Mashed Potatoes

My mother expresses love in many ways, but two are a bit more involved in terms of production.

Christmas bounty

First, she gives gifts.  Every year, my sister and I listen to solemn warnings that this year Christmas won't be as present-oriented as it was in previous years.  This is fine with my sister and me because we are not spoiled brats and because a white Christmas in Maine with the whole family is more than enough.  Especially when pies and flan are wedged into two separate refrigerators while the desserts that do not quite fit line the steps in the garage, and your grandmother buys a two liter bottle of Bailey's for the next seven days.  Nevertheless, when Christmas Day comes, presents still blanket the floor beneath the tree and my mother listens to our protests with a kind of giddy mischievousness.

the heroic banana cream pie-cutting effort

Second, my mother expresses her love through food whether it is via a sympathetic text ("Poor baby. Eat some chocolate." eventually followed by, "Better yet, go for a run") or through every candle-lit dinner we have as a family.

This past December, my mother managed to combine these two tendencies perfectly: she gave me the present of a potato masher with which I could now make my own comfort meals! And it is ergonomically designed for ease-of-mashing.

Score.

Previously, I mashed potatoes and the occasional tomato with slotted spoon and a regular spoon.  It did not work very well.  Not counting the mashing effort however, making mashed potatoes is surprisingly easy and obviously tasty.  And you can make fried potato pancakes with the leftovers!

Mashed Potatoes

from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food

3 russet potatoes
1/2 cup potato-cooking water
4 tbs olive oil
salt

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium-sized pieces.  Cook them in the boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until the insides of the potatoes are dry and flakey, but tender.
Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool.
In the same pot, heat the oil and potato-cooking water.  Add the potatoes to the pot and mash everything together.  Add as much salt as you want and eat.
Substituting milk for the potato-cooking water and butter for the olive oil will make the potatoes creamier.

boiled and drained

potato pancakes!

***

Right now I am going through a French pop music phase, mostly because my French teacher keeps introducing the class to new songs and I keep buying them.  My current favorite is Zaz's 'Je Veux':

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Mashed Potatoes." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 319. Print.

Roasted Sliced Cauliflower

There are so many things you can buy for less than a dollar per pound: carrots, potatoes, rice, lentils, bananas, oats, eggs, kale, beans.  If you're willing to shell out an extra quarter per pound, the possibilities are endless: apples, milk, tofu, coffee, almost any in-season vegetable, squash...  These are my options for dinner tonight because I just bought a song for 99¢, which brings my savings account to a stunning $2.78 for the next 11 days.  Twenty-five cents per day?  Challenge accepted.

My current solution is to buy a single head of cauliflower and slowly consume it until I refuse to even look at cauliflower.  It turns out that this weird mass of flower stems is packed with vitamin C, vitamin K, choline, and folate.  In other words, if you passed on fruits one too many times and are fighting scurvy, drank too much, can't stop your bones from fracturing, and are now feeling a little blue, cauliflower might just be your solution!  Right now, a single head is about $1.67.  Live it up people.

Roasted Sliced Cauliflower

from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food

as much cauliflower as you can handle
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim and wash the cauliflower and cut across the whole head into slices of about 1/4-inch thickness.  Lay the pieces flat on a baking sheet without overlapping.  Drizzle or, if you're like me, slather with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast the strange vegetable for about 20 minutes or until it is tender and starts to brown.

***

My sister's gentleman's mother burned her (my sister) a CD of anthems.  You know, songs to get fired up.  In short, the perfect driving CD.  I would like to take this opportunity to note that I have a whole arsenal of incredible dance moves that I can perform while simultaneously keeping a steady foot on the gas pedal.  This is Rusted Root's "Send Me On My Way":

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Roasted Sliced Cauliflower." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 299. Print.

Naked Tomato Sauce

One of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City offers a spaghetti al pomodoro that whisks you off to Rome with a single pasta-twirled forkful.  So I jumped at the opportunity to create my own space-time impossibility when I saw this post on the Smitten Kitchen blog (which I think was inspired by Scarpetta's Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil).  Understandably, my attempt fell a little short of the truly great spaghetti sauces.

