Main courses

October in the kitchen – Pasta with Peas
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October in the kitchen – Pasta with Peas

Ok, so I don’t have any fresh peas from my garden yet. I don’t expect to see any until next spring. There is, however, a trusty package of frozen baby peas in the freezer. And, I have also been pinching the very tops of the snap and snow peas to encourage bushiness (the flowering sweet peas get pinched as well but they are not edible). Those trimmings can be tossed in a salad or used as a garnish for the following pasta dish.

I’ve been using the young fava bean leaves in salads. I don’t grow favas for the beans but rather for their ability to fix nitrogen and improve the soil, they are called a cover crop. The leaves have the subtle flavor of favas and are a lot less trouble than the beans. Because I want their energy to go back into the soil and not into making beans, I cut dig them in when they start to flower. Meanwhile the young leaves are delicious.

Pasta with Peas (Serves 6-8)

Pasta with peas and pea shoots

Pasta with peas and pea shoots

The following recipe uses 4 of the ingredients from the basic 20:

  • Pasta – 1 lb. (regular or gluten free), your choice of shape
  • Olive oil or softened butter – 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup)
  • Parmesan – grated, about a cup plus more for serving
  • Salt
  • Pepper to taste

Additions:

  • Frozen peas – ½ package defrosted
  • Fresh herbs from your garden – mint, parsley, thyme – a good handful, minced
  • Optional – Pea shoots from pinching your plants or the store (I’ve seen them at Trader Joe’s)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt (kosher) until it tastes like the sea. Toss in your pasta and cook according to the package directions, tasting to make sure it is done to your liking. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta. Do not rinse.

Add the olive oil or butter to the warm pot; add the peas and heat for about 30 seconds. Dump your pasta back in the hot pot, add the herbs and toss until well mixed, add a little of the hot cooking water if it looks dry, then the cheese and toss again. If the mixture still looks dry, add a bit more cooking water. The cooking water contains starch, which turns butter and cheese into a creamy sauce. Don’t add too much as you don’t want it to be watery. Taste to see if it needs more salt. Turn into a warm serving bowl or individual plates. Garnish with the pea shoots and grate some additional cheese on the top.

Yum!

20 essential items for your pantry – Pasta with Butter and Cheese
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20 essential items for your pantry – Pasta with Butter and Cheese

It is amazing how many meals you can create if you have the following 20 pantry items on hand. You don’t need a fancy kitchen, pots, or ingredients. Wonderful cooks have been producing four-star “every day” meals with just these staples. If you add good bread, and a few fresh ingredients from the garden (see my post on the 10 plants to grow in pots) you have a feast. Simplify your kitchen and therefore your life.

All of the following 20 will keep well in the pantry or refrigerator. Use them to make quick delicious meals for your family, or guests. I’ll be using all of them in future posts with menu ideas.

  1. Salt – I like grey salt and sea salt for flavoring, having kosher on hand is also nice (keep it close in a jar by your stove)
  2. Onions – brown or white, plus red for salads
  3. Garlic
  4. Fresh ginger
  5. Lemons
  6. Olive oil – extra virgin
  7. Neutral oil such as canola or sunflower or coconut
  8. Butter
  9. Rice wine vinegar
  10. Wine vinegar – red
  11. Dijon mustard
  12. Soy sauce
  13. Coconut milk
  14. Sesame oil
  15. Parmesan cheese (whole piece, not pre-grated, best you can afford)
  16. Dried pasta
  17. Canned tomatoes
  18. Various canned or dried beans
  19. Chocolate bars
  20. Sugar and/or honey

The following classic dish is difficult to beat with only 4 out of the above 20 ingredients.

Picture these two scenarios…you just got home from work, it was a long day with no time to go to the grocery store. The train or bus was late, and traffic was bad. Your family is grouchy and hungry (and you aren’t far behind).

Or, maybe you get a call from an old friend who is in town for just one night. They want to meet your family. There is no time to do anything elaborate and besides, again, you haven’t had time to go grocery shopping. You want to make something delicious and classy but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

If you have a well stocked pantry (plus some herbs and greens in pots on the deck, and bread in the freezer) you are in for a gourmet treat.

Relax; pour yourself (and your guests) a glass of wine.

Menu:

  • French breakfast radishes, sweet putter, flaked salt, crisp baguette
  • Pasta al Burro con Parmigiano: Pasta with Butter and Cheese
  • Salad de la casa 
  • Chocolate bars, assorted types

For the starter: Go out to those herb and veggie filled pots on your deck or patio (or your garden) and pull some radishes (see “10 herbs and veggies you can grow in pots”). Wash them, cut off the root and trim the tops to an 1 inch. On a plate arrange the radishes with some sweet butter and flaked salt. If you have a baguette wrapped in foil in the freezer, it can be ready in 20 minutes. Heat your oven to 400 degrees, place the frozen foil wrapped baguette on a rack and cook for 15 minutes, remove the foil for another 5 minutes to crisp.

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This is a classic Italian pasta dish. While living with my family in Rome as an 8 year-old, I lived on it. At that stage of my life Italian food was not my cup of tea, with the exception of Pasta al Burro con Parmigiano. It was standard fare at every restaurant.

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Pasta al Burro con Parmigiano: Pasta with Butter and Parmesan Cheese (serves 6-8)

1 lb. pasta of your choice

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving

8 tablespoons butter – 1 stick cut into 8 pieces and softened to room temperature (not melted)

Salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt (kosher) until it tastes like the sea. Add your pasta and cook according to the package directions, tasting to make sure it is done to your liking. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta. Do not rinse! Dump your pasta back in the hot pot, add the butter and toss until melted, add a little of the hot cooking water if it looks dry, then the cheese and toss again. If the mixture still looks dry, add a bit more cooking water. The cooking water contains starch which turns butter and cheese into a creamy sauce. Don’t add too much as you don’t want it to be watery. Taste to see if it needs more salt. Turn into a warm serving bowl or individual plates. Grate some cheese on the top.

Serve with extra cheese on the side.

Olive oil can be substituted for the butter. This is the basic version, you could add fresh herbs, a few chili flakes, a handful of frozen peas (defrosted), some toasted breadcrumbs, toasted nuts, etc. Need some meat? What about crumbled crisp bacon, slices of Italian sausage browned in olive oil, or left over rotisserie chicken. Let your imagination go wild! But, this dish is delicious just as it is, with only good butter and cheese.

Fix a salad from your pots, make a simple vinaigrette.

Salad pickings from the garden

For dessert pull out those chocolate bars, break them into pieces, put them on a pretty plate, serve with pride.

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Pasta, salad, bread, chocolate…dinner, perfecto!

What’s in your own pantry is considered an essential?

October in the kitchen – Jerk Chicken in a Slow Cooker
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October in the kitchen – Jerk Chicken in a Slow Cooker

I don’t use my slow cooker that much. I have found that it’s a tricky thing to adjust a regular recipe to the crock pot.The amount of liquid has to be reduced dramatically. As well, I don’t find most recipes specifically designed for the crock pot that interesting (except for soups, chili and beans); and lastly, I think everything often turns out tasting the same. But, I recently came across a recipe for Crock Pot Jerk Chicken which sparked my curiosity. Jerk chicken is usually made in several steps; marinate, roast, and grill. This recipe was easy, quick and eliminated both the marinating (although you could still do that if you wanted) and the roasting, needing only a quick run under the broiler or on the grill to crisp at the end.

This recipe is adapted from one on Bakers Royale.

Crock-pot Jerk Chicken

  • 16 scallions (about two bunches), chopped coarsely
  • 1 cup of cilantro
  • 4 Serrano chilies, seeds and veins removed
  • 1 (2 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
  • 4 teaspoons ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoons of coarse salt (I used grey salt)
  • ¼ cup of molasses
  • ½ cup of neutral oil such as sunflower or canola
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 4 lbs. of chicken pieces, skin on
  1. Dump the first 10 ingredients into the bowl of your food processer. Chop them coarsely until mixed. While the motor is running, add the oil and lime juice, puree.
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  3. Transfer half of the mixture to your slow cooker, add the chicken and turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate the rest of the marinade for later.
  4. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.
  5. At this point you can either broil the chicken in your oven (10 inches from the heat) or BBQ it on the grill. Either way, brush the chicken with the remaining marinade and cook on each side until lightly charred.

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I used 4 chicken leg-thigh quarters and added a few extra wings to the mix. We are not big white meat fans but I think breasts would also be good.

Enjoy!

A friend sent me this photo, I had to include it in the post! Jerk chicken, lost in translation…

Jerk Chicken

October in the kitchen – Easy Baked Chicken with Lemon
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October in the kitchen – Easy Baked Chicken with Lemon

One of the wonderful things about living in California is having a Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard. It was already a mature tree when we purchased our home 25 years ago. Unfortunately the tulip magnolia it was planted next to is now huge and shades half of the lemon tree in the summer. But, this less than ideal situation doesn’t stop it from producing prolific amounts of lemons.

I use those lemons almost every day. There is not much that isn’t improved by a last minute grating of fresh lemon zest or a squeeze of lemon, or both. Meyers do well in containers if you don’t have yard space; they only need a warm spot with some sun and a deep watering once a week.

For lemon chicken you will need:

  • 4 chicken leg quarters, the leg and thigh attached
  • 2 large lemons
  • 8 sprigs of thyme
  • Olive oil
  • A pinch of chili flakes
  • Sea salt or kosher salt
  • ¼ cup of white wine
  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Cut one lemon into thin slices and the other in half.
  3. Line a baking dish with foil and place the leg quarters in the pan, skin side up. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and a pinch of chili flakes. Lay the slices of lemon on top of the chicken, then the thyme sprigs. Squeeze the halved lemon over it all and drizzle with olive oil (you don’t need much). Toss the squeezed lemon into the pan with the chicken.
  4. Pour 1/4 cup of the white wine in the bottom of the pan. Pour the cook a glass as well.
  5. Bake, uncovered, for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes depending on the size of the quarters. The juices should run clear when pierced with the tip of a knife. Let the chicken sit for 15 minutes before serving. Don’t toss out those lemon slices! They are caramelized and delicious to munch on.

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Your kitchen is about to smell amazing!

Finished lemon chicken

Finished lemon chicken

You’ll have some scrumptious pan drippings. Pour them into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until they begin to thicken slightly. This simple gravy can be poured over mashed potatoes, yum.

Or, simply moisten slices of some good crusty bread with the juices and bake them until crisp in the oven. I just lay them in the roasting pan until they soak up some flavorful drippings, then place them on a baking sheet back in the oven until crispy. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Yum, yum! Serve the chicken on top.

If you are counting calories, the chicken is delicious “as is”. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some chopped parsley is all that is required.