I can't keep up with the greens in our porch garden. They grow as quickly as I harvest them. Tonight I found myself looking at a basket of Swiss Chard and beet greens, and a small packet of BBQ pork from our freezer.  It was a no brainer. 

Gemelli with BBQ pork, peas, and mixed greens.  Everything is a shade of pink because of the beet greens.

This was so simple and oh so good.

7-24-17 Pasta-peas-cucumber salad

With fresh corn and tomatoes in abundance, it is the season for pasta salad, and that creates the challenge to avoid repetition. Two ways to do that is to vary the ingredients and the dressing. (In all of my pasta dishes I try to balance the pasta with an equal amount of non-pasta ingredients.)

PASTA SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1.     Campanelle pasta -  3 oz.

2.     Frozen peas – 1 cup

3.     One medium cucumber – diced

4.     Celery

5.     Fresh spearming (or mint) leaves coarsely chopped

6.     Mayonnaise

7.     Cream- about ¼ cup

8.     Fresh lime juice – ½ med. Lime

9.     Salt & pepper to taste

PROCESS:

Cook the pasta, drain, and in a bowl add some olive oil to prevent sticking, and chill.

Later, mix in the vegetables and herbs, followed by the dressing.

COMMENTS:

The spearmint gives a refreshing new flavor to salad and goes well with the peas and cucumber. Of course having fresh corn and tomatoes lying next to it doesn’t hurt.  This is an easy summer meal and can be prepared hours ahead of time.

7-3-17 Pasta with ham and peas

Patience came home from work with a large BBQ’ed ham that obviously came from heaven…or Kiwanis.  It took every bit of self-restraint I could muster not to devour it all when we liberated it from its tin foil.  And I knew immediately what we would be eating tonight.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Pasta

2.     Frozen peas

3.     Ham

4.     Olive oil

5.     Chicken broth

6.     Garlic and shallots

7.     Fresh basil and tarragon finely chopped

8.     White wine

PROCESS:

While the pasta is cooking, sauté the shallots and garlic in olive oil then add the ham and frozen peas, plus about ¼ cup of chicken broth. Cook for several minutes then add the herbs, wine, and chicken broth and simmer over low heat.

When the pasta is ready, add it to the pan with the sauce and mix well.  Simmer for another few minutes before serving with grated Grana Padana or Parmigiano cheese.

COMMENTS:

OMG this was delicious.  Everything works together, especially the fresh tarragon and the ham.

9-11-16 CAPELLINI WITH PEAS, ASPARAGUS, & ARTICHOKE HEARTS

        

INGREDIENTS:

1.     De Boles artichoke wheat Capellini

2.     Asparagus

3.     Peas

4.     Artichoke hearts

5.     Olive oil

6.     Onion

7.     Garlic

8.     Basil

9.     Tarragon

10. Butter

11. Heavy whipping cream

12. Fresh lemon juice

13. Dry white wine

14. Vegetable broth

15. Salt & pepper

16. Grana Padano cheese

PROCESS:

I had no predetermined plan when I started tonight’s dinner.   With a limited pantry, I settled on the ingredients available: Asparagus, frozen peas, and frozen artichoke hearts. It began like almost all of my meals – sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil.  I cut the asparagus into 1” pieces, partially thawed the frozen peas and Artichoke hearts in the microwave and added them to the pan, along with a cube of frozen chopped basil, about 1/3 cup of vegetable broth, and some dried Tarragon.  Several minutes later I splashed in some dry white wine (Pinot Grigio), and a few minutes later some fresh lemon juice.  Everything simmered over low heat while waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil.  While the pasta was cooking I added a small amount of heavy whipping cream - no more than ¼ cup.  The pasta was added to the sauce, and served with a sprinkling of Grana Padano cheese.

COMMENTS:

This was as much fun to cook as it was to eat.  With my usual objectivity I am giving this a 10+.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PASTA

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It is hard to believe that the 5^th anniversary of the start of the Pasta Quest is only 2 months away.  Last evening I decided to visit the first of our 300 pasta meals, linguine with a sauce of pureed peas.

This, from May 2, 2011:

5-2-11 pureed peas and more

INGREDIENTS:

   ½ lb. spaghetti or linguini

   4 slices of bacon, chopped

   Package of frozen peas, thawed

   2 cloves garlic, chopped

   ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

   ½  cup olive oil

   Optional – ¼ cup of chopped toasted walnuts

   

PROCESS:

    Cook the bacon, set aside and remove the grease.  Puree the peas, olive oil,

    Cheese, garlic, and mint and add to the pan with the bacon.  Mix the pasta

    when ready…al dente..and serve immediately.  Add pasta water as needed to

    thin the sauce to your taste.

COMMENTS:

   This was good, and Patience and I would both like to see it again.

   Patience gave this a 6.5, I gave it a 7 out of 10.  We both agreed on several 

   changes…adding fresh basil, pine nuts, and cream, and keeping some of the

   peas out of the puree.  P also suggested seared bay scallops…she was getting

   a little obnoxious and pushy at this point so I closed the discussion.

Now, almost 5 years later, the revised recipe:

                         

Linguine

Peas

Pancetta

Grana Padana Cheese

Garlic and Basil

Olive Oil

Toasted Pine nut

Heavy whipping cream

Cook the pancetta and remove and set aside.  Discard most of the grease and use the pan to cook the remaining peas in small amount of chicken broth.

Puree 2/3 of the peas with olive oil, cheese, and pine nuts.  Add to the pan with the peas and cook for about 5-10 minutes while the pasta is cooking.  Several minutes before the pasta is ready add the cream and stir well.

Add the pasta, with some reserved pasta water if necessary.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley and the pancetta and serve.

Comments – much better than it was 5 years ago.

WHY I LOVE MY WIFE

There are far too many reasons to enumerate in this short post, her intelligence, her caring for others, her honesty and integrity, and the way she tells a story, making me laugh, cry, or both, to name just a few.  But there is one reason I wish to share with everyone today – I can serve pasta every night of the week and she will not complain…ever.  I have apologized or asked rather weakly if she would mind a 2n or 3^rd night of pasta and she always said no, she doesn’t mind how often I serve it.  In fact the last few times she was obviously annoyed that I was still asking.  I am convinced that if I were to bring that up one more time she would hurt me.

Being the sensitive soul that I am, I am careful not to take advantage of her generous nature and am limiting the pasta to only 3 nights a week, plus leftovers for lunch.  Of course there are circumstances that arise necessitating an additional night of pasta – sometimes even two or three.  But that can’t be helped.  If Mid Town Market has a fresh batch ob Broccoli Rabe I have no choice but to get some because you never know if it will be the last opportunity to do for a long time.  And once you have the BR you can’t let it sit around very long, so we might have Penne with BR 2 times a week, in addition to the regular past nights.  Then there are the nights we have dinner guests.  It is understood that they will be served pasta.

So you see my problem…it is GUILT.  It does not matter that we ate pasta EVERY NIGHT FOR A YEAR 3 years ago, that was then, this is now.  I have to find a way to ease the guilt without the risk of bodily harm.  Although it is not my nature to be devious, sometimes circumstances require us to act outside our norm, and in this regard, I have my solution.  Borrowing from Patience’s playbook (She easily acquired whippets 2, 3. 4, and more naming them Maria, Caruso, Giacomino, and Luciano.) tonight we will have pasta with peas and artichoke hearts - her absolute favorites.  I might even toss in a Kalamata olive or two, her newest passion.

Linguine wirh pureed peas  2011

5-17…Pasta with fresh peas

Coming home is always good.  My 8-day trip to MD and PA ended with uneventful flights from Philly to Chicago to Paducah, where dear friend and neighbor Keyth picked me up at the airport.

It usually takes me a day or two to get back into my routine, except where pasta is concerned, and last night there was a bag of fresh peas from the farmer’s market just waiting for some attention.  I set out to reproduce (I use that term loosely) one of my mother’s standard dishes…peas and pasta

INGREDIENTS:

Spaghetti, broken into 3-4 inch pieces (just like mom did)

Fresh peas

Bacon

Olive oil

Garlic and shallots

Dry Oregano, Basil, and red pepper flakes

Dry white wine

PROCESS:

Coarsely chop the bacon, cook, and remove to drain.  Discard the grease, add olive oil, and cook the garlic and shallots with the red pepper flakes.  While they are cooking, place the peas in boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes…don’t over cook.

Drain the peas and add them to the pan, along with a splash of wine and the seasoning.  Cook a few more minutes if needed, then remove from heat and cover until the pasta is ready.

Add the pasta and the bacon to the pan and mix well, adding pasta water if needed.  Serve with good grated cheese.

COMMENTS:

It wasn’t moms, but it was very good, thanks to the fresh peas.  There were no leftovers.

11-19…Fettuccini w smoked salmon, peas and artichoke hearts, in lemon cream sauce

After an opening reception for an amazing show at Philosophy gallery Patience and I, and friend Keyth returned home for some fun conversation, laughter, and another pasta dinner.



INGREDIENTS:

Fettuccini
Smoked salmon
Frozen peas
Artichoke hearts
Heavy whipping cream
Mascarpone cheese
Butter
Dill
White wine
Fresh Lemon juice
Garlic and shallots

PROCESS:

While the pasta is cookining sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil and butter., then add the salmon, peas, artichoke hearts. Cook for several minutes before adding the wine, dill, and lemon juice. Cook for several minutes more, then add the cream and mascarpone cheese.

Add the pasta to the pan, plus pasta water as needed to keep the consistency loose. Serve with grated Parmigano Regiano cheese.

COMMENTS:

Easily a ten!