In the year that I have officially been feeding myself without the aid of a meal plan or familial relation, I have found it incredibly useful to use recipes as a way to expose myself to a new type of cooking.  Then I can learn the basic principles of, say, pasta sauces and eventually branch off to my own variations.  And we know how much I love really simple, delicious things.

As for making your own tomato sauce from scratch, don't.  Well, don't unless the sauce is meant to exploit the flavor of the tomatoes.  Fresh tomatoes in this recipe works because it is a "naked tomato sauce".  I would stick with cans of crushed tomatoes or canned tomato sauce is you are going to add the whole shebang: meat, peppers, onions, mushrooms.

That's my plug for this recipe.  That, and it was flavorful and tasty enough to not need freshly grated parmesan.  Which I would have grated with the grater that cost almost half of what I paid for for 3 pots, 3 pans, 3 kitchen utensils, and a set of 5 mixing bowls.  But hey, it's an investment...?

Naked Tomato Sauce

from Smitten Kitchen

3 lbs plum tomatoes

3/4 tsp course salt

1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced

pinch of red pepper flakes

small handful of basil leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 lb dried spaghetti

1 tbs unsalted butter

Peel the tomatoes.  The best way to do this is by cutting a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato, submerging them in water for about 30 seconds, and then shocking the fruit under cold water or with an ice bath.  Peeling off the skins should be pretty easy then.

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the innards (the seeds and juices).  Strain everything and keep the juice.  You can discard the seeds.  Crush the tomato slices in a saucepan that can hold the sauce and the pasta.  Crush them using a potato masher, a slotted spoon, an immersion blender.... OR your hands!

Turn the heat onto medium-high until the tomatoes start to boil and then turn it to medium-low and let simmer for 35-45 minutes.

hand-crushed, baby

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, garlic, red pepper, and basil in a tiny saucepan and bring to a boil as slowly as possible.  Infuse the olive oil.  When it boils, remove immediately from the heat and strain into a small ball.  Set aside for later.

After about 25 minutes of tomato-simmering, make the pasta but cook until it is very al dente because it will cook a bit more with the sauce.  Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to bring the sauce and pasta together.

Combine the pasta and infused oil in the tomato pot and add a little bit of the pasta water to bring everything together.  Consume.

***

This past week I was unbelievably able to attend the final match of the US OPEN!  Aanndd, Paul Simon was there!  So here's Paul Simon's "Cecilia":

Perelman, Deb. "Naked Tomato Sauce." Smitten Kitchen. 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2001. <http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/naked-tomato-sauce/>.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

For my birthday this year, my mother gave me a stock pot (SCORE) because most of my pots at school are of the cooking-for-a-single-person size and one of the best, easiest ways to feed yourself is through massive, whatever-is-in-the-kitchen soups.  My grandmother has perfected this method of cooking and inspired me to learn.  One giant hurdle in this process has been lentil soups.

Lentils are apparently a type of edible pulse (a leguminous crop) that are incredibly healthy, but people also tend to be a little picky about flavoring and such.  Earlier in the summer, I spent one glorious day cooking with my friend Elizabeth, and we attempted this recipe.  Lordy, was it good.

Elizabeth took the photos, which
is why they are so good!

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

from 101 Cookbooks

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)

7 cups water

1 medium carrot, diced

2 tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 tbs curry powder

2 tbs butter or ghee

8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup tomato paste (this is one of those little cans)

14 oz canned coconut milk

2 tsp sea salt

one small handful of cilantro, chopped

Rinse the split peas and lentils and put them in a large soup pot with 7 cups of water.  Bring it to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Add the carrot and a quarter of the ginger.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In a small dry pan, toast the curry powder over low heat.  (This will open up the flavoring in the curry powder - just don't let it burn.  It is going to smell delicious.)  Set the curry powder aside.

