Garlic Shrimp with Spaghetti...An Easy Dish Yet a Privilege to Prepare

As we slowly pulled into the lot the first thing I noticed was the police car. It could have been a coincidence. Just a routine drive through the neighborhood most likely but my heart sank a bit as I thought to myself, "Please keep them safe. Please let them be treated kindly."

We climbed the open, outdoor staircase and knocked on the door. As the father pulled open the door we were led into a clean, sparsely furnished apartment. The lights were dim. The place was quiet. My friend, Stefani, shook hands with the father. I followed behind. The mother appeared from around the corner. A huge smile across her face. And then little ones slowly made their way into the living room. The boys in their best khaki outfits. The girls in lovely dresses. Stefani and I trying to blink back tears of emotion at their gesture of being so dressed up for their photographs.

At first, we had all eight of them bundle up. I thought the lighting would be better outside. But somehow as I clicked away, I realized that to cover up their outfits was a shame. No these pictures wouldn't be the ones. We would make do with the light inside.

With coats set aside and everyone gathered in the kitchen, I snapped away at their family. Two parents. Six children. And I tried to make sense of what I had been told about them. Left their home in the middle of the night to escape civil war violence. Spent six years in a refugee camp waiting to come to America. Six years.

When I was done with the whole family. I took pictures of the parents. So beautifully regal in the way they looked into the camera.

After the parents, I snapped pictures of each child. They were reluctant at first but then the littlest one came forward in her long white dress with the little pink flowers. She encouraged her brother to get in on the photography shoot. They were precious. Holding hands. Posing unabashedly for the camera. I wanted to reach out and just bundle them up in my arms.

The older ones. The almost teenagers. Were shyer. More self-concious. And yet, despite their efforts to stay reserved, the camera captured their personalities. A shy one. An outgoing one. One of mature beauty. And a littler one, not quite sure about himself...yet.

The eldest children said they went to the nearby middle school. I thought, "Please, please let them be treated well."

We shook their hands and said good-bye. Stefani promised to be back soon with framed copies of the photographs.

On the car ride home, my dear friend explained to me that within 30 days of moving to the United States, all of the children must be enrolled in school. The parents, usually the father, have about 8-9 months to find regular employment. The organization she works for, Lutheran Community Services, helps support refugee families like this one through their arduous transition of settling in the United States.

I tried to comprehend what it must be like to move to a foreign country, to learn a new language, a new school system, a new culture and find employment all in one year's time. I thought of the things on my To Do list that had been languishing on there for not just a year...but years. Fix broken window in living room. Put photos of kids in photo albums. It's almost embarrassing to type that. They are extremely trivial in comparison.

And so, while I can write and say the words - Violence, Civil-War Unrest, Refugee Camp - I can't really know what it is to experience them. No. Not really.

But I can know what it feels like to look into their eyes. To be taken away by their beauty. To want desperately for them to be treated well. To want to gather up the little ones and hug them. To be overcome with emotion by a long white dress with little pink flowers.

And I can know on some level, that the dinner I'm cooking for my family....this simple little dinner of shrimp and pasta...is a privilege to be able to cook in my own kitchen. And it is a privilege to sit around our worn kitchen table. In safety. Eating our meal together.

And I can know what is is like to hope that this family of eight...that I had the privilege of photographing...can now sit around the safety of their own kitchen table and do the same thing.


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Garlic Shrimp with Spaghetti
I love this dish. So fast. Perfect for a weeknight. I use frozen shrimp for this. I find that I use a lot of frozen seafood in the winter. Many times frozen seafood, once thawed, is fresher than the "fresh" fish at your grocery store especially when the seafood was frozen soon after being caught. I have made this with bow-tie pasta and penne but my favorite pasta with this are the longer types - spaghetti, spaghettini, fettucine and so forth. And I must insist on one thing...that you use fresh Italian parsley. It is easy to find in the grocery store (or perhaps your garden) and lasts a long time in your crisper especially if you wrap it in a paper towel.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb spaghetti
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (dethaw, if frozen)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 c reserved pasta water
juice from 1/2 a large lemon
1/4 c chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Sprinkle in some salt and then, drop in your spaghetti. Cook 8-10 minutes or according to directions on packaging.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add your olive oil and butter and heat until butter is melted. Drop in your garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add in your shrimp and saute over medium heat 4-5 minutes or until the shrimp has turned pink all over.

(For some reason typing that just now made me think of the riddle: What is black and white and red all over? A Newspaper. Ha! Ha! But I digress...)

By this time your pasta should be done. Before draining it, scoop out a 1/2 c of the pasta water and set aside. Then, go ahead and drain your pasta.

Once the shrimp has finished cooking, add your 1/2 c of reserved pasta water, the lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Maybe 1/2 tsp of salt...1/4 tsp of pepper... Then, stir gently to combine.

I like to put the pasta in a large pasta bowl and pour the shrimp over the top. Then I gently toss everything together making sure to coat the spaghetti with the delicious garlicky-lemon sauce. Scoop up into individual bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Yum....

Note: If you have an 11-year old who loves shrimp like I do and he is first in line to serve himself up....make sure you let him know that he has a 6 shrimp ration. Otherwise he will take up to 12 or 15, leaving only a few meager ones to be split between the remaining four members of his family.

Enjoy

Yield: Serves 4...but in our house, it serves 5 since the Kindergartner eats like a bird.....

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Spring is Springing
I just adore the work of clay artist, Rae Dunn. Her pottery always catches my eye. And today was no different. I happened to come across her post announcing her new spring plates. Adorable. You'll have to check them out here.

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Organizing Project Progress
The bags to be donated are still in our entryway. We are just stepping around them. They don't seem to be bothering anyone.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Baked Minestrone to Evoke Memories Long Since Passed

I had been forewarned about the hairpin turns but what I hadn't been prepared for was the splendor of the canyon ablaze in reds and golds. The tiniest of the three of us had somehow managed to wedge herself in the "back" as we headed south in the cherry red sports car. The beauty of the Smith River Canyon in deep fall zipping past our windows. Each one of us was feeling a bit homesick as the holidays approached. So, our driver was taking us home. One of those "college weekends at home." To her home. Dolly and Kenny quietly crooning in the background...her Christmas album that always has top bidding as the first one to play each year. The three of us talking about this and that. Nothing much. Heading deeper and deeper into the dense forest.

