more pasta?

i don't remember when i looked at heidi's golden tomato sauce recipe, which she posted a few days ago, but i do remember my reaction - that looks good, but i'm not gonna go buy yellow tomatoes.

then i got to work, and discovered a box of golden cherry tomatoes. if i hadn't've looked at that recipe, i would've just snacked on them all day. but i saved them, thinking i'd make the sauce when i got home. that was monday. it's wednesday. i think on monday i had to make broccoli cheddar soup because i was supposed to make it sunday but my mom is way too active so we had to leave the house instead spending the day in the kitchen (my ideal sunday). and then last night i helped my new roommate move in and just didn't feel like cooking. (instead i had cheese and crackers and an artichoke for dinner. i hate artichokes but i'm trying to make myself like them. last night's was pretty good.)

anyway i made the sauce tonight. i followed the recipe exactly, using some delicious garlic my mom bought at the farmer's market in my home town, that was grown by the crazy garlic farmers who only grow garlic. crazy. it's SO GOOD.

i bought a basil plant at the grocery store last night and i've got some expensive parmiagiana reggiano, but i probably won't even use it because the sauce is so good on its own. four ingredients, and perfection.

oh, by the way - it took me awhile to figure out who left the tomatoes on my desk, but it was my boss, who doesn't like cherry tomatoes but they were in his farm share. which just made me jealous because i didn't get a farm share this year. next year! for sure.

pictures coming.

my camera sucks

so i got a new blackberry after my old one became a public health risk. but this one doesn't have a flash on the camera and takes shittier pictures.

however, i was in the mountains, and they're still pretty.

i guess i'll just have to stop cooking when it's dark outside.

pie

my mom was in town for her birthday so i baked her a pie. she wanted multi-berry pie, and frozen berries were on sale at the supermarket, so i used raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. i also bought cherries but didn't use them, so i guess i've got another pie to cook.

i got my friend's mother-in-law's lard and butter-free pie crust recipe awhile back and i haven't used anything since. (of course, she uses white flour and vegetable oil and i use whole wheat and olive.) the key, i think, is to roll out the dough between wax or parchment paper, otherwise the dough gets too dry.

here it is:

1 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour (plus more if needed)

1 scant teaspoon sea salt

1/2 c olive oil

3 T ice water

mix, form into a ball, break in half, roll out 1/2 between wax paper, take off top sheet of paper, put pie plate over, and flip it, make sure it's all in, and then remove the other piece of wax paper and trim the edges. roll out the other half of dough so it's ready when you need it.

in the same bowl (so you do less dishes) combine 2/3 c each of:

raspberries

blueberries

blackberries

strawberries

i use frozen berries, and i don't thaw them out.

mix with 2 T cornstarch and 5 T sugar. (the berries kind of have a powdery coating.)

pour mixture into the pie plate. take one sheet of the wax paper off, and really quickly and as smoothly as possible invert it on top of the pie. press into the edges before removing wax paper, then trim and press the edges in.

bake in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes or until edges start to brown and the pie's definitely done its bubbling thing.

oh, and the pictures are of the half blueberry half strawberry pie i made. these pictures are sad because the fruit flies got to that pie before i was finished eating it!

i'm going to make a cherry pie soon.

beet risotto

i found this picture. it's pretty. from madison' book - how to cook everything vegetarian. i remember being very proud of myself for remembering every ingredient at the grocery store. yum.

pasta isn't soup? but it was served in a bowl...

the last time i was at my parents house i only got into one fight with my mom. she was trying to do something for me that i would rather do for myself - i can't even remember what. anyway, i was annoyed, and proclaimed, "I know what I want, and I take care of myself." I keep rethinking this sentence - it's so true.

yesterday I made some pasta. i used to make pasta sauce by browning tofurkey vegan bratwurst with fennel seed (and onion and peppers and whatever else), and then adding a can of tomato paste or sauce (and other spices)... but i didn't want to use anything canned (although i did buy some italian-style sausages - i did *not* feel like making sausage from scratch). i ended up just walking around the produce section picking out cheap things i like. i got some cherry tomatoes (on sale - i love august), a red onion, parsley, and 2 peppers - one green and one red (50 cents each) - and then got some black olives. last night i chopped things fairly uniformly and cooked them together(ish) and it was good... but i kept thinking to myself, "hmmm... i like this vegetable cooked this other way..."

so today i did it that way.

i roasted a whole red pepper and half a green pepper in the oven, peeled them and chopped them up. (i think i will only eat peppers that are roasted from now on.)

i cut the cherry tomatoes in half and roasted them in the same oven with the peppers. (like for the tortilla soup recipe! which were delicious.)

i caramelized half a red onion in some earth balance and olive oil, then added some whole garlic to soften it a bit before chopping it up.

i cut some pitted kalamata olives in half.

and i cut the sausage in quarters and browned it on each of three sides in my cast iron grill pan leaving pretty grill marks (and drying out the edges the way i like).

i cooked some fennel and herbes de provence and basil and cayenne in the oil after the onion was done cooking, and drizzled the pasta with hot-pepper-infused olive oil before mixing everything together.

i bought some expensive parmesan yesterday, but realized yesterday that i don't like combining tofu or seitan with cheese - there's something about it i can't get behind. so i left it out today.

and it was everything i liked, cooked how i liked it, and it was delicious.

oh, there was parsley too. and i sprinkled it with pepper. i don't think i've forgotten anything...