Pasta and Garden Veggies

It's hot here today, I mean like in the upper 90's, and I just don't do heat well.  That's why I moved to the Pacific Northwest from Arizona.  Fortunately you only have to hear me whine about this a couple times per year. 

Earlier today I thought about grilling steaks or burgers - but then got lazy and didn't want to run out to the store.  I'm glad I didn't, there's no way I would have been happy cooking outside!  So what do I decide on instead?  Making a holy mess of the kitchen, using every burner on the stovetop and dirtying what seemed like every pot, pan and utensil I own.  But it was worth it........

I haven't made pasta in awhile, and I've been thinking about the wonderful taste and texture of it lately.  I was going to make a quick marinara to top it with, but my husband said I should just toss it with olive oil and fresh veggies.  Ohhhh, good suggestion!  There's some zucchini and peas in the garden ready for picking!  But, I can't stop there.  I had to make it even more complicated than marinara would have been.  But it was worth it........

This is similar to the Bowl-O-Pasta I posted about in May, but here's what I did tonight:

Made the pasta dough, let it rest about 10 minutes, then used the pasta machine to flatten it to sheets and cut it into spaghetti.  While the pasta was hanging to dry for a bit, I got all of my ingredients ready for cooking.

The end result was a fantastically delicious pasta bowl with garlic and crushed red pepper infused olive oil*, fresh peas, pancetta, grilled zucchini, topped with pine nuts and fresh grated parmesan.  I finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  In the words of Cisco Morris - oh, la, la!  My only wish is that the cherry tomatoes were ready too .......

~ Enjoy ~


* To make garlic and crushed red pepper infused olive oil: put some olive oil in a skillet, add a few sliced cloves of garlic, and crushed red pepper.  Gently warm the oil until you can start to smell the aroma of garlic, then turn off the heat.  Let sit about 10 minutes.

Bowl-O-Pasta

This was just one of those days when a quick, easy dinner was what I needed (think field trip to downtown Seattle with 6th graders).  Rather than turn to boxed or frozen meals packed with preservatives and sodium, I make something fresher with ingredients I always have on hand.  There are a few different variations of this meal, it just depends on what's in the fridge (and someday there will be a Bowl-O-Pasta II post showing pasta with more of a sauce).

While I normally like to do this with homemade pasta - tonight was all about quick, and stuff I already have available.  Here is the start:

Boil whole wheat pasta to al dente in salted water (enough for 2 dinner sized portions)
While boiling:

• warm about 1/8 - 1/4 cup light olive oil with approx 1/8tsp - 1/2tsp crushed red pepper and 3 cloves chopped fresh garlic.  When it's warm and you can smell the fragrance of garlic, turn off heat and let sit;
• chop olives and red pepper (I use Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro), put into large mixing bowl;
• grate 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, set aside;
• Gently toast 1/4 cup pine nuts

When the pasta is done cooking, strain from water and place directly in mixing bowl.  Pour oil/garlic mix, 1/2tsp - 1tsp Italian seasoning, and parmesan over the top (doing this now will allow the parmesan to melt and cling to the pasta).  Mix with tongs.  Divide into 2 serving bowls and lightly top with extra virgin olive oil, grated parmesan and toasted pine nuts.

Variations:

• Add fresh chopped basil or basil pesto (fresh or jarred), omit Italian seasoning from above;
• Add crumbled goat cheese (may need to use a bit of pasta water so it doesn't get sticky and allows the goat cheese to become slightly creamy as it melts);
• Top with sliced pepperocini from the Mezzetta jar.

Notes: To toast pine nuts, place in skillet over low heat and stir every few minutes so they don't burn.

Oh, and I did enjoy the field trip - a lot - but I was tired and not in the mood to make a big or complicated meal.  :)

Feel free to share your ideas for variations... and if you try this, come back and let me know how you liked it!