Funny how our memories work. Only the keenest among us remembering everything. Most of us only remembering fleeting moments within moments. But sometimes those brief but remembered bits of time passed leave an indelible mark on us. We carry those bits around with us throughout our lives. Over time, we jostle those memories around in our heads. And they evolve. Take on different shapes. The sharpest details tend to fall by the wayside. Details no longer of importance. And the edges begin to soften. But one thing never changes....when. We can never change when those memories actually occurred and what they taught us about ourselves or others who surrounded us at that time in our lives.

Seeing as my college "mode-of-transportation" was a bike, I was quite thrilled to have spent the past 5 hours riding shotgun in the cherry red sports car and only felt a tinge of guilt as our tiny friend unravelled herself from the back of the two-seater car after pulling into the driveway. Here we were. At the childhood home of our dear friend. Our first time visiting. We entered her gracious home and for the rest of the weekend, we were treated to glimpses into her childhood. Into bits and pieces that made her who she is. Her bedroom with the canopy bed. The bathroom she shared with her sisters. The white carpeting in the living room. The restored Victorian where they spent numerous special occasions. Her family's place of business. The bay. The barn in her backyard. Her mother. Her father.

Sometimes I wonder if you can truly know a person without knowing her family. Her hometown. All the places and people that touched her during those most impressionable years of childhood.

We sat around that large wooden table in her family room. Talking. Petting her dog (or was it dogs?) that reminded me of my family dog. Her mother, who had been just out of our vision in the kitchen, was now setting down bowls of minestrone in front of us. The warm and comforting smell causing my stomach to growl. And looking down into the bowl, I had to smile. Dancing around in my soup were black olives. The same black olives, back at my home, we would have put on our fingers like puppets. The same black olives my grandmother would have set out with sweet pickles and celery topped with cream cheese and paprika at Thanksgiving. And suddenly, surrounded by my dear friend's family, in her childhood home, eating a simple meal of minestrone soup, I didn't feel so homesick anymore. And no matter how many details fall off the edge of the memories from that weekend, I'll never forget the warmth. And it's those same feelings of warmth and family that define my dear friend to me. A friend whom I'm still fortunate enough to have in my life.

Baked Minestrone
by Linda Macdonald

I make this soup every fall. Sometimes a couple times during fall. So easy. So delicious. And, my favorite part are those simple black olives. I am not sure what the "baked" in the title of the recipe is meant to imply, but I am not one to argue with the creator of such a scrumptious dish. Now, Linda's instructions have you precooking your pasta before putting it in. I'm guessing that is to help prevent it from getting too soggy. I am always too lazy to do this step since it means washing another pot so I just throw my pasta in to cook in the broth about 15 minutes before I want to serve it. I also use 2 32-oz boxes of beef broth and omit the water since I don't want to waste the leftover broth. I will then add in some water if the stew has simmered down quite a bit and more liquid is needed. But however you do it, I hope you'll make a batch this stew and experience your own feelings of warmth and family as we approach the holidays.

Ingredients:

2 lbs stew meat, cubed
1 c onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used Herbes de Provence because it's what I had on hand.)
OR 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp pepper

3 15-oz cans beef broth

2 c water

1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes, plus juice

1 1/2 c zucchini (approx 2)

1 c carrots

1 15-oz can kidney beans, plus juice
1 15-oz can medium, black olives, plus juice
1 c shell noodle, pre-cooked
parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Generously salt and pepper your stew meat. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Brown your meat - possibly in two batches to prevent it from "stewing".

Add in your onions, garlic and Italian seasonings and cook another 3-4 minutes until the onions are starting to soften.

Add in your broth, water, tomatoes, zucchini and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Add your kidney beans, black olives (and pasta, if you did not pre-cook it) and cook at a high simmer for another 15 minutes. If you pre-cooked your pasta, add it to the mixture right before serving.

Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Ladle into shallow soup bowls. Top with parmesan cheese. Serve with some crusty bread and Caesar salad on the side. Enjoy....

Yield: One big pot full


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

AM Northwest is in MY Kitchin' and We're Making "Soup on Monday"

When the kind, sweet people at AM Northwest asked if they could film a cooking segment in my kitchen, my first thought was, "Oh no, now I really am going to have to clean out that pantry." There's not much you can't find in my pantry. I like to keep my kitchen well-stocked with staples. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes not. But regardless of which way you look at it, that tiny little closet was much in need of an overhaul. I could even see the eyes widen of one of my dearest friends when I told her of this opportunity and then, she glanced at my pantry. She, a former, professional organizer, kindly gave me some helpful tips. "Okay, you're going to need to pull everything out of there. Wipe it all down. And then, only put back in what you're actually going to use." I was grateful for her advice.

But, in true Carrie Minns procrastination fashion, the day before an actual, TV camera would set forth in my kitchen...I decided to clean the fridge first. "This won't take long. I'll get to the pantry in a little bit." Armed with a soapy scrubber and a sharp knife for chipping off "who knows what" on the side door, I went to work making the fridge shine.

Pleased with my work there, I headed toward the pantry but then, found myself drawn to the drawers of school paperwork that had not been sorted through in at least 2 years. My thinking was that, "I must clean out these drawers because what if I need to move items from the pantry into these drawers? What would I do then? There would be no room."

The sun was on her downward arc, my littlest one was following my every movement, people would be clamoring for dinner soon and I was starting to lose steam. I stood at the door of the pantry and stared. I half-heartedly took down some items from one shelf. Spruced them up. Put them back. Managed to do that same process with one more shelf. Swept the floor and then, decided, "Good enough." I turned and headed to the kitchen table where the 5-year old was waiting to challenge me in yet another titillating game of Candy Land.

A few weeks ago, my friend Fran asked me what I thought when I saw myself on the TV. "Do you find little things that you want to change? Are you overly critical of yourself?" And I told her honestly, "The older I get, the easier I am on myself." Somewhere along the way I realized that I'm just doing my best. Not perfectly by any means, but just like everyone else, I'm going about life the best way I know how. Years ago, I would have stayed up until 2 in the morning to clean out that pantry but now, I've realized that I do what I can. The pantry will always be there, but the 5-year old waiting to "whoop" me in Candy Land, won't.


If a video screen does not appear above this line, click here to be taken directly to the site.
And hey, check out that fridge, lookin' good...

To further expound on the TV segment, I do try my best to meal plan every week. I look at the schedule ahead and see how much time I have to cook on any given night. I consider what is in-season. Then, I write down some idea for dinner Monday-Thursday and Sunday, whether scribbled on a post-it note or put down officially in my planner. Friday is our family pizza night (and my night off.) Saturday, I'm never sure what will end up happening or whether I'll find something at the farmer's market that morning so I usually leave it up in the air. Sundays are our true "Family Dinner" night. I always plan to make something a little more special and the kids rotate having to partner with me to make that meal. I get to have some company and they get to learn some cooking skills. Then, it's back to cleaning out the fridge, for "Soup on Monday."

