To make and eat now

While out in the eastern townships over the long weekend, I brought home two bags of peaches and cream corn (among many other eat-able, drink-able items). And inspired by the gorgeous shots of fresh corn pesto pasta on Lottie + Doof, I knew that this exactly what I wanted to eat. I mean, duh, corn pesto… seems so obvious, why didn't I think of this before?

I didn't have tagliatelle or fettuccine, so I used a skinnier egg pasta, which was still fantastic. My photo isn't as pretty as Tim's from Lottie + Doof, but here it is:

And to drink? I finally opened up a bottle of Cab Sauv that my friend Bo brought me from a trip to Israel. Corn from Quebéc, basil from my balcony, wine from Israel. A nice combination indeed.

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Prosecco eats broccoli (and cauliflower)

Chez moi ce soir: Spelt linguine with Ontario broccoli and orange cauliflower sauce. Deliciously and lovingly prepared by C, now christened by Broccoli as "Risotto". Are you still with me? A dash of olive oil and a dusting of Romano (which I mistakenly bought thinking it was Parmigiano) and dinner is served. Enjoy!

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Blonde Pesto

Fusilli modified a Jamie Oliver recipe to make this yummy pasta. The pesto is made from crushed pine nuts (toasted), lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Full recipe after the link.

In a big bowl, smash a handful of pine nuts into bits. Could use the butt of a knife or a wooden spoon.

Pine nuts are tastier if you toast them in a pan for a few minutes first.
Add lemon zest from 1 lemon,
2-3 big spoonfuls of olive oil,
Salt and pepper,
Lemon juice from 1/4 lemon, or more if you like lemony.
Stir this together.

Boil pasta,
Add peas for the last 4 minutes if using frozen peas.
Could use corn or a mix of frozen veg.

Meanwhile saute shrimp with some olive oil and garlic. Salt the raw shrimp and then cook.

When the pasta, shrimp are done. Toss everything into the big bowl.
Can add some salt at this time, more lemon juice, more olive oil if it seems dry.
Garnish with whole pine nuts, chopped mint and grated parmagiana.

On the side I added the tall glass of sanity–Tanqueray, lime, tonic and ice.

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Tuesday night's Matriciana

This is a meal that was promised to me last Saturday but didn't appear until Tuesday night. Why, you ask? Traditionally a Matriciana is served with a type of pasta called bucatini, but C prefers to make it with a fresh spelt rigatoni from a shop on Dufferin street called Bologna, where the Italian ladies whip it up daily. Except on Saturdays they close early and C didn't get there in time. The pasta's a bit pricey, but in my opinion the best fresh pasta one can buy in Toronto. Anywho, the two of us pigs were starving last night and ended up devouring the entire pot of Matriciana. It was fantastic, and so worth the wait. I was full after the first serving but kept being lured back for more. The chewy, slightly nutty spelt pasta and the sauce with savoury bits of bacon did me in. We cleansed our palates after the pasta frenzy with a fresh salad with vegetables from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box: butter lettuce, peas, grated kohlrabi, orange mint (from my balcony). Oh, and only second to C's Matriciana is the one at Lupa in New York. Check it.

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Pasta Primavera

Fusilli found an interesting variation on the classic spaghetti primavera. This version uses miso paste in place of cream and butter. Healthy and delicious.

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Tomato and Fennel Pasta

I found some excellent fresh pasta at the North market on Saturday. Check out the ingredients – red fife, semolina, eggs, water. Nothing extra, just the goodness.

I remembered a great quick tomato sauce recipe from Martha. To the sauce, I added diced fennel, fresh basil and Niagara prosciutto. A tasty compliment to the fab fresh pasta.

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Feta Fennel Anchovy Pasta

I picked up some fresh whole wheat pasta at the north market last Saturday. In an effort to use up what's in the fridge, I decided to have the pasta with the rest of the fennel and feta cheese.

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EAT! EAT RIGHT NOW!

