Pasta with Broccoli and Salami

This is one of those "got home from work late, need to eat NOW" type of dinners.

And yet, it's also one of those "toss in whatever you find in the 'frig, and it comes out fabulously delicious" dinners.  Don't you just love when that happens???  There's no grand plan, you're essentially using up scraps and leftovers.  And yet, somehow the finished dish transcends its meager ingredients.

I had found broccoli on sale at the store that week, and of course it's a perfect complement to pasta.  I also had a few slices of salami waiting to be invited to the party.  And instead of fresh garlic, I used pre-purchased roasted garlic which had been calling to me at the store while I'd been shopping.  I don't usually buy it, preferring to make my own; but it just seemed to be a good thing to have on hand, and so I made excellent use of it in this dish.

Mangia bene!  [MAHN-juh BAY-nay]


Pasta with Broccoli and Salami

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 large scallion, chopped
• 6 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• pinch of kosher salt
• 5 thin slices of salami, finely chopped
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta), prepared according to package directions
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli and saute for a few minutes, until turning bright green and just caramelizing in a few spots.

Add the scallion and garlic; saute 1 minute. Add the wine and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is becoming tender and the wine is mostly absorbed.

Add the salami and pepper; cook 3-4 minutes, until the salami crisps a bit.

Drain the pasta and divide among two plates. Top with the broccoli mixture, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Serves 2.

Check 'em out on AnnArbor.com:
Yesterday: Rosh Hashanah dishes
Today: Indian Chickpeas with Tomatoes

Bowtie Pasta with Olives

Pasta is one of the great foods in the universe, because it can be served in so many, many ways.  Some dishes are very complicated, but others are blissfully simple.

I had bought some olives to serve with salami and cheese as an antipasto, and thought they might be a nice addition to an easy dinner one evening.  The mixed olives - Kalamatas as well as herb-marinated green ones - offered both flavor and color.  A little garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes for zest, and the meal was served.

How perfect for a delicious dinner on a gorgeous summer evening!


Bowtie Pasta with Olives

1 12-ounce box bowtie pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
6 ounces mixed pitted olives, chopped
parmesan, for serving

Prepare pasta according to directions.

In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute.  Add olives, and cook for 2 minutes.

Drain pasta and toss with olives and oil.  Sprinkle with parmesan (or leave the cheese off to make it vegan).

Serves 4.

Gluten-Free Pasta with a Gremolata Gratin

Pasta ... and pasta with a bread crumb topping, no less.  Heartbreaking, torturous temptation to someone who needs to eat a gluten-free diet.

And yet, this dish is entirely without gluten, thanks to nuts, garlic, cheese, parsley, and a couple of specialty ingredients from the thoughtful folks at Mishpacha and Manischewitz!  Manischewitz is now offering spiral- and shell-shaped gluten-free pastas, which were certified kosher for Passover and will also be available year-round; and Mishpacha, distributed by Manischewitz, has over a dozen new products including gluten-free bread crumbs.

I was very happy to receive an incredibly generous box of goodies to play with recently, a lovely marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group which handles public relations and marketing for a number of food producers.  And so, I decided that my first recipe showcasing these items should be a dish to offer comfort in a meal which is often verboten to many.  That items such as pasta and bread crumbs can be both gluten-free and delicious is a fabulous thing!

A gremolata is a topping of garlic, parsley, and lemon zest; a gratin is a dish topped with a browned bread crumb crust.  Combine them, and the bread crumbs and pistachios offer crunch while the parsley, garlic and lemon provide tremendous flavor.

So whether you need to be careful in eating a specialized diet, or you're trying to use up Passover products now that the holiday has ended, or you're just looking for a fabulous new way to prepare pasta, this recipe has it all!

Gluten-Free Pasta with a Gremolata Gratin

1 12-ounce package Manischewitz gluten-free pasta shells
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 very large garlic cloves, minced
zest of 1 lemon, finely minced
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped
1/4 cup Mishpacha gluten-free coating crumbs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Bring 5 quarts of water to boil; add the shells and cook for 7-8 minutes until just done.

While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic, lemon zest, pistachios, coating crumbs, and salt; cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

When the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the saucepan; stir in the remaining oil.  Place onto a serving platter and top with the pistachio mixture.  Serve with Parmesan.

Serves 4-6.

Scallion Pancakes for the Year of the Dragon

Today is the Chinese New Year, so I'm serving something special in honor of the holiday.  According to Wikipedia, celebrations involve buying "presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of 'good fortune' or 'happiness', 'wealth', and "longevity'."

