Posts from the “Entree” Category

Pasta, cream, and competing motivations.

Posted on April 22, 2012

I’ve noticed that many of the discussions, or rather, debates in my classes center around the many and often competing elements of food. Culture, politics, justice, taste, economics. You name it. When it comes to food choice, we’re surrounded by competing motivations. Should we choose food for the joy of cooking or the necessity of convenience? Environmental sustainability or community building? Localized food systems or answer to world hunger? Things are often considered in binary terms, and something I’m learning is that this does not make for fruitful conversations. The metaphorical fruit, that is.

While food seems pretty simple, given that it’s a universal human need, it is somehow incredibly complicated. Everyone is concerned with different elements of the food world, to varying degrees, of course. Especially within my program. For example, some people only want to make and eat and taste and talk about food. Others only want to figure out how to allow everyone else the “luxury” of doing those things. It makes for interesting and challenging conversations. These considerations continue to shape my thoughts and opinions, and affect my own food choices. Rightly so.

Take, for example, the consideration of time and convenience. Many a discussion in my food policy class has come back to the fact that we exist in a culture that espouses the value of convenience at the expense of quality. And the reality is, whether we like it or not, our culture forces each of us to rely on some level of convenience. So, how are we to encourage people to buy fresh produce and cook at home, whether in an effort to encourage healthy eating choices or support a local food system, if they simply “don’t have time” to do anything but buy prepackaged, precooked meals? Good question. And better yet, how can I argue for the value of cooking at home if I’m not willing to take the time to do so myself?

I was haunted by this question earlier this week, in the midst of the now familiar end-of-semester stress that’s heavy laden with finals and term papers. I had yet another come-to-Jesus moment and realized I need to do a better job of practicing what I preach. (Well, I certainly hope I don’t preach. I prefer to suggest. With a healthy dose of opinion thrown in the mix.) So I tried desperately to remember what staple items were keeping each other company in my cupboards. This process usually lands me on the very popular pasta shelf. Top right, just above the stove. Pasta. My second favorite food group behind that butter-sugar-flour one.

Orechiette, it is! Those perfectly sized mini dishes of pasta, waiting to be filled with the perfect sauce. I was in the mood for something creamy. Shocking. So a little half & half, plus peas and spicy chicken sausage, and voila. Dinner. Admittedly, it took a bit longer than if I had purchased something frozen from Trader Joe’s or picked up pasta to-go from my favorite corner trattoria. But this night was about choosing time and quality over convenience. Choosing to know exactly what is in the food I’m eating. Choosing to use some of the food I already have in my kitchen in order to reduce some of my food waste. And choosing to practice what I preach.

The secret ingredient in this recipe is a goat’s milk Gouda cheese. My friend, Joyce recently introduced me to it and It. Is. Heavenly. (Have I mentioned how wonderful it’s been to be surrounded by people who love food as much as I do?!) This cheese offers the subtle and smooth sweetness that a good Gouda should. Literally melts in your mouth, no matter how much you shove in there. Not that I would know.

(Pssst! Tracy…I created this with you and Matt in mind. Pasta, cream, sausage. You said you missed my cooking so this should be right up your ally!)

Creamy Orechiette with Peas and Sausage

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

8 oz orechiette pasta

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 small sweet onion, finely chopped

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen (Freshly shelled peas at the peak of their season do offer an incredible sweetness and are worth the effort!)

2 chicken spicy Italian sausage links, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4″ half moon pieces (Ground Italian sausage would work very well here, too.)

1 cup half & half

1 cup goats milk Gouda

Freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste

Freshly grated parmesan, to taste (Optional. But who doesn’t love a good pasta parm topper?!)

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the oil and allow it a minute or two to heat.

Add the onions and garlic. Cook for several minutes, stirring constantly, being sure they don’t burn but begin to soften.

Add the sausage. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the sausage to begin to cook and brown.

Add the peas. Cook for several more minutes until the sausage is sufficiently cooked and browned.

Turn the heat to low and add the half & half and the Gouda. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you use a spicy sausage it will impart a good kick. The Gouda will add a sweetness to the sauce. I ended up seasoning with quite a bit of freshly cracked pepper since this was the main seasoning I used. I believe in the power of freshly cracked pepper and sometimes it’s all you need!

Once the sauce is seasoned to your liking, add the cooked pasta and stir to combine.

This pasta is best served immediately as the creamy sauce can begin to thicken and dry up quickly.

So, dish up and enjoy!

And then there were four.

Posted on March 30, 2012

And then there were four weeks, that is. Just four weeks and a few extra days until the end of my first semester of grad school. Like many of life’s seasons, some days it feels like I’ve been here forever and some days it feels like my one-way flight to Boston was just yesterday.

I’m proud of the work I’ve accomplished so far and the fact that I, most likely, will finish at least one semester of grad school. Ok, alright, I’ll stop exaggerating. I fully intend to finish all semesters of grad school. But first I have an unbelievably overwhelming amount of work to do. I’m in two classes this semester, one called Understanding Food: Theory and Methodology, and the other called U.S. Food Policy and Cultural Politics. The two could not be more different, which is a wee little miracle because it means they’ve kept my attention span interested. One class lives and breathes in the Ivory Tower and the other is much more practical. My policy professor calls herself a “scholar activist.” Now that is something I can wrap my head around.

But before I can relax on the beaches of southern California, surrounded by my family and my favorite dog, I have to complete a critical reading response paper, an analytical book review, a literature review, an abstract and outline for a term paper, the term paper itself, and a final exam. All while keeping up with my weekly readings of, gulp, hundreds of pages. No biggie. I’m all over it. All I have to do is keep allowing myself some space away from reading and writing and cramming. Those wonderful moments when I can somehow free myself of the guilt-ridden feeling that I should be working instead of doing something relaxing and fun.

For me, nothing helps this cause like a countertop full of good ingredients and a yummy bottle of wine. To make things even better I’ll throw in a delicious cheese and some tasty crackers to ~~fill up~~ snack on while I get to cooking. Tonight my counter was filled with spaghetti, mushrooms, spinach, tomato sauce, basil, pecorino and parmesan cheeses, garlic, onion, and heavy cream. Oh yes, my friends. Relaxing.

Spaghetti with Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves 3-4, depending on the level of aforementioned cheese and cracker consumption.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 generous handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
1 can, 15 oz, of tomato sauce
1 can, 15 oz, of diced tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Dash of sugar, to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream, or half and half if you choose
Grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, to taste (anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup)
8 leaves of fresh basil, chiffonade or cut into long, thin strips
8 oz spaghetti

Directions
Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter over medium-low to medium heat in a large skillet. Don’t heat your fats too high or you’ll chance burning the garlic and onion. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute for about five minutes until soft and tender but not browned.

Pour the tomato sauce and drained can of diced tomatoes into the pan. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. The sugar is used to cut down the acidity of the fresh tomato sauce. Start conservatively and continue adding sugar and spices until you achieve a taste that you like.

Stir the sauce and cook, covered, over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In a separate skillet, heat the other 1 tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is heated through, add the mushrooms to the pan, stirring to coat them in the oil. Let the mushrooms sit for about five minutes before touching them again. Don’t crowd the mushrooms! I love that phrase. Continue cooking the mushrooms until they are browned on both sides.

In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions.

When the sauce is done, remove it from the heat and stir in the half and half. Add the mushrooms, spinach, and grated cheese. Stir to coat the spinach so that it can wilt slightly. Taste the sauce at this point and add any spices or cheese if you want to enhance the flavor.

Once the pasta is cooked, put it directly into the sauce or drain it and then put it into the sauce. Don’t rinse the pasta. By doing this you rinse off the starch on the cooked pasta and the starch is what helps the sauce stick to the pasta. Did you know this?! Life changing tips. I’ll be here all week, people.

Add the basil, serve, and enjoy! Don’t forget the wine.

Big yellow pot.

Posted on March 5, 2012

When I first looked into the grad program I’m now in at Boston University, the academic director told me that most students do the program part-time because the classes are at night, it was originally intended for people working full-time, and the program is academically rigorous so a part-time schedule enables students to get more out of what they’re learning. I’m curious to know what grad program would not be considered academically rigorous but that’s another issue.

Every time I had considered grad school in the past I always found myself admiring people who were able to balance work and school. Although they’d probably argue that there was no real balance. I always thought “There’s no way I’d work and go to school. I’d go full-time, head on, get in, get out.”

