Primavera—Tune(a) in to Spring

Primavera… what a nice word to describe this wonderful time of year, time of resurrection, time or rejuvenation, time of new beginnings…

I am very hopeful it will come soon but for now I watch a crazy dance of pesky snowflakes outside my window.

That was written last week. Since then we had one day of 77°F and now it's raining. But it is rather warm rain, the one that promises to wash away all the remnants of passing winter and soak up the soil for new crops so sprout. I have already spotted some tulips leaves curiously peaking out of the ground. Have to fear, tulips, warmth is finally here.

On another note, our CSA announced new season opening soon. That means eating straight from the earth is coming soon! Not to mention, I have started preparing my own planters to receive, nurture and grow new crops.

But for now, I have this easy tuna recipe. I don't usually cook with canned tuna but now I decided to give it a try. And it was quite tasty way to tune into Primavera!

Primavera is also a name for a pasta dish with a light creamy sauce and vegetables. So here's my variation…

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Tuna Primavera

Serves 6 to 8 people

1 lb uncooked pasta of your choice—I liked these new fetuchini

1 12oz bag of frozen bell peppers

1 cup chopped celery stalks (about 2-3 stalks)

1 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped

1 16 oz can albacore white chunk tuna

1 teaspoon salt

few (5-6) black peppercorns

2 T spoons olive oil

1/2 cup heavy cream

• Boil pasta according the package directions.
• While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet/wok heat the oil and sauté onions and garlic on a medium heat until translucent.
• Add remaining vegetables and simmer on medium-low heat until pasta is cooked al-dente, tossing occasionally (takes about 10 minutes to thaw and cook all the vegetables).
• Drain cooked pasta reserving about a 1/2 cup of cooking water.
• Toss pasta with vegetables, add water, tuna, salt and pepper, rase heat and bring it all to boil. Once boiled, turn heat down to low, add cream and toll all together to cover all ingredients. And that's all! Enjoy!

Primiavera is served!

Baked Ziti Marinara

This time I did not need any inspiration for I set off to cook lasagna. It comes in many sizes in the frozen section and I figured I'll share my variation of this layered baked cheesy-saucy goodness. However, this post is not about lasagna but another italian dish.

As I was scanning through the freezer in the grocery store, I noticed this bright red box screaming Ziti Marinara. Now as I recall marinara is one of the simplest sauces out there. Why would anyone want to buy a frozen version of this pasta dish? I would understand if it was lasagna—after all, lasagna is not the easiest/fastest dish to put together, but baked ziti? Come on!

Marinara—Italian for "of the sea"—is an Italian sauce that is so simple to make. No extra ingredients, no extra effort. After all it was the sauce ship cooks used to make for the sailors when nothing else was available but tomatoes and onions. It is usually spicier then other red sauces because the recipe calls for crushed red pepper, but I omitted it (I did, however add it to my serving) because of my kids—they don't like it too spicy. And this sauce is usually prepared with Italian seasoning, but I only used fresh basil because I really craved pungent basil taste! I caramelized onions with 1 teaspoon of sugar to add a sweet dimension to the sauce. And I deliberately did not add any salt—canned tomatoes have enough of it already. But if you like it salty, like sea water, add a pinch or two.

Here how you do it: fist you make marinara, then you boil ziti, put it all together, add cheese and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. Done!

Now, step by step.

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Baked Ziti Marinara

2 TB spoons olive oil

1 cup diced onions

2-3 garlic gloves, crushed

2 TB spoon tomato paste

1 8 oz can diced tomatoes

1 8 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 TB spoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

1 sprig of fresh basil, just leaves

1 16 oz package uncooked ziti

2 cups shredded white cheese of your choice

(I used 1 cup mozzarella+1 cup white sharp cheddar)

Make sauce:

1. In a nonstick sauce pan, heat oil and saute onions and garlic for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add sugar and continue simmering for another 5 minutes;
2. Add vinegar to de-glaze and then add tomato paste. Mix everything well and continue to simmer on the medium heat until all combined, another 5 minutes.
3. Pour tomatoes and bring to gentle boil over a medium-high heat; add pepper and torn basil leaves. Simmer covered on low heat until pasta is done.

