Clam linguine

Sunday, July 31, 2011
Shellfish is the funnest!!!


Only my second time with clams and last time I made this dish, it turned out quite sandy. This time I scrubbed + rinsed + rinsed + rinsed. Success, no more sandy pasta!



So here's what I did..
1. Threw a decent amount of finely chopped shallots + at least 3 cloves of chopped garlic into a decent amount of EVOO. Clearly I did not measure anything. 
2. Threw in a few tablespoons of diced canned tomato. I like the Italian flavored canned dice tomatoes. 
3. Poured in a decent amount of Riesling. The only white I had on hand. 
4. Threw in a few sprigs of saffron. This is bolded as this was my first cooking with saffron experience!! 
5. Threw in the carefully washed clams. All of those pictured in the orange container. 
6. On the side, I boiled some of my fave pasta..whole wheat spaghetti. (I guess this is clam spaghetti rather than clam linguine.)


Once the clams are done popping, combine with the pasta. That's it! 








Because I eyeballed everything, I was surprised that there was a fair amount of fluid that came from the clams. Nonetheless, that broth was amazing. I didn't have to add any salt. I LOVE SEAFOOD and all it's salty glory.


Windowsill Basil

Saturday, July 30, 2011
Just bought my third (fourth?) basil plant. Why are they so difficult to keep alive? I always feel like they're a good investment since a packet of store bought basil is not only as expensive as the entire plant but lasts a few seconds in the fridge. So this year, I've decided to finally learn how to make my basil plant grow on the windowsill. Let's be real, I'm not expecting some flourishing basil growing bizniz, just a little chiffon to throw on some of my food experiments every now and then. Some tips I found online that don't seem horribly inconvenient:
1) Keep plant in direct sunlight, at least 6 hours a day.
2) Keep the soil moist but well drained
3) Cut the leaves off the top of the basil stalk for cooking. Also encourages branching
4) Pinch off the little white flowers that grow


I'm rather ambivalent about buying fertilizer, a new pot and soil and all that. I'd rather just keep buying new basil plants. 
Wish me luck.







New go-to spaghetti dish


Ever since tomato sauce started giving me GERD (reflux), I have been experimenting with non-tomato accompaniments to pasta. I realized spaghetti tastes great with olive oil, slightly browned garlic, lots of S&P, maybe some chili flakes or basil. Since I pretty much always have these ingredients in the pantry, this became my go-to spaghetti dish. Over time, however, I felt like there wasn't quite enough flavor (which I at times tried to resolve with dunking in some soy sauce..), and it was all carbs! The most recent Minimalist video, however, showed me how I could add both flavor, and some green without adding complexity. 


Key changes
1) Anchovies! 
2) Sliver (instead of crushing) the garlic and don't burn the garlic!
3) Don't boil the pasta all the way til al dente, it will keep cooking when tossing with garlic + anchovies
4) Toss with arugula on the counter, it will wilt with the heat of the pasta alone and still retain a little crunch and flavor. 




Key ingredients




Finished product
(cannot see the anchovies or garlic, but they are there I promise, the anchovies break up in the olive oil)



Winner!! Anchovies add a subtle but salty after taste and arugula adds crunch, color and green veggie goodness. And it was still easy, fast and cheap!

Random things I made

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Per Jeanie's P's advice, I am uploading more posts despite the fact that her blog is way more professional!!
Here are random things I made that I suppose I did not think were worthy of their own post.


Asparagi in egg..effectively asparagus frittata..



Sweet potato, onions, cilatro salad with balsamic vinaigrette 

"Messy lasagna"
Left over lasagna noodles, asparagus and romano





Peanut noodles (pasta)


There was this little cafe next to our 1st/2nd yr lecture hall that sold overpriced sandwiches. They had this one little boxed lunch with noodles + peanut sauce that I became addicted to. This dish is my attempt to recreate that. 
There's not too much to it. It's whole wheat pasta, strips of zucchini and red bell peppers, 'shrooms + kale. Really whatever vegetable you want. The sauce is a mixture of peanut butter dissolved in soy sauce and Sriracha. I sort of mix + taste until I like it (not too spicy, not too salty, not too clumpy). Thin it out with water if necessary such that it becomes a consistency that can coat the pasta. It's a heavy but deliciously hearty dish.