Eats/Reads

We often make Marcella Hazen's carbonara recipe, but tonight we had an odd collection of leftovers. Nevertheless, a carbonara-esque meal materialised, and it was delicious. 500 g linguine (normally spaghetti, but we had none) 1 courgette 2 sausages (grilled yesterday) 1 head of fresh garlic A little sun-dried tomato 1 egg Parmesan Olive oil 1 tbsp sherry (or dry white wine) Chop up the entire head of fresh garlic. Fresh garlic is milder and sweeter than the regular stuff. Saute it in the olive oil for a minute, then add thin sliced courgette, sausage and sun-dried tomato. We use a mandolin to get 0.5 mm thick courgette slices. Saute until the courgette is slightly browned, then add the sherry and deglaze. Mix the egg (raw) with enough grated parmesan cheese to make a thick paste. Grate black pepper into the paste. Add the cooked pasta and toss until it's evenly coated. Add the sauce and toss again.

We thought we had absolutely nothing to eat in the house - and then we realised we had the ingredients for tuna casserole. Not exactly the most sophisticated dish but this is a tasty version - with, notably, no canned cream of mushroom soup (which about 99.9 per cent of the recipes we found online called for). The toddler was a bit suspicious of it but in the end ate several pieces of fusilli and a couple handfuls of the meat and sauce, once we separated them for her. If you don't have kids, add some dry white wine or sherry in the sauce and double or triple the garlic. Next time we'll try putting bread crumbs on top, under the grated cheese. 1 pound fusilli 2 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 300 g tinned tuna 1 cup frozen peas 6 tbsp butter 6 tbsp flour 3 cups milk 1/4 pound grated cheddar cheese Cheddar Parmesan Melt the butter, then stir in the flour. Slowly add the 6 cups milk on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. Y...

I was totally winging it with this one and it came out very tasty! I wanted to stew some meat because it makes for great family meals - very easy to eat for the family member who still doesn't have all her teeth. The rest was just a mix of what I remember from making other stews and Marcella Hazan tomato sauces (ie, LOTS of olive oil!). We ate it with pasta but it could also have been served over rice, with potatoes - or even with potatoes cooked in it. 2T veg oil 800g pork 1/2 cup olive oil 2 onions, chopped 2 medium carrots, sliced thin 1/2 courgette, sliced thin About 1/4-1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced thin 1/2 head garlic, chopped 2 splashes dry sherry 1 tsp oregano 1 enormous bay leaf 3 400ml/14 ox tins tomato 250ml/1 cup chicken stock 1 Tbsp flour (Would have added dried basil if I'd had it. Instead, chopped up some fresh basil and cilantro and used that as a garnish before serving) Heat veg oil in Dutch oven until very hot. Add cubed meat and brown on all sides. Set aside. Add...

This recipe is nothing fancy but it's tasty and flexible, depending on what you have on hand. It is inspired by an Annabel Karmel recipe for kids but altered a bit. It can be fed to toddlers (my daughter loves it) or to adults. It served as the basis for our first 'family meal' - where all three of us ate the same dish. Imagine! If you don't have courgette (zucchini to you Americans) or celery, you can substitute another type of squash, or potato, or just use more carrot and onion. You could add a clove or two of garlic if your toddler is willing. If you don't have tuna, you can use ground beef, or make it veggie, or add some grated cheese before serving for extra protein and fat. You could probably also use flaked salmon or trout, or perhaps even chicken, but I haven't tried those yet. Let me know how it goes if you do! 6 Tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 small or medium carrot, chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 1 small courgette, chopped 2 400g/14 oz tins...

My husband (aka SWC, aka my co-cooker and co-blogger) adores noodles. When asked once which single cuisine he could eat for the rest of his life, he said, "Chinese or Italian." I said: "You just like noodles!" He agreed. This (and probably most of the pasta I'll write about) is his creation. It's based on Marcella Hazan's pasta carbonara recipe (we love her cookbook), plus some veg we had lying around from our weekly box. It turned out quite tasty. It was also great the next day, heated up in a skillet with a bit of extra oil. Yum. 3 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 head of garlic, pressed 1/2 lb back bacon, cut into thin strips 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced 1/4 cup white wine one bunch scallions 4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin 2 eggs 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped fresh black pepper 1 lb spaghetti Saute garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add bacon. Cook until it's crispy. Add wine. Deglaze pan. Add mushrooms. Saute until t...

This was intended as a dish for my 14-month-old daughter. But alas, she turned her nose up at it. She took one bite then started chanting, "Milk! Cheese! Bread!" (Her favourite foods, along with lentils.) Luckily it's also pretty tasty for adults. Next time, though, if I make it for adults, I will add more onion, some garlic, and maybe some dried or fresh chili, to make it a little more exciting. This can be eaten as is, or meat eaters can add some grilled and flaked/shredded fish or chicken. Or you can have a poached egg on top. Here's the simple version I made for the baby. Anyone with toddlers can try it on their kids, just leave out the salt and pepper (unless your kids like pepper!). Some olive oil Half an onion About 500g frozen spinach (we buy this organic frozen spinach which comes in 80g cubes) 2 carrots, sliced thin 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp flour 1 cup milk Hunk of cheese, grated fine 1 lb pasta Salt and pepper Saute onion in olive oil. Thaw spinach in fridge ah...