super fast arrabiata

i bit the bullet and started cooking real meals in austria. why? because the weather has been so cold and rainy this summer that the very idea of another salad or sandwich for dinner was unbearable. lunch is usually the warm meal in the summer, but i've started preparing warm dinners to counter the weather. i had been eating a lot of veggie stirfry with lentils, but today i realized that i needed some major protein if i was going to be able to get more work done this evening.

i went into the store with the intention of just whipping up one of my chickpea dishes (see the winter chickpea soup post for the basic gist), but couldn't find any chickpeas. (where am i that they don't have chickpeas? geez.) i spotted some ready-to-boil ravioli and remembered that i had chiles, tomatoes and onion at home. i grabbed some baby spinach and a package of salami and ran home to my kitchen.

here's the arrabiata (spicy tomato) sauce i made for my ravioli:

ingredients:

1/2 small/medium red chile, finely chopped (adjust to taste)

1/2 small onion (add some garlic if you want, too, i just didn't have any on hand)

2 generous handfuls of baby spinach

12-15 cherry tomatoes, chopped in half or quarters (use your judgement)

6 slices of salami, folded and chopped

olive oil

black pepper to taste

instructions:

boil water for the ravioli

heat olive oil in a separate pan

chop all veggies and salami

when the oil is hot, toss in onions, garlic, chile and salami

sautee until the onions are soft and the salami is getting kind of crispy looking

(by now you should be boiling the ravioli as well, so time it right)

add the tomatoes and turn down the heat on the sautee pan

as the tomatoes begin to soften, push down on them with a fork to squish them

crack some black pepper over the top and let it simmer for about 3 minutes

rinse and add the spinach, and let it sautee, too.

by now your ravioli should be done. scoop them out of the cooking water with a slotted spoon and dump them into the sautee pan. let them sautee with everything for up to 5 minutes. keep the temperature low.

my amount of pasta only made for 2 adult-sized portions, so just use your judgement and scale up the recipe when cooking for more people.

enjoy!

spicy sweet potatoes are where it's at

well, i needed something i could whip up for a dinner party. i thought spicy sweet potatoes sounded like a fun idea, so i asked the internet for some ideas. here's what ended up happening. (sorry in advance for the cursory review, but do try these for yourself -- they're really quite easy and well worth the effort!)

i made a modified version of this recipe: (scroll past the flautas for the sweet potato recipe http://www.wellsphere.com/green-living-article/spicy-chile-glazed-sweet-potato-flautas/414863 )

ingredients:

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tbsp adobo sauce (from the can with the chipotles)

3 tbsp agave paste (add more if the sauce has too much of a kick)

1/4 cup water

salt

pepper

(the recipe also calls for cinnamon and allspice, which i unfortunately didn't have)

to make:

sauce:

combine minced chipotles, minced garlic, agave, adobo, water, salt, pepper and other spices in a small bowl

taste for spiciness and add more agave if necessary

potatoes:

take 3 large sweet potatoes

wash, peel and cube them (bite-sized pieces work best)

preheat the oven to 425

toss them in half of the sauce

bake covered for 20 minutes

toss them with the other half of the sauce

bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes (until soft)

i served them with wild rice and veggies, but, although tasty, the rice was just kind of an afterthought. i bet these would be really good with pulled chicken or pork. if you're not a meat eater, they would likely make wonderful enchiladas. we had asparagus and salad, and just adding more and more veggies to these makes a fantastic meal. these will be the dominant flavor, though, so don't plan any other particularly seasoned foods for the same meal.

enjoy!

corn-free diet thwarted by cheetos

...but 2011 is a new year.

i was reading back over my new year's resolutions for 2010 and assessing what had changed. i did manage to drop a lot of corn, but i also developed a strange love for cheetos (the trader joe's kind) during exam week.

but 2010 was also the year of the delicious salad, some forays into austrian cooking, a fall of gluten-free culinary exploration, and some delicious stews at home over christmas. here at the apartment we've added several new kinds of bread to our repertoire, as well. conclusion: i'm keeping all of it (even the cheetos) in my rotation for 2011.

here's to more posts in the new year.

cheers,

-a.