The words of my Italian dinner preparer as he runs out of the kitchen serving me a bowl of pasta carbonara, and as I'm yapping to my roommate. "What's the deal with the yelling?", I'm thinking. I'll dig into my pasta just as soon as we finish discussing the state of her dating escapades. And then again: "EAT!!" Fine, I shove a warm forkful of luscious yellow-coated creamy goodness in my mouth. Mmmm good. But then, the next subsequent bites are kinda cold. That's the deal with carbonara, I learned. You have to eat it *right* when it's served, piping hot. Because by the time you finish listening to a story about another bad date your roommate's been on, it's over. Pasta's cold. Lesson learned. Next time, I will eat my carbonara as I'm told, exactly when it's served. One other lesson learned- I always thought carbonara contained milk or cream, which it does not. When I watched my dinner preparer making it, I noticed eggs, salt, pepper and grated parmigiano. Oh, and some bacon thrown in for good measure because everything is better with bacon.

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Lamb Spinach Feta Pasta

Taking a break and having some comfort food before the New Year's extravaganza. Multi-grain fusilli with lamb sausage, spinach and feta cheese.

Shout out to Francis who gifted an excellent bottle of Chilean Santa Alicia Merlot to accompany the meal.

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Lemon Penne with Broccoli & Bacon

I'm thinking about changing our name to Broccoli & Bacon – I'm totally obsessed with the combo. In fact, I almost made broccoli wrapped in bacon, but I decided that would be too weird. Bacon wrapped things always sound better than the end result.

I made a light sauce with white wine and lemon juice, and then topped it with lemon rind to add some brightness. The Peperoncini from Terroni brought the heat.

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Pasta Wednesday

What can you say about Wednesday? You've made it to the middle of the work-week, but from the glass is half-empty perspective, you still have half the week left. Let's just say Wednesday sucks.

Comfort food always helps. So this Wednesday called for a warm plate of whole wheat pasta with chicken, bacon, spinach and parmesan. A nice glass of wine almost made it feel like Friday.

I'm still ironing out my pasta technique, and this one wasn't a saucy as I would have liked. I'm giving this a 3.

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Fusilli by Fusilli

Yes, walnuts on pasta. Try it sometime, I think you'll like it. Also shown, a sentimental favorite from a long-ago trip abroad, Chateau De Nages.

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Bufala ricotta

Remember that road trip with all the bufala products? It went into dinner one night and breakfast the next day. For dinner, here we have bowtie pasta with homemade tomato sauce with the ricotta melted through. So creamy and delicious. And for breakfast the next morning, the same ricotta spread on slices of dense bread drizzled with Calabrian honey. Sorry no pic for that one!

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Corner Cavatelli

There's a tiny corner restaurant in NYC called The Little Owl. If you can't get a reservation, just show up early – they'll find a spot for you.

My favorite was the ricotta cavatelli with fava beans and bacon. Mmmm, lean in and smell the screen.

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More spelt pasta

What can I say? I love spelt. Spelt pasta is not only nutritious (higher protein content than wheat pasta), but it has a nutty flavour and a slightly chewy texture. It's become a staple in my kitchen these days with my preference being this brand. Here's a quick "madrigiana" sauce- chopped cooked bacon in an organic tomato sauce with spelt rigatoni and spinach garnish. Fast, delicious, and good for you. [I can't believe I posted about bacon again!]

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Versus: Orechiette Carbonara

The second versus challenge. This time, Orechiette Carbonara, a fast and delicious weeknight meal.

First up, Broccoli: I wanted to green this dish to offset my feelings of carb-guilt. I puréed spinach to create a pesto that I cooked quickly before adding the pasta and egg mixture to combine. I ended up making way too much, but I ate it anyway so I guess I wasn't feeling that guilty after-all. : )

Next up, Prosecco: Although the original recipe called for leeks, I chose to skip them as I'm not a fan. But like my colleague, Broccoli, I needed to bring some green to this dish so I wilted about a cup and a half of arugula in the pan the bacon was cooked in. The best part was eating the 'little ears' that had bacon stuck inside them. Bacon makes everything better.

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Quick tuesday night dinner

Spelt pasta + hot Italian sausage + spinach = dinner in minutes & tomorrow's lunch.

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