strawberry cake. The cake turned out excellent. I have to say that I didn't make the fruit whip, I used store bought icing instead, which turned out great. Who doesn't like icing a cake? The cake was very tasty and I would definitely make it again. I give it a 5/5. Here's the recipe which came from http://www.grouprecipes.com/62609/copycat-starbucks-caramel-vanilla-latte.html:

Fresh Strawberry Cake
2-1/4 c sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter
1-1/2 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c fresh crushed unsweetened strawberries.

Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Combine butter, sugar eggs, and vanilla, and beat for 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl a couple of times. Then add flour mixture alternately with strawberries. Blend into the creamed mixture, then beat for 2 minutes. Turn batter into 2 8-inch round layer pants that have been buttered, lined with parchment, and buttered again. Tap pans to release excess air, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cook in pans 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks. Remove parchment while layers are still warm. When cool, frost with Uncooked Fruit Whip, using fresh strawberries, or whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Uncooked Fruit Whip
1 c strawberries
1 c sugar
1 large egg white

Mach the fruit to a pulp, add sugar and egg white, and beat until light and thick. Use immediately.

Caramel Vanilla Latte-
Instead of going to Starbucks I decided to find my own caramel vanilla latte recipe. Even though I generally hate instant coffee I decided to give it a try. Here's the link for the original recipe: http://www.grouprecipes.com/62609/copycat-starbucks-caramel-vanilla-latte.html I added more milk and caramel syrup to make it taste better. I'd advise you to do the same if you try this recipe out. Also scratch the instant coffee and use vanilla flavored ground coffee instead. Unfortunately I don't have a picture. I mean it just looked like a coffee cup with whipped cream. My rating? 2/5