Because this is the Year of the Dragon I'd entertained an odd notion of making something with dragon fruit, which I adore.  I don't care so much for its flavor, which is fairly bland (in my limited experience, anyway, of trying it once), but I love its gorgeous colors.  It's also filled with tiny seeds - reminiscent of poppy seeds - which would offer perfect symbolism to hope for many blessings in the upcoming year.

I'd thought about pureeing the fruit and perhaps making a sweet filling for dessert egg rolls.  But since I couldn't find any fresh, frozen, or canned fruits despite searching through grocery stores and ethnic markets near my home and asking my very helpful friends at The Produce Station if perchance they had any, I had to make a new plan.  (This photo was taken at a market in Pittsburgh in October ... a bit premature.)

I didn't want to resort to boring ol' fried rice - it's a great way to use up leftovers, but it's hardly celebratory or festive.  I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to make steamed buns.  I found numerous variations on red bean paste that I could have played with; but that wasn't particularly striking my fancy, although I do like red bean ice cream.

And then it hit me: Scallion Pancakes.  I could devour entire batches of these, crispy, chewy and delicious as they are.  They're easy to make, and can be eaten on their own or with a dipping sauce or wrapped around a filling ... they're perfect!  They require no unusual ingredients or equipment, so anyone can make them.  And with their many flecks of onion, I could also say that they offer symbolic hopes for bounty.

I asked my BFF Wendy's daughter Alison, who is studying Chinese (and who is fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese as well) how to say "Happy New Year" appropriately for this post.  She gave me the common greeting in Mandarin, the most widely spoken dialect:

新年快乐

The four characters are xin ([SHIN] = New), nian ([nee-EN] = Year), and kuai le (pronounced to rhyme with "why the" = Happy/Wonderful).

May the Year of the Dragon bring you much happiness and good fortune!



Scallion Pancakes with Garlic-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Garlic-Ginger Dipping Sauce:
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon minced candied ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Combine all ingredients and let rest at room temperature while making the pancakes.


Scallion Pancakes:
1 cup cake flour
1 cup bread flour + extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups boiling water
4 tablespoons sesame oil
2 bunches scallions, chopped fine
4 tablespoons light-flavored oil, for frying

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours and the salt.  Slowly pour the boiling water over the flour mixture, stirring until it forms a ball.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 portions, and keep the remaining ones covered while you work with one at a time.

Form the dough into a ball, then roll it out on a heavily floured surface to an 8" circle.  (A fair amount of flour is required to keep the soft dough from sticking to everything.)  Brush with sesame oil, then roll it up into a cylinder.

Twist the dough into a spiral, then roll out again into an 8" circle.

Brush with sesame oil and sprinkle with one-quarter of the scallions.

Roll it up into a cylinder again.

Twist the dough into a spiral, then roll out again into an 8" circle.  Repeat this procedure with the remaining dough to make a total of 4 pancakes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the frying oil in a large skillet, over medium-high heat.  Cook one pancake at a time for 2-3 minutes per side, until it's crisp and golden brown.  Repeat with remaining oil and pancakes.

Makes 4 pancakes.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- Chicago Reds

Chicago Reds is a great place to go for an inexpensive meal, which is why it's today's Frugal Floozie Friday feature. Yeah, we talked about Chicago food yesterday, too, with the famous Italian beef sandwiches. But we've moved on to a different classic food item today; have no fear of redundancy!

My dinner companion ordered the Chicago Style Dog for $2.99: "The Classic Chicago Dog, a Vienna all beef dog topped with tomato slices, Kosher Pickle, Neon Relish, chopped onion, yellow mustard, Sport Peppers & celery salt on a steamed poppy seed bun." It was definitely "dragged through the garden," as they say, and generously so. My friend enjoyed it immensely, taking a sharp detour from his usual healthy diet of steamed vegetables and rice to indulge in one of his favorite guilty pleasures. He's had a difficult time of late, and it was good to see him smile so happily as he ate.

I, however, don't want all of those salad ingredients and funky colors on my hot dog. I'm from New York, born and raised; I want my "dirty water" dog (affectionately named because street vendors keep the wieners in warm water until they're served to customers) with mustard and sauerkraut, period. So for $2.59 I ordered the New York Dog: "Sauerkraut & yellow mustard on a steamed poppy seed bun." Perfect in its simplicity, I felt transported back to my hometown for a little while.

To accompany the mainstays of our meal, my friend and I shared the basket of Garlic Parmesan Fries (pictured above) for $3.49. These were as close to perfection as fries might possibly come - golden, crisp, hot, salty, garlicky, cheesy, but none of these attributes was overdone. The consistency was ideal, and the flavorings were exceptional. And the serving was so generous, especially with the hot dogs, that we had to take some of the fries home.

So our very filling meal plus some leftovers cost the two of us less than $10, falling perfectly within the Frugal Floozie Friday budget of $5 per person or less. And there are lots of other options within this budgetary constraint, as all of the beef hot dogs are under $3, and the Polish sausages and vegetarian Italian sausage all range from $3.59-$4.79.

For a great inexpensive and casual meal - not to mention some passionate arguments over which city's hot dogs are best! - head to Chicago Reds. And leave me a comment telling me how you prefer your hot dogs: New York or Chicago style? Detroit style, with chili and onions? Southern style, with cole slaw? Or - gasp! - with ketchup???


Chicago Reds
312 S. State Street (inside Amer's Deli)
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
734-761-6000



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Zucchini alla Puttanesca

Zucchini alla Puttanesca is a great dish - hot, fast, saucy and spicy, just like its namesake; "puttanesca" is Italian for, ahem, prostitute.

Just 15 minutes is all you need - 5 for prep, 10 for cooking - and you have an amazingly fragrant and fabulous dish. It can be spooned over rice or pasta, stirred into soup, placed into tortillas, served as a side dish ... the choice is yours.

Tom and I found some of the vegetables we needed for this zesty dish at the Wednesday evening Farmers Market, which offers a wide variety of vendors (farmers, bakers, pizza and tamales) and even live music.

Avalon Housing's Edible Avalon program had a table there, which was absolutely laden with gorgeous produce! Everything had been lovingly tended in a Project Grow garden plot, and was being sold to benefit the non-profit and its residents.

The various area farmers' markets are offering an abundance of beautiful vegetables now, and this dish is an ideal way to put them to good use!

Zucchini alla Puttanesca [ah-lah pooh-tahn-ESS-kah]

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
several splashes of cayenne pepper sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!)
1 fat 8" zucchini, cut into 1/2" cubes
8 Kalamata olives, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped

In a large skillet, heat oil, vinegar, and cayenne pepper sauce over medium heat; add garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is just starting to boil. Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives and tomato; cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Serves 2-4.

Angel Hair Pasta with Purple Basil

Okay, once again I'm going to seem pretentious. But Tom and I made a fabulous pasta dish over the weekend, and simply calling it "Angel Hair Pasta with Purple Basil" does not begin to do it justice! It deserves its beautiful, lyrical Italian name: Capelli d'Angelo con Basilico Viola. [kah-PAY-lee DAHN-jel-OH kohn bah-SEEL-ee-koh vee-OHL-uh]

Such simplicity - beautiful tomatoes and deeply violet-colored basil from the farmers' market, some contrasting color from baby spinach leaves, the depth of flavor from the Gorgonzola ... sigh. It doesn't take anything very complicated to make a spectacular meal, just exceptional ingredients.

There was no grand plan for this dish; while perusing the bounty at the Farmers Market on Saturday, we found a gorgeous bouquet of purple basil. It cost $1 ... well, how could we refuse? We didn't know what we'd do with it, but there had to be something it could work with.

A few other items were thrown into the mix, and there was lunch - a lovely light meal featuring summer produce, colorful and immensely flavorful!

Angel Hair Pasta with Purple Basil

8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (i.e.: Mrs. Dash)
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup purple basil leaves, cut into fine strips
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and tomato; cook until the tomatoes produce some juice, then add spinach and cook just until wilted. Stir vegetables into pasta, and place onto a serving platter.

Sprinkle basil over the pasta, then top with the Gorgonzola.

Serves 2-4.

Romanesco Zucchini

There is a particular cooking contest that I've never entered, which encourages gargantuan burgers featuring lots of mix-ins, a sauce or two, toppings, spreads, and all sorts of other nonsense which - to my mind - detracts from the basic beauty of the burger. Good beef, a bit of seasoning, some essential condiments and a sturdy bun are all that's needed.

And so, when zucchini is in season I don't want to see it buried in breads or layered with sauces and cheeses. I love it when it's very simply prepared, letting its flavor shine.

This preparation - involving only a few minutes of sauteeing in garlic and oil, just until the zucchini caramelizes a bit - is ideal for small zucchini which are tender (rather than the overgrown ones which become fibrous).

