I don’t know about where you live but here in BC it has been a wet September. September seems to go one of two ways here, the longest hottest days of summer, or rain, rain and more rain. This year we have had the latter. Since the weather has been blah I’ve been able to dip into my fall recipes a bit sooner then normal. And of course I’m like every other girl out there and love fall. I mostly love sweaters and Thanksgiving, but I also really enjoy fall flavours and heartier dishes.
So since it’s fall here I’m sharing a new fall pasta recipe. A one pot pasta with eggplant and Italian sausage. It’s so yummy and is now a new favourite!
Let’s talk ingredients, it’s pretty simple here and most of these items are things I’m sure you have on hand. Your favourite short pasta shape, I love fussili. A delicious eggplant, Italian sausage, some canned tomatoes, a little wine, shallots, garlic and parmesan. So yummy!
Now the method here is simple, cook your pasta, set aside and start combining the sauce ingredients. This does take a tiny big longer then some of the one pot recipes out there since you really want to cook down the eggplant. I want melty velvety eggplant. It’s a total game changer in the sauces texture. If you think you’ve over cooked the eggplant it’s probably perfect. All the delicious flavours meld together to create a really rich flavourful sauce.
I like to serve this pasta with a super simple arugula salad, just arugula, shaved parmesan, lemon, oil and black pepper. Such a yummy bright compliment to the dish. You also can’t go wrong with a big glass of red wine to wash it all down. Also eating this by the fireplace makes it extra magical, but if it’s still summer where you are you may want to skip that. I hope you give this yummy dish a try!
One Pot Eggplant and Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli pasta
- 5 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage, casings removed
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium eggplant, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1 15 ounce can whole plum tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (additional for topping)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1 cup of pasta water, drain and set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in pot over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic to pan, cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add sausage to the pan. Break into small pieces and brown until cooked through.
- Deglaze the pan with wine. Simmer for 2 minutes until reduced. If the pan is dry add remaining olive oil. Add eggplant to the pan. Turn heat up to medium and cook for 10 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
- Break up tomatoes with your hands. Add to pot. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Lower heat, add pasta and cheese to sauce. Stir together. Add pasta water to loosen as needed, I typically use 1/3-1/2 cup. Top with additional Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Notes
Mexican Street Corn
Today we are talking corn on the cob. It’s getting to be corn season and really theres nothing better then corn on the cob cooked on the grill in the summer. But of course I didn’t want to give a basic grilled corn recipe. As delicious as that is I think you can figure it out on your own…so today I’m sharing my take on Mexican Street Corn. I was seeing these recipes all over the internet and was so intrigued! So I knew I had to try out a few recipes and then of course make then my own!
This recipe is incredibly simple. It starts by grilling corn in the husks. When they are almost ready we peel off those husks, coat with a delicious spicy and creamy sauce. Then throw them back on the grill to cook just a little longer. Once cooked sprinkle with cheese and cilantro (or parsley if you hate cilantro like me). Traditionally street corn has cotija cheese but I’m all about accessible ingredients and honestly that’s just not easy for me to grab at a regular grocery store. So I subbed in some fresh grated parmesan cheese. It’s all about making a recipe work for you. And man it’s delicious!
I hope you give this twist on corn a go this summer. It’s really easy and really delicious! Enjoy!
Mexican Street Corn
Ingredients
- 6 ears of corn
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 2 limes
- Cilantro or parsley
Instructions
- Place corn on the grill in the husks. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- In a small bowl mix together sour cream, mayonnaise, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and the juice of one lime. Remove husks and silk from the cooked corn. Using a pastry brush coat corn with sauce. Place corn back on the grill for an additional 5 minutes, turning half way.
- Remove corn from the grill, top with cheese, a squeeze of lime, cilantro or parsley and a pinch of chili! Yum!
Notes
Friday Five
Happy Friday friends! Another week another Friday five! Here’s what I’m loving this week!
