What's Cooking?

I am by no means a chef...not even close. But I do enjoy looking for new recipes to try out.

I get most of these recipes from Oxygen, the female fitness magazine I read religiously, because I'm a healthy eater - something friends either tell me their jealous of or think is just plain weird - and I can always find something healthy AND tasty in the magazine.

So I tried out a new one tonight: Salmon and Asparagus [Penne] Pasta.

Ingredients? Obviously, what's in the dish's title, plus low-fat ricotta, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Why did I find this recipe so intriguing?

1. Now, I know there aren't many people out there who like asparagus, but I do. I just never cook it. So, I thought, here's my chance.
2. I also love salmon, but I get bored with it easily because I eat it so much, so I'm always looking for new salmon recipes.
3. Ricotta? I don't think I've ever had ricotta in anything besides lasagna. While I hesitated when I saw that ingredient, I was also curious.
4. Pasta pasta pasta!

How did it go? Eh. It was ok. It had potential. But I'm not giving up on it yet. I rarely get a recipe right the first time around, so I always think of it as a test run. Then, after eating it, I figure out what changes I'll make for next time. Usually, its a quantity of ingredients problem. The typical amount of servings in Oxygen recipes is four, so I base the other ingredients around how much of the main ingredient I'm going to use. And sometimes, like tonight, I tend to think that the recipe's amount for the other ingredients sound like they won't be too much, even though my main ingredients are about 1-2 servings. Sometimes, it doesn't matter...sometimes it does.

Notes for next time? I think I'll halve the amount of the ingredients for the sauce. I know. I should have done that in the first place. But I'll never learn...

Also, new recipe alert (and it's a heavenly one)! I just found a recipe on Oxygen's website that I'm absolutely dying to make: Cinnamon Ginger Sweet Potatoes. Is your mouth watering as much as mine at the sound of that? Of course, I happen to have all the ingredients, except ginger. But I will be trying it out soon, and I have a feeling it will become a new side-dish fave.