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Yesterday I received a panicked e-mail from my mom, who has been a passionate supporter of my blogging efforts."Have you abandoned your blog?" she asked.
Leave it to mom to get on my case because I haven't blogged since Monday.
Never fear, Undomesticated Me is here. I have not given up on my mission to learn to cook, clean and be generally useful.
But, give me a break. It's hot. It's humid. The kids are around and yes, I'm slacking off a bit. To be honest, I haven't posted much lately because I haven't cooked and cleaned much lately!
Luckily, my friend Amanda helped me get back on track the other night by guiding me through the recipe for:
Amanda's Pasta Fresca (adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook)
Ingredients
4 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about 4 medium beefsteak)
1/2 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup to more extra virgin olive oil
14-16 basil leaves
parmesan cheese
1/2 pound fresh salted mozzarella cheese, cubed or in balls
2/3 to 1 lb pasta (I use farfalle)
Lots of salt to taste
Directions
Salt and boil water to cook pasta.
Combine 3 cups tomatoes, some of the garlic, olive oil, 10 basil leaves and salt in blender. Blend, taste and adjust amounts. Do not skimp on the oil and especially the salt.
Pour over drained pasta. Combine with last cup of chopped tomatoes, remaining basil, chopped, fresh mozzarella. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
It was fun for me to use the blender for something other than banana smoothies. And, of course, I always get a kick out of using fresh basil leaves from our garden.
"None of this has to be exact. You can adapt it to your taste," Amanda advised.
"But try to use the freshest tomatoes in season, high quality olive oil and freshly made mozzarella. Do not skimp on the oil and especially the salt. The more basil, the better, but it's easy to overdo the garlic."
Thanks to Amanda, we had a fresh, healthy, (and easy!) home cooked meal on Wednesday night -- and Avo was grateful to come home to find dinner waiting for him!
For dessert, the kids had juice pops, while the grown-ups nibbled on some of the most exquisite, flavorful and intense chocolate I've ever had -- lime chilli in a rich dark chocolate handmade in New Zealand by Schoc Chocolate.
I don't think it's available in the U.S. yet (a friend of Avo's brought us a bar), but I am going to do my damndest to locate more!
2 comments:
It's Me, Mom - I'm so glad you're back to your blog. I was afraid you had decided not to cook, clean or bake anymore and were afraid to say so. I know your kids can clean by themselves, but I'm not sure about the cooking and baking without your help. Of course, there's always wonderful Avo to pitch in.
Amanda's recipe sounds yummy. I'll have to tell Dad to try it. I know you use farfalle, but I prefer linguine myself.
Take care of the burn that you got while sauteing onions for another meal you prepared. Even with years of experience Dad and I still occasionally have to use Silvadene cream on a burn. I wonder what Rachael Ray uses???
No worries, Mom. The burn is pretty minor. I'm fine.
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