No.1
Mornings on the Deck – I am loving being outside on our back deck. Especially in the morning. Slow mornings with a big cup of coffee looking out at the forest in our backyard. When we bought this house I underestimated how much I would love looking out at the trees every day. It really makes me feel like I’m in my own little oasis nowhere near civilization. Can’t wait to see it covered in snow this winter!
No.2
Our New Sectional – Our sectional for our main floor came last week and I love it! I never thought it would be so comfortable. Now I’m on the hunt for some good pillows and throw blankets. Can’t wait to show you our fully decorated living room once it’s done!
No. 3
Command Products – Organizing this place has been tricky but exciting! Hubby has a big problem with holes in the wall… since he knows he will be the one filling and painting them! I never knew how many amazing products command made! Like sponge caddys!? What? So far we’ve got broom hooks, hooks and lots of caddys galore!
No. 4
Camping Recipes – We’re heading out for our first tent camping trip (we were RV kids) soon and I’m hunting for easy camping recipes, this blog has been a great resource! Do ya’ll want to me to share what we end up eating next weekend?
No. 5
Yeti Hydro Flask – As you all know I love Yeti products… it’s been well documented in my gift guides. I just recently bought a hydro flask to take to work with me and I’m loving it! Great for long hot summer days!
That’s it guys! I hope you all have an amazing weekend with friends and family xo
Peach Pie No Churn Ice Cream
I scream, you scream we all scream for peach pie ice cream! LOL! Hi Guys, today I’m sharing the last recipe I made in my old kitchen! So sad! I’ve got some recipes that I tested there that I’ve yet to share but this is the last one I created and shot in that old 80’s kitchen. It’s kind of sad! If you don’t know what I’m talking about read all about it here!
Anyway, I’ve been holding on to this recipe for a while. Not to torture you, but I wanted to wait until we got a bit closer to peach season before I shared this magical creation!
Now this recipe is a no churn ice cream (yay for no special equipment!) with a peach swirl and chunks of buttery pie crust. Seriously delicious! I won’t lie this recipe is easy but it’s pretty time consuming. I’ve broken it all down for you in the recipe below but let’s run through a few key steps!
The Base: Now I did not re write the book with this one. Classic no churn ice cream base, just three ingredients. The Queen Martha Stewarts recipe of course!
The Filling: Peaches, sugar, cinnamon, butter etc cooked down until there is just a few chunks of peach left and lots of thick sweet delicious filling.
Pie Crust: I used a half recipe of my favourite classic pie crust (grandma’s recipe!). This time I used all butter because I wanted extra flavour (and truth I had no shortening).
Fold all of this together and you have summer in a bowl if you ask me!
Insanely delicious and super fun to make! I hope you give it a try!
Peach Pie No Churn Ice Cream
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
- 3-6 tbsp ice water
Peach Filling
- 3 peaches, peeled and chopped
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- pinch salt
Ice Cream Base
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cups whipping cream (30-40% fat)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Pie Crust
- In a medium bowl whisk salt and flour together. Add butter, using two forks or a pastry cutter combine the butter and flour together until the butter in the size of peas. Slowly add ice water mixing the dough with a fork until a ball begins to form.
- Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll Dough into a 9 inch disk. Place on alined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Pie Filling
- In a large sauce pan add peaches, sugars, lemon juice, butter, cinnamon and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until peaches break down and a sauce forms. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Break large chunks of peach up with a spatula.
- In a small bowl whisk water and cornstarch together to create a slurry. Add to peach mixture and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. You want a thick sauce with a few peach chunks.
- Once cooked down pour into a bowl and place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
Ice Cream
- In a medium bowl whisk together sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, set aside. Ina large bowl whip whipping cream until stiff peaks form this will take 3-5minutes.
- Gently fold whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture.
- Pour a third of the ice cream base into the loaf pan. Layer broken up pieces of pie crust and peach filling on to ice cream. Use a knife to swirl filling into ice cream. Repeat three more times. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours to freeze.
- Serve ice cream in bowls, on desserts or even waffle cones (or bowls!). Enjoy!!
Notes
Friday Five
Hey Guys! Happy Friday!