Melt the butter in a pan (let's be honest... you should just use the same pan as the curry powder - without the curry powder) over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the rest of the ginger, and the raisins.  Stir constantly and let it cook for two minutes.  Next, add the tomato paste and cook for another one to two minutes.

green onions

Add the curry powder to the tomato paste, mix, and add it all to the simmering lentils with the coconut milk and the salt.  Uncover and simmer for another 20 minutes.

final product with the chapati that I love so much

Sadly, I don't remember what music was playing at the time, but we're going to go with some Red Hot Chili Peppers today.  This is the classic "Zephyr Song":

Swanson, Heidi. "Coconut Red Lentil Soup Recipe - 101 Cookbooks." 101 Cookbooks - Healthy Recipe Journal. 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 June 2011. <http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html>.

Artichoke

My dad occasionally talks about the various things that my mother taught him when they met.  They met when he was well into his adult life, and yet he still did not know how to open a bottle of wine, appreciate a meal NOT made from a can or some sort of frozen dinner, or eat an artichoke.  I guess the artichoke thing is kind of acceptable, but I have grown up on these weird vegetables (turns out they are vegetables) so I think it is a little strange.

Artichokes are actually flower buds that have not yet bloomed and are technically thistles.  They are really low in calories but have something like 16 essential vitamins and minerals.  Now we know that artichokes (carciofo in Italian... isn't that a great word??) are full of antioxidants, but historically people have used them for everything from aphrodisiacs to deodorant.  Yay..

Artichokes

however many artichokes

splash of vinegar

Pour a decent amount of water into a pot that will hold all the carciofi.  The artichokes will float, so there should be enough water that they are comfortably chilling.  Splash a bit of vinegar into the pot as well (this will prevent the artichokes from browning unpleasantly).  

Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until they are done.  You'll know that the artichokes are done when you can slide a knife through the center and the artichoke meat is tender.

Remove them from the water and eat hot or cold, possibly with something in which to dip such as mayonnaise or melted butter.  

(You eat an artichoke by scraping the meat off the leaves with your teeth.  When you get towards the center, you can remove all the remaining leaves at once and eat the ends.  Then scrape all the chokey bits off with a knife and enjoy the artichoke heart - the BEST PART.)

it is actually kind of frustrating that they float

***

I will forever associate this song with San Francisco because of some movie that the deeply impressionable me watched when I was younger.  There was a giant shot of the city's skyline as the opening riff to Glenn Miller's "In the Mood":

Vegetarian Pad Thai

I think it is really interesting how different people having different cooking styles - if that is the way to describe it.  For example, my mom is all about the stir-fries, with a side of meat, and some sort of starch like rice or potatoes.  There are tons of vegetables and everything is seared to perfection.  My grandmother, on the other hand, does not have a microwave and lived in France for 25 years.  She makes quiches and all sorts of other things that - instead of getting reheated in the microwave - inevitably end up in a stew that she just "threw together."

vegetarian pad thai

I think that part of learning how to feed yourself means mastering a few really simple things and learning how to manipulate those dishes to suite your needs.  As for me, I've spent the better part of the last year imitating my mother and my grandmother's cooking by learning how to make the things they usually feed me.  Only since coming home have I started to branch out, such as with this version of pad thai.

we love peppers...

A couple notes though: I think the ratios of pasta to vegetables to sauce/dressing, as presented here, is a little off.  I would suggest a lot more vegetables and more sauce/dressing, or less pasta.  All in all, it is a really great starter recipe for pad thai.  From here it is easy to branch out and get creative.  Also, I used a wok here, but a decently sized frying pan would also do the trick.

veggies

Vegetarian Pad Thai

from The Complete Asian Cookbook

13 oz flat rice-stick noodles

2 tbs peanut oil or canola oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 onion, cut into thin wedges

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small red pepper, thinly sliced

3.5 oz fried tofu, cut into thin strips

6 spring onions (green onions), thinly sliced

1/8 cup chopped dried coriander leaves

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbs lime juice

1 tbs soft brown sugar

2 tsp sambal oelek

1 cup bean sprouts

3 tbs chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

Cook the noodles (the packaging should say how).  Drain and set aside

Heat a wok (or a large frying pan) over high heat and add enough peanut or canola oil to coat the pan.  When it starts to smoke, add the eggs and swirl to form a thin omelet.  When it sets, roll it up and thinly slice it.

