Pasta and Herbs

 

My husband and I have been together for about 18 years.  We first dated in high school, then broke up for a year (for a bunch of silly reasons), and got back together when we both happened to move to Alberta around the same time. 

In all that time, Scott was well known for his lack of cooking skills.  He ate copious amounts of KD, macaroni and tomato juice, and natchos with cheese. Luckily for him (as I am often apt to remind him!), I was more than happy to do the cooking for both of us and have made the vast majority of suppers over the past 18 years. 

The one exception to this is Scott's recipe for Pasta and Herbs. A few years ago, he decided that he wanted to learn to cook a new recipe.  He scoured my cookbooks and arrived at this dish.  He's been making it ever since and has adapted it as his own.  I have no idea where the recipe came from so I can't post a link to the original. It's quite an easy dish to make but is SO flavourful! We usually save this dish for potlucks or dinners with friends as it is pretty rich (read: not low fat)

The amount of olive oil in this recipe is a tiny bit shocking and I'm always a little horrified when I watch Scott pour the oil into the pan.  If I was making this dish, I'd stick closer to 1/2 cup but this isn't my recipe so I'll go with what Scott has written down.  Regardless, just be sure to use the very best olive oil that you can find! 

Ingredients:

454 gram package of broad noodles (try to find an Italian brand if possible)

4-6 cloves minced garlic

1/2 - 1 cup olive oil

2 tbsp Tomato Sauce Blend (Hazelwood Herb Farm*)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 large bunch fresh parsley, chopped

1 large bunch fresh basil, chopped

1 tomato, diced - optional

1 avocado, diced - optional 

1/2 cup crumbled feta - optional

Directions:

1. Prep your basil, garlic, and parsley. Set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, mix the dried herbs, red pepper flakes, and salt. Set aside. *If you do not have access to Hazelwood Herb Farm herbs, use 2 tsp dried basil + 2 tsp dried oregano + 1 tsp dried parsley + 1 tsp dried marjoram.* 

3. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside with small amount of pasta water kept in the pot. 

4. While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil in a mid-sized skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil has warmed, saute the garlic for approximately 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  

5. Add fresh herbs and stir into garlic/olive oil mixture. Saute for 2 more minutes before adding dried herbs. Stir frequently and saute for another 3-5 minutes. Add more olive oil if you'd like. 

6. Once the mixture has cooked down, take it off the heat and add the herb mixture to hot pasta. Toss to coat the pasta with the herb mixture. 

8. Pour into large pasta serving bowl. 

9. Top with diced tomato, avocado and crumbled feta (optional). Further season with salt and fresh ground pepper. 

Enjoy with a fabulous glass of red wine and some yummy garlic bread!

The price of Peanut Butter

It seems that peanut butter has risen dramatically in price.  I have no idea why but it's an important staple in my family's cupboard and I certainly don't want to overpay.  You used to be able to buy the 1kg tub of peanut butter for $6.99, on sale.  Now, you will be hard pressed to find it on offer for $8.99. I'm not sure what the regular price is but peanut butter does go on sale frequently and is well worth waiting for.
   

                              

                

P.S. I was listening to CBC yesterday and they had a show about peanut butter.  Turns out that there was a terrible drought last year in the peanut crop area of the US and as such, prices went up.  Rumour has it that the crop is good this year so perhaps the price will come back down?

Deals at Sobey's

Sobey's has a few good deals in this week's flyer:

900 g blocks of Black Diamond Cheese - $8.99 (very good deal! Limit 2 and only Fri/Sat/Sun)
$10 off $50 Itune card (another great deal!)
Family-sized boxes of cereal - $4.99 and $5.99
1 kg Kraft Peanut Butter - $8.99

These deals should apply to Canmore and Calgary stores

'Like a' Virgin Mojito

I was recently in Montana, hanging out with family and visiting with friends in Whitefish.  At the time of our visit, Jill (one of the best female downhillers' that I've ever had the pleasure of riding with) was about 9 1/2 months pregnant and very excited about her daughter's upcoming arrival.  

It was hot and we were both seeking a refreshing but non-alcoholic beverage as I am pregnant as well.  Jill introduced me to the virgin mojito and I was immediately hooked!    I was lucky enough to find some fresh mint at a farm market when I was on the second week of my holidays and I've since become a little bit obsessed with this drink.  

The non-alocholic version of the mojito isn't quite as satisfying as a regular mojito but it still tastes fresh and sparkly. I'm no expert on cocktail making so I thought that I'd need a muddler to make the drink.  A quick Google search told me that I did not need a special tool - rather, I could just use the end of a wooden spoon.  Muddled mint only takes a few presses of your wooden spoon as you don't want your mint to release bitter oil, just the nice flavour extracts.  

Play around with the flavours in this drink - add more mint if you like, reduce or increase the sugar, or throw in an extra slice of lemon.  Pregnant or not, this is one drink that should be in regular rotation on your summer beverage list.  

Ingredients:

4-6 pieces of fresh mint

1 tsp brown sugar

1 slice lemon

Club soda or carbonated water

Ice

Directions:

1. Place the mint and sugar in a tall beverage glass.  Gently press the mint and sugar together in the glass, using the end of a wooden spoon or a muddler.  

2. Add club soda or carbonated water to the glass and mix together.  

3. Add ice and squeeze the lemon slice into the drink.

4. Enjoy on a sunny patio (overlooking your favourite lake or body of water, if possible)