I had breakfast with Arne and Carlos this morning, catching up on yesterday's episode of sit and knit a bit. Left to right, Carlos and Arne. They always sit the "wrong" way just because.
They're in the local (Norwegian) woods today, a little nervous since a neighbor had seen a moose. They are the most calming and funny couple, well worth finding if you're not already a fan. I usually make a cup of tea to watch with.
Back at the ranch, the outside faucet is officially finally not dripping. In fact there's a new spiderweb across the top of the catching bucket. Proof!
And Winnowing is happening, rather specialized this time. Freezer Winnowing. The big freezer was getting a bit chaotic with the addition of the Misfit Market produce, and I needed anyway to look out dyes for papermaking. Here's where Joanne is an Influencer. Her lint has changed my plans, more about that in Art, the Beautiful Metaphor when I get to it.
Meanwhile the lint caused me to ditch a huge frozen bag of paper-destined foliage, opening up a lot more room.
Then in the small freezer, the one above the fridge, I ruthlessly winnowed out bags of herbs surplus to requirements. I kept bags of about eight herbs that I'll use, and the rest is now out in the woods feeding the earth and probably the groundhogs.
Just to show you, here are all the emptied bags, washed and drying over the sink.
I made the first pasta of fall, using the penne from Misfit Market, and the rest of the mushrooms. I thought I'd try that method of cooking the pasta in the sauce. Up to now, I've always preferred adding it afterwards, in the plate.
This is largely because my intro to pasta in NJ was in little Trenton Italian restaurants where the pasta was freshly homemade, probably by a Nonna in the kitchen, always family places, and very tender.
You treated it with care and it was wonderful. I've made pasta and it's delicate even when you've dried it. A couple of minutes in the boiling water is all it takes.
However, this penne, a very good Italian import, is harder, needs more cooking and can stand up to this more rugged process.
So I cooked down the mushrooms and chopped garlic, in butter and oil, and cooked the pasta separately for about half its recommended time, about 8 minutes, then drained it and kept the water.
At the same time I was heating in another pot, tomatoes and tomato paste and salt and hot pepper flakes and a chunk of sage pesto, then added in the mushrooms and some pasta water.
All this I poured over the hot pasta in the big pot. It looked a bit liquid, so after a few minutes on medium heat, I turned off the heat, put on a lid, and left it alone. Too early for lunch, anyway.
Came back and it was very happy. Just right. Penne is great for holding onto a really good sauce.Three meals from this.
On the subject of garlic, I expect you know that the more finely you cut, the more flavor you cause? Because every surface emits flavor and the more you cut, the more surface you expose.
So you can sling half a dozen whole cloves into soup for a vegetable as much as a flavor source, or you can finely mince for much more power. Here I chopped, but not minced, not wanting the garlic to overcome the mushrooms.
Credit for this learning goes to Dee Whitman, reference librarian by day, world class cook by night, who founded the South Brunswick library's Bite Club, and from whom I learned a ton. Take a bow, Dee!
listening to a cooking show on NPR the little bit of time I was in the car today and she was talking about soups and soups with noodles and she said to cook your noodles to almost done and then add them into the soup because noodles were a big broth hog and would suck it all up and I see that that's what you did.
ReplyDeleteYes, so it seems! Same principle.
DeleteYour pasta looks good. We are garlic fans. I often crush the garlic really well. It releases lots of flavour too.
ReplyDeleteWe wash and re-use plastic bags too. I figured out a plastic bag drying rack a few weeks ago: pebbles in the bottom of a small pot (I'm using a 'weed pot'), chopsticks jammed into the pebbles. Works a treat!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Chris from Boise
PS Will have to go look up Arne and Carlos - appreciate the introduction.
I have a drying place, clothes pins on the front of my wire shelves, but it's too busy to take a good pic, so I did this one. I wash and reuse tinfoil,parchment paper, too. They're not single use. Very little around here is!
DeleteI've enjoyed several of Arne and Carlos's podcasts - and their beautiful sweaters. I have to admit, though, I never realized that Arne and Carlos sit the "wrong" way. lol I'm assuming it's intentional since you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteYes, they joked about it a while ago.
DeleteEvery time I press garlic in my garlic press I think of the friend I had who swore she would NEVER press her garlic but only finely mince. I love my garlic press.
ReplyDeleteI gave mine to my son who loves it. I'm of the smash with a broad blade school of pressing. But it all depends on what you want for the recipe. And it can get heated! When I typed heated my predictive text wrote grated! Well, that, too.
DeleteI've never heard of Arne and Carlos before, but when I was 15, I got a sweater similar to the one the guy on the left is wearing. They were called Icelandic sweaters and were popular in Sweden at the time. Believe it or not, but I still have it and it still fits, albeit a little tight.
ReplyDeleteThey're knitting designers who like to honor traditional designs. Carlos is swedish/spanish! Those sweaters are designed to last. Arne even has some he inherited from previous generations.
DeleteI love Arne and Carlos (Irene 'introduced' me to them). Great fun to sit and have coffee with. Pasta with lots of garlic is my idea of comfort food.
ReplyDelete