Heat the rest of the oil in the wok, add the onion (not the spring/green onions), garlic, and pepper and cook over high heat until the onion is soft (about 3 minutes).  Add the noodles and toss everything well to mix.  Then add the omelet, tofu, spring/green onion, and the coriander.

Combine the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, and sambal oelek.  Toss to coat the noodles and then add the bean sprouts and crushed peanuts.

***

Here is Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen," which a lot of people probably recognize from Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

The Complete Asian Cookbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: Murdoch, 2002. Print.

Chickpea Curry

My father is a little weird.  He likes categorizing things and he has all sorts of systems.  (And he does not respond well when the system changes.  But that is a whole different story.)  Lately, I've been flipping through a lot of my mom's cookbooks, and there are tons of dishes that are really delicious and cheap, at least once you purchase the basic ingredients.  These are what my father would consider and file under "start-up costs" - it is kind of self-explanatory, but these are the things that are maybe kind of expensive, but once you have them, you're set for awhile.  (I said he was weird.)

Anyway, my mom was craving Indian food, so we decided to make Chickpea Curry, which is a really cheap thing to make, especially once you have all the spices.  We got also got this giant bag of roti-chapatis from Costco (does anyone else think of Bend It Like Beckham when they think of chapati?  And Mrs. Bhamra going on, "What family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking football all day but can't make round chapatis?"  No?  Just me?  Okay.)

dinner!  it smelled SO GOOD

Chickpea Curry

from This Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

2 onions

4 cloves garlic

1 tbs ghee or oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs ground coriander

28 oz canned chickpeas, drained

14 oz canned tomato pieces

1 tsp garam masala

Finely slice the onions and crush the garlic (using the flat of a knife will do).  Heat up the oil or ghee in a medium pan over medium heat and add the onions and garlic and cook until soft while stirring.  

Then add the chili powder, salt, tumeric, paprika, cumin, and coriander, and stir and cook for one minute.  (It is going to get a little dry there for awhile, but it helps the spices get really hot and releases the flavor.)  

Add the chickpeas and tomato pieces and stir to combine everything.  Cover the pan and let everything simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.  Make sure to stir occasionally.  

After 20 minutes, add the garam masala and cover the pan again.  Stir every once in awhile and let it cook for another 10 minutes.  

Try heating up some chapati or naan and wrap the curry inside if you can.  (The packaging should give directions for heating.)

my army of spices

sliced onion

the onions, garlic, and spices
it got really dry and I started to freak out a little

the glorious curry

the chapati cooking - sadly, I never got the desired puffiness
maybe next time

once again, the finished product

As we all know that I like themes, B21 is a bhangra band from England.  (Bhangra is from the Punjab region in India.)  They won a lot of awards around the turn of the millennium until one member of the band decided to pursue a solo career.  Yeah... Some unreleased music by B21 was stolen and it was kind of a mess.  Here is B21's "Darshan":

"Chickpea Curry." The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. Vancouver, BC [Canada]: Whitecap, 1997. 134. Print.

Salsa Verde

So I have a ton of chicken leftover from making the Chicken Noodle Soup, even after putting half of it in the soup.  Here is a recipe for Salsa Verde that goes perfectly with some chicken.  I suggest drizzling a bit on a cold piece of poached chicken breast.  (The sauce is meant to be served cold.)

chicken and salsa verde

Salsa Verde

from The Art of Simple Food

1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbs capers, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

ground pepper

Mix everything together and then let it sit for awhile so all the flavors can meld.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

"meld" is such a great verb

***

This is actually the first time I have ever tried, let alone made, salsa verde.  I have no idea how I let that happen, but it adds a whole dimension of flavor to the chicken as I imagine it would to any simple dish.

It turns out that salsa verde is (another) green Italian sauce made with olive oil, but unlike pesto, this one is usually also has capers, garlic, and parsley.  It is not just Italian as there is a French version and a German version.  ALSO, in case you were wondering, like my sister and I were, capers are actually flower buds that are not ripe yet.  They come from this prickly plant that is native to the Mediterranean (among other places).  Capers are even mentioned in ancient Sumer's Gilgamesh.  Yay mythology!

