Pasta Primavera (my version) Pasta with Vegetables

This isn't a recipe, it's a list.  It's one of my favorites...  Connor absolutely loves it.  It's my "there's nothing to make for dinner and I'm starving and need something right now" go to dish. 

This absolutely serves more than two of us but this is how I make it for Connor and I.  There's a small second helping for each of us and then a bowlful for later.  He's 13 and perpetually hungry mid evening.  

Here's how I do it:

Put a giant pot of water, heavily salted, on to boil.  I learned the water should taste like the sea, if it doesn't, add more salt.

Grab 1/2 pack of angel hair pasta, I prefer Barilla.  Break the pasta into thirds and put in a bowl, waiting.  Get another serving bowl and throw a handful of frozen peas in it, set it aside.  

You'll need a little cream and a little chicken stock, I always have both on hand.  You CAN use water in place of the stock and you CAN use half and half in place of the cream, it's no excuse not to make this. 

While the water is on to heat, chop into small pieces and put into separate piles on your cutting board:

2 slices of bacon

1/2 small onion

1/2 small zucchini

2 small tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

handful of whatever fresh herbs you have, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano (be judicious, it's strong when it's fresh)

*you can add ANY fresh vegetable or greens you have on hand

Put a medium sized fry pan on medium high and start to fry the bacon in a drizzle of either olive oil or bacon fat, just to get it going... fry it until it's pretty and brown and it's rendered it's fat. 

ADD the onion and fry for a moment then add the zucchini and garlic cloves.  Shush it around a bit on a medium high heat.  If you're in the mood, add a little butter for flavor and richness.  Butter and bacon and bacon fat and onions, really, there's few things so spectacular in the kitchen.

OH look, it's time to toss the pasta in the boiling water, stir it around and set the timer for 4 minutes. 

Add some stock to the vegetables and bring it to a vigorous boil, add some cream and the tomatoes.  Boil it for a minute or so then add most of the herbs.  Salt and pepper to taste, add the frozen peas and let it simmer for the rest of the pasta cooking time, it'll reduce and the flavor will absolutely become richer. 

When the pasta is cooked, keep about a cup of the pasta water then drain it well.  Add the pasta to the sauce in the pan and add a little of the pasta water to loosen it up.  Toss well, add the rest of the fresh herbs and toss around again. 

Serve in 2 deep bowls with loads of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and more freshly ground pepper. 

Eat with abandon and joy

The sauce simmering down...mixed with the vegetables...piled high in a bowl
  

Shave fresh Parmesan over it, quick, delicious, hope it'll become a 'go to' for you as well.
 

/enjoy!

Homemade PASTA!

I had a hankering.  Home school is fun, exciting and challenging.  It's the best decision we could have made for Connor.  I'll be honest, I am sort of feeling run down.  We have chickens now too, 2 wk old chicks to be exact. I had a hankering for pasta and I didn't feel like vacuuming the stairs (ya, the connection worked in my head) so I figured I'd make some pasta for lunch for Connor and I.


In a bowl combine

1 cup of all purpose flour,
a little salt  (1-1/2 tsp kosher)
a drizzle of olive oil
2 eggs (I used extra large)

Mix with your fingers until you can knead it.  Knead until smooth, 2-4 minutes, easy. Keep your board floured so it doesn't stick.

When it's a smooth ball, let it rest a few minutes.

Run it through a pasta machine, start on 1, the widest setting until it's very smooth then increase one number per roll.  Lightly dusting between rolls.  I went to #6.  If you don't have a pasta machine, just roll it with a rolling pin thin thin thin.  I have cutting bars on my machine but don't use them, I like cutting by hand.  Roll, stack, cut, toss with flour and leave to dry until you want to eat it.  You can cut it as wide or thick as you'd like,  just leave them uncut to use in lasagna or any layered or rolled pasta!!  I leave mine on the board, dusted with flour, uncovered until I'm ready to eat it.

Boil in heavily salted water about 1-2 minutes.  Toss with a little olive oil, butter, pepper and fresh herbs.

Perfection.  Here's the beauty shots:

                









Bring a big pot of water, heavily salted, to a boil, throw in pasta (this is one of the piles) Put a pat of butter, a little cream, a little chicken stock and some pepper in a pan beside the pasta. Stir the pasta quickly, this is the pasta at 1 minute!  It's done in 2 minutes.
  

Ahhh, cook for a few moments...lift out of the water and into the waiting pan...toss it around on relatively high heat to allow the sauce to reduce a bit and the pasta to absorb all that yummy goodness.
  

Toss in more pepper, more cheese and some fresh herbs, toss it just a moment longer.  Tip into a serving dish, grab 2 forks and sit with your son and talk about fresh pasta, sustainability and enjoy.
 

