Green Pasta "Recipe"

The recipe of the title is in quotes because this is going to be a recipe in my mother's style: add some of this, do that, add some other stuff, and voilà.  That's how my mom rocks it, and that's how I'm going to rock it.

I'm calling this stuff "Green Pasta" because most of the ingredients were green and because I purchased most of them at the Farmer's Market.  Ever since finishing Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I've been feeling like a food slouch.  The book got me thinking a lot about how I've been eating and how changing what I eat can help to change the world.  And no, I really don't believe that's an exaggeration.

Before reading the book, I was already trying to make ethical food choices.  I'm a vegetarian; I try to buy local food when it's available; I shop at the Farmer's Market with some regularity.  However, Kingsolver made me see that I can be doing more, and one area in particular that I felt I could improve in was seasonal eating.  I would go to the grocery store and buy what suited me with little thought about where it came from and how far and how it was made to grow.  I picked organic when it wasn't cost-prohibitive, and beyond that, I didn't give it much thought.  Well, now I am.  

I want to make a serious effort to eat local, and by extension, that means eating seasonal.  What better way to know what's in season if you aren't a gardener than to cruise around the Farmers' Market and see what they have?  That's what I did.  I knew already that it was pea season, and fresh peas and I go way back.  Even as a kid, I was always eating peas raw right off the plant so much so that my mom complained she could never get enough for even one bowl of them.  Some people worry about rabbits munching their gardens; my mom had to worry about me.

Anyway, as a long time pea-lover, I figured I'd make that the centerpiece of a pasta dish.  I was thinking of using sunchokes, which I'd seen at the market the week before, just because I was curious.  I also figured on some lavender honey goat cheese, which I'd also seen the week before.  Well, there were no sunchokes because the stand that sells them wasn't there, so I needed a plan B.  It came in the form of a pea dish I'd tried--yep--the week before at the market.  It had mint, so I bought some of that.  I decided to get some spring garlic as well, and since there was a scape attached at the top, that went in to the recipe, too.  In lieu of the sunchokes, I decided I'd get zucchini.  While buying the zucchini, though, a woman fervently recommended the lita squash, so I grabbed some of that, too.  

In the true Shana style, a style I clearly inherited from my mom, I made up the "recipe" on a whim and eyeballed the whole thing and wrote down nothing as I did it.  Still, it was super tasty, so I figured I'd recount the whole process here.  I bought a lot of the ingredients from organic farm stands at the market, and obviously, that's best, but if you get whatever you can at the farmers' market, I think you can call it good enough.  I will say that it is fresher and tastier from the market, and you can feel good about supporting local farmers.  Plus, you may find some things you are addicted to and happy to spend your money on week after week.  I'm pretty sure I'll be plunking down $6 for the lavender honey goat cheese I bought whenever the opportunity presents itself.  It might be my new "drug" of choice.

Green Pasta

Ingredients

• Whole wheat pasta or whatever sort makes you happy (I used whole wheat organic fusilli.)
• Salted butter & olive oil enough to saute the veggies in and make you happy
• Spring garlic, at least a whole head because spring garlic heads are small and the taste is delicate
• 1 garlic scape (Use more if you've got them.  They were quite nice.  I bit into a raw piece, and it was really peppery and pungent.  It mellowed a lot when cooked.)
• Sweet peas, preferably fresh and obviously shelled
• Squash, sliced not too thin and cut into half moons or some other easily edible size (Mine was zucchini and lita.)
• Mint
• Salt & pepper if it suits you
• Goat cheese (I was worried that the lavender honey stuff I got might be weird with the mint.  It so was not.  The slight sweetness of it was perfect.)

1.  Prepare your ingredients.  Shell the peas, chop the garlic and scapes, and slice the squash.  Go with whatever quantities you think will match the amount of pasta you intend to make.  I made it for two and used the whole head of spring garlic, so if you are making more pasta, add more of everything.  Also, unless you chop like a three-toed sloth, you can put the water for the pasta on to boil after you shell the peas.  

