Light Pasta Carbonara

Well friends, as is typical of me when I'm in the midst of a quarter, I don't have much time to blog...however, in those *rare* moments of procrastination I still visit this site and contemplate whether I have enough news-worthy to share.  I do have a couple belated happenings recently that I should write about, but I'm feeling uninspired.  As I currently struggle with an assignment for my Teaching Science Methods class, I decided to start sharing some of the cooking I've been doing recently....I don't have pictures of these first few, but perhaps I'll start taking them in the future....

As many of you know, in the past couple years I've tried to really tweak (tweek?) my lifestyle to make it more healthy.  A large part of that for me has been changing what I eat...I've discovered a love of cooking and playing with recipes to try and make them "lighter".  However, I also love to bake...my downfall.  These days I mostly bake for different events, or for friends, so as to be a blessing to others - and prevent myself from eating them all!

Most of these recipes will be ones I've taken from magazines and simply changed a bit...I don't expect a movie deal out of it (...Julie/Julia reference, in case you're confused) but there might be some of you out there looking for lighter recipes, and for that reason, I'll share...

The first is Pasta Carbonara - a traditionally highly fattening dish - made of pasta, cheese, bacon/prosciutto, and egg.  Now, I must admit, I've never had the real thing, so my version probably pales in comparison, but for a lightened up version of comfort food pasta, I thought it was pretty good! I got a recipe from a website that I can't seem to find at the moment....and changed it a bit, so here's my version...

Ingredients:
Water (for boiling pasta)
about 4 ounces of whole wheat linguine (or you could use spaghetti I s'pose)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (The original recipe had 2, but 1 is plenty, even though it doesn't look it initially)
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
5-6 slices turkey bacon (turkey bacon has 65% less fat than pork bacon, and although traditional pasta carbonara calls for prosciutto, turkey bacon allows for that same salty taste without all the fat)
3/4 c. frozen peas (thawed)
1/4 c. white wine (I used cooking wine, but I'm sure real wine would be better)
2 large eggs
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese (more if desired)
Black Pepper (to taste)

1). Boil water, add pasta.  Most whole-wheat pastas cook for 6-8 minutes, read the box.
2). Pour EVOO in medium skillet over medium heat.
3). Add bacon and garlic, cook, stirring frequently, until bacon begins to crisp (adjust heat so garlic doesn't get dark, but lightly browns)
4). Add the peas and reduce heat, or remove pan from heat momentarily.
5). In separate large bowl (yes, large, you'll be adding the rest of the ingredients later) whisk the eggs with the parmesan and pepper.
6). Add the white wine to the skillet, and then the pasta (after draining it, obviously). Increase heat to medium-high.
7). After pasta is heated, remove and discard garlic.
8). Add skillet contents to large bowl with egg/parm/pepper mixture.
9). Fold together well to cook the eggs.

Enjoy!

P.S. Leftovers are decent, although the consistency is hard to recreate.  They ended up begin rather clumped noodles when reheated.