Post-Swim Food

This was basically the best recipes I've made in awhile. Please trust me when I say that its incredibly important to have excellent tomatoes in this recipe. Heirlooms tend to have the best quality when bought from a store. Make sure they are firm (but not too hard) and smell like a tomato plant - there should be no soft spots and very few cracks where the stem originally held the tomato on the vine. Do not refrigerate tomatoes as they lose flavor very quickly when cold (same goes with strawberries). I recommend just buying the tomatoes the day you plan to make this recipe.

If you have a tomato plant, these will also be excellent in this recipe. Heirlooms tend to have a slightly more sweet quality that is simply divine, but any ripe and well kept tomatoes will work.

I may have liked this because of the tomatoes, and I may have liked it because I had just gotten home from swimming when I made it. Patrick and I, however, devoured the entire recipe and it probably should have served 4. For reference, I found a description of this here.

Tomato, Feta, and Oregano Salad

Chop 3 ripe heirloom tomatoes and place in a bowl.

Finely mince one clove of strong garlic and add to tomatoes.

Add about 1 to 2 tsp of fresh oregano (just the leaves pulled off the stem bits and added directly)

Drizzle with about 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Add 8 to 10 oz. of crumbled feta.

Mix all ingredients well.

Allow to sit for a little while if time permits.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, kale, or with bread or crackers. Or just eat it plain. 

Enjoy!

The Way My Mind Creates Recipes: A Glimpse.

As we've all discovered by now, I don't do mushrooms. They sit in my fridge in paper bags slowly drying out or even going moldy. I'd actually never seen mushrooms become fuzzy until I started getting a CSA box. Dried mushrooms are not a big deal. You can buy dried mushrooms at the store and they re-hydrate fantastically. I don't concern myself with using my mushrooms in a timely manner.

I recently (last night) had a brain wave while making Pasta with Tuna and Tomato Sauce courtesy of Simply Recipes. If I combined the brilliance that is Simply Recipes with that of Smitten Kitchen (particularly this recipe which I've altered to be made with dry white wine rather than red), I could come up with some bad-ass Tuna Noodle Casserole (or TNC for short).

I consulted one of my other trusty sources for reference. I find that google is not the bast place to search for such tried and true culinary creations. TNC is a classic and few Food Network gurus need apply to the making of it - it simply becomes too complicated. It was time to turn to the bookshelf. Specifically, it was time to consult The Joy of Cooking.

Now, I have several "food bibles"; some websites also make the cut (like the above food blogs). The Joy of Cooking is the original canon of cooking in my mind. Blame my father for this devotion. When I need a recipe for something as basic as TNC there is no better reference. When I need knowledge on the methods of cooking a particular basic food, The Joy of Cooking has all my answers. Eggs are covered thoroughly; pasta is discussed at length; cookie making methods are divulged to one's heart's delight! The Joy of Cooking made it clear how I could accomplish my TNC goals.

Here is the general process I had in mind:

• You start by cooking mushrooms with bell peppers and onions. I'll skip the bell peppers and just address the onions. In fact, I'll make the mushrooms as directed by Smitten Kitchen (just skip the chicken steps and use a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay rather than Marsala)

• You then turn the mushrooms into a cheese sauce. The mushrooms themselves are fairly rich and thick, I don't think I will need much flour for thickening. Joy of Cooking calls for 1/4 cup.

• Remove from heat and add a substantial quantity of milk (almond milk in our case - just cause its what we buy these days). 2 1/2 cups to be exact. Perhaps the flour will be necessary for thickening after all?

• Add a whole lot of cheese - 3/4 to 1 cup. Joy of Cooking calls for cheddar, but I believe a smaller amount of Parmesan will be superior. Luckily, this is also what I have in my refrigerator.

• Add two cans tuna - simple.

• Add to this entire mixture 2 cups cooked egg noddles - obviously, mine will be corn noodles instead.

• They say to add parsley, but I won't. We are not fans of parsley in this house (or at least I am ambivalent about the herb).

• Top with bread crumbs, crushed crackers, or corn flakes - and melted butter. We'll see if that happens... Actually, this is starting to sound like a lot of work.

Of course, I could also shorten the process to this:

• Cook the mushrooms according to Smitten Kitchen's directions.

• Add tuna to mushrooms.

• Add pasta to mixture.

• Sprinkle with cheese.

• Bake. (aka Broil until the cheese bubbles and browns)

Yes. This sounds simpler. Perhaps I will add some Kale to the mix like I did to the Pasta with Tuna and Tomato Sauce. Hell, maybe I'll add some basil and oregano and kale like I did with the Pasta with Tuna and Tomato Sauce.

Hope you enjoyed the glimpse. When I make the recipe I will post it... if I remember.

Happy End of the Week!