CEiMB - Fettucini with Crab and Asparagus Dinner

Craving Ellie in My Belly Thursday is Here!!!!!!

Dinner:

Ellie's Whole Wheat Fettuccine with Crab and Asparagus

(Hosted by Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc; recipe posted on her blog.)

Roasted Beets

Applesauce Cookie Sandwiches with Dreyer's Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Jessica, you did wonderfully picking this recipe but Ellie may have improved on the recipe by stating a REALLY important point: All Ingredients Need to be FRESH and this includes the crab meat. Canned crab meat will not give you a good flavor or texture.

Dungeness crab is not in season so I bought fresh picked crab meat in a container and was sorely disappointed but LOVED the fettuccine dish. I also used by homemade fish stock . . . an extremely easy task is making your own fish stock. Minutes to put together and slow cooks for a short period of time. You can keep fish stock in the freezer for months.


Confession time: I hide my boxes of whole wheat pasta, hoping I will forget where they are. Oh, I buy them myself because of the big ww pasta kick, thinking how great the IDEA sounds. My parents are health crazed; I need sympathy here. My whole childhood revolved around eating healthy. Protein drinks, etc. I swore Mom used to make ww pasta alone and I just found out TONIGHT by phone that Dad never liked ww pasta either and Mom had to do a 50/50 mix of ww and regular pasta for Dad to eat it. I used to think the flavor was disgusting.

(Dad, he will be 65 next month)

REVELATION: My VERY FIRST BITE of ww pasta since I left home some 20 years ago was OMG edible! I actually (hold my breath) liked it!

Fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, fish stock, lemon zest and juice and crab meat, what is not to like?

My next REVELATION: I have never eaten a beet that was not pickled. Grandpa used to grow the most beautiful beets in his garden and was always so proud of them and I never tried a one. My revelation is I roasted beets for the first time tonight and really loved them. Like nibblicious!

Now I wish I could go back and give Grandpa a hug and tell him how wonderful his beets were. Mixed sad and happy moment.

Tonight's dinner involved reminiscing with Dad, remembering childhood memories and bringing in a whole lot of love for my family. Isn't it amazing how important a role food plays in our lives?

To keep the whole meal on a low-calorie note, my dessert was the applesauce cookies, loaded with raisins and pecan chunks along with all the amazing flavor and aroma that is imprinted in our baking when we add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dreyer's Low-fat, sugar free vanilla ice cream is sandwiched between two golden, moist cookies. The recipe for the cookies is listed.

Applesauce Cookies

Recipe By : National Apple Harvest Festival, 1998

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, well beaten

Dreyer's Low-Fat, Sugar Free vanilla ice cream for sandwiching

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, measure; add salt and spices, sift again; add chopped nuts and raisins.

Cream shortening, add sugar and beat until light. Stir soda into applesauce; add beaten egg and combine with the cream mixture.

Add dry ingredients.

Drop by teaspoon, 2 or 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until golden. Put on cooling rack to cool then sandwich the cookies with ice cream and freeze.