I am currently watching Saved!, a classic for anyone who has a decent sense of humor (actually some people reeaaallllly don't get it...), and its soundtrack seriously impacted me during my years of musical development.  Here's one song called "Flowers in the Window" by Travis:

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Salsa Verde." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 45. Print.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

So I realize it is no longer winter, but homemade chicken noodle soup is a classic, especially when you finally have access to the stock pot in your mother's kitchen.  The first time I made this soup was the first time I had ever handled a whole chicken by myself.  Definitely an experience...  Here's a tip: don't name the chicken something like Cluck before you cook it.  It makes the cooking process a bit more emotional than it needs to be.

Mr. Cocky, my sister's rooster

Chicken Noodle Soup

from College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends

1 whole chicken (3 - 4lbs)

salt and pepper

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

8 oz uncooked noodles

1 tsp nutmeg

Remove the innards from the chicken and thoroughly wash the chicken.  Put the bird in a large stockpot and season it with salt and pepper.  Fill the pot with water so that the chicken is completely covered with water.  The less water, the more flavorful the broth BUT the less broth.  I know, it's a struggle.  Also, the water should be cold so it will do magical things to the chicken as it heats up.  Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour.

this is a more ingredient-intensive version
where I used onions, parsley, and garlic to season the broth as it boiled

Skim off the impurities up on the top.  Remove the chicken and let it cool until you can handing it without causing serious burns or discomfort.

Peel the carrots and slice them.  Cut the celery and add them both to the soup.

Remove the chicken from the bones.  Add what you want to the soup (I'd suggest the dark meat) and save the other meat (the white meat) for sandwiches and snacks and all that good stuff.  Go ahead and discard the skin and bones.

Add the noodles and nutmeg as well.  And hell, throw in some more salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally for as long as the noodles need to cook.  Take it off the heat and eat.

***

The first time I made this, the pot was just barely big enough to fill with water and cover the chicken.  I ended up cooking the chicken longer because I wanted to flip it over to make sure the meat was all cooked.  And then, as I tried to remove the chicken, it completely fell apart.  And I mean completely.  I spent the better part of 15 minutes removing all the various chicken bits (how does it not sound yummy when I put it like that??).  Honestly, before I made the soup I knew how homemade broth was made, but the whole process made me a little afraid to eat the soup.  For whatever reason, I was terrified that it was not going to taste good.  But it was pretty much fantastic, so I don't know what my problem was.

more of my sister's chickens...
this could have been my problem

Plus, I love this cookbook.  It's is fully of super simple recipes and Megan and Jill Carle (the sisters who wrote the book) always deliver a cookbook with recipes for complicated things that actually really easy and really delicious.  My sister has another one of their books, which is how I found this one.

Over the weekend, when I made the soup a second time, I took a couple tips from another cookbook.  This time, I boiled the chicken for an hour, removed the breasts for later, and boiled the rest of the chicken for another 3 hours.  Plus I had an onion and a bunch of garlic in there.  For broths, you can pretty much add whatever sounds good to you for seasoning, but you have to make sure that you don't over-season it and ruin the broth.  Also, if you don't want to eat the soup immediately, you can refrigerate it.  The fat is going to separate from the rest of the liquid and solidify, making it really easy to lift it off and remove.

I pretty much just listened to this song because the title has the word "bird" in it.  AND it's a great song.  Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds":

Carle, Megan, and Jill Carle. "Vegetarian Chili." College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed, 2007. Print.

Pizza, Courtesy of Trader Joe's

This is a great meal to make with a group of friends.  Basically, Trader Joe's sells bags of pizza dough for $1-$1.29 (it is inexplicably cheaper in New York City the last time I checked), little containers of pizza sauce for maybe $3, bags of four grated cheeses for $5, and potential toppings line the aisles of the rest of the store.

