lunch @ work, and hot vs. cold

As a teacher, I find it difficult to find snack breaks, so by the time I get to my lunch time, I'm starving! But what can I bring for lunch that won't weigh me down after snarfing it down in under 20 minutes? That's exactly what I was thinking about when I saw this post last week from The Kitchn. I liked reading the ideas from The Kitchn's readers, but to be honest, most of them didn't seem all that new to me. One thing, however, caught my attention - the post from Our Semi Organic Life - she had posted something mysterious, just interesting enough that I had to check it out... It's something called "disappearing zucchini orzo" and the recipe comes from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

I appreciate the value of recipes, but sometimes, they're just SO hard to follow! I don't measure, and then I don't have one ingredient so I add something new, and then I get a bright idea about making it a hybrid with some other recipe, and pretty soon, it's no longer the food the author had intended.

Anyway, I loved the idea about grating the zucchini and making that the sauce for the pasta, so off I went... I roasted some chopped garlic in olive oil with Adobo and Vegeta, then grated in the zucchini. I cooked it really slowly and then the zucchini seemed to melt away - what was left was a silky green/yellow sauce with tiny strips of dark green. I cooked the pasta (not orzo - I was trying a low-carb pasta) and tossed it all together.

Ok..... I'll admit it. I added feta.

...and lemon juice.

The result? REALLY zesty pasta salad... OR really zesty hot pasta.

... which brings me to my next topic. I have been making cold salad leftovers into hot food! We had a really (and I mean really) limited supply of foods that we could mix together last week, and so we started this mystery dish with chicken chorizo... At this point, I began walking around the kitchen asking myself what on earth I could add to it. My other half grabbed the leftover bulgar salad with feta and asparagus and asked if it was "still good" - smelled good, so I tossed it in! It had a light vinaigrette on it, so it stayed moist in the pan and made a little tiny bit of sauce, and then a wonderful thing happened...

...the feta melted. What a great accidental "we have almost no food to work with" dish. =)

I feel I will be doing something like that again soon. That is, if I can remember how I did it in the first place.

Giouvesti with Keftedes (from Kalofagas)

While going through my Google Reader entries recently, I was stopped in my tracks by this recipe by Peter Minakis on his blog Kalofagas. The most appealing part of this recipe is that we only had to buy 3 ingredients (orzo, tomato sauce, and chicken stock) in order to make it - we had the rest!!

I followed the recipe almost to a T, but I couldn't help myself - I added some feta to the meatball mixture before frying them up. The recipe was really easy to follow (and easy for someone like me to stick to) - you cook the meatballs, then saute the veggies and the paprika for the pasta in the leftover oil and meaty bits in the pan. Then you add the orzo and toss it with the oil and veggies. When everything's coated, add the tomato sauce and the stock, then pour it into a casserole dish (or two, if you're me), add the meatballs, and let the oven do the rest.

Here's what it looks like when it comes out of the oven...
The result? The pasta is incredibly creamy and flavorful. The meatballs are savory and are delicious with that little bit of feta added in. The dish is like a big hug in a bowl - comfort food at its best.

Gino's, Madrid

Salad with smoked salmon.

Maccheroni al forno in the front & bolognese in the back.

Shiitake Ravi-bobi

I made this ravi-bobi (as my niece calls it) a while back with re-hydrated and minced shiitake mushrooms, parsley, garlic and parm. I used wonton wrappers as the dough, and topped each serving with what I call "liquid gold" -- eco olive oil that I carried back from Spain -- grated parm, and cracked peppercorns. It's hearty and light at the same time.

walnut sauce, my newest obsession

In May, at Pinocchio in Nerja, Spain, I enjoyed a delicious dish of artichoke ravioli with a creamy walnut sauce. Even now, I'm thinking about that meal!

The other day, I cooked up some tortellini, tossed it with parmesan cheese, and poured my homemade walnut sauce over it -- toasted walnut chunks, a little heavy cream, chopped fresh parsley, salt & pepper, and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Delicious. =)

ode to Leo

When I was studying in Madrid, my compañera de casa and I had a wonderful maid. She was a great cook, a sweet woman, and I--no, we-- are definitely missing her food. Our two favorite dishes are espaguettis con tomate (spaghetti with tomato sauce) and pollo asado con limón (roasted chicken with lemon). Let me say, the lady can cook, and her sauces are to-die-for. Trust me, you'd eat one of your own limbs if she dressed it up with sauce. Amazing.

cold salads

Since it is so dadjim hot out there, I've been totally hooked on cold foods -- cold soups, cold sandwiches, and cold salads. I've been working with different combinations, but what I've done so far is only the tip of the iceberg...

Start with your favorite pasta or grain (cooked), add bite-sized bits of your favorite cheeses, meats, and/or veggies. You could also add herbs, dried or fresh fruits, or nuts. Dress it all up (use bottled or make your own -- and don't forget salt & pepper!), and you're good to go!

A few combinations I do:

"confetti" pasta (bulk bin in my health food store) + sundried tomatoes in olive oil + roasted red peppers + balsamic vinegar & olive oil

barley + crunchy red pepper bites or strips + caramelized onions + shredded chicken + lemon juice + olive oil

orzo + chickpeas + feta + garlic + dill + olive oil + lemon juice

tri-colored rotini + sundried tomatoes + slices of greek-style grilled chicken + chopped parsley + lemon juice + olive oil

my latest:

fusilli pasta + feta + puréed green peas + parsley + pine nuts + lemon juice + olive oil

Bites in Córdoba

Mesón de la Luna (c/ Luna, 1) offers a delicious menu-of-the-day. For starters, try the "fruit salad" with ham (Ok, Spain, here I draw the line. It's one thing to have ham in nearly all of the vegetable dishes I've enjoyed, to add ham to most pizza options, and even to have ham-flavored Pringles and potato chips, but it's completely different when you add ham to my fruit salad.) and "crave stick" (aka "fake crab" -- Thank you to all of those restaurants out there that offer an English translation of the menu that proves to be more confusing than reading the Spanish one.) or the mini-raviolis with roquefort and wild mushrooms. For a main dish, try the grilled swordfish or the "pluma" (fillet mignon of pork and absolutely delicious). For dessert, fresh fruit -- green apples or juicy melon. You can enjoy your lunch under in a tiny shaded plaza... Fabulous.

La Bambola :: Take 2

If you want some tasty Italian food, check out La Bambola (numerous locations -- see website for the one closest to you!). The spaghetti bolognese is delicious, and their selva nera (black forest) dessert is especially tasty -- chocolate cake layered with mousse, fresh cherries, and cherry liquor, and topped with thin curls of chocolate. I won't bore you by recapping what I said last time about La Bambola, but you can see the full blog entry here.

I got to cook!!!!

I had dinner at a friend's house last night, and I have to say, I was so glad to be back in the kitchen again. This study-abroad-without-kitchen-priveledges thing is killing me. My friend made a caprese salad, and I roasted some veggies (shittakes, zucchini, onion, green pepper, and garlic) and served them over fresh pasta. Delicious. And it was great to chop things again. =)

Pix from Mario

Cenamos en Gino's...

For dinner tonight, we went Italian @ Gino's on Gran Vía. My friend had the pizza margherita (thin crust, of course) and I had the Fettuccine Pirata -- small shrimp over fresh egg pasta with a spicy cream & tomato sauce. Tasty!!