ARF/5-A-Day #61

A nice collection of ARF/5-A-Day recipes this week, you’re sure to find something that will inspire you. Whether it’s a quick breakfast, a hearty dinner or anything in between, there’s something here for you.

First up this week is Cooking Debauchery, who is back with fresh salsa and good memories:

The Cookbook Junkie goes good and hearty with Everyone’s Favorite Lasagna:

More Bread and Cheese, Please does pasta this week and does it fast:

Cookies and Et Cetera joins us for the first time this week, and I do believe this might be our first male participant. And what a great way to start … Blackberry Oat Muffins:

Cook. Craft. Enjoy. unveiled a bright, cheery new banner recently, and this week, keeps dinner nice and simple, going with steamed veggies and a little bit ‘o Penzeys:

Cooking is Medicine goes literary this week, taking her que from the popular Mitford series, and baking up Puny’s Banana Bread:

Newcomer Honeyed Words joins us for the first time, contributing a beautifully-colored fruit smoothie. I think I just may have all the ingredients on hand for this one – it might be hard to resist this, and you can’t beat how healthy it is.

Did you know we have a new soon-to-be cookbook author in our midst? Yup, we do. Sarah from Cucina Bella is hard at work, creating recipes for her new upcoming cookbook, and in the meantime, we have her Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins:

I don’t know how she does it, but The Chocolate Lady managed to find yet another vegetable I’ve never heard of. Maybe I lead a really sheltered life and just don’t know it. This week, you can get your education about Mon right here:

As for me? I grabbed one of the recipes that was posted in response to my Cannellini Quandry recently and made Mensch71’s White Bean Puree. Simple and delicious, what more could you ask for? And it made a small dent in my cannellini stash, which was perfect. Only thing I did differently was add a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar to the top when done. There’s a restaurant that we like in Madison that adds a touch of balsamic to their hummus, which really perks it up and gives it a slightly different twist, and that did the same here. Delish.

Until tomorrow…

A year ago today… mmm, one of my favorite pasta recipes.
Two years ago today… taking a whack at Indian food.

P.S. Want to join in the fun of ARF/5-A-Day? I’d love to have you in the next roundup. Complete details are here.

White Bean Puree
Recipe courtesy of Mensch71

1 head fresh garlic
1 can cannelli beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the top of the garlic head off and cover with olive oil. Wrap head in aluminum foil and roast in oven for 45 minutes. Allow to cool to room temp and squeeze out the roasted garlic.

In a food processor, add the beans, the roasted garlic and the lemon juice and pulse until thoroughly blended. Taste for seasoning, adding about 1.5t salt and 5 – 10 cranks of fresh pepper. Add the parley at the last second.

Serve with veggies or on toasted rounds of bread.

You can also roast half the garlic and add one fresh clove for a more intense garlicky taste.

Sweetnicks’ Notes: Added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to the top before serving for a little something extra.