It takes 5 minutes to make, 5 minutes to cook and you'll never be able to cope with store bought pasta again :)

/enjoy

Grilled Chicken, Fajitas

I think people over think food.  I think they worry about too many seasonings, too much futzing and are too concerned with timing, and coordinating courses. 

I think cooking, and food, are about joy.  Simple is always best.  My friend has a recipe for chili that he proudly states includes in excess of 38 ingredients.  Really?  Why?  There is no way it all matters, no matter how complex and sophisticated you consider your pallet, there's no way that number of ingredients matters.

Friday night, beautiful weather in Austin, Texas.  Husband won't be home till close to 8, as per usual, and Connor and I will die of hunger before then.  Enter fajita night.

There are few things a BBQ grill won't enhance. I have a gas grill but am just as happy to use charcoal.

When I was at the store today I picked a family pack of chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) and a I had a couple of breasts I'd boned out a few days ago.

In a big bowl I tossed all the chicken with some salt, pepper, a little oil. If you want to be chef-y, add cumin and garlic but I just wanted the flavor of chicken and the flavor of grill :)  In another bowl I tossed a couple red peppers, a green pepper, 2 zucchini cut length wise and 3 onions, cut n/s (through the stem so they stay together.

Preheat grill to 10,000 degrees.  Hot hot hot!

Char the vegetables and toss them back in the metal bowl with a cloth over them.  When you're hungry later, peel them, slice them and throw them on a tortilla with, oh look at that chicken!  Grill it high and hot hot hot.  Flip it a few times, let the edges get good and crunchy, crispy.  Toss the whole pieces of chicken and onions in another oven dish and cover it with foil.

Cook some tortillas, slice the meat and add some vegetables.  You will be very, VERY, happy and it didn't take any time at all, didn't matter when anyone could sit down, this is one of those 'it waits for you' meals.  Most excellent.

Beauty shots!

 

     
It's all happily sitting and waiting, I have some fresh tomato and some beautiful avocados what I'll slice up and add when I make the tortillas.  Ah, grilled dinner in the palm of my hands.  You'd hardly know it's only for 3!

The veggies all slices up... I love the charred ends of the onions.  Connor is a purist, meat, cheese, sour cream. I'm a little bit of everything sort of girl.  The grilled zucchini rocked!
   

more, just because
 

Go grill something.

/enjoy

Fajitas

Busy weeknight, day on the road under the auspice of running errands and getting things "done" but really it was a day hanging with some of my mommy friends. We did coffee for a ridiculous number of hours. I went to 3 stores to try to find a bra, luckily at store 3 I found one that actually fit so I cleared them out of one of every color, I don't want to go do that again for a while.

I met a friend for a late, lingering lunch and we munched on enchiladas and had a cocktail so by the time I grabbed Connor from school and dashed home there was a finite amount of time to get food on the table.

Enter fajita night.

Four skinless breasts, two peppers, one onion. Flour and lard for the tortillas and bingo! DINNER!

Let's play, here's how it went:

Salt, pepper and lightly the oil the breasts and lay them in a screaming hot cast iron pan. I crowd them slightly because they shrink and frankly I can't be bothered to get out a larger pan. I managed to use my new pink retro pyrex dish as holder for the sliced veg.

Turn it when it's quite brown and then cover it with a piece of tin foil. It keeps it moister I think and it speeds it up a bit. Flip a couple of times until you peek into a fat bit and it's just barely cooked through. Wrap it in thick foil and leave it on the side. It'll steam a bit, cook through a bit more and stay ridiculously juicy!

Toss the sliced onions into the pan and toss them around a bit, I put the comal on top and you see the foil chicken package was on it, I just wanted a little steam.

When they are slightly soft and slightly crunchy and a little brown around the edges, toss in the peppers, salt and pepper. Toss them around a little, plunk the chicken package on top and toss the whole pan into a 300 degree oven. DONE!

Heat a cast iron skillet or comal on medium high heat. Toss a tortilla on it and leave it there until you get a few bubbles, Connor timed it at 38 seconds. Flip it and cook it till it puffs... maybe 20 seconds? *you can buy tortillas or make your own, your choice. I have a recipe and process for flour tortillas, go there if you want to make EASY fresh tortillas!!

Pull the peppers out of the oven, if there's a ton of juice, toss them on high heat to boil it off. Slice the chicken thickly and toss it in with the peppers.

Take your yummy warmed tortillas and stuff them full! Add sour cream, cheese and I like avocado. There were leftovers that I may use in scrambled eggs and do a breakfast taco or two, or three :)

I love fajitas and I don't make them nearly enough. They are quick and easy and really delicious and I think you should stop reading and go make some, now!

/enoy