Make pasta:

1. Cook ziti according to package directions but cut the time 1 minute short;
2. Drain and pour cold water to stop cooking process.

Assemble the dish:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In a baking pan (lasagna pan—seems like I'm using it for everything else but lasagna!) arrange half of the pasta in a layer, sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese and top with 1/2 of the sauce;
3. Repeat. Lastly, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and add some basil chiffonade (that's a fancy word for thinly slicing, I'm just showing off) and cover with foil;
4. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes, last 10 of which bake with foil removed. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. E manja!

1. I agree lasagna would of been a nicer entry for an Italian dish, but baked ziti marinara is so easy to make I just don't get why anyone would buy it frozen…

Monday is an Easy day, I say

Every Monday, I expect myself to start anew, to finish leftover tasks from last week, to try to push my limits even further during new week. But most of the time it all goes out the window as soon as I open shades in the morning. Oh, well. I'll go with the flow.

Making something easy for dinner is another Monday promise I intend to keep this time. Too bad I didn't make it to the supermarket today. However, I'll work with what I got: Scarcity breeds ingenuity. I have a box of frozen chopped spinach, some grape tomatoes, garlic, pignoli nuts and some sliced cheese. And of course, whole wheat pasta! Plus some spices to make this dish gourmet!

beforehand, toast pignoli nuts a little on a heated non-stick skillet

поджарьте кедровые орешки на разогретой непригарающей сковородке перед употреблением

Lemon zest is what give this simple pasta toss a gourmet taste.

Лимонная цедра придаёт блюду изящный вкус.

Whole wheat Oricchette Pasta with Steamed Spinach, Cherry tomatoes and Pignoli nuts

1 package of Whole Wheat Oricchette pasta

1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach

1 pint container cherry tomatoes

1/4 cut pignoli nuts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook pasta according directions on the box

2. While pasta is cooking, in a small saucepan steam frozen spinach with enough water to cover the bottom of the pen. Once it thawed, strain it and return to the pan adding tomatoes, garlic, nutmeg, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cover and leave it on the low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

3. When pasta is cooked, stir it with the spinach and add some grated cheese (I had mozzarella slices, so I just cut them in strips) and nuts and dress it all with olive oil. Voilà!

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Понедельник день тяжёлый! Каждую неделю я обещаю себе начать жизнь с начала, именно с понедельника, но очень часто это заветное желание сбывается только во вторник.

Хотела закупить продуктов сегодня на всю неделю, но в супермаркет так и не попала.

Вот по сусекам помела, по коробу поскребла и сделала это блюдо на ужин: Макароны «Оричетте» из муки грубого помола с парным шпинатом, помидорами черри и кедровыми орешками. Хочу заметить, что макароны, конечно же, я не готовила сама из теста--были готовые.

1 упаковка (500 гр) макарон «Оричетте» из муки грубого помола
1 упаковка (10 унций) замороженного нарезанного шпината

1 упаковка (500 гр) помидор черри
1/4 стакана кедровых орешков, слегка поджаренных
2 зубчика чеснока
1/4 чайной ложки молотого мускатного ореха
1/2 чайной ложки лимонной цедры
1/2 чайной ложки свежемолотого черного перца
1 чайную ложку крупной морской соли
1/2 стакана тертого сыра моцарелла
2 столовые ложки оливкового масла

1. Отварите макароны по инструкциям соответственно указаниям на упаковке.

2. Пока макароны варятся, в маленькой кастрюле отпарьте замороженный шпинат с таким количеством воды, чтобы полностью закрывало дно. Как только он оттаял, слить лишнюю воду и вернуть в кастрюлю, добавив помидоры, чеснок, мускатный орех, лимонную цедру, соль и перец. Накрыть крышкой и оставить намедленном огне, помешивая, чтобы не пригорело.

3. Когда макароны готовы, перемешать их с овощами и добавить тертый сыр (у меня были уже нарезанные ломтики сыра моцарелла, так что я просто их нарезала на тонкие полоски), орехи и заправить всё с оливковым маслом. Вуаля!