Veggie Bowties (florentine?)

This is basically yesterday's pasta, but with more tomato and some spinach-like greens, rather than a kohlrabi.   I'm really not certain what these greens are...  they're like a cross between what I generally think of as spinach and chard.   Too "ruffled" for most spinach, and without the "earthiness" of chard.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 6-8 little carrots (probably 1.5 large grocery carrots), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disk
• 1 bunch spinach or other leafy green vegetable...  1/2 lbs, minus stalks. and torn up
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used My Biere De Garde, this time)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

Pretty much the same process as last night, too.   The biggest difference is that the greens went into the sauce immediately after the pasta went into the boiling water.   This gave them just enough time to wilt nicely, without overcooking.  If anything this one tasted a little better than last night's, probably due to the extra tomatoes. 

Veggie Bowties

The Thursday before last, I picked up some tomatoes at the roadside farmer's market on my way home.   I love cooking with fresh tomatoes, and I'll be glad when I'm harvesting mine, but until then, I won't mind getting them from the CSA and farmer's market.   Those are usually much more ripe and ready than the ones from the grocery.

The CSA this week included a good bit of squash and zucchini, as well as a couple of kohlrabi and a big red onion.   They also had some little carrots, with tops.   Those still have the "carrot" nature, but they have a bit different flavor and texture from most of the carrots that you get at the store.

I'm just sort of rambling at this point, I think.   Quick Primavera pastas are pretty much a weekly staple for me during the summer.   Especially since I started participating in the CSA, since I wind up getting a big pile of fresh vegetables that I don't necessarily normally buy, and the pasta makes a really good "glue".   I'll hopefully post a few recipes from these things, though they will mostly be variations on the same theme that this one uses.

Enough talk...   This makes 2 servings.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 5-6 little carrots (probably 1 large grocery carrot), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disks
• 1 kohlrabi, sliced into chunks
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves
• 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used my Saison Sombre, since it just went into the keg)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

I chopped all of the vegetables but the tomato, to try and make sure all the water that came out of the tomato would go into the sauce.  Next, I got the fry pan heating on medium high heat.   When water flicked onto the pan sizzled, I added enough oil to lightly coat the pan and added the garlic, onion, and carrots.  At approximately the same time, I got the water for the pasta heating on high.   Next, I got the tomato chopped up, and tore up about half of the basil leaves and set aside half of the oregano leaves.

Once the onion had mostly lost the purple color and started turning translucent, I added the rest of the vegetables, the prepared half of the herbs, the red pepper flakes, and some black pepper and a little salt. 

After the water came to a boil, I added the pasta, brought the water back to a boil, put the lid on the pan and turned the heat off.   I cooked the pasta for about ten minutes.   Meanwhile, I got the rest of the basil ready to tear, and stirred the sauce every minute or two.   It was just starting to stick to the pan with about 2 minutes left on the pasta, and with about 1 minute left, I added the beer to deglaze.

When the pasta was finished, I dumped it and the water into a sieve and shook it somewhat dry, and then dumped it into the pan with the sauce.  I added the last of the herbs and drizzled a final bit of olive oil over the pasta as I stirred it up.   I finished with stirring in some fresh parm.

Broccoli Pasta

I should have gotten some pictures, but I was too busy cooking and eating...

1 shallot, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
4oz mushrooms, sliced
2 broccoli crowns, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1T fresh oregano, chopped (1/3-1/2 of that dry)
1t fresh basil, chopped
1/4t crushed red pepper
6oz rotini

Fresh grated parmesan to taste

Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven, and turn it to 500F.   Sautee the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms in some olive oil in a large, oven safe sautee pan for 3-4 minutes before turning the pasta water to high in a covered pot (I use a 4-quart saucepan, you may need to just time or sautee temperature according to your equipment).  The mushrooms should  be taking on some nice color just as the water comes to a boil.   Add the broccoli and herbs and some additional oil and stir thoroughly, so everything is mixed well, and then put the entire pan into the oven, uncovered.   Add the pasta to the water.   Cook the pasta for the time specified on its container.   Drain the pasta, remove the sauce from the oven, and combine (careful of that handle, it'll be hot) everything in the sautee pan.   Add parmesan and stir until it has melted into the dish, and serve.

Minestrone

From October 26, 2008.   I cooked this for my father and grandmother when they came to visit.  It's a fantastic soup, and it reheats well.   You could probably cut the simmer-time back to 30-45 minutes and have it for a weeknight meal, but it really is better with that extra time.