And if you can find them at the farmers' market, the very best zucchini for this recipe are Romanesco zucchini. Any summer squash - yellow or green - will suffice. But the ridges on the Romanesco make for a beautiful, sunburst-like presentation after slicing. It's worth the hunt for this heirloom variety, I assure you!


Garlic-Sauteed Romanesco Zucchini

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
2 6" Romanesco zucchini, ends trimmed,
cut into 1/4" slices
pinch of sea salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add zucchini slices in a single layer and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then serve.

Serves 1-2.

Summer Vegetable and Bacon Sandwich

Tom and I ate dinner together the other night, and made ourselves a hot, open-faced sandwich very typical of what he eats on a regular basis. Tom often stir-fries vegetables, and he adores sandwiches; so we combined them into one happy dish.

His sister Anne (whom we consider to be our guardian angel) had recently visited from Kentucky and very much wanted to shop at Zingerman's, since she regularly gets their catalogues. So Tom had taken her to the Bakehouse to buy coffee cakes and other treats, both for gifts and for herself ('cause she's worth it!). And, well, of course he couldn't leave there without buying himself a present too - a loaf of Sicilian Sesame Semolina Bread.

So, for our dinner we started with one slice each of the bread, lightly toasted so that it wouldn't be too crispy when we tried to cut into it. We then peered into the refrigerator and found a lovely assortment of fresh vegetables, as well as some fabulous maple-flavored bacon. Toss in a little bit of the white cheddar that I'd contributed to the cause, and voila - dinner!

This was immensely flavorful, easy to make, and was a perfect light meal for a summer evening.

Summer Vegetable and Bacon Sandwich

5 slices maple-flavored bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 small red onion, halved, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced
6 asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 slices Zingerman's Sesame Semolina Bread
2 slices white cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until starting to turn golden. Add onion, garlic, zucchini and asparagus; cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender and caramelized. Add spinach, salt and pepper; turn off heat, and let spinach wilt.

Lightly toast the slices of bread.

Place 1 slice of toast onto each of 2 serving plates. Divide vegetable-bacon mixture, pouring it over the toast. Top with cheese and microwave for 30 seconds or so, just until melted.

Serve immediately, with pickles or chips or fruit on the side.

Serves 2.

Garlic Scape Season Has Arrived!

It's garlic scape season! I've been waiting all year for this precious 2-3 week period, and it's finally arrived!

And what, exactly, is a garlic scape? According to WiseGeek.com:

"The garlic scape serves as the stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed. As the bulb begins to grow and mature, garlic stalks also begin to lengthen. During the growth period, the garlic scape begins to curve. Contained within the garlic scape is a great deal of flavor, although the stalk never does reach the level of the pungent garlic bulb itself."

My friend and fellow Michigan Lady Food Blogger, the charming and radiant Diana Dyer, and her sweetheart of a husband are garlic farmers; and they're my sole trusted source of the precious scapes at the various farmers' markets in the area, with many varieties to offer and a wealth of information to generously share.

Here are just three of the many options available, each with its own distinctive bite or lack thereof:




The Dyers tend to their garlic farm with wholehearted devotion: Diana told me that if they were to count each time the garlic is cared for in one way or another, it would probably total 20-25 separate events, from planting to harvesting.

And so, the garlic which will be available later this summer is amazingly wonderful, with each bulb offering its own strengths and colors and virtues.

But to me, the scapes are the most prized -- not only for their flavor and versatility, but also because one must respect and accommodate their moment of glory. Scapes represent seasonal eating, as they are only available for a short while. Then they become a happy memory and something to long for and anticipate through the rest of the year, with late Spring bringing their joyous return.

Diana asked me how I prefer to prepare the scapes because, of course, she would recommend different varieties depending upon my plans.

As much as I adore her justly famous scape pesto recipe, my favorite thing to do is saute them in butter ... a simple, flavorful preparation that showcases the scapes' flavor with little intrusion from other ingredients.

This time I added some white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!) and a touch of cream, to infuse the sauce with more depth and richness.

Then I tossed some pasta and peas into the sauce, for a luxuriously sophisticated yet ridiculously easy dinner. And it was just perfection, after waiting an entire year for the opportunity to eat this luscious meal again ....



Pasta and Peas with Garlic Scapes

6 ounces whole wheat pasta shells
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes
pinch of kosher salt
4 garlic scapes, minced
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons cream
parmesan, for serving

Prepare the pasta according to package directions, adding the peas for the last minute of cooking.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together over medium-low heat. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and garlic scapes; saute for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Stir in the cream.