So, naturally, I’m now in a grad program part-time and working part-time. You know what they say about the best laid plans.

+ fresh out of the oven +

Balance is an interesting concept. The more I try to get some, the harder it is to come by. I think balance is a very personal thing. Each time I talk to someone else in my program about how to find a balance between all of the things we’re trying to do and accomplish, I realize that the balance others are seeking probably wouldn’t work for me. Most notably, I need more sleep!

I keep trying to take a step back and remind myself that finding balance in life is always a challenge, and doing it while entering a new season of life is especially tricky. How do I find the time to go to class, do all of the work that’s being asked of me, get paid to do a part-time job, try new recipes, enjoy the blogosphere, get regular exercise, get regular sleep, skype with my family, keep up with my friends, and socialize? Oh, and do the laundry that’s currently sitting on the floor staring up longingly at me.

+ big yellow pot wonder +

I’ll let you know when I figure it out. Right now the only kind of balance I can seem to find is in the kitchen. It’s my zen place. Since I haven’t found a yoga studio here yet. So bear with me as I compare my life to the big yellow pot you see pictured above. You know that saying about how life is like a box of chocolates? Right now my life could certainly use a box of chocolates, but it feels an awful lot like this big yellow pot. A pot that for years belonged to my grandmother, which I never knew until I found it in her garage after she passed away. It took me a matter of seconds to realize that this pot was the one possession of my grandmother’s that I wanted to have with me. I’ll introduce you to my grandmother later. Incredible woman. Incredibly complicated relationship.

Anyhow, this pot, big and beautiful and rustic and charmingly aged, just begs to be used. So far since moving to Boston I’ve used it to make an enormous chocolate chip cookie and this wild rice and mushroom casserole. And that’s a little bit like what my life feels like right now. One day it feels like an amazing chocolatey, chewy, perfectly sweet deliciousness of a cookie that I can’t stop eating. The next day it feels like a warm and hearty hodgepodge of a casserole that fills me up pretty quickly and requires some time before diving in again. Some days it feels a little empty and uninspired. It’s hard to keep up.

So I’m trying to go with the flow. I realize that as soon as I find some kind of balance a new semester is going to begin and throw me right off my rocker again. That’s okay. I’ll survive. I’ll just keep cooking in Grandma Barbara’s big yellow pot.

+ wild rice and mushroom casserole +

Wild Rice Casserole

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Serves 6

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30-60 minutes

2 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon spicy or whole grain mustard
fine grain salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or chopped (Any variety will work. I used button mushrooms because those were available.)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked rice or grain at room temperature (Any combination of wild rice, brown rice, even quinoa or another grain would work well here. To save time I used precooked frozen rice. Just be sure it’s good quality.)
1/2 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh tarragon or thyme (Be careful here. Both herbs are quite strong!)

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously slather a medium-large baking dish with olive oil. Or use a big yellow pot that you inherited from your grandmother. Mine is about 10 inches in diameter and worked well here.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

In a large skillet (or big yellow pot) over high heat, combine the olive oil with a few pinches of salt. Stir in the mushrooms, being sure to cover with the olive oil. Let the mushrooms cook in the pan without bothering them for about 5 minutes. Mushrooms like to be left alone to do their business of browning and releasing water. Keep an eye on them, though, and once they’ve reduced in size a bit stir occasionally until they’re nicely browned.

Add the onion to the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Then stir in the garlic and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Remove the pan from the heat, add the rice, and stir to combine.

Combine the rice mixture and the cottage cheese mixture either in a large bowl or in said big yellow pot. Stir to combine and put the mixture into your prepared baking dish if you’re not using the one pot wonder that is Grandma’s big yellow pot. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the grated cheese over the mixture and cover with aluminum foil. This ensures you can control how brown the cheese gets.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes depending on how quickly your oven browns the cheese. Alternatively, you could broil the casserole for a few minutes to save time, but be sure to keep an eye on it so that the cheese doesn’t burn. The casserole is done when it’s hot throughout and a nice deep brown along the edges. See picture above!

Serve sprinkled with the chopped herb of your choice and the remaining grated cheese.

Posts from the “Entree” Category

Pasta, cream, and competing motivations.

Posted on April 22, 2012

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And then there were four.

Posted on March 30, 2012

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Big yellow pot.

Posted on March 5, 2012

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