Here's a link to an actual recipe that mimics the soup I made on the segment: Rainy Day Vegetable Soup


And, if you want to look further into meal planning, here are two websites dedicated to meal planning.
My friend, Jane Maynard, plans weekly at: This Week For Dinner
And my friend, Tricia Callahan, plans monthly at: Once a Month Mom


One last thing, if you'd like an incredibly beautiful reminder of all the bounty that this season has to offer for meal planning, check out this desk top calendar which currently graces the screen of my computer:
November Calendar by Shanna Murray and Jen Causey


Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Shrimp Fresco for Just the 5 of Us

As they circled back round past our home once again, we waved and hollered "good bye" and "drive safely" to them with all the fanfare as the first time. I watched as my 10-year old darted through beach grass and hopped over rocks trying to make it to the next driveway before they did. Trying to make the time with his beloved cousins last a little bit longer and then....my sister-in-law, my niece and my nephew were gone.

We had, of course, performed this same good-bye ritual, with the hugs, the waving, the blowing kisses, the circling around a few times, the week before when my sister and her little ones had left. After they had driven out of sight, my 5-year old had tapped me on the arm and said,"Mom?" When I turned to look at him and reply, "What?", I could see that he was trying to keep his lower lip from quivering as he asked me, "When will we see them again?"

Once my sister-in-law's car was out of sight, the 5 of us silently headed back toward the house that had moments ago been teeming with activity and now suddenly seemed very empty and quiet. Each of us, perhaps, a little wistful that the last of the vacations within summer vacation was drawing to a close.

Now, I would be lying if I didn't come forth and say that sometimes, during the past couple of weeks with all of the cousins, the noise level and chaos grew to such heights that I couldn't even hear myself think. And other times, like a good housewife right out of the 50's, I would hear myself holler, "My nerves!" and then, proceed to pour myself an old fashioned a nice, chilled glass of Pinot Gris. But...even with all of that said...I wouldn't change the time spent with all of us together. And once it was over, a bit of emptiness seemed to settle over the house.

That first day of just the 5 of us, we each retreated to our own corner. Some reading, others listening to music, another dozing in front of the TV. Not sure what to do with the calm. But soon there came requests for walks to the ice cream store and bike riding along the paths. And the next day, we hauled ourselves down to the beach. My older two out in the ocean. My little guy quietly, but with great intensity, building sandcastles and me and my sweetie....simply sitting. Next to each other. And watching.

And in the evening, as I stirred the heavenly mixture of garlic, tomatoes and white wine for our shrimp pasta and hummed quietly to The Sea, I thought about how, even with the food, there was something comforting about the rhythms of my own family. Knowing our likes and our dislikes by heart. The schedule we needed to be on...or not. How much activity we needed or how much we could simply "be". And even though I had been sad to say good-bye to the cousins, there was definitely something lovely, harmonious even, about simply being together....just the 5 of us.

(That is until the boys practically broke out into a fist fight over not just legos but lego heads...you know those teeny, tiny pieces that go on top of lego guys and of which we have at least a hundred, but apparently only one of those hundred would do....but hey....the calm was nice while it lasted.)

Shrimp Fresco with Angel Hair Pasta
Adapted from Flavors by Michael Northern

I have to reiterate how the aromas wafting from your stove while you are making this dish are so heavenly they will attract not only your family members but people off the streets. The original recipe called for crabmeat but since neither standing at the counter picking a pound of crabmeat or paying for already picked crab meat sounded appealing, I went with shrimp. Also, being the vegetable pusher that I am, I made this one time with double the spinach but I wouldn't do that again. It was too much and overpowered the dish. And one final note, be careful not to overcook the cherry tomatoes otherwise you're left with skin bits throughout the dish that some people will refuse to eat.

Ingredients:
1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c finely chopped garlic (about 8 cloves) Don't skimp on this!
3/4 c dry white wine
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tbsp butter
4 c firmly packed baby spinach leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb angel hair or spaghettini pasta
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
12 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat for your pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. With your wine already measured and sitting to the side, add the garlic to your pan and cook for about one minute, stirring constantly being careful that it doesn't brown too quickly. After this time, immediately add your wine which will stop the garlic from browning further and cook for about 4 minutes or until the wine has released its alcohol and reduced by about half. Add the shrimp and saute for about 3 minutes or just until the shrimp starts to turn pink. Add your tomatoes and cook just until they begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes.

Reduce your heat to very low. Fold in the butter until incorporated about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until it wilts, about 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Next, add your pasta to your boiling water and cook according to the directions on the package usually only 3-4 minutes. Drain and then return the pasta to your pot.

Add about half of your tomato mixture to your pasta. Stir to coat evenly. Then, dish up your pasta into shallow bowls. Top with more of your tomato/shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with chopped basil and parmesan cheese. Eat. And enjoy.

Yield: About 6-10 servings depending on whether you have just adults or a mixture of children and adults.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

A Marinara Sauce to Lighten a Heavy Mind

I sent my 10-year old off for Outdoor School this morning in the pouring down rain and deafening hail with a few tears and a little bundle of cookies. His apprehension was breaking my heart. My ever-so-cool and sporty guy is always very reserved about showing his true feelings. I could tell he was a little concerned about the whole trip since he appeared downstairs at 6:30 am, dressed with his coat on and a most concentrated and serious look painted on his face. Do you think he could sense, even in his sleep, that I had awoken at 4:30 am to the sound of rain pounding on my roof and spent the next hour and a half visualizing him sitting around a campfire, shivering like a wet dog, because he refused to put on the rain coat that we'd packed? This is what we mothers do to torture ourselves. And I know he was up at 6:30 am since I had finally hauled my bleary-eyed self out of bed at 6:00 am to make the aforementioned cookies I had promised to pack in his sack lunch. Why would I promise that? I don't even like to bake!

When I used to drop his older sister off at preschool, as soon as it was time for me to leave she would melodramatically burst into tears as if she would never see me again. The first few times this scene pulled at my heartstrings but quickly, it became just too over-dramatic. I would find myself fighting back the urge to call out, "Oh, for crying out loud. Pull yourself together, girl and get in there. I'm outta here." With the 10-year old, he was always more subtle. When I would turn to go, he would look at me with those deep, crystal clear brown eyes and say quietly, but with all the seriousness a 4-year old could muster, "So, are you leaving me here now?"

I know I've said this before and yes, I stole this line from my dear friend, Mara, but it bears repeating, "I should have been born Catholic I have so much guilt."

When I feel overwhelmed by maternal guilt, I can barely focus. Everything I had planned that day tends to go by the wayside as I let myself be consumed by thoughts of the forlorn child I left behind. Even knowing full well that he has most likely moved on and doesn't even remember his own mother's face let alone that he has reduced her day to guilt ridden amblings. Between squalls, downpours and hailstorms, I set out to check for damage in my yard...the first of many amblings. Branches and leaves littered the lawn. The beds that had been "weed free" thanks to a Mother's Day gift from my chickens and my sweetie were once again bearing a 5 o'clock green shadow. And then, out of the corner of my eye, my chive plants caught my eye. They were filling in again. There were even tiny little buds at their tips. And there, behind them, the first little blossoms on my climbing rose bush. So pink. So tiny. And further on, my herb boxes were starting to fill out. The oregano was almost spilling over the side. It was at that moment, trying to decide what I could make for dinner that would use up some oregano, when I put my worries about my sweet boy out of my mind and focused on something else.

While humming about to Summertime (wishful thinking) and stirring my marinara sauce, the phone rang. I picked it up and heard my out-of-breath boy say, "Hi Mom. How are you doing?" (Do you see how I've trained him to always, always ask me how I am before saying anything else? I mean, what could be more important than finding out how your mother is doing?) "I'm good. How are you doing? Are you having fun?" And then in a tone of pure, genuine joy he says to me all at once, "Oh, Mom, it's so fun. We just had dinner and we got to make our own hamburgers and we had rice crispy treats and Lay's. And we get to have cabin time and we named our cabin. And now we get to do singing and have a campfire. It's so fun. And the weather's been perfect. Cold but clear. I can even see blue sky now. It's so much fun, Mom." As he's speaking to me I find myself trying to swallow the lump in my throat so relieved I am that he's having a fabulous time. Do you see what motherhood does to us? One minute we're crying with them because they're sad. The next minute we're crying because they're happy. I know that somewhere along the way I'd been warned that the process of letting them go wouldn't be easy.

I'm so grateful that my guy spends his school days under the caring attention of an extraordinarily gifted educator. One who also happens to be my friend. And one who, in her infinite wisdom, knew I needed that phone call.


A Marinara Sauce to Lighten a Heavy Mind
Adapted from Marinara Sauce, Pasta and Co. By Request

I've been making this marinara sauce for years. The recipe comes from Seattle's original take-out foodshop, Pasta and Co. I really haven't made any changes to it other than using fresh herbs when I have them and sometimes I'll cut the wine in half and use chicken broth for the other half. Just cuz. This is a perfect sauce to make on a weeknight. It's super quick and you can use it so many ways. This particular night I served it over spinach raviolis but you could put it over straight pasta or saute up some chicken and spoon the sauce over that. Truth be told, my kids weren't thrilled with the ravioli choice but they scooped up the sauce and ate it like soup....it's that good. Also, one last note, this sauce should have a bright, almost tangy flavor. It's not meant to taste like a slow cooked one but feel free to add a pinch of sugar if it's a little too tangy. PS: This sauce freezes beautifully so feel free to double it and stick some away. I rarely do but maybe you're more organized than me.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dried basil or 1 1/2 tbsp fresh
3/4 tsp dried oregano or 1 1/2 tbsp fresh
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups dry white wine (or 1 cup white wine and 1 cup chicken broth)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (sometimes I use diced if that's what I have on hand)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
optional: 1/2 tsp sugar

In a large, heavy saucepan, over medium heat, saute basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic in olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to brown the garlic.

Add wine (and chicken broth, if using) and simmer for 10-12 minutes until all the alcohol has evaporated.

Add tomatoes. Cover partially. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taste the sauce. Add salt to taste. Decide if you need to add a bit of sugar to mellow the acidity of the tomatoes and round out the sauce. If you do add the sugar, stir it in and simmer 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Enjoy.

Yield: 4 cups

PS: If you're looking for the cookie recipe, click here.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Une Petite Pomme: The First Ever La Pomme de Portland Dinner Party

I simply must tell you about one of my dear, dear friends and an entertaining endeavor she took on. She recently had a dinner party. For three families. Including all offspring. Before I go any farther into her story, let me stop and ask you, "Aren't you impressed with just these details I've given you?!" Three families! Including kids! For dinner! I find that we seem to be at an age where nobody is doing much entertaining. Remember all those Christmas parties, "wine club" parties, block parties, progressive dinners, Birthday dinners, drinks on the deck, kick-off to camping barbecues?? Nope. No one's doin' them anymore. We're all just too dang tired. So the fact that my dear friend actually threw a dinner party, during this frenetic stage of life, leaves me duly impressed.

But wait, there's more. She didn't serve frozen lasagna and a Caesar salad from Costco. No. She made everything. From scratch. And to top it off, each and every recipe was from right here. From La Pomme. I feel quite honored and thank goodness I didn't exactly know what she was doing ahead of time or I would have felt a tad bit stressed out, worrying about the caliber of my recipes I've posted here and whether or not they are dinner party worthy. When I hooked up with her afterwards, she flashed me one of her beautiful, infectious smiles (the fact that she was still smiling is saying quite a bit) and shared with me that the party had been a huge success. The dishes had been so simple to prepare, so delicious to eat and....quite healthy to boot. Even the kids had enjoyed the offerings.

So you can share in the astonishment OR perhaps throw a dinner party of your own, I give you her La Pomme de Portland Dinner Menu:

Herbes de Provence Goat Cheese Spread

A Simple Salad

String Beans and Caramelized Shallots

Braised Pacific Halibut with Mushrooms and Leeks

Cinnamon Apple Crostata

I also feel compelled to share with you that another friend let me know that she made the Ginger and Garlic Stir Fry and her kids ate some particular veggies in that dish for the first time. Veggies they had not been willing to try before...and loved them.

And then, just the other day, another friend told me that she made the Pasta e Fagioli Soup I recently posted but instead of pasta, she used cheese tortellini. Her kids lapped it up. And another friend's husband proclaimed after she made him this same soup, "Well, we're never going to have that again, are we?" "Why not?", she asked. "Because I really liked that." She and I have the same problem of making things that the whole family loves but then, never making them again simply because we can't remember what we made. And so the hubbies, much to their dismay, never see that tasty dish again.

Thank you Kim, Laura, Suzi and Tammy for sharing your culinary adventures with me. I love hearing about them but then again, I love food....actually it's more than love. A small obsession is more like it...

Happy Weekend to All....wherever you may be!!



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Pasta e Fagioli Soup for a Tired Mind

It's only Monday and yet, I woke up exhausted. The kind of exhausted that hits you to the core. I thought, "Gads...I need a weekend to recover from the weekend." Somehow I managed to drag myself downstairs and throw lunches together for my children. The standard fare...peanut butter and jelly, grapes, a couple of cookies, some water. Under the circumstances, it was the best I could do. After setting the finished lunch boxes on the counter, I started making my way around the house to open all of the blinds. Growing up, I would watch as my mother would put down every blind in the house in the evening and then, reverse this daily ritual in the morning. I seemed to have inherited it. This closing down or opening up our home every evening and every morning. As I pulled back the curtains in the living room, my eye caught the ever-growing flock of weeds in my flower bed. They almost seemed to be taunting me as they waved back and forth in the windy weather. Right next to them was the patch of proliferating clover that seems to be taking over my lawn. I sighed, looked at the rain pouring down and thought, "Not today."

For the first time in weeks, everyone was off in his own corner of the city. No one was home sick. The house was silent. Out of sheer will power I hopped up on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes hoping that might give me a burst of energy. As my legs went around and around like a gerbil in a habitrail ball, I watched a recorded episode of Parenthood. I realized I must really be losing my mind be tired because I cried through the whole thing especially the part where the father says to his teenage daughter, "You're right. There is a double-standard and it's not fair. But you're my daughter. And......life's not fair." I thought about the time in high school when I was at a friend's house. Her parents were away and we were hanging out there with her older brother and his friends when suddenly my Dad shows up and yanks me out of there. At the time I was mortified and thought he was over-protective and nuts but now, of course, I realize he was just trying to keep me safe.

Somehow I managed to tackle the stack of bills, the "overflowing" email in-box and fetch my youngest ones from school. But then, when it came time to tackle dinner, the will-power started to wane. Too tired to go to the grocery store, I stood at the door of the pantry praying something would pop out at me. We'd had pizza last week more times than I care to admit. I couldn't serve it again.  I spied a half used box of orecchiette pasta and some canned beans on the shelf. Grabbing those, the gears in my mind slowly started to turn. In the fridge, I found some pancetta left over from last week's big day. An onion on the counter. And, out on the deck, were my newly planted herb boxes just waiting to be put to use.

As I laid our dinner of Pasta e Fagioli soup, greens with a homemade vinaigrette and some "day-old" bread I had livened back up with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and a quick run under the broiler, I was relieved that I wasn't putting pizza on the table...again. Watching my family enjoy this simple meal, I reminded myself that, even at our most exhausted, it's amazing what we can come up with if we just take a moment to look around and see what's there.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Inspired by Giada De Laurentiis' recipe of the same name 

I have been making this dish for years and my kids love it. I tend to fall back on this when I can't think of  anything else to make because I usually have all of the ingredients in the house and it's so simple to put together. I always make it with kidney beans but I suppose you could switch those out for another kind such as cannellini beans if you would prefer. I have a little herb garden that I keep year round on my back deck so I always tend to have fresh herbs around (unless an ice storm has come through and killed everything) but you could definitely use dried herbs if the fresh aren't available to you.

Ingredients:
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 med fresh rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves
8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup penne pasta (or any other "smallish" shaped pasta)
freshly ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese


Directions:
Heat a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add your olive oil and butter and heat until butter is melted. Add your onion, pancetta and garlic and saute until the onion is tender and transluscent about 5 minutes. Add the broth, beans and herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. At this point, using tongs or a slotted spoon, pull out the stems from the herbs and the bay leaf and discard.

Add your pasta, cover and boil, until pasta is tender but still firm to the bit, about 8 minutes.

Season your soup with pepper. Ladle into bowls and and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Yield: 6 servings or so



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Une Petite Pomme: My 7 Minutes of Fame....Sort Of....

Thanks to a dear, sweet friend from high school and a thoughtful producer at AM Northwest who took pity on me kindly invited me to be a guest on the show, La Pomme made her television debut last night cooking up "Peas and Pancetta in a Flash." For those of you who are not from Portland, here in our fine City of Roses, we are fortunate enough to have our very own hour-long morning show. Having been on the air since 1976, most of us Portlanders have sat in the AM Northwest audience at one time or another. We all think quite fondly of this show. (I always think of my Granny when I use that word...fondly. She preferred to sign her cards that way: "Fondly, Granny") Currently, AM Northwest is being hosted by the very funny, Dave Anderson, and darling, Helen Raptis.

Now, you may be perplexed as to why La Pomme was on AM Northwest last night, since the name implies a morning show. Well, without getting into the nitty gritty, the "powers that be" currently air the first half hour in the morning and then, the first and second half hour in the evening under the name of AM Northwest Primetime, but the whole thing is shot in the morning which, for those of you who know my morning habits, getting there...on-time...wide-awake...and actually thinking clearly...early yesterday morning was quite the challenge for me...but I did it....(thanks to a lot of back-up help from my sweetie.) And yes, of course, I was a bit nervous. Nervous about the fact that when I get nervous I tend to laugh...loudly...and tell bad jokes because I think I'm funny. And, I was nervous about the timing since I was invited to cook on the show and I needed to have an edible meal that really takes about 30 minutes to make, ready to eat in 6 minutes. To my relief, after I arrived...on-time mind you...I was ushered back-stage and right up to my very own cooking island. There I could set-up and cook away to my heart's content and then, the whole kit and kaboodle was wheeled on-stage when it was my turn. Can I say that I've never actually made pasta without being interrupted and even had time to stir it a few times while I watched it cook? I almost started whistling.

The actual time I was on-camera was an absolute blur. I remembered nothing that I said or did so I was quite anxious to watch the debut myself. At 6:45 pm, my family gathered around the television and waited. As we watched the final minutes of the lead-in show...a movie in which the main characters wore mullets that would put Billy Ray Cyrus' to shame...I had a sudden curiosity about the actual viewership of my debut here on Comcast Channel 302...but that quickly vanished as Dave Anderson appeared on the screen welcoming people to AM Northwest. With rapt attention, we watched the exercise segment, the book review segment, the ceramics show segment and all of the advertisements for the Japanese Gardens, assisted living centers and car dealerships out on SE McLoughlin. I knew my time was drawing near and I suddenly started to panic, "Had I itched my nose on-camera? Will it end up looking like a "pick"?" And then, there was Dave Anderson saying, "Our next guest writes a popular local blog about the mingling of food, family and life...." and I was on. I'll let you be the judge of how I did but I do have two thoughts, "Lose the sweater next time." And, I can already hear my kind, sweet mother saying, "Sweetie, stand up a little straighter next time....and maybe get the bangs out of your eyes." We never stop being a mother, do we?




Thank you so much, Julie and Tammy, for making this opportunity happen for La Pomme and since it appears that I didn't pick my nose, I'm hoping you'll invite me back.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Sauntering Through the Market with a Basket of Rapini, Potatoes and Chives

As usual, I was running late. Nothing new there but my tardiness was extra awkward (even for me) considering that I was trying to slip, unnoticed, into a pew in the hushed room of The Old Church for the monthly Willamette Writers meeting. This month's speaker had already begun her talk as I tried to make myself invisible. Once seated it took me a minute to calm my thoughts enough to focus on the speaker, Naseem Rakha, but once I did, she had my complete concentration as she discussed her newly released book, The Crying Tree. And while I took away so many nuggets of wisdom from this clearly talented woman, I really seemed to take hold of what would appear to be a seemingly insignificant story that she shared. She had recently been on vacation in Florida with her son and she admitted to us that while she believed the "correct" thing to say would be that her favorite part of the trip was playing in the ocean with her son...that wasn't the case. No. Her favorite part of the trip was the time she was alone in Ernest Hemingway's garden. Alone with her thoughts. Alone enough to focus and to remember what it was she wanted to focus her life on.

The Portland Farmer's Market opened a few weeks ago. I didn't make it to Opening Day, although I hear it was quite the success. Jam-packed with people even with the extra block added this year for more space. Vendors selling out of that day's produce. I did, however, make it a few weekends later. As usual, I invited the family to come but, as was oftentimes the case, they kindly declined. I probably should say I was disappointed but I wasn't. I like going there by myself. I love to lose myself in the crowd under that great canopy of trees. To saunter up to my favorite coffee bar. To then make the circle once, coffee in hand, browsing and making mental notes. To pick up a cookie along the way....this time from The Tart Lady. To enjoy the festive music in the background. To take in just what was being offered. What was in season. And, then to go back and circle again.

Recently someone asked of me, "Where do you get your ideas for cooking? Where do you get your inspiration?" I replied that due to my strong love affair with food, I, of course, read a lot of cookbooks and food blogs. I call friends and ask them what they're cooking that night. I occasionally tune into cooking shows. However, my biggest source of inspiration is my farmer's market or those grocery stores that cater to local produce. While I used to find the recipe I liked and then go hunt for the ingredients, now I let the natural rhythms of the growing season be my guide. I buy what's in season and then, I go find the recipe. This method also helps narrow down the choices of recipes making the whole process of cooking and feeding my family a lot less overwhelming.

Before arriving at the farmer's market that day, I had in my mind a bit of an idea of what would be good for dinner that night. I was hoping to find the ingredients for a delicious and light, pasta primavera I enjoy making this time of year. I thought for sure there would be spring asparagus on display everywhere. But alas, there was not. What was on display, and what is clearly still in season here in Oregon, were winter greens. Winter greens, leeks, potatoes, baby carrots, chives and rapini (broccoli rabe.) I had to chuckle that back here when I was trying to make this dish that called for rapini, I couldn't find a single stalk, and now here it was aplenty. So, without anyone asking me when were we leaving or needing a bathroom or what could they have to eat or getting lost in the crowd and sending me into panic mode, I sat down. I sat down, alone with my coffee and my "breakfast" cookie (nevermind that it was chocolate chip) and readjusted my thoughts. What was I going to make with leeks, potates, chives and rapini? And then, the ideas started flowing. I raced around and grabbed my produce, throwing in a baguette, some pesto and a couple bunches of daffodils to round it all out and headed home. While driving home, I pulled out my cell phone and called my parents I responsibly pulled over to the side of the road and called my parents from my cell phone. They were passing through town that evening and I wanted to encourage them to stop by for dinner. To stop by for dinner and the result of my inspiration. The result of my solitary trip to the farmer's market.

The Recipes

So, today, you're going to get two recipes for the price of one blog post. (Corny...I know.) From time to time, I pop into the blog, Simply Breakfast. Her photographs are always so beautiful and although, I'm not much of a breakfast gal, I keep thinking maybe her simple meals will inspire me and recently she had posted that she couldn't get enough of garlicky greens with scrambled eggs. Well, I could do without the scrambled eggs but the garlicky greens struck a bell and that's how I arrived at the following recipe that I served up for dinner to my parents and my family along with some chicken sausages I grilled on the barbecue. (Note: If you happen to be a patron of the Portland Farmer's Market, I purchased my rapini at DeNoble's Family Farm booth. So tender and delicious.)

Sauteed Rapini (Broccoli Rabe) with Spaghetti and Grilled Sausages

Inspired by fresh air

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

2 large bunches of rapini, coarsely chopped, discarding any tough ends

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 black pepper

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked as directed on the package

Heat your olive oil in a non-stick saute pan. Add your garlic and saute just about one minute then, immediately add your rapini. It will seem like a lot, but like spinach, it will reduce in size by at least half once it is cooked. Saute about 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Scrape all of the contents from the pan (including the now garlic infused olive oil) over the spaghetti and toss gently to combine. Check to see if it needs additional salt and pepper. Serve alongside grilled sausages. Doesn't get much easier or quicker than this. This recipe can easily be doubled.

A Dinner Frittata Complete with Potatoes, Bacon and Chives

I was looking for a way to use my potatoes and chives so I pulled from the shelf one of my favorite cookbooks of all times, "How to Cook Without a Book" by Pam Anderson. This is the perfect book for those of us who feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of recipe options when all we really want to do is get a quick, healthy and delicious dinner on the table for our families. I bought it when my two eldest were leaving the baby food stage and I realized that fish sticks and peas every night just wasn't going to cut it any longer. I have been intrigued by her dinner frittata section for quite some time (despite the fact that I'm not always that intrigued with egg dishes.) I flipped to that section, made a few of my own changes and came up with this recipe. I served it with a simple salad of baby greens and vinaigrette and a bowl of "cuties"...those delicious little sweet clementines in season right now. Those same cuties with the sticker that my daughter and her friends would feel compelled to pull off the rind and stick on their foreheads last year when they were much younger.

2 tbsp olive oil (divided)

3 slices, thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 small, Yukon gold potatoes (or other thin-skinned spring potatoes), unpeeled and 1/2 inch diced

kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 medium garlic clove, minced

8 large eggs

4 tbsp milk

3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp fresh chopped chives

Adjust your rack to the upper-middle position and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add your bacon and cook for about 5 minutes until the bacon is browned but not too crisp. Drain your bacon on a paper towel and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with another paper towel and heat your second tablespoon of olive oil, unless you like to cook with bacon grease, in which case, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, do not add the second tablespoon of olive oil and continue with the recipe.

Add your potatoes to the skillet along with the olive oil (bacon grease), 3 tbsp water, the garlic and then, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set your heat to medium-high, cover and let the potatoes steam for about 3 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the water evaporates and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes more. Toss occasionally to ensure even browning.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the eggs, milk, parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper together with a fork. Once the potatoes are done, shake the skillet to evenly distribute them. Evenly sprinkle your bacon on the potatoes and then, pour in your egg mixture. Sprinkle the chives over the top and then, let the egg mixture cook just until the edges start to set around the edges about 1 minute. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the eggs are puffed and set about 8 minutes. Serve hot, sliced like a pizza and enjoy.

One word of caution: Do not under any circumstances forget that once your skillet is out of the oven, the handle is still registering at about 350 degrees and grabbing it bare-handed will result in second degree burns. Not that I know that from personal experience or anything, but if I did know that from personal experience, I will tell you that expletives that a young child should never hear will come spewing out over and over from the mouth of his injured parent creating a bit of awkwardness once the moment has passed.

Variation: I did make this frittata one evening, substituting sauteed rapini for the bacon. For the sake of honesty, I will tell you that my daughter and I quite enjoyed it but the boys...young and old...they just couldn't get past the greenery in their eggs, although they greedily ate the greenery just fine the week before when it was tossed with the pasta. So, there you have it.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Slowing It Down with a Simmering Ragù

We laid out the napkins. The cheese sticks. The apple slices. Just he and I. Me and my littlest one. He contentedly set out a cup at each place and while in motion, said to me, "I like setting up snack." And, then turning and looking at me directly, adds, "With you." Later, when it was my turn to go and his to finish out the day, he sent me off with crocodile tears running down his cheeks. It was all I could do not take him with me....but, well...I had a hair appointment. What could I do?

As I locked up the house for the night, I was surprised to find my 10-year old quietly standing behind me. I thought he was sound asleep. I noticed that he had a look of sadness about him and I waited for him to talk...my one that never shares much. "Mom, I just don't want to grow up too fast. It's going too fast." I took him in my arms and hugged him and thought, with that load of parental guilt weighing heavy on me, "Have I made his life too busy? Have I struck the wrong balance?"

I had every intention of taking her to school...a bit late...but then, we found ourselves detouring toward Lovejoy Bakers for a quick breakfast. "She's already late...what does a few more minutes mean?" And, then, somehow, the sun, the fresh air, just being together, me, her, and the littlest one...we found ourselves on the streetcar headed for the aerial sky tram. And, silently, as we rode up and up and up, we took in the beauty of our city...the stark winter beauty. Once home, after our impromtu adventure, she says to me with a sincerity beyond her years, "Thank you, Mom...for today."

And so, after that week, I wanted to take them...my three chickens...load them in the car and take them away...for a weekend, or even a day. Get away from the schedule, the responsibilities, the clock. Just be. And, although that wasn't an option, I did "load them up" into "Mommy and Daddy's" bed and there we sat, curled up under the blankets. Each one with his or her own favorite pillow. We watched movies. We read books. Some would draw. Some would bring in legos. My sweetie came in from time to time reading his iPhone book. We were all together and time seemed to slow down...if only for the afternoon.

When the sun started to sink behind the coastal range, I gathered them around the kitchen table and fed them a ragù sauce over bowtie pasta. A sauce that had been simmering all day, filling our house with the warm, rounded smells of tomatoes and Italian sausage and oregano. We sat around that table and we talked and shared and each of us, in his or her own way, was grateful for our afternoon "time slowed down".

Farfalle al Ragù

(Bowtie Pasta with Meat Bolognese Sauce)

I know that everyone has a pasta sauce that he or she goes back to time and time again. This is one of mine. I like to make it on a day we're all huddled in together. Most of the time I have the ingredients in the pantry and the freezer so there's no special trip to the grocery store. Sometimes if I have mushrooms or a zucchini, I'll slice and dice those up and throw them in at the same time as the carrots. And, while I love the flavor Italian sausage adds to this sauce, sometimes I don't have any on hand so I'll just use the ground beef and decrease the tomatoes to one 28 oz can and one 15 oz can, or thereabouts. And, if you're concerned about ground beef, I recommend searching out a place where you live that gets they're beef from a reputable ranch and grinds it daily on their premises. That's just my two cents...for what it's worth.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 med yellow or white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced, about 1 cup

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage (mild or spicy, your choice) or 3-4 links of the same

2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

Fresh herbs: 3 tbsp fresh oregano & 3 tbsp fresh basil

OR

Dried herbs: 2 tbsp worth: 1 tbsp oregano & 1 tbsp basil OR 1/2 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tbsp basil & 1 tbsp Italian seasoning

water

salt & pepper to taste

grated parmesan cheese

Heat your olive oil in a large pot. Add your onions and saute on med/low heat for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften and become translucent. Add your garlic. Saute another minute. Add your carrots and saute until they begin to soften about 5 minutes.

Once your vegetables are soft, add your ground beef and sausage. Break up your meat with a wooden spoon. Add a pinch of salt and a crack or two of the black pepper mill and cook until the meat is browned. Stirring occasionally.

Add in your tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs. Stir to combine. Then, add enough water so that your veggies and meat are just covered. Bring to a boil and then, turn the heat down to very low and simmer, uncovered, at least 40 minutes and/or up to 3 hours on very, very low heat.

About 15 minutes out from when you're ready to serve your meal, boil up a pot of water, toss in your bowtie pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, usually about 10 minutes.

Spoon your sauce over your bowties, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and enjoy. Or, if you can possibly stand it, wait and eat it the next day. Even better by then. (You may have to add a little water to it when reheating.) The flavors will have mellowed and created this smooth, rounded bite full of tomatoes and meat and carrots and herbs. Simply delicious.

Yield: One big pot. Enough for a family of 5 and leftovers the next day.

All original text and photographs, copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Pasta from the Freezer, the Pantry, the Fridge

Gone are the days of frenetic food buying. You know the kind. The kind where you walk, briskly, into your favorite grocery store, dutifully carrying your list. The list you made after actually taking the time to plan meals for the week. Just the week. Not something crazy like a month of meals but still, a week of planned meals. And, seeing as though you're quite proud of yourself for your organization, you smile a bit smugly as you tighten your grip on that list and dash in the entrance to the store...although not before grabbing a cart and sanitizing yourself and the cart from head to toe. No time for the flu.

You enter the store and begin traversing it in your usual manner. A loaf of blueberry bread here, a 1/2 pound of sliced turkey there. Check. Check. And then, you make a gentle turn and find yourself veering off the appointed path and heading straight to the latte counter. You tell yourself it's okay since with all the list making you forgot to eat a proper breakfast and you can feel the dull ache of a headache in the works. The caffeine will surely be the cure.

Back on the path, you find that even though you've been in this store hundreds of times and it's practically your home away from home, you're starting to feel overwhelmed by the list and trying to find the corresponding aisles for the products you need. So, you just start going up and down each one. Hunger is gaining on you. The time is ticking away. The caffeine just doesn't seem to be helping and now, you just start throwing things in your cart. "Ah, the baby's favorite crackers." (I know, I know. He's not a baby anymore but humor me, and just let me call him that.) "Voila...my dear daughter's beloved tapioca." "Some more dried blueberries for my sweetie." "Doesn't the 10-year old love Honeycrisp apples?" And, so on and so forth and before you know it, your cart is brimming, half with items off your list and half from items you just tossed in.

Arriving home, you find that there are already two unopened boxes of the baby's favorite crackers waiting in the wings, two uneaten containers of tapioca in the fridge and your sweetie and the 10-year old are a bit burnt out on the dried blueberries and Honeycrisp apples. So, you give yourself a gentle scolding and tell yourself you'll try to do better next time. Stick to the list.

Fast forward a bit and you've arrived at the "Great Recession" and with a nod to the economy, you force yourself to exercise restraint. To stick to the list. To use up what you have. And you remember trips to your Grandmother's house. Trips in which you would explore her fridge, her freezer and....down, in the deep, dark basement her "deep freeze". That fascinating, "space-agey" contraption. At her house, you would always find an assortment of jars covered in foil and filled with last night's meal. Little bits of food rolled up in tin foil. And, frozen ice cream pops in the shape of Santa. Nothing put down the drain. Nothing thrown in the trash. And, you recall, how once a week, your own mother would pull out all of the leftovers from that week's meals and lay them on the table...from reheated stew to a scoop of stuffing to 5 green beans. And, you remember how much you liked leftover night. Your own personal buffet. And, you always looked forward to those 5 green beans...but then, again, you have a thing for green beans especially these green beans.

And so, even though you sometimes miss the "Roaring 90's", you realize that restraint is good. It forces us to prioritize. To make decisions. And, you insist to yourself that you'll stick to the list. And, what's more....before making the list, you'll force yourself to get up out of your chair and actually take a look in the pantry, the fridge, the freezer. What is lurking in there? What needs to be used up? And, there, in the back of the freezer a little bit of sunshiney orange will catch your eye. "Ah-hah!" The leftover butternut squash you threw in the freezer after making this soup. Which is perfect since you just came across a recipe you're dying to try and it calls for...what else...but butternut squash. And you'll smile a bit smugly to yourself. Feeling quite proud of not just your organization...but your resourcefulness to use up what you have.

Pasta from the Freezer, the Pantry, the Fridge

(aka Orecchiette with Pancetta, Butternut Squash and Broccolini)

From Louisa Neumann of The Portland Pickle

Truth be told, I would have never thought to put pancetta, butternut squash and broccolini together in a dish and top them off with pepitas. Not only would I have not put them together but I could never have imagined how absolutely delicious they are together. The way the salty pancetta plays off the sweetness of the squash....yum!! Last summer, I stumbled upon Louisa Neumann's delightful blog, The Portland Pickle. I love being surprised by the little gems of food knowledge that she passes along to all of us with her posts. Besides writing and managing her blog, she is also a personal culinary instructor, a caterer and can be found regularly teaching classes at In Good Taste in the Pearl District. Many of you know how I feel about my children learning to cook (if you don't, click here) so I look forward to signing them up for one of Louisa's children's cooking classes.

In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe of Louisa's that I filed away last fall, just waiting for some leftover butternut squash. And, in case you were wondering, my kids loved it just as much as I did.

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, cut into thirds

(I was unable to locate broccoli rabe at my grocery store so I substituted in broccoli which I realize is not the same thing at all as broccoli rabe but it turned out delicious.....)

3/4 c pancetta, diced (I used "thick sliced" Boar's Head pancetta from the deli counter)

Pinch of crushed red pepper

2 cups orecchiette pasta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas) (I found mine at Trader Joe's)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss the squash with olive oil and salt and place in a single layer on a sheet tray and bake in the over until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water.

Drop the broccoli rabe (or broccoli, if you're like me) into the pot of boiling water, swirl it around, remove from the water and immediately plunge into the salty ice water. (If you're using broccoli, let it cook for about 4 minutes). Reserve the boiling water to cook the pasta in. Remove the broccoli rabe (broccoli) from the ice water, squeeze or drain out excess water and reserve.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the pancetta and crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium heat and cook the pancetta until brown and crispy. When the pancetta is brown and crispy, add about 3/4 cup of the broccolini cooking water. Simmer until the water reduces by half. (The original recipe has you adding the squash in here as well but I was worried about the squash getting...well, squishy and squashy so I waited and added it later.)

Add the orecchiette to the reserved boiling broccoli rabe water and cook until the pasta is al dente, about 1 minute less than the cooking time says on the box.

Remove the pasta from the water and add to the pan with the pancetta. Add the broccolini and about a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water but be very, very careful here, since you are adding water to oil and it gets rather combustible. Gently add your butternut squash here. Cook until the water has evaporated and the sauce clings to the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the grated parmesan. Gently combine all the ingredients.

Spoon into a dish. Top with a little more grated parmesan and the pepitas. Enjoy.

Yield: Serves 2 - This is what the original recipe says but I was able to feed myself and 3 children from this. Definitely no leftovers though which is a shame since I can't stop thinking about this dish so I would recommend that you at least double the recipe. You won't be sorry.

NOTE: Whatever you do, don't skimp on the pancetta. It's needed to balance out the sweetness of the butternut squash. If anything, you can cut back on the squash a little. Enjoy....

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010