Roasted Cherry Tomato Cappellini

This is a great summer dish. If only the cherry tomatoes in my garden were ripe already. But at least I was able to use some fresh basil from my garden.

2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups cherry tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
pinch red pepper flakes
8 oz. cappellini
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place olive oil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, wine or broth, salt and red pepper flakes in glass pan and roast for 45 minutes.

Near end of roasting time, cook cappellini according to package directions. Drain and combine in bowl with roasted tomato mixture. Add basil and pine nuts and toss to combine. Serve with Parmesan and garnish with additional basil.


*Adapted from http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2012/08/roasted-cherry-tomato-cappellini-two.html

Strawberry Sparkle Cake

It's strawberry season!! My parents (& nephews) went strawberry picking today and I got some freshly picked strawberries delivered to my door. Yum! So good. Anyways, here's a strawberry recipe for you. I actually made it last month for Father's Day.

Now if you are really ambitious, you can make the Angel food cake from scratch, but I cheated and used a boxed mix. Just prepare according to package directions and let cool (upside down).

To make the filling empty a 3 oz box of strawberry jello into a bowl and add 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then add 1 lb of frozen strawberries. Stir to cool the mixture and set aside.

Turn the cooled cake upside down (so the part of the cake that was at the bottom of the pan is now on top). With a sharp serrated knife, cut the top 1 inch for the cake and set aside. With a small knife, cut a trench in the cake by cutting 2 concentric circles. Pull out the extra cake from the trench. Be careful to not cut all the way to the bottom.

By now the filling should be cooled and thickened. Carefully spoon the filling into the trench. Fill slightly above the trench. Then put the top layer back.

Whip 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with 2 Tbps sugar. Spread over cake and chill for awhile before serving. Delicious!

*Adapted from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/strawberry-sparkle-cake/