The Holy Grail of Carbs and Comfort: Pasta (homemade!)

Everyone has things they want to accomplish in their lifetime. The 'Bucket List' if you will. I don't really care for that term, but I do like (love) lists and make a new list of goals each year. Some are 'real life' goals like paying off student loans but most are little accompliments meant to make life better. Unsurpsingly enough, that means many of them involve food and books. 

I managed to make bread just fine a bunch of times so I moved on to my other favorite carbohydrate, pasta. I of course started with the red and white checkered bible that is 'Better Homes and Gardens' cookbook - I assume this is what people used before they had google. 

I made my pasta half white, half wholewheat flour and I'm not sure if that was the true culprit but this dough was so hard to work. I mean, like trying to bend cold rubber with stiff mittens on. I had to get help kneading it. Because of the crippling arm fatigue, so photos exist of the early stages. 

As a rule, I always wear my harem pants for Sunday cooking adventures

After finally rolling it flat and letting it rest, I aimed to make parpadelli.

...it went a bit wide. In retrospect it wouldn't have hurt to use a straight edge.

Pile o' pasta. And the pasta cooking times were on the page next to pies,
I promise I did not get that confused

After two batches were cut, I decided to try my hand at a few other 'shapes' and drying the pasta for storage.

Sort of linguine...

And bowties / farfelli! There's a sliding scale of success evident here.

I almost feel bad for my little pasta children

Four bowtie, outstanding in their field

I was pretty worried about how this whole project was going, not to mention the wife had asked for lunch about two hours before I even got the pasta into the boiling water. 

Eventually, the pasta cooked, I only burned myself half a dozen times, and lunch was on the plate half a day later than expected.

It looks all right though, eh?

Boston loves Impressionism (...and pizza)

When life kicks off your weekend on a rough note, you go to brunch. Actually, if life is going swimmingly, you should probably go to brunch. Brunch is where it's at: either side of the river, Saturday, Sunday, or every weekend, do it. Go to brunch.

Then you can have magical things like breakfast pizza: baked runny eggs, garlicky spinach, brown sugar (!) glazed bacon, and crispy, crispy crust.

You could survive on a serving of this for a week, no joke. Russell House Tavern, check it out!

The Museum of Fine Arts opened it's first guest-curated exhibition, "Boston loves Impressionism" on V-Day appropriately. You could vote online in the weeks leading up for your favorite and earn free passes! 

We popped into see the winners - and the favorites (notice the heart?)

I was very pleased to see what good taste my city has - we didn't go for the obvious Monet 'Water Lillies' - not that there is anything wrong with Monet...

Speaking of Monet...

After a quick spin around, we decided we needed food. I'm a sucker for museum cafes, but the MFA's is in a glass artium between the original museum and the new wing and is incredible.

Give me free bread and I may give you my heart.

We shared some fablulous cod cakes served with bacony, smoky white beans. It was a perfect snack in between all the cooking I've been doing lately. For some reason these cod cakes like being viewed at a strange angle and will not cooperate today...

Weekends around town when we don't have any plans are some of the best times - we always find good food and something to dazzle the senses!

Nando's Copy Cat Beanie Pita

I really enjoyed my time in Ireland, but as an 85% vegetarian I struggled to find food that appealed and wasn't fish and chips (I love fish and chips, but I cannot handle eating it every day.) I have really relaxed my picky eating ways in the past few years, but I still don't eat most meats other than fish and poultry. I felt a little off the first few days in Dublin, so I stuck to porridge and cheese sandwiches, but when I finally felt better and had traveled back and forth the width of the country, I was starving for a 'real' meal.

Then I noticed Nando's. I thought I heard of it somewhere. Then I overheard some people complimenting the food. I scoped that menu and put it on reserve for when A joined me in town. 

Oh my god. Joyful tastiness in a warm pita! Lemon-y pepper-y chicken wings! Cider! It was the best meal I had eaten in days (no offense to Irish cuisine, really) and I could have eaten another round almost as soon as I had finished my first.

