6-6-17 Pasta-shrimp salad with Patience’s snap peas

Day 6, and I did not have to play hopscotch with the one burner.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SALAD:

1.     Farfalle pasta

2.     Green onion

3.     Cucumber-diced

4.     Celery

5.     Olive oil

6.     Shrimp

7.     Butter

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DRESSING:

1.     Mayonaise

2.     Heavy whipping cream

3.     Garlic- 1 clove finely chopped

4.     Fresh tarragon, dill, spearment – finely chopped

5.     Juice from ½ fresh lime

6.     Salt and pepper

PROCESS:

Cook the pasta, drain, place in a bowl, mix with olive oil to prevent sticking and place in the fridge to cool for several hours.

Cook the shrimp in butter until opaque, cut into bite size pieces, and set aside.

Prepare the dressing by placing all ingredients into appropriate size bowl and mix well. 

Mix the shrimp, the vegetables, and the dressing into the pasta and salt to taste.  Refrigerate for 30 plus minutes before serving.

The salad was served with fresh snap peas sautéed in butter.

COMMENTS:

This is a great summer dinner.  I especially enjoyed using the fresh Taragon. I will definitely be using more of that in the days ahead. The fun part for me was creating the dressing, using something different every time. We will be returning to this often during the months ahead, with chicken, salmon, and crab in place of the shrimp.

6-5-17 TROTTOLE WITH MIXED GREENS AND SAUSAGE

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With an ample supple of fresh mixed greens from Patience’s recent harvest still in the fridge tonight’s dinner will be a slight variation from 2 days ago.  The pasta will be different, and the beans are being replaced with Italian sweet sausage.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Pasta- Trottole (available at Krogers Park Ave.)

2.     Sausage cut in small pieces

3.     Olive oil

4.     Onion and garlic

5.     White wine

6.     Fresh mustard and collard greens

7.     Fresh basil, parsley, and oregano

8.     Red pepper flakes

PROCESS:

Brown the sausage in olive oil, remove and set aside.  Remove any left over fat from the skillet, add olive oil, and cook the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Add the coarsely chopped greens, the herbs, and the sausage and cook over low heat.  At some point add a splash of white wine.

When the past is done add to the skillet along with some of the pasta water, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

COMMENTS:

I can’t think of a better way to use fresh garden greens. This dish has all 3 of the major food groups – pasta, sausage, and plant food. Love it!

I almost forgot: my weight has been fluctuating between 163 and 165 for the past few months. Today it was 163.

Day 4 Spaghetti with eggplant and anchovies

 

I wanted to counter the sweetness of the eggplant with the hint of anchovies..

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Eggplant – pealed and diced

2.     Olive oil

3.     Shallots

4.     Garlic

5.     Anchovies – 3 finely chopped

6.     Del Monte diced tomatoes with oregano and basil

7.     Fresh Basil and Thyme

8.     Red pepper flakes-optional

9.     Mozzarella cheese diced

10. Spaghetti

11. Parmigiano cheese for grating

PROCESS:

Brown the eggplant in skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain.  Cook the shallots, garlic, and anchovies in the same skillet (with or without the red pepper flakes) until soft, then add the tomatoes and eggplant.  Simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile cook the pasta until al dente, drain, and add to the skillet with the sauce.  Mix thoroughly with the sauce and mozzarella.

COMMENTS:

I thought the dish was a little too sweet because of the Del Monte tomatoes.  Patience disagreed.  The next time I will use either freshly grated Roma tomatoes of canned San Marzano tomatoes.

6-2-17 day 2 Penne with beans and greens

I walked into the kitchen tonight to prepare diner and was immediately reminded of a WWII song, Coming in on a wing and a prayer.  Revising a line from that song, I began singing to myself, “though there’re three burners gone, I can still carry on, cooking pasta on a wing and a prayer”. I guess you need to know the song to appreciate this so here is a link to check: http://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/1939-1945/3-music/06-Services/19420200_Comin_In_On_A_Wing_And_A_Prayer-Song_Spinners.html  This is one of first songs I learned. But I digress.

Tonight’s mission was to use the greens from the porch garden that were ready to be harvested.  An easy and pleasant task using white beans, pasta, and a combination of beet greens, mustard greens, and Swiss chard.  The challenge was to accomplish this with only one burner.