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Sautee these in 2-3 T of olive oil, and 1/2T of butter, with 1/2t of salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped

Once the vegetables are bright and the onions are translucent, add:
28oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can garbonzo beans
water to rinse both cans out + some more to get it to soup consistency
1 vegetable boullion cube
the leaves from 3 basil plant tops
a large handful of fresh spinach (2-3 oz)
1T dry parsley
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t dry rosemary
1/4 powdered oregano
1t dry marjoram
30 grinds of black pepper
1/2 t liquid smoke
1/2 t apple cider vinegar

Bring it all to a boil, and simmer for a couple of hours, for the flavors to meld.   Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh cornbread from the oven.

Tomato Olive Dip

Constructed on February 1, 2007.   This worked quite well as a dipping sauce for some ciabatta bread, and would probably work well for other crusty breads. 

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6 kalamata olives
3 cloves of garlic
1 6oz can tomato paste
3-4T olive oil
1t italian seasoning
1/2t black pepper
1/4t crushed red pepper

buzz everything up in a food processor (after peeling the garlic and pitting the olives, preferably).  let it sit for a bit, so the flavors can come together.

Mushroom Tomato Pasta

Here's one from August 31, 2004 that exemplifies the seat-of-the-pants cooking I enjoy.   Some days, you don't realize the bounty that your pantry, refrigerator, and spice cabinet have to offer until you realize that you really don't want to go to the grocery, and haven't been for a couple of weeks.
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 so, i had some penne rigate and some fresh tomatoes and peppers that i got from my parents last weekend, and not much else, so i figured i'd do something with that. digging through my cabinet, i found some dried mushroom "medley"... hmmm, this sounds promising.

4-5 tablespoons(???) extra virgin olive oil
3 small tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 hot pepper of unknown species (one of the milder hot peppers)
1 package of dried mushrooms
1.5 cups(???) water
1 teaspoon tobasco
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups penne rigate

reconstituted the mushrooms by boiling them in the water in a small saucepan for a few minutes. combined everything but the pasta in a bowl, while the mushrooms boiled, thought about how to mix it all together for a couple of minutes, then just dumped it all in with the mushrooms. kept all that simmering the whole time i cooked the pasta, so it was thickened up a bit by the time it was ready. ran the pasta through a sieve, then tossed it back into the pot i cooked it in, dumped the sauce on top, and stirred it around for a minute.

i was amazed that i managed to get the pasta/sauce combination "just right"... i tend to have a bit too much sauce. it was mighty tasty, and even better with parmessean sprinkled on top.

Meat Lasagna

 From January 31, 2004

This is from back when I still ate a good bit of meat.

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I think I started with the tomatoes...

1/2 cup dried tomatoes, 3/4 cup cabernet, & 1 teaspoon dry basil

I combined those in a small saucepan and let the wine cook down until it was thick, then let it cool while i was doing other things.

2 links of fresh hot italian sausage
1 small link of pepperoni

A piece of country ham that my parents brought me last weekend
1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

I cooked all of the meat (in total, right around 1/2 lb) over medium heat til it was brown, then added

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced

I turned the heat up to medium high and sauteed all of that in with the meat. when the onions were translucent, i added

the tomato-wine mixture
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon marjoram (+ some fresh marjoram from my plant)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of crushed hot pepper
2 8oz cans of tomato sauce
~2 cups of water

I brought it all to a simmer and let it cook down for probably an hour and a half to two hours. I got lucky, and this wound up being almost exactly the amount of sauce I needed. I think it's gonna wind up being a little soupy, though.

meanwhile....

I mixed 1 egg into a 16 oz container of cottage cheese (ricotta also works well, but is a little drier)

I cooked 9 lasagna noodles, because I couldn't remember how much they expand. I probably could have used 6 quite effectively, but 8 would have been ideal.

I also had 2 8 oz bags of shredded mozerella and 1 5 oz bag of parmessean. This is the first time I've done this with shredded parm (I think).

Once the noodles have cooked for however long the directions say to cook them, drain them in a collander and then pour some cold water on them so you can handle them.

I put this all in a 9x15 or so casserole (i don't remember the exact dimesnsions... it's rectangular, not square)
I put a spoonful of sauce in the bottom, and spread it around, so the bottom noodles don't stick. then two super-layers of smaller layers of stuff in this order. try to spread it all evenly:

1/2 of the noodles
full bag of mozarella
1/2 container of cottage cheese
1/2 of the meat sauce
1/2 of the bag of parmessean.

On the top layer, i like to sprinkle some more italian seasoning on the top, just for fun or something.

Preheat oven to 350F. cover dish with foil. bake 20-30 minutes with the foil on, then another 20-30 minutes with the foil off. let it rest for 10 minutes or so (I like to heat up bread in that time). slice and eat.

Note: most of my measurements are underestimated, since I didn't actually measure anything but the things that come as an object (sausage links, egg...) and the wine.