Pasta Puttanesca

Italian food. Well, American Italian food. It's quick, it's yummy, and nothing really says "comfort" like a big bowl of noodles in red tomato sauce. But sometimes you just get tired of cooking the same thing over and over again. This version of pasta puttanesca uses a lot of prepared modern products to cut down on chopping and prep, but feel free (if you have an extra 20 minutes!) to sub whole tomatoes, crushed by hand for 10 minutes, fresh minced garlic, and whole olives-sliced-if you only had the time!

The origins for Pasta Puttanesca are many, but my favorite explanation is that it was originally cooked by prostitutes to lure in customers with its pungent and warm aroma. Pasta Puttanesca does require the use of anchovies, but don't be scared! You won't be eating little fish fillets whole. When heat is added the repugnant fish melt and become a form of the lauded unami. A mystical flavor punch in the mouth.

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp olive oil (or other neutral oil)
1 heaping tbsp minced garlic in oil
3 or more anchovy fillets to taste (I used 10)-save the rest for Caesar salad dressing or pizza-leftover anchovies can be refrigerated for up to one week
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (unsalted preferred!)
2 tbsp katamala olive spread
1 tbsp capers
1-2 whole dried chili pepper, such as fish, thai chilie, or cayenne, crushed (or sub 1-2 tsp dried red pepper flakes)
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 box spaghetti, linguine, or other long pasta
salt to taste
shredded Parmesan, to serve

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in another large sauce pan, cook the garlic and anchovies over medium heat until the anchovies melt. 
2. To the sauce pot: add the canned tomatoes, olive spread, and peppers. Stir.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Boil until "al dente" according to the package.
4. Add the capers and parsley to the sauce. Simmer until the pasta is cooked. 
5. Drain the pasta and return to it's pot. Mix the sauce with the pasta. (Make sure to turn off all burners so the pasta doesn't continue to cook)
6. Serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

Asheville, NC Local Book: In Defense of Okra

Do you love local food? Gardening? Heirloom seeds and veggies? Cooking? Okra? If you said yes to any of those things, check out this link (opens in a new window) to the Kickstarter campaign by Chris Smith of Sow True Seed in Asheville, NC! 

Best,
Suzanne

The Veggies Are Coming...

On Facebook, I am friends with a few of the local farmers and food producers in my county. I like this. I like knowing where my food comes from. I like watching as the seeds are started in the greenhouses, then planted in the fields when they get big. I like watching as local producers try new flavors of soda and cheese. I get excited each week when the list for the veggies available at the farmer's market comes out. I watch with anticipation for words like "asparagus" so that I can comment and say "Save me some!". Because, honestly, it's either that or arrive 20 minutes before the market opens. People fight over that asparagus! I like knowing when our local pork farmer will start driving 45 miles each way to pick up milk from the closest local dairy. I drool at the honey. I try not to get too excited when I see a mushroom. And the eggs...the pasty yellow yolks from the grocery will be gone, replaced with vibrant orange yolks of chickens that eat worms! Creamy, slightly sweet, and golden yolks! I can hardly wait.

I saw this quote the other day: 

The biggest thing you can do is understand that every time you're going to the grocery store, you're voting with your dollars. Support your farmers' market. Support local food. Really learn to cook. 
Alice Waters

It's really true. Do you want to support Big Agriculture? Or do you want fresh local kale, chard, and asparagus that you fight for? Our local farmer's market starts April 14. And I can't wait. So look up your local farmer's market. Be ready for spring. The Veggies are Coming.

Suzanne

Weeknight dinners

Here are a few of my favorite weeknight dinners-all come together in 30 minutes or less!

Sausage, Pierogies, Onions and Peppers. (5 ingredients if you count the oil). One 12 inch skillet. Serves 2-4. Use pre-cooked kielbasa or andouille sliced on the diagonal (one hot dog sized sausage per person) and Mrs. T's pierogies (any variety). Slice one onion for every two people (white, yellow, red or sweet) and one pepper for every two people (any bell or large chili-think poblano or carmen). Add 1-2 tbsp neutral oil such as canola or sunflower to a skillet. Add onions and peppers, then pierogies. Saute 5-10 minutes on medium to medium high until pierogies start to brown. Toss in sausage and cook until sausage poufs. May use zucchini in addition too the other veggies or to replace one. 

Caribbean Black Beans and Rice. Serves 2. Cook Jasmine rice according to package directions. Use 1-2 tbsp coconut milk for the fat. Heat up a 15oz can of black beans. Stir in one finely diced jalapeno, scotch bonnet, or habenero pepper (depending on heat tolerance), one chopped clove of garlic, and 1tsp cumin powder. Add 1-2 tbsp tomato paste. Add about 7oz diced mango (canned or fresh) and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro (may sub 1tbsp dried). Serve beans over rice with any leftover mango or other fruit on the side. 