INGREDIENTS:

1.Penne pasta

2. Mixed greens

3. Onion-celery-garlic

4.Beans (small white beans- but any other will do)

5. Fresh basil and parsley

6. Olive oil

7. Red pepper flakes

PROCESS:

Cook the onions and celery and red pepper flakes over medium –low heat until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for several minutes before adding the can of beans and the basil. Cook for 5-10 minutes.  At this point I replaced the skillet on the burner with a pot of salted water and blanched the greens in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. I transferred the green to the skillet with the beans, placed it back on the burner, and simmered for about 10 minutes before removing it and returning the pot of water to the burner to cook the pasta.  The pasta was then added to the beans and greens, which went back on the burner for about 2-3 more minutes of cooking.  Did you get all that?

COMMENTS:

It was worth all the effort.

Day One Not quite a disaster. Campanelle with zucchini, leek, & sundried tomatoes

   

This was to be the glorious kickoff to a year of pasta, and perhaps someday I will see it that way.  But for now tonight is anything but glorious.  Two of our cook top burners have been misbehaving, and we are waiting on replacement parts to correct matters.  However they have been rather slow in coming, and I’ve been cooking with only two burners for over a month.  And tonight one of those two decided it had enough, and gave me the finger, leaving me with only one burner.  With all of my usual humility I must say, a lesser man than me would have given up and called out for pizza, but you know me.  Always the tiger!  I carried on, and in the end, was rewarded with a very nice dinner.  My only regret is that I had to eat it alone.  Patience wanted to be here but had meetings that her sense of civic duty required her presence.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Leek – white and light green part sliced crosswise

2.     Zucchini slices

3.     Garlic

4.     Celery

5.     Olive Oil

6.     Anchovy paste or 3 anchovies in oil finely chopped

7.     Sun dried tomatoes in oil coarsely chopped

8.     White wine

9.     Parsley

10. Pasta – Campanelle

PROCESS:

Cook the leek, celery, anchovy, and garlic in olive oil until soft, then add the zucchini, and cook over medium high heat until the zucchini begins to brown. Reduce the heat, add the tomatoes, parsley, and wine and simmer while the past cooks.  Add the cooked pasta to the sauce with some pasta water if needed. Serve with you favorite grating cheese and wine.

COMMENTS:

In spite of the frustrations with the cook top, the results were very satisfying. The uniqueness of this dish is cooking the soffrito and zucchini over high heat to get then browned and almost caramelized.  There are a number of options here: Tomato paste, or fresh tomatoes in place of the sun dried tomatoes, shallots in place of leek, Sweet Vermouth instead of white wine, and long pasta instead of shaped pasta.  I’m sure you can think of even more.

ANOTHER YEAR OF PASTA

Six years ago I cooked pasta every night we ate diner at home for an entire year.  At the end of the year, 298 pasta meals later, we resumed our usual dining routine of pasta 2-3 times a week.  OK, maybe 4 or 5 times.  Well the itch has returned, and I am inclined to resume the nightly pasta, with the blessings of my dear and gracious wife. The goals will be: 1. To come up with as many different dishes as possible, limiting repeats to about 15% of the totals. 2. To see how many non-typical ingredients I can use to make a healthy and nutritious menu. 3. To see if I learned anything from the experience 6 years ago.  I will be disappointed if I haven’t. 4. To create my own recipes and limit the use of others. Although after looking at so many cookbooks it appears there is little that has not been done before, by someone, somewhere.

My definition of a pasta dish is any main course in which pasta of some type is at least 50% of the entre (example – pasta salad with a side of shrimp). I will aim for 100% as often as possible.

Unless circumstances prevent it, all recipes and photos will be posted on my blog and Facebook. And if I can remember, I will keep you posted on my weight.  I can’t commit to my wife’s.

The fun begins on June 1.

5-26 -17 Penne with a Bolognese-like sauce (Not Beef Stroganoff)

INGREDIENTS:

1.    Fettuccini

2.    Mixed mushrooms

3.    Ground beef

4.    Olive oil

5.    Garlic

6.    Fresh Basil

7.    Onion

8.    Sundried tomatoes in oil - 3 or 4 coarsely chopped

9.    Sweet Vermouth

10. Salt & pepper

11. Red pepper flakes

12. Heavy whipping cream – about 1/3 cup

PROCESS:

Over high heat cook the mushrooms, onion, and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.  Add the meat and tomatoes and continue cooking over medium-high heat until the meat is cooked.  About half way through this stage add some wine and the Basil.  Stir occasionally.  Add the cream when about 5 minutes before you anticipate the pasta to be ready. Drain the pasta and mix thoroughly with the sauce.  Serve with a topping of your favorite grated cheese.

COMMENTS:

I was mildly offended when after one bite Patience said, “Beef Stroganoff”. Sputtering to myself, I quickly corrected her, saying this was a variation of a Bolognese sauce. If I must say so myself, it was quite delicious. “Beef Stroganoff…no way”.