I am starting a new weekly blog post called the Friday Five. This is where I’ll share five things I’m loving that week and that you should be loving too! Let’s jump right into it!
No. 1
Wrap Dresses – My mom bought me this really cute wrap dress for my birthday which I liked but the weather wasn’t great so I put off wearing it, but since summer hit I have been living in it! Now I want a whole bunch more!! Oh and it’s on sale this week!! Get it here!
No. 2
The live Fully Podcast by Mallory Ervin – Ok guys I’m loving this podcast. It truly is inspiring and I love Mallory’s why behind this podcast. The whole goal is for you to live you best and most fulfilling positive life. It’s beautiful how she wants to help people and she’s just so fun to listen to.
No. 3
Berry Margaritas – Ok guys have you seen this post yet? I’m loving these margs and I don’t see an end in sight. They will be the summer drink of choice in my house all summer long!
No. 4
Stranger Things Season 3 – Ok were about half though the season and I am on pins and needles waiting to see what happens. Also I’m loving the Starcourt Mall!! So nostalgic! I don’t want to give away any spoilers here so I won’t say much!
No.5
Our House! – Yep it’s still my favourite! It might make the Friday five every week for a while.. just kidding. But I’m falling more and more in love with it every day! Read all about it in this post.
That’s it for this week! I hope you all have a great weekend!
Life Update: We Bought a House!!
Ok guys as you can tell from the title I have some pretty exciting news to share… we bought a house!! Yep that’s right Calvin and I are now officially home owners! If you’re from Canada you know how crazy the real estate market is right now so I’m really proud of our hard work that got us here.
Now funny enough the plan was not to buy a house this year… nope we were planning a trip to Hawaii in the fall and had put buying a house on the back burner. Like a said the Canadian real estate market has been crazy the last few years, especially in BC which is of course where we live. As much as we love our province and couldn’t imagine moving back east it has it’s draw backs. Like the cost of living… it’s just really expensive!
Anyway I hadn’t been thinking too much about houses. We were putting money away for a down payment and had decided to take a nice vacation and buy a place in a few years when the market hopefully had cooled down a bit. Since we wanted a single family home we knew we could be waiting awhile and we were mostly ok with that. Then one Saturday night we were at home chatting about real estate and I opened my computer to see what was for sale. It had been quite a while since I’d looked since it’s really discouraging to look at places you know you can’t afford. Much to my surprise an adorable house in a good neighbourhood, and at a good price popped up. I was shocked and surprised. I immediately showed the place to Calvin and he was also surprised to see a nice house like that for a reasonable price. So we decided to go to the open house on Sunday.
As soon as we drove into the neighbourhood that Sunday I knew I wanted to live there. It just felt like home. I don’t really know how to describe it I knew in my gut that neighbourhood was the one for us. When we got to the house we really liked it, but it was small. But we loved it and really wanted to put in an offer.
Unfortunately by the time we got our act together the owners had already accepted another offer. We were bummed! It was our first taste of how competitive and quick moving real estate is. But loosing out on that house made us realize that we really did want to buy a house now.
So we started the hunt looking all over for the perfect place. We saw a lot of the wrong houses for us. Everything was so cramped, small and old. We did eventually find a few places we really liked but the commute to downtown would have been horrible. I won’t lie at times it was pretty discouraging.
Finally we returned to that first neighbourhood, the one we loved, and there was the perfect house. A brand new home with lots of space, 3 bedrooms and basement. Lots of room for us to grow into. We knew not too let this gem slip away! So we made an offer in April and it was accepted!!!
We bought our home at the dry way stage so it has been so fun to watch the whole building process and see the home we envisioned come together. It really is better than we ever could have imagined! And I’m so excited to get cooking in my new kitchen!!! This is a home we very likely will be staying in for a long time (although never say never!) so we will defiantly be doing a few things to it to make it feel more personal and homey. I’ll of course be sharing that process!!
I’m so grateful we were able to make this big step into home ownership and can’t wait to create many memories here!