Oven Risotto with Peas and Parmesan

When it's cold out, risotto is one of my favorite foods. I don't make it too often since it tends to be time consuming (though not difficult). I was in the mood for risotto and realized I had enough ingredients at home to make this recipe. I was very curious about the baking technique used here and decided to give it a try. Though the baking still takes a while, this risotto is much more hands off, which saves so much time that can spent making the rest of your meal. I've only tried this recipe as written, but I am going to dabble in adding other vegetables to it like sauteed mushrooms and shallots.

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Linguine with Pea Pesto

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved sugar snap peas. My mom used to buy them at the grocery store or farmer's market and I'd snack on them the entire drive home. For some reason I have never really cooked with frozen peas until recently. I don't know why I avoided them, especially since they can be used in great dishes, like this linguine, and require much less work that fresh peas (I'm possibly the world's slowest pea sheller, and usually end up eating half of them in the process). I didn't have fresh peas around when I made this, and was still very happy with the results.

I wasn't expecting to love this linguine when I first read the recipe. I thought it would be good, but was not expecting it to be as delicious as it was. I was very pleasantly surprise by the flavor of the pesto and even though I wasn't all that hungry when I ate this, I still managed to clear my plate. Don't forget to add salt and pepper to the linguine at the end, otherwise it will taste slightly bland. My sister and I made this together and kept adding salt and pepper until the pasta reached a flavor we liked. This still tastes great on the second day, so don't worry if you have leftovers.

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Israeli Couscous with Peas and Asparagus

For some reason, I had never bough Israeli (also called pearl) couscous until a couple of days ago. If you've never tried it, I suggest you go out and buy some. I love the texture and flavor and am now hooked. I don't think I'll be buying traditional couscous for a while. These larger pieces of couscous make for a heartier meal, and you will notice the difference in this dish if you use regular couscous (it'll still be good, but not as delicious).

I went to the farmer's market over the weekend and picked up some fresh asparagus. I am loving all the produce available at the farmer's market and can't wait for even more fresh produce. Instead of making my usual summer asparagus (grilled with some olive oil and topped with Parmesan), I decided to make this recipe. My sister had tried it once before and loved the flavor combination, and since we like a lot of similar food, I took her word for it. This is a great summer meal or side dish. It's really light, and full of veggies, but does not come across as healthy tasting (maybe I'm crazy, but some things just taste healthy, and end up bland and boring). This also tastes great the next day if you don't eat it all at once.

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