Pizza

from Trader Joe's

1 bag of pizza dough

1 container of pizza sauce

cheese

toppings

Since this recipe is whatever you make of it, here are my suggestions on the matter:

Pizza dough:  There are a couple different kinds of pizza dough available: plain, herb, and something else.  They all taste good, so don't be too nervous, but do be wary of the flavored doughs when you are baking.  Sometimes they are not cooked completely after the alloted time.  Preheat the oven to the temperature on the bag, I think it's 400 degrees.  And when the bag says to let the dough sit for 20 minutes before using it, let the dough sit for 20 minutes before using it.  I realize that it is kind of a drag, but letting the dough sit will make it easier for you to stretch it out into a pleasing pizza shape.  Also, I always cook the dough for more than the 8-9 minutes they suggest - sometimes as long as 20 minutes.  If you do not wait long enough, the pizza will be soggy in the center.

this particular batch got really puffy -
just plain ol' cheese pizza

Pizza sauce:  I like the pizza sauce.  That said, it is the bare-minimum that is required for a pizza sauce.  I have friends who like to add some dried spices or fresh chopped garlic to make it tastier.  Go by taste!  On the other hand, they also sell a container of ricotta cheese.  It is simple ricotta cheese without anything to detract from its pure essence, but sometimes I add a pinch of salt, some dried herbs, olive oil, honey, or garlic.

ricotta with herb d'provence, olive oil, and salt

the white pizza

Cheese:  I think Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggi (the bag of grated cheese) is a rip-off.  That does not mean I have not purchased this item on multiple occasions.  The four cheeses in the bag are tasty, complement each other well, and yes, they are already grated for you.  I would recommend buying some uncut mozzarella - it is cheaper, fresher, tastier, and makes for better snacking.

Toppings:  Go wild.  Or not.  God knows I love plain cheese pizza.  Here is a partial list of past toppings: pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, black olives, baby broccoli, prosciutto, bell peppers, onions.  Just throw on whatever is in the fridge that looks good.

slice of the cheese - made with slices of mozzarella

This song goes out to Katie, who promised to make pizza with me this summer.  She has burned me some of the best CD mixes that I've ever listened to, one of which is the song I'm listening to right now... AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long":

Ricotta and Herb Ravioli

This was how the fresh pasta started.  It was kind of a project.

Ricotta and Herb Ravioli

from The Art of Simple Food

1 cup ricotta

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil or softened butter

1 egg

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons mixed chopped herbs such as marjoram, basil, thyme, savory, parsley, or sage

salt

fresh-ground black pepper

plus 1 recipe of the Fresh Pasta

To make the ravioli filling... mix everything together in a bowl besides the pasta dough.  That's right.  Then you're done.  Oh but wait, now you have to roll out the pasta dough.  

ricotta and herb filling

Roll out all the dough until it's fairly thin and cut it into sheets that are about 14 in. long.  Keep the stack of well-floured pasta sheets under a towel to keep them from drying out as you work with one sheet as a time.  

Spoon 1 tbs of the ricotta and herb filling.  Keep about 1 1/2 inches between each blob of filling.  

Spray lightly with a fine mist of water.  Fold the upper half of the pasta over the lower half and then gently press the two layers of the pasta together, making sure to squeeze the air out of the little pockets.  Use the zigzag roller to cut the ravioli apart.  

Separate them and lay them out on a sheet pan sprinkled with flour.  Make sure they aren't touching each other because apparently the ravioli filling with seep through the pasta and everything will stick together.  Cover them with a towel or something and refrigerate them until you are ready to cook them.  

Cook the ravioli in salted simmering water for 5 to 6 minutes or when the pasta is done.  Drain and serve, with 1-2 tbs of butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Eat!

***

Everything was actually pretty easy to do, but I did over stuff some of the ravioli.  It worked out alright though.  However, I did put all the ravioli in the pot at once and they all ended up floating to the top and some of them didn't cook evenly.  I had to use a strainer to submerge the ravioli so they would actually cook.  So I would suggest only putting a few ravioli in the pot at a time and that way they'll cook without too much effort on your part.

Here's another guitar song.  Last summer I went to an amazing concert, courtesy of my lovely friends.  Rodrigo y Gabriela are two guitarists that... well, you'll just have to listen to it.  This is called "Hanuman":

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Ricotta and Herb Ravioli." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 271. Print.

