Yesterday was a long travel day and neither of us felt like cooking (in fact, P didn't feel like eating and went to bed at about 8) but I was hungry and ended up doing a little light dinner pasta.
We have a whole bunch of tomatoes from the garden right now and they are in need of being consumed or they'll go bad and that would be a terrible shame.
I started out by boiling some salted water for the angel hair pasta, while it was heating up I cut the tomatoes into cubes, mostly reds but a couple of green zebra striped for color and flavor (and to use them up). Along with some fresh basil, a combination of sweet basil and some of the thai basil and a clove of garlic, peeled and sliced into four thick chunks.
Angel hair pasta cooks rather quickly and I drained it and tossed the pasta into a bowl with a small amount of butter to keep it from sticking. The pot went back on the stove and I added olive oil to coat the bottom, added the garlic and let it sizzle for a few moments before adding the basil. Another moment or two to allow the basil to come up to heat and I added the tomatoes. Salt and pepper were added as well as another dash of olive oil.
The mixture was allowed to heat all the way through and turn into a sauce before being poured over the pasta.
Some fresh grated reggiano parmesiano and some pecorino and it was ready to be consumed as I watched the Giants come back against the Cowboys only to give up a bad kick and allow the Cowboys to kick a game tying field goal that sent the game into an overtime period that the Cowboys prevailed in.
I would have liked to add some fresh oregano to the pasta just as it was finishing up but I didn't have any and I really don't care for the dried kind.
Not a bad nearly instant dinner. I may try it again but this time with a few adjustments. Namely, the basil will be left whole leaf, the tomatoes will be sliced into rounds and the garlic will be crushed to allow more of its flavor to seep out. I'll also cook the sauce over a lower heat so the flavors can meld together more slowly.
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Tuesday, September 2, 2003
Tomato Goodness
The tomatoes are in full fruiting right now and the backyard smells amazing, the combination of buttery tomato smell combined with the fresh basil, rosemary, peppers and catnip along with the jasmine. Quite an interesting group of smells to explore.
The tomatoes have been excellent, an incredible taste treat to pick a tomato, clean it, slice it up and eat it within ten minutes of picking.
And I've been trying new things with them. Easy tomato based salads that take a couple of minutes to make and taste excellent. By letting the basil infuse into some olive oil before adding the tomatoes the flavors get more thoroughly dispersed. Marinades and sauces are easy to put together. Olive Oil, some garlic, fresh basil (usually a combination of kinds, cinnamon, fresh sweet and purple ruffles), a shot of balsamic vinegar and then a dash of Worchestire Sauce for the smoky undertones. Let it all sit together for a few minutes to allow the flavors to say hi to each other. Then hit it up with some appropriate cheese, pecorino works well because of its ability to stand up to other strong flavors but cheddar is nice too, as is mozzerella. Go with whatever you want to.
There are the three holy flavors of the summer season in my book, maybe four. Fresh tomatoes (not pronounced in the hoity toity tom-ah-toes way but the lower key and more accepted to-may-toes), fresh basil, fresh mozzerella and then maybe some fresh garlic if its going to stand for any length of time. But a favorite plate is to assemble the parts, not chopped into small parts but left with good sized wedges and larger portions of cheese. Drizzled with some high quality olive oil and then sprinkled with some finely chopped basil it is an excellent snack to make and can be as beautiful as it is tasty when prepared well.
On a side note, I just had some peas, green onions and peanuts in a salad together with a light cream dressing. Very tasty and crunchy and a really nice little salad that I'd like to try and recreate myself sometime.
The tomatoes have been excellent, an incredible taste treat to pick a tomato, clean it, slice it up and eat it within ten minutes of picking.
And I've been trying new things with them. Easy tomato based salads that take a couple of minutes to make and taste excellent. By letting the basil infuse into some olive oil before adding the tomatoes the flavors get more thoroughly dispersed. Marinades and sauces are easy to put together. Olive Oil, some garlic, fresh basil (usually a combination of kinds, cinnamon, fresh sweet and purple ruffles), a shot of balsamic vinegar and then a dash of Worchestire Sauce for the smoky undertones. Let it all sit together for a few minutes to allow the flavors to say hi to each other. Then hit it up with some appropriate cheese, pecorino works well because of its ability to stand up to other strong flavors but cheddar is nice too, as is mozzerella. Go with whatever you want to.
There are the three holy flavors of the summer season in my book, maybe four. Fresh tomatoes (not pronounced in the hoity toity tom-ah-toes way but the lower key and more accepted to-may-toes), fresh basil, fresh mozzerella and then maybe some fresh garlic if its going to stand for any length of time. But a favorite plate is to assemble the parts, not chopped into small parts but left with good sized wedges and larger portions of cheese. Drizzled with some high quality olive oil and then sprinkled with some finely chopped basil it is an excellent snack to make and can be as beautiful as it is tasty when prepared well.
On a side note, I just had some peas, green onions and peanuts in a salad together with a light cream dressing. Very tasty and crunchy and a really nice little salad that I'd like to try and recreate myself sometime.
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