A few days later, we did go back. It was still amazing - too bad there isn't full Nandos in the U.S. (and none whatsoever near us)! But they do have locations in London and we'd be there shortly! It seemed so simple, except for one little thing: the price. I consider Nando's a kind of upscale fast food restaurant and while it was very good, each of our two meals were well over the money I had spent on food for the three days' prior meals in total. On vacation that's fine, but what about the rest of the time?

Challenge Nando's Beanie Pita Re-creation was born. 

...and in the second go around, I created something that came pretty close and satisfied all hungry parties:

Seasonal plates! There's moose hiding under there.

What you need for Copy-cat Nando's Beanie Pita:

2 Trader Joe's garden variety veggie burgers (light green package)

2 pitas of your liking (I used Trader Joe's 'pocketful of fiber'

Handful or two of mixed greens (I used a variety of red cabbage, romaine, carrot shreddings)

A bit of cheese, cheddar or colby jack both worked nicely

Mayo

Sriracha ('cock') sauce

1. Cook the veggie burgers to your liking. Put the pitas in the oven to warm.

2. When cooked, chop up the veggie burgers and divide them evenly between your warmed pitas, along with the sliced cheese and a generous helping of greens.

3. For the sauce (the most important step): mix together equal parts mayo (I used light) with the sriracha sauce. You can add more sriracha, depending on your taste for spiciness. 

4. Apply the sriracha mayo generously and serve some on the side for additional dipping (you're going to want it).

It's that easy! It may not be an exact replica, but it is very tasty, pretty healthy, and can be easily made in larger quantities. And there is definitely some more uses for that sriracha mayo...

Enjoy!

Look at that  pita, bursting with flavor.

Pea Soup for the Season

Regardless of how you feel about the fall season - the 'PSL' 10th anniversary is really a bit much - the changing weather and shortening days in the northern regions do lend themselves to a change in menus.

That is, it's time for soup. 

Soup is a wonderful food product. It is comforting, delicious, healthy (for the most part), and you can make gallons of it and freeze it those times you don't want to cook. 

This recipe comes from a Daily Mail article about living on one pound (US $1.60) a day. I wasn't looking for an inexpensive recipe, but I'm intrigued by a challenge (and veggie-focused meals!)

I tend to make it a little differently each time, adding more or less of any of the ingredients and the end product always comes out lovely. 

Pea Soup
Adapted from the Mail

(Serves 4, 83p or US$1.32 per serving)

Ingredients

1tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 crushed garlic clove or the equilivant of chopped garlic

3 1/2 or 4 cups frozen or canned peas (the little ones)

3 cups of chicken / vegetable sotck

1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter 

To make

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the peas and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

3. Blend the soup (I have the ninja, which is amazing for blending hot things compared to most blenders).

4. Return to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the butter.

Serve with sour cream to taste and enjoy.

City Series: Amsterdam Revisited

After going back to Amsterdam last October, I intended to write a few bits about why I love my second city...and then, I didn't. I only realized this when I stumbled upon another new bloggers post about Amsterdam and decided to rectify it. Sometimes I get caught up in having to do things at the 'right' time or not at all, but it's always a good time to talk about travel!

I love to walk: in new cities, my cities, open fields, pretty much anywhere is good place for a stroll. But Amsterdam leads cities not only for walk-ability but for things to see. I have yet to find a boring part of Amsterdam and I've spent over six months of combined time there. 


One pleasant walk is through the floating flower market or Bloemenmarkt. It is not far from other sites, there's food vendors in and near the markt and there's some of the best shops for silly souvenirs you could ever wish to find. 

The floating flower market is made up of moored barges brimming with tulip bulbs of every variety. Note some are specially marked and will clear U.S. customs, while others will not. I presume it's less strict within the EU. There's tons of bulbs, cut flowers, and tulip paraphernalia - yes, that is a thing - available for purchase and often at rather good prices. Along the street are several cafes serving a mix of Americana/British breakfast foods, sandwiches, and beverages and while the food is not that exciting these places have front row seats for people watching. 

Tulips are hugely iconic in Amsterdam and the Netherlands and it's only proper to appreciate the rich variety of the flower that inspired the first market crash in history!

The only Soup you'll ever need

The lovely American holiday of Thanksgiving is only mere hours away and while I have an afternoon of sitting in traffic to look forward to, here is easy, healthy, and most importantly delicious recipe that can be made ahead and is sure to impress.

