Summery Lemon Pasta

Before this summer fades into history I want to savor every last, fresh bite.

So today I decided to make something light, bright and colorful, full of all of the flavors of summer.

This recipe was inspired by vegan cook, Christina Pirello.  You can find the original recipe here.

Christina has her own show called Christina Cooks that airs on PBS.  

I will confess that when I first started watching her show I balked at it all.  

I wasn't familiar with half the foods she cooked with and all of it looked so different than what I was used to eating.

But,....  I couldn't stop watching it.  It really intrigued me and I found I really wanted to learn more about vegetables and healthy, clean eating.  

While I am not a vegan or vegetarian I can now say I do LOVE vegetables!

And, I feel that keeping and open mind and watching her show was really a springboard for me into learning to love, work and cook with vegetables.  

This recipe is pretty easy and oh, so delicious.

I really wished I had artichokes on hand because they're just fabulous in this dish but, alas, I did not.

So, here's my make-do-with-what's-in-the-fridge version. ;)

Ingredients

1 (10 oz) bag Birds Eye Zucchini Lentil Pasta

1/2 bunch(about 6-8 spears) of fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

6-8 oz of cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

1/2 cup mirin(you can get this super cheap at your local Asian store!)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of pressed garlic

1 pinch red pepper flakes

lemon for zesting

Broth of your choice for cooking 

Instructions

I sauteed the onion and peppers, using broth as needed to prevent scorching, for around 7-8 minutes or until well done.  

Next, I tossed in the asparagus and cooked it for another 7-8 minutes or until tender and still bright green.  

Then I added in the garlic and cooked it for another couple minutes.  

Microwave the zucchini lentil pasta and set aside.  Be careful when you open this that you don't get steam burned!!!   It's hot!

Finally, I threw in the red pepper flakes, mirin and pasta and let it cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes.

Add in the zest of one small lemon just before you plate it up.

I set this to serve 2 which gives you rather generous portions.

This comes out to 6 points per serving.

Oh that summery, fresh flavor is fantastic!!!!

There are a lot of possibilities too!  

You could add in shrimp or chicken.

I also tasted both grated Parmesan and feta and really thought they both tasted quite nice with this.

Just add in the points for any extras you choose.  

Nothing says summer like fresh-from-the-garden-veggies.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Happy Cooking!