2.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta, and melt the butter in a skillet with some olive oil over medium-low heat.  First, add the garlic and give it a couple of minutes.  Next, throw in the scapes and the peas.  Give those a few minutes and add the squash.  Cook until you are happy with the doneness of  the squash.  I like mine barely cooked, which is why I slice it thicker than some people would.  It still needs to be something I have to bite into.  After the squash is done enough, add the salt & pepper and then the mint.  To be honest, I forgot salt & pepper.  It occurred to me afterward that I could've added a little, but I thought it was tasty as it was.  I'm a big fan of letting the veggie flavors shine.

3. At this point, the pasta should be done.  For God's sake, don't over do it.  Al dente, people!  Also, since you'll be adding it to the skillet to cook a minute or two, it's okay if it is on the less done side of al dente.  Drain the pasta, and catch some of the water in case you need to add it to the skillet to prevent sticking and give it all a nice taste.  Add the pasta to the skillet, and toss it around or stir it up or whatever it is you do to mix the flavors.  Add pasta water as needed.  Cook a couple of minutes till everything has cozied up to one another and the flavors seem like they are mixing.  

4. Move the pasta to an appropriately-sized serving bowl, add a few big spoonfuls of goat cheese and stir.  The heat should get it melty, but you can always leave the quantity you plan to use on the counter to get it to room-ish temperature before you mix it in.

5. Eat and enjoy.  You can feel like you've done something healthy for you and your planet and bask in the knowledge that healthy can totally equal tasty as hell.

Healthy, Hearty Veggie Stew

For my first bit of useful information, I'm going to share my recipe for veggie stew, which I made right before the New Year, but before I do, I'm going to tell you my philosophy when it comes to recipes. A lot of people are slaves to the recipes they use. I'm not one of them. In general, you should treat a recipe like a template, but there are some cases where it is necessary to be precise. If you are making anything that needs to rise, definitely follow the recipe because the ratio of liquids and solids is important, and you don't want to mess with it too much. However, when it comes to a soup or stew or anything similar, get creative. The more you cook, the more comfortable you'll be making adjustments.

Most of my recipes, in fact, are something I got from a cookbook and then personalized to my own tastes or cooking habits. This recipe for vegetable stew started out in The New Moosewood Cookbook, and then I got rid of all the vegetables I didn't like and adjusted the quantities of the veggies I did. I also changed the spices to adjust them to my own taste and to what I keep in the kitchen on a regular basis. Of course, that means you can add veggies you like that I don't include. Moosewood uses broccoli and mushrooms.

Oh, and another thing about my cooking philosophy, at least as it comes to vegetables, is that I like to make my food pretty by using a variety of colors and textures. My minestrone soup, for example, is gorgeous. Whenever I make this stew, I use the same philosophy and buy purple and red potatoes and get the most vividly green zucchini, and I always end up with the same brown, but delicious, mess. The point? Don't waste your time trying to make this pretty. You can't. The main color is brown. It isn't the sexiest food, but it tastes fantastic, and nothing feels more comfy on a cold winter's day than a bowl of this stew. It is a meal all by itself, but I like to serve it with some good bread. A multigrain bread or rosemary sourdough works especially well.

Hearty Vegetable Stew

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cups chopped onion
• 4 medium cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled or not & diced into about 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled or not & diced into about 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 tsp. salt (more to taste)
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 medium stalks of celery, chopped (I cut the celery kind of small because I hate biting into big pieces of it.)
• 3 medium carrots (or more), sliced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (French table wines work well, but use whatever you've got around.)
• 2 small zucchini, diced in about 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 to 3/4 can of tomato paste (3+ tbsp.)
• 1 to 2 tsp. of sugar (I like demerara or something brown containing the molasses.)
• 2 tsp. dried rosemary (I like using fresh when I've got it, but you need more if you use fresh.)

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or stock pot. Add onion, garlic, potatoes, eggplant, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender. Stir often and add small amounts of water to prevent sticking as needed.

2. Add celery, carrots, and red wine. Continue cooking over medium heat, covered but stirring occasionally, until everything is tender (about 8 minutes).

3. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes more or until you are happy with the tenderness of the vegetables. Stir occasionally, and as the time comes to an end, taste to adjust seasonings. You can serve it as is, but I like to mix in sour cream or creme fraiche. Without the dairy, the recipe is vegan, but even meat eaters are satisfied by this stuff.

(Re-posted from another blog of mine.  Orginal date: 01.04.09.)