When the pasta is ready, pour the sauce over it and stir to combine. Place onto a serving platter and top with parmesan.

Serves 2-4.

Tomato Salad with Pepperoni and Sweet Pepper

This is an odd little dish -- a little cold, a little hot, very colorful and immensely flavorful. It just sorta came to me, so I put it together and ate it for lunch one day. It's been in the 90s here all week, so something light was definitely needed!

I debated whether to cook the tomato or whether to leave the pepper raw, so that each would match the other; but somehow sautéeing the pepper with some bits of pepperoni, then serving it over the sliced tomato, just struck my fancy.

And sometimes, that's all it takes ....

Tomato Salad with Sautéed Yellow Pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup finely diced pepperoni
2 tablespoons pesto
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and pepper; cook until vegetables are softening, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook until it is absorbed. Add the pepperoni and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the pesto.

Place the tomato wedges in a dish or on a plate, and top with the vegetable mixture.

Serves 2.

Note: I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, which had been sent to me for tasting/cooking purposes.

Teaser Tuesdays: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

I haven't joined in on the "Teaser Tuesdays" party for awhile; but since I'm reading a food-related book right now, it seems appropriate to bring a contribution to the potluck.

"Teaser Tuesdays" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I happen to be reading the very well-timed I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci. I'd heard of the book when it was first published, and then happened to just blunder into it at the library last week ... the universe offers us what we need at the right time, if we're paying attention.

Given that I've recently ended a relationship, and given that I'm living alone now and cooking all sorts of things I haven't been able to in recent years (due to the dietary and health quirks of many of my loved ones), this seemed like the perfect "sit on the sunny porch after dinner and read" kinda book.

It's filled with tales of hope and heartbreak, as well as stories of faith and foolishness ... and lots and lots of recipes. Giulia's parents were both Italian -- her father born in Italy, her mother raised by Sicilian immigrants -- so her love of food and her talent for creating sublime dishes are both exquisite!

Here are my two teaser sentences from page 13:

"He seemed truly smitten with me, and that kind of thing just didn't happen. I can count on my breasts the number of times I have missed a meal, but for several days after that date I ate next to nothing."

In contrast, I usually go into starvation mode when my heart feels as though it's been shattered into thousands of shards, and eat very enthusiastically when I'm happy and contented. To each her own coping mechanisms ....

I'm doing quite well and eating heartily, since the time was right (though it's still a sad situation) for my new-found freedom. And here, just 'cause they're so perfect, are two more quotes from the book that sum things up perfectly:

"But still, cooking was mine. It relaxed me .... It was a way to make sense out of my internal chaos. There is logic and order to cooking. What you put into it has everything to do with what you get out of it. With love, it's not so cut-and-dried."

"Because cooking and eating well are my raison d'être, I don't stop when there's no one else to feed."

And on that note, I thought I'd make one of the comforting recipes featured in this book about lost loves -- Sauteed Summer Peppers.

I just happened to have every one of the ingredients on hand, and even threw in some mushrooms that I needed to use up; then I served the dish over polenta, rather than with the recommended grilled sausages.

It was hearty, it was delicious ... it was absolutely sublime for a sunny Spring evening on the front porch ... :)

Sauteed Summer Peppers

Vegetables:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red onion, ends removed, sliced lengthwise into semicircular chunks
pinch dried oregano
3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow), cored, seeds and pith removed, cut into strips
6 ounces sliced mushrooms
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large tomatoes (or 4 plum tomatoes), seeded and cut into chunks
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in large saute pan or Dutch oven over medium heat and saute garlic and onion with the oregano until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add peppers, mushrooms and 1 teaspoon salt and cook partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt; continue to cook another 10 to 15 minutes until the peppers are very soft. Test for seasoning and serve with torn basil leaves and freshly ground pepper.

Polenta:

6 cups water
pinch of salt
1 cup cornmeal
freshly grated parmesan, for serving

Bring water and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly whisk in cornmeal, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until thickened.

Place polenta into a serving dish and place peppers over it. Top with parmesan.

Serves 4.

Chorizo and Couscous Stuffed Peppers

I developed a craving for stuffed peppers recently, and spent several days envisioning how I would make them. I've rarely eaten them, as most people make them with the green peppers that I consider to be an abomination -- they're much too strong and bitter. But I love the pretty colored red, yellow and orange varieties, and was determined to bake them up with something stuffed into their middles.