Simple Sesame Noodles. Serves 4. From the Pioneer Woman Cooks (link opens in a new window). I recommend udon noodles. 

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta. Serves 2-4. Used jarred red peppers to skip a step and eat even faster. Roast 2 large red bell peppers or 2 large sweet chili peppers such as carmen or lipstick. These are often called Italian sweet peppers under a broiler on high until the skins start to blister and turn black. Rotate and repeat. When all sides are roasted. Remove from oven. Cut off the stems. Blend peppers, 1/2 c. vegetable stock, 1/2 c. fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried basil), 1 garlic clove, and a little salt in a blender or food processor until it's the desired consistency. Pour into a little stockpot and heat. Cook pasta (any type) according to package directions for al dente. When pasta is almost done, add 1/2 c. heavy cream to the sauce. Serve sauce over pasta. May choose to add a little more basil for garnish. 

Simple and Easy, but Sounds "Real" Fancy

I love dinner parties. I love entertaining. I also love actually spending time with my guests. And yet, there is something about making impressive dinners when people come over. It can't be a simple weeknight dinner of Mrs. T's pierogies with sausage, onions, and peppers. Oh no. It must be elegant. It must be stunning. It must be...fancy. 

Enter the quail. Super quick to cook. Smaller than chicken, tastier too. And it's becoming more and more accessible. You can find quail in the frozen section of Harris Teeter, Ingles (if you live in Western North Carolina, North Georgia, or Eastern Tennessee), and a few other grocers. You can also find it fresh at Publix, Whole Foods, and Earth Fare. Or you could buy from a local farmer. If all else fails, you can spend more time searching and waiting for quail than actually cooking it! If you want to order online, I recommend MacFarlane Farms (opens in a new window). They also sell yummy pheasant (you can see that recipe on my blog here-opens in a new window). 

This recipe serves 2 (makes 4 quail). Easy to double or triple as you like, just add 10 minutes cook time for each 2 quail added.

For 4 Quail:

Salt, pepper, cherry juice, honey or maple syrup.

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, mix together ½ c. cherry juice and 3 tbsp either honey or maple syrup.

Rinse off quail. Pat dry. Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Place quail in baking dish. Pour over cherry/syrup mixture.

Bake for 20-25 min. on the top rack until done.

May sub grape or cranberry blends for the cherry juice. Must use 100% juice for this to work!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I love banana bread. I hate old bananas. Win-Win! I also love Mark Bittman's recipes. I have all of his cookbooks. Including "How to Bake Everything". He has this great recipe for banana bread you can find here on the New York Times cooking website (opens in a new window -if you have subscription). Or you could buy Mark Bittman's cookbook or app "How to Cook Everything." I'm not giving away his recipe for free. I will tell you I hate nuts, so I sub chocolate chips. Not as healthy, but certainly more delicious!

Here is a photo of my attempt! (Don't forget to serve it with milk!)

Enjoy!

Easy No-Knead High Fiber White Bread

I love bread. I love all bread. I love eating bread. I love baking bread. I even love the place and bake Sister Shubert's rolls. But I especially love chewy crusty white bread. And yet, I had a problem. My husband is on a high fiber diet. How can you possibly have high fiber white bread? After all, white bread is white because the wheat germ has been removed. A little Pinterest, a little experimenting, a trip to the Mother Earth News Fair bread lecture, and a lot of baking have resulted in this lovely bread recipe! It has flax seed meal to make it high fiber and add some color, but feel free to leave it out.

The only catch is that it tastes best in a dutch oven, so try to have one handy.

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 c. for the cutting board
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baker's yeast (a packet contains 2.5 tsp, so you will use about half a packet)
3 tbsp ground flax meal (optional)
1 1/2 c. warm water (do not use chlorinated water, so buy bottled if you must).

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. It will look like this:

Add, the warm water and stir to mix thoroughly. The dough will be slightly tacky and appear over moist. It should stick to the sides of the bowl. If it isn't damp enough, add a little more warm water 1-2 tbsp at a time. If you don't use the flax seed meal, you will probably not need the extra water. 

Then, allow to rise 8-24 hours covered in plastic wrap or a damp flour sack towel (really, it can't over rise...I accidentally left mine for 48 hours once, it kind of tasted like sourdough...kind of). The dough does prefer a warm spot.

After the bread has risen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit with the dutch oven and lid in the oven! You want the dutch oven to heat slowly.

Meanwhile, turn the dough onto a floured cutting board. Roll into loaf form. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp flour sack towel. Let rise until the oven has preheated, about 30 minutes.  

Carefully transfer the bread to the dutch oven (the dutch oven will be hot!). Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 5-8 more minutes. When you remove the loaf, it should look like this:

Now, this is the hard part. Do Not cut into the loaf for at least an hour. I know you want fresh baked bread. However, the moisture in the bread needs a little time to settle. So, have patience and wait. Unless you plan on eating it all within the hour. That works too.

Enjoy!