I discovered this recipe years ago and the first time I made it was one of those landmark moments in my life where I felt I knew how to cook for real. My Mom and I both make it and it is always a crowd pleaser. Incredibly creamy and sweet-savory, autumnal and beautifully orange, it's rich without being overly so and would be a perfect accompaniment to a holiday feast.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2 pounds skinned butternut squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups chicken stock (veggie stock, if you are so inclined)
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup light or heavy cream

Chop all vegetables and place in soup pot with chicken stock.  Simmer until squash is tender; about 40 minutes.  

Carefully transfer cooked vegetables and stock into a blender and puree until smooth.

Add butter and mix well, making sure butter is completely melted.

Return puree to soup pot and whisk in cream.

Serve.

Makes 6-8 helpings.
Freezes well; thaw and reheat on the stove top or in the microwave. Stir well before serving.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Snackles: Is it dessert or breakfast?

It’s fall and that means all the stereotypical autumnal ingredients: apples, pumpkin, turkey, cinnamon, cloves, cranberries...

Of course the New England region probably deserves some credit for this seasonal list of tasty treats, as we do traditionally incorporate them into our local dishes and produce many of them quite well.  So in celebration of the season, my home, and pretending dessert is healthy, here’s what I’ve been cooking lately...

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp (dessert and breakfast in one pot!)

One quart slow cooker

3-5 apples, peeled and chopped (enough to fill the slow cooker pot  3/4ths full)
One cup of old fashioned oats or granola cereal (or a mix)
Heaping teaspoon cinnamon
Tablespoon walnuts (or other nuts, or no nuts)
⅓ cup Light Brown Sugar
3 ½ tablespoons butter, melted

1. Slice and dice the peeled apples into uniformly sized pieces.  Put about half in the slow cooker pot, add some thinly sliced butter and layer the rest of the apples on top.

2. Mix the oats / granola, cinnamon, and walnuts together and spread evenly over the apples.

3. Layer the brown sugar on top evenly.

4. Pour the melted butter all over that goodness.

Cook on high for 30 minutes and low for 60 minutes OR the slow cooker recipe book I have says cook on low for three hours. The 30 minute high and 60 minute low seems to work for me.

Serve with whipped cream, yogurt, or ice cream.

Makes four servings (or two, depending on how you go about it).

I’ve had now made three different versions of this recipe (different apples and different topping mix) and it has always come out beautifully. In a one quart slow cooker, this makes enough for two decent sized dessert servings and two leftover ‘definitely healthy enough for breakfast’ servings. It’s apples, people. Enjoy!

Three Things...

I had written a lovely blog post yesterday afternoon only to have blogger dump it into the interwebs without a trace...these things made it better:

A new present for a very happy month:

Lobster stuffed scallops (!):

 

 
The best recent BBC discovery:

Snackles: Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food I denied myself for years, since dairy often equaled 'fattening' in my head. Nowadays I feel good feeding my woman tasty treats and she's most happy if I'm sharing, so everything in moderation. This is easy and so wonderful and makes great lunch the day after (if any survives that long).

Baked Macaroni & Cheese (adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens recipe)

2 cups cooked pasta (penne or fusili work well)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

Black Pepper

1 1/4 cup milk (I always use skim, lactose-free since that's what we keep in the house)

2 cups shredded milk (A mix is best: this batch has colby jack, sharp cheddar, swiss & guyrere)

1/2 to 1 cup of cracker or bread crumbs (I used ritz)

A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese

1. Cook and drain the pasta.

2. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter completely and add flour and pepper; stir until well mixed.

3. Add the milk all at once and stir until it begins to thicken and bubble.

4. Add cheese and stir until completely melted and smooth.

5. Toss well drained pasta in cheese sauce, coating all pasta evenly.

6. Distribute cheesey pasta into a square 8"x8" glass baking pan.

7. Sprinkle crushed crackers or bread crumbs on top; add a dusting of parmesan for extra cheese goodness.

8. Place baking pan into a 375 degree oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the top of the dish has browned lightly and is bubbling.

And enjoy!

Final Product!