The Pink Kitchen: Freshly Squeezed

I had some "Pink Kitchen drama" a few weeks ago. My largest stove burner (the one I use all the time) stopped working, which turned me into Little Miss Grumpy Pants. I was almost to the point of going on cooking strike! There wasn't a whole lot of cooking going on for about a week or two. Luckily, the oven still worked just fine so I could still bake. Since then, the stove has been fixed and now everyone's happy again.

I made this recipe last night and it was so fresh and delicious. As I was juicing the lemons, all I could think of was Yolanda from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! Haha!!! (If you watch the show you will know why right away!) If you've never seen the show, Yolanda, David Foster's wife, is obsessed with lemons and has about 5 acres of lemon trees on their property. It's insane! So anyway, I couldn't help but think of her. She may be on to something. This dish would have been boring without the lemons. I'm going to find ways to use lemons more often. They really add so much flavor! And they are great to use as a salt substitute if you have high blood pressure or are on a sodium restriction. Yay lemons!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 containers button mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed
1 lb angel hair pasta (I only used approx 3/4 of the box)
2 lemons, juiced and zested (1/4 cup juice, 2 Tbsp zest)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp whole grain mustard (optional)
2 cups half-n-half
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, mustard, and three minced garlic cloves. Stir in approx. 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
2. Place asparagus and mushrooms on a large baking pan. Toss with olive oil mixture.

3. Bake vegetables at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring half way through.
4. In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan with remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic.
Once butter is melted and garlic begins to 'bubble', add the half-n-half.

5. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes until heated through. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese and 2 Tbsp lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste.