Tuna Pasta Salad

Nothing says 'summer' like tuna pasta salad. It's the only thing I want to eat on hot days - best with watermelon and a Blue Moon. My previous concoction was a little bland (tuna, pasta, mayo, salt, pepper) and had no veggies so I did some research and came up with this - a combination of two allrecipes.com recipes, kind of.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 ounce) package rotini (my mom pointed out that the shape works well for holding the goo)
  
• 2 yellow squash, chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained

This is where I freestyled a bit and it probably could use some tweaking. Let me know if you come up with something better. Alternatively, you can use a bottle of Italian dressing.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• a lot of mayo (2 big scoops)
  
• black pepper
  
• garlic salt
• a lot of dill weed (3 tablespoons?)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (maybe leave this out - I'm not sure what the purpose is)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in pasta and return pot to boil. Cook until al dente. Drain well.
2. Place squash and zucchini in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, squash, zucchini, kidney beans and tuna. Stir in dressing. Mix well and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Minestrone Soup

I think this is about as easy as cooking gets. There's no meat involved (thus no fear of contamination) and no chopping. But be forewarned, your can opener will get a workout.

I do have to wonder, however, if this is a cost-effective substitute for Progresso's minestrone (which I have adored since about age 5). There's likely less sodium and fewer preservatives but it might more expensive on a per-bowl basis. If you do the math, let me know.

But it is tasty. I'll add garlic next time (what's an Italian recipe without garlic anyway?) and some more spinach. It could probably use about 4x more seasoning as well.

Isn't cooking fun? (Especially when it only consists of opening cans, dumping their contents into a large pot, and stirring?)

Start to Finish: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 14-ounce cans beef broth
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14-1/2-ounce can low-sodium stewed tomatoes
• 1 11-1/2-ounce can vegetable juice
• 1 6-ounce can low-sodium tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 1-1/2 cups loose-pack frozen mixed vegetables (such as an Italian blend)
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, cut into strips
• 2 cups cooked pasta (1 cup uncooked), such as small shells or mostaccioli
• Finely shredded Parmesan cheese(optional)

Directions

In a large kettle combine broth, beans, stewed tomatoes, vegetable juice, tomato paste, sugar, and Italian seasoning. Bring to boiling. Add mixed vegetables. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and cooked pasta; heat through. To serve, ladle into bowls. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 8 main-dish servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare soup up to the point where frozen vegetables are cooked until tender. Remove from heat; cool quickly. Refrigerate, covered, overnight. To serve, reheat soup over medium heat. Stir in spinach and cooked pasta. Heat through.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Pasta Primavera with Italian Turkey Sausage

I eat a lot of pasta (some say it's because I'm half Italian) - most of the time with just olive oil, parmesan, and crushed black pepper. It's so good - and so easy. I've tried various pasta dishes, trying to integrate more meat and veggies into my diet, and have found very few that I adore. But this is one of them. Yum, yum, and yum.

Oh, but I do have one issue - what's with onions and garlic being so tasty but so stinky on the hands? I tried wearing plastic baggies for protection but it made cutting a bit difficult (and looked a bit silly, I admit). So I could use a tip or two.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked farfalle pasta
1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 small zucchini, chopped
2 small yellow squash, chopped
6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
20 leaves fresh basil
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place farfalle in pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente; drain.
2. Place sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until evenly brown; set aside. Heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until tender. Mix in zucchini, squash, tomatoes, bell pepper and basil. Dissolve bouillon in the mixture. Season with red pepper. Stir in remaining oil. Continue cooking 10 minutes.
3. Mix pasta, sausage and cheese into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until heated through.

'In the Kitchen' Freestyle

Yes, I'm back.

And I adopted a new style of cooking while in South Africa. This was mostly due to limited internet access (i.e. no recipes), a limited supply of tupperware (i.e. nowhere to put leftovers), and not wanting to stock up on food only to leave it there. Not to mention that everything I bought spoiled about 4 times as fast as it does here (due to the heat? the relative lack of preservatives? we may never know). So I only bought what I planned to eat in the next couple of days.

When I told Blake about my new approach to grocery shopping he quoted an episode of Seinfeld (as he oft does) where Kramer gets rid of his refrigerator.

GEORGE: Well what do you eat?
KRAMER: It's all fresh. Fresh fish, fresh foul, fresh fruit. I buy it, I omniga nominga, I eat it.
JERRY: Well I’m glad it's working out.
KRAMER: Oh yeah, it's working out.

So I began throwing stuff into a pan, seasoning it, and cooking it. 'Stuff' usually consisted of any combination of beef, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, any other vegetables, garlic, and beans. 'Seasoning' was whatever I could find. It's really quite liberating, try it.

I learned a fair amount during this exploratory process and I think I've overcome some of my culinary fears. Ever wonder why no one cooks with cucumbers? They get gross. That's why. And, as a general rule, whatever you make is going to taste just like it smells. Most importantly, the world doesn't end if you make a bad meal. If I found that dinner wasn't so tasty when I sat down to eat, I covered it with massive quantities of cheese. Many of the world's problems can be solved with cheese, I imagine.

But now, here I am, once again in a world of 24-hour supermarkets and heavily preserved produce. More recipes coming soon.

Update

I haven't cooked for a while - primarily because I am leaving the country for 3 months on December 11th and haven't been grocery shopping. But I did make Turkey & Veggie Chili again. Really, it's tasty. Abby and Casey agreed.

I don't expect to do much cooking in South Africa but will attempt to keep everyone up-to-date here: www.lifeindurban.blogspot.com. (Though I'll be paying for my Internet usage by the megabyte - what's that about?)

I hope you all enjoy the holiday season and guiltless gorging!

Sweet Potatoes

Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to stuff myself and stayed far away from the turkey until it was nicely carved and bearing no resemblance to any type of bird (as to avoid a traumatic experience akin to that of "Chicken Noodle Soup").

I made the sweet potatoes for our meal. I chose sweet potatoes because no one really likes them anyway - so I wouldn't be too stressed out if I messed them up. Blake's aunt made the most amazing sweet potatoes last year and I was hoping to replicate. Alas, mine were only average. I think the key is using grated ginger root - but you're supposed to use 6x as much fresh ginger as you would ground ginger. I might try more fresh ginger and less orange zest. They were a tad on the citrus-y side.

Stay tuned... I promise brilliance next Thanksgiving.

Source: lowfatcooking.about.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

PREPARATION:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and cook for 20-25 minutes until tender. Drain sweet potatoes; add orange juice, orange zest, brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Mash until smooth.

Serves 6.

Per Serving: Calories 180, Calories from Fat 4, Total Fat 0.4g (sat 0.1g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 21mg, Carbohydrate 41.3mg, Fiber 4.7g, Protein 2.7g

Chicken Noodle Soup

I read that chicken noodle soup for colds isn't just an old wives's tale. The warm, salty fluid helps to loosen secretions and something in the soup has an anti-inflammatory effect that keeps production of mucous down. Yum.

So I decided to make some, since I get sick so much.

Did I mention that I don't like raw meat? This was a particularly traumatic experience for me because I had to butcher a whole chicken. When I took it out of the wrapper I saw that it had cute little legs... and cute little wings... and a cute little butt. I could just picture it running around the chicken coop with all of its cute little chicken friends. And I had to massacre it - not just cut it up but actually break its bones apart.

I had no idea where to cut - the recipe, of course, did not specify. And I had no idea if I should use all of the chicken or just certain parts. So I called my mom and she coached me. (What would the world do without moms?) She said it didn't matter where I broke it apart, all of the meat falls off of the bones in soups anyway. And every part of the chicken is fair 'game' (couldn't resist) - unless it's wrapped in paper, in which case it should be removed. There was no paper but I did run into an absolutely disgusting-looking sausage-like piece which I didn't want anywhere near anything I was going to eat - so I cut that off and threw it out.

Yuck, yuck, and yuck. Next time I am going to buy the chicken pieces already cut.

So despite all that, the soup turned out really well and was incredibly flavorful. I added a clove of garlic and lots of chili powder to the broth. Then I doubled the carrots, celery, and parsley. I will use 12 cups water water next time (not enough broth for me) and 1 teaspoon pepper.

For anyone who doesn't feel like tearing apart a raw chicken then picking the bones out of the meat, store-bought chicken noodle soup seems to have the same medicinal effects as homemade (but doesn't taste as good, I promise).

Source: Better Homes and Gardens
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 40 minutes
Makes: 8 servings (10 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 3-1/2- to 4-pound stewing chicken, cut up, or 2-1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces
  
• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium)
• 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
• 1-1/2 cups dried egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven combine chicken, water, onion, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 1-1/2 hours or until chicken is very tender.

2. Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Discard bones and skin. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; set aside. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from broth.

3. Bring broth to boiling. Stir in carrot and celery. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes. Stir in noodles. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes more or until noodles are tender but still firm. Stir in chicken and parsley; heat through.