According to WebMD:
“When Americans think of a ‘diet,’ they tend to think deprivation,” says Eve Adamson, co-author (with chef Melissa Kelly) of Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too and The Mediterranean Diet (with Marissa Cloutier, RD).
“That is: no carbs, no fat, no sugar, no meat — diets are all about forbidding particular foods. The Mediterranean diet is different. Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, it focuses on what you can have — the very best, freshest, healthiest foods.”
I was invited to participate in creating a Mediterranean-inspired recipe for La Romanella.
I was pretty nervous about this one. I have never actually created a recipe from scratch.
As I thought about this for the past week, I have been careful not to read too many recipes.
About a year ago, I had the amazing opportunity to hear Lisa Leonard. She encouraged us to find inspiration NOT from our own genre.
How does that translate to me? I listen to music, sing or read to get inspiration for photography. I don’t try to get inspiration before a photo shoot from other photo shoots.
This makes it much easier for me to keep my lines of inspiration clear.
So, I tried to steer clear of reading too many recipes this week.
I looked to my family and their wonderful tummies for inspiration.
#1 My family loves mushrooms. Good, yummy, baby bellas.
#2 My family loves their pasta.
#3 My family doesn’t like seafood.
I started with La Romanella Olive Oil and Chardonnay.
In a skillet, I combined 1 cup of Chardonnay and 2 cups of La Romanella Olive Oil.
As soon as it started smoking, I added the baby bellas. I let them get good and brown. Ree said more color = more flavor.
As soon as the mushrooms were beautiful, I used a slotted spoon to take out the mushrooms and placed them on a plate with a paper towel. I added strips of raw chicken to the deliciousness that was still in the skillet. I cooked the chicken on medium high.
While the chicken was cooking, I made the pasta: La Romanella Organic Penne Lisce.
In another skillet, I heated up La Romanella Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce. I added 1/2 cup of Half & Half to the sauce, just for fun. Julie made it look really good. I had to try it. I was very curious about Half & Half with sauce. Let me just say; she was correct.
The mommy and daddy version:
The Sweet Baby J and Nate the Great version: