Some personal, some pasta

Do you ever dream of noodles?

Uh, potential flight stresses aside, it’s wild to know we should be in the Bay Area within the week for  Jules’ beautiful surgery (and some subsequent respite – aka recovery – and sunshine). 

Further north, the snow and sun have returned in recent rotation, lightly dusting and melting on the spruce in turn.

spring-ish

The days are getting longer and longer, with the sensation of going to bed in twilight renewed. 

The cats, for two, are digging their own extended naps in the sun.

As for me, I’ve been preoccupied with slowly-but-surely packing for this unique trip, where we’ll be based out of a tucked-away nonprofit recovery center and then a downtown hotel. Some clothes, speciality pillows, books, prescriptions, sunglasses, sandals, nooch…check.

This being my life + kitchen-centric sub’scrap & all, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you about another thing we do before leaving town: Cleaning out the Fridge ™.  

For goodness’ sake, I even cleaned out the freezer yesterday.  I made room for the remaining bananas that had seen better days (maybe) and would see rebirth as a smoothie, and re-assessed what the heck was in there…besides the requisite summer berry corner, of course.

And on the plus side of that one, after wading through those foraged wonders & half-bags of curious frozen veg & nuts & summer pesto & fake meat & bits of curry paste, I unearthed + baked a lovely quartet of small rhubarb, red currant and raspberry galettes. Thanks, past jess. 

Fun fact: Jules discovered those existed while browsing photos of the cats on my phone. The gasp! The ensuing after-dinner dessert! : )

In short, we’re down to some odds & ends of ‘fresh’ produce (hi cabbage), and that’s totally do-able, especially knowing I will VERY likely be visiting at least one farmers market at some point on this medical sojourn ( & caregiving for jules = fresh fruit). Plus, I’ve been working on a growing Trader Joe’s list for WEEKS. Oh, the novelty!

One thing I can pretty much always rock out when either low or emboldened with plentiful ingredients is PASTA. 

Another day, another pasta.

Look! A recipe is approaching! The following pasta dish hits the mark for casual flavor + pantry-friendly, and even though this will get a look from Jules and a surely-amusing verbal response from my sister, I’m gonna add one more “F” for ‘frugal’. I can’t resist.

Everything came from our existing supplies, duh, and I get that not everyone has a jar of roasted peppers but that does get a lot more likely if you live near a Trader Joe’s like most people I know outside of Alaska. 

And for that matter, it’s 2022 and even I can get roasted peppers at the co-op or behemoth national grocery chains up here if I really wanted to. Anywhoo.

Granted, my peppers in this eventual pasta dish are orange, but I remember my first go-to TJ’s jar often having some yellow or orange amidst the red, and I don’t know, maybe you get into a romesco mode in the spring and also keep stocked on these things. 

What I really, really know is that I’m not writing this delayed recipe intro to tell you to make this dish – as if.  I simply roasted these peppers last week, stuck them in a jar (in the fridge) with a little olive oil and salt, and now get to check them off my list *and* throw together a different-than-usual pasta for dinner. 

Perhaps this simply means you’ll get your own pasta on sooner than later. We both know that’s a good thing.

Okay, and I had an open jar of organic passata (strained tomatoes) to bring it all together, although I’ll give that credit to some good finishing olive oil. One must. One should.

Simmer it all together, toss on some parsley, and there’s dinner, settled.

hints of preserved summer offerings, despite the snow

Penne w/ roasted peppers, olives, tomatoes and vodka

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 2 roasted sweet bell peppers, peeled and stem + seeds removed, roughly chopped

• 3-4 cloves minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon vodka

• ¼  teaspoon or more calabrian chili flakes

• ¾ cup tomato passata or strained/puréed tomatoes

• ½ cup water 

• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, stems & all, minced + more for garnish

• ¼ cup olives, pits removed (green + kalamata here)

• ½ pound penne or other tubular pasta, cooked al dente (recommended: 2-3 minutes under cook time)

• + Save at least ⅓ cup pasta water from the final 2 minutes of cooking!

pasta water = the magic ingredient

Steps for this pasta situation:

1. Warm the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Quickly sauté until the garlic is golden, turn heat to low, and add in the chili flakes.

2. Carefully add the vodka to deglaze the pan and cook down for a few minutes, letting the liquid reduce a bit.

3. Add the peppers and tomato, bringing the heat up again.

4. Stir in the water, olives, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

5. Now, simmer covered on low for 15-20 minutes or longer to develop flavor (the more the merrier), adding a spoonful of water as needed.

6. In a separate pot, cook the pasta in salted water, reserving the recommended pasta water towards the very end. (I like to use a measuring cup and keep at least ⅓ cup to add in, if not ½ cup).

7. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the thick sauce mixture with ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water, bringing the heat up again. Add in additional pasta water as you cook on medium for a minute or so to allow all of the flavors to meld.

8. Season with a bit more salt and pepper to taste, if needed

9. Serve in bowls, and garnish with additional minced parsley, a drizzle of good olive oil, chili flakes, and v/chz, if ya dig (it doesn’t need it, really).

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After a bowl of this, I was daydreaming about a holiday somewhere perfectly breezy on the coast of Spain, or better yet – “retiring” – ideally (!) in Sicily. I went once, nearly twenty years ago on my semester abroad, along the eastern and southern parts of the island, to visit where my actual surname’s origins allude to. I was so young. It all struck me as aromatic and cinematic. I know one day…..I’ll return.

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A Few More Clean-out-the-Fridge Meals:

lentil, v sausage, roasted squash + harissa soup

sourdough bagels, once again

parsley-garlic mashed potatoes, curry baked + breaded chickin’, spicy baked cranberry beans, collards

spoiler - more pasta ahead

farfalle pasta w/ toasted breadcrumbs, radicchio, seitan bacon

tofu migas, lime-tahini cabbage slaw, roasted AK butterball potatoes

risotto w/ peas + radicchio + parsley by jules

mixed curry from Chetna’s 30 Minute Meals, sourdough garlic-sesame naan, brown rice

FYI, these are often pictured on our front porch, not a table. : )

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To set another record (not so) straight, welcome to the debut edition of Jules’ Pasta Corner:

“Here’s what I think about pasta: you can’t have it every day. Well, to be honest I used to think that you can’t have it every day- but! I changed my mind recently. There are many ways to change it up including noodle shape- my favorite is mixta, and sauce. Red sauce, cecci, pesto, mac and cheese, OLIVES, olives, olives, calabrian chile, roasted peppers apparently. When I tasted this pasta dish, I thought: I’d be okay with this everyday. Can we have it again tomorrow? Turn this ‘pasta corner’ into a pasta (gingerbread style) house! Come over today! And tomorrow!”  – Jules

One more for the road, thanks to a batch of Melty Cheddar from AVC…

mac & chz w/ cavatappi, pasta mista + peas

Back to simmering some bolognese ragù before hitting the road to Fairbanks for covid tests! Ah, rural life.

So! What's your go-to pasta?

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References + Relevant Links:

• Americans Cultivated and Traded Chili Peppers 6,000 Years Ago, Smithsonian Institute February 16, 2017

• Basic Aglio e Olio, Lidia’s Italy

• The Chemistry of Bell Peppers – Colour and Aroma, Compound Interest July 5, 2016

• Jules’ GoFundMe for Gender-Affirming Top Surgery

• Pantry Essentials: Roasted Red Peppers from Trader Joe’s, The Kitchn September 10, 2009 - which makes this super specific to the jar I had in mind!!