Woman on a mission that I always am to use up leftovers, I put my last bit of Trader Joe's soy chorizo towards this purpose, but needed more ingredients to make a proper filling. Onions and garlic, of course -- those were obvious, as saute partners with the "soy-sage," as Jeremy calls the soy "sausage." The trimmings from cutting the tops off the peppers would also be a given.

But what would the carbohydrate, the substance of the dish, be? I had brown rice on hand, but that seemed plain. So I used some of the whole wheat Israeli couscous that had been loitering in the pantry, waiting for a reason to justify its existence.

Israel couscous is much larger than the standard Moroccan couscous; it looks like it should be used as ammunition for a bb gun. I would pre-cook it, and then it would become even more tender when baked with all those vegetables.

And so, last Saturday afternoon, this is precisely what I did -- I chopped (including slicing my finger, which Tom expertly cared for by sealing the flap with Krazy Glue before bandaging me) and I stirred and I sauteed. Tom then took over filling the peppers and grating the cheese, before I wounded myself further. We watched baseball -- first the end of the Yankees win over the Red Sox, then the beginning of the Tigers loss to the Royals -- as the apartment filled with the fabulous aroma of spice and peppers and browning cheese.

The peppers were tender but not mushy once they'd finished baking, and -- as you can see -- were picture perfect: bright, festive, colorful, and enticing.

This is an easy recipe to make with either regular chorizo or with soy-sage, and I truly cannot recommend it highly enough. I'll use my uninjured hand to pat myself on the back for having this work out perfectly on the very first try ... :)



Chorizo and Couscous Stuffed Peppers

3/4 cup water
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous
1 tablespoon oil
6 ounces soy chorizo
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped onions, both red and white
4 peppers, tops removed and chopped, seeded
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bring water, salt and cumin to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous, cover, and turn heat down to "low." Cook for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and let couscous rest for 10 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo, garlic, onions and the chopped peppers; saute until the vegetables are translucent.


Stir the couscous into the vegetable mixture.

Place the peppers into an 8"x8" baking dish.


Divide the couscous mixture among them, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, divide the cheese over the tops of the peppers, and bake for 20 more minutes.



Serve hot. Serves 4 generously.

International Week -- Pasta con Aglio e Olio

This plain-looking pasta dish is ridiculously simple, yet flavorful beyond my ability to describe it. It takes almost no time to prepare, and yet is remarkable for its richness and ability to satisfy. And it has a secret ingredient which you'll likely not guess -- and which most people who eat it won't guess either -- that provides less of an overpowering assertion and more of an "umami" [ooh-MAH-mee]: that indefinable savory "je ne sais quoi" quality that cannot be discerned but which makes its presence known.

This is another recipe shared through my ex-husband, from an Italian immigrant he met a few years ago. I'm told that the man's English was rather poor, but his eyes and his smile shone as he described this dish in the foreign (to him) language, because his love for it is so pure and abundant.

Now, first let me translate the Italian name of the dish for you: Pasta con Aglio e Olio [PAHS-tuh kohn AHL-yo eh OHL-yo] means "Pasta with Garlic and Oil." Oh, how woefully inadequate that title is, even in the more beautiful language!

Because the sauce for the pasta contains not just garlic and oil, but also anchovies.

Yup, you read that right -- anchovies. Those little fuzzy, smelly fishies that can guarantee you won't have to share your pizza with anyone if you plop some of 'em on top.

And yet, once they've melted into the garlic oil -- and they will essentially melt, leaving only miniscule traces of their existence -- those anchovies impart a flavor so full of depth, with a hint of smokiness and a touch of saltiness that isn't readily identifiable as "salty," that you will simply want to inhale platesful of this dish.

You could add peas or carrots or spinach or tomatoes or any other vegetable to this meal to brighten it up and to add nutrition. But sometimes simplicity is precisely what you need.

Pasta con Aglio e Olio (Pasta with Garlic and Oil)

pasta of your choice, for 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 2-ounce can anchovy fillets in oil, drained of most of the oil
2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon butter
parmesan, for serving

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic, and cook just until the garlic starts to turn lightly brown. Add the anchovies.

Cook, pressing down on the anchovies with a spoon, for 5 minutes or so, stirring to break up the anchovies.


Add the broth, and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce is dark brown and reduced by half.


Stir in butter, then pour sauce over pasta; toss to coat pasta with the sauce.


Serve with parmesan, and mangia bene! [MAHN-juh BEH-neh] = eat well!