Fresh Pasta

I don't know why I did this.  Don't get me wrong, the pasta was good and not that difficult to make, but what was I thinking?!  I'm mostly asking myself this because I did this not once but twice.  Later, I used some of the pasta to make homemade ravioli.  Here's the recipe for fresh pasta:

Fresh Pasta

from The Art of Simple Food

2 cups flour

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

Mix the eggs together in a bowl.  In another bowl, measure out the flour and make a well (LIKE MASHED POTATOES AND GRAVY) to pour the eggs in.

Mix with a fork like you're scrambling an egg and incorporate the flour bit by bit.  If the dough becomes too dry (as in crumbly), then add a few drops of water.  Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic.  Let it rest for at least an hour before rolling.

Roll the dough out by hand on a lightly floured board or using a machine.  I didn't use the machine, so don't ask me.  But I did roll it out with a rolling pin until it was fairly thin.  Cut it into noodles.

***

I actually made herb pasta by adding about 2 tablespoons of sage to the flour before adding the egg.  I also got the little crinkled edges on the end with a pastry roller thing, but you it also works with just a knife.  Also homemade pasta uses a lot more water than store-bought pasta, so make sure there is a lot of hot water and that it is a rolling boil.  It also cooks a lot faster, so depending on the thickness and how al dente you want the pasta, it should boil for about 3-6 minutes.

In other news, there's a storm here!  Which is really sad because the Marin County Greek Festival is coming up and we NEED it to be sunny and nice.  On the other hand, Marin looks really dramatic... and I saw a rainbow!

This is Andy McKee's "Drifting".  We love Andy McKee:

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Fresh Pasta." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 89. Print.

Brussel Sprouts Al Lindsay

I think brussels sprouts are an underrepresented vegetable.  They are incredibly healthy for you - benefits include DNA and cancer protection, as well as a ridiculous amount of vitamin K (about 250% of your daily value in one cup), vitamin C, and tons of other stuff.  And brussel sprouts actually taste really good when cooked correctly.  I stole this particular method of cooking brussel sprouts from my mother, and she stole it from a family friend (Lindsay... hence the title).  Basically, the vegetables are slowly cooked and then infused with vinegar flavoring.

Brussel Sprouts Al Lindsay

brussel sprouts

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Cut the brussel sprouts by trimming the stems (or where the stems were) and then cutting them in half.  Heat a reasonable amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Lay the brussel sprouts flat on the pan and slowly cook them for about 20-30 minutes.  The goal is to brown the bottoms gradually.  When they're ready, throw some balsamic vinegar until the pan and let the vegetables sear while absorbing the vinegar.  Consume happily.

***

I'm fairly positive my mother refused to make brussel sprouts because the most common way to make them is by boiling or steaming, which all too often results in mushy, overcooked, and flavorless vegetables.  Now they are a frequent dish at the dinner table.  Trader Joe's sells packs of brussel sprouts, but you can also get stalks of brussel sprouts from farmer's markets (and thus feel so much color as you cart your plant-bit home).

Here is George Michael's version of "Feeling Good":

Unadulterated Guacamole

My guacamole preferences are a little strange.  I am not a big fan of chunky bits of tomato and onions and whatnot.  In my mind, that is more of a guacamole-salsa hybrid.  When I want guacamole, I want something that exploits the pure deliciousness contained in an avocado.

Unadulterated Guacamole

avocados

sour cream

salt

lemon/lime juice

Cut the avocado and put it in a bowl.  Add a dollop of sour cream and mash the avocados and sour cream together with a fork.  I usually add just the right amount of sour cream to the avocados so that by mixing them together, I achieve that weird green color of really awful 70's wallpaper.  Add a pinch of salt and some lemon or lime juice.  Taste and adjust as necessary.  I would recommend salted tortilla chips or those lime tortilla chips that are addictive and a little frightening.

pre-dinner snacks that basically became dinner

I continued getting my biannual dose of nature today.  Here's a shot of Mt. Tam:

As for an appropriate song choice, I have to go with Jarabe de Palo's "Grita".  It's a song about friendship, but I really enjoy it because I can pretend I can still speak/understand Spanish and he also just has a nice voice: