kamut spaghetti with baked tomato crumble

On Monday night I got back from a 5 day trip to visit family back in Ontario. My dad - who never used to cook anything other than fried eggs, potato pancakes or kugelis (a Lithuanian potato dish), has been making the meals for the past couple of years since my mom has been unable to. While he does try his best, his meals often resort to a few frozen pizzas and a can or two of Chef Boy....oh boy. Whenever I visit, I not only bring along some home-baked treats, but I gladly make all the meals from scratch while I'm there. My dad is not a cook and I'm so happy to help out while I'm there. I know that home cooked meals from scratch are always appreciated.

This tomato and pasta dish came about when I spotted 5 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes sitting on my parent's sunny kitchen window ledge. Inspiration struck and within a few minutes, I was slicing the tomatoes up ready for roasting. I didn't think much beyond that but figured some pasta would be a good match. Unfortunately, there wasn't any pasta, and while I could have made due with what I could find, my brother volunteered to go to the store. It's nice to have a handy younger brother who doesn't mind running errands! While rooting through the cupboards, I did spot some saltines-minus-the-salt in the pantry. Perfect! I crushed them to oblivion and made a little crumble topping with the help of the cheese and some melted butter. Scattering over the bubbling red hot mess, it reminded me of a roasted tomato crumble!

This dish was happily gobbled up by both my brother and my dad ( you can see their animated hands in the top photo). The taste was fresh and way better than anything that comes out of a bottle or a can. It was a simple meal to remind them that great doesn't have to mean a lot of fancy ingredients or complicated directions.

kamut spaghetti with baked tomato crumble
4-5 large tomatoes, quartered or cut into eighths
3 T virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
2 T fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c crushed cracker crumbs
2 T melted butter
1/4 c fresh basil leaves
250-350 g kamut spaghetti (sub in whatever pasta you've got around)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lay the tomatoes in a large baking dish and sprinkle the olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme and garlic over top. Gently smoosh things around so that everything gets evenly coated. Bake for 1 hour, turning the tomatoes over at the midway point.

2. Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions.

3. In a small bowl, combine the cheese and cracker crumbs and stir in the melted butter until a crumble forms. Scatter this mixture over the tomatoes and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the topping turns golden brown.

4. Remove tomatoes from oven. Drain spaghetti and place in a casserole dish, spooning the roasted tomato mixture over top. Tear fresh basil over the dish and serve.

totally not cincinnati chili

Why is this post called "totally not Cincinnati chili"? Well, for one, I've never been to Cincinnati nor have I had the real deal. The people of Cincinnati are very passionate about their chili and I certainly wouldn't want to get into fisticuffs over this post. Cincinnati has more chili parlours than any other city in the States and they serve their chili over top of spaghetti or eaten with oyster crackers, raw diced onions, kidney beans and mounds of grated cheese. But the spices here are what makes this chili unique. Chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, allspice all combine to make a winning mediterranian-inspired combination.

To be truely authentic, I would have to finely grind my own meat and then boil, rather than brown it. Also, there would be no kidney beans in the chili, rather, they'd be served over top along with the other toppings. Whatever, this chili rocked. After having his first bowl, Cornelius said that all chili should be served over top of spaghetti and I think I have to agree with him. The chili alone was good, but over top of thin spaghetti, it took it to a whole new level. And the addition of diced raw onion over top? It was delicious! This will definitely make an appearance again and I can easily see a veggie ground round substituted for the ground beef. Not traditional, but who cares!

My standard chili recipe is here. I used to make it with ground chicken, but now I usually use a veggie ground round instead. It's delicious and it also has cocoa powder added for depth.

totally not cincinnati chili
1 lb ground lean sirloin
1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1/2 c water or beef broth
1.5 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground allspice
1.5 T worchestershire sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t red chili flakes
1/4 t ground chipotle powder
2 T cocoa powder
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 can of kidney beans, drained & rinsed

toppings:
grated cheddar cheese
finely diced red onion
sour cream

Brown ground beef in the olive oil, along with the onions, garlic and chili powder. When meat is mostly browned, add in remaining ingredients except the kidney beans and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer uncovered for about an 1 hour. Add in kidney beans and simmer on low for another half hour. Serve over spaghetti and top with grated cheese and diced onion.

easy breezy: 3 super quick n' affordable pasta recipes

Today I give you three recipes. They're quick, they're easy and they are definitely affordable. All of 'em taste good too. These aren't fancy and they don't make the prettiest of photos (thank you Poladroid!), but they're hearty and warming which makes them nice even as winter is slowly turning into spring.

This is a nice simple vegan recipe which uses Israeli or Mediterranean couscous, the large grained tastier cousin of plain old couscous. I bought a bag of it and didn't know what to make. So I hopped online and found myself at Apartment Therapy and this recipe jumped out at me. I decided to change it up a bit by adding salsa and beans and skipping the balsamic vinegar. I also had kale so I used that instead of the chard. Cornelius wasn't a fan, but he hates all couscous. Whatever, I liked it a whole bunch.

israeli couscous with kale
(recipe adapted from Apartment Therapy)
1 3/4 c vegetable broth
1 1/4 c Israeli couscous
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 t whole cumin, crushed
1/2 t dried red chilis
1 bunch of chopped kale
1 can of beans, drained (black beans, chickpeas, cannelli beans)
1/4 c fresh salsa
salt & pepper

Heat broth in a medium sized saucepan until it reaches the boiling point. Add in couscous, remove from heat and set aside. In a large pan, heat olive oil and add in garlic, cumin and onion and saute until soft (but not brown!). Add in the kale and saute until it starts to wilt, about 5 minutes or so. Add in the cooked couscous, beans and the salsa and let cook for another few minutes. If it's dry, add a bit of broth or water. Serve.

I love using pasta and chickpeas together. It's a coupling that just works. This is a variation of something I've made many times. It ain't the prettiest, but it's tasty and cheap and tastes great. Usually, I top this with grated Parmesan, but I didn't have any on hand and it still got rave reviews.

bowtie pasta with chickpeas & spinach
250 g bowtie pasta
2 T olive oil
1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2 bunch of spinach, rinsed and torn
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried red chilis
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Make pasta according to package directions. In a large pan, heat olive oil and add in onion, celery, garlic and hot peppers. Saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft. Add in the can of chickpeas and lightly mash about half the chickpeas. Add a few spoonfuls of the pasta water to the chickpea mixture if it becomes too dry. Season with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is almost ready, add spinach into the pasta pot, letting the spinach wilt. Drain pasta/spinach, reserving some of the pasta liquid, and add it all into the pan with the chickpeas. Simmer for a few minutes and stir so that everything mixes nicely. Serve in deep bowls and top with Parmesan if desired.

I love new cookbooks and this recipe is adapted from the book Apples for Jam –a relatively new book in my collection. It's pretty and the recipes are simple and homey, however, it is organized by colour which isn't the most practical when it comes to like, cooking. It does make it fun to browse, though. This recipe was taken and adapted and worked out wonderfully. It's perfect weeknight food and might even qualify as nice enough to share with good friends over a bottle of wine. However, it is really good, so maybe you just want to be selfish just this once and keep it to yourself.

spaghetti with tomatoes, oregano, ham & parmesan
(adapted from the book Apples for Jam)
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t dried red chilis
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 t dried oregano, crushed between your palms
salt
400 g spaghetti
6 slices of parma ham (or prosciutto) cut into thin strips
grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan, adding in garlic and dried chilis. When fragrant, add in tomatoes, oregano and salt. Use the back of your wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes as you stir and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti in salted water. When the pasta is done, add in the parma ham into the sauce and let it heat through. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir. Serve pasta in deep bowls topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

500 grams of spaghetti = two delicious summer pastas

I've been doing some serious cooking for about the past week or so. If there is such a thing of kitchen karma, then I consider myself blessed. Everything that has come out of my lil' 60 sq. ft. kitchen has been pure gold and these two meals are no exception. If there was going to be a dinner duel, I'd prepare for a serious battle of skill and wit. Not only do they both kick some serious whoop ass, they both use up two halves of one 500 gram package of spaghetti. If they were to step into the dinner ring it would be difficult to pick a winner. But for the sake of keeping things interesting, let's take stock.

In the green corner: fresh peas & zucchini with spaghetti
It's kind of funny, but Cornelius and I don't even really like zucchini but I bought some baby ones this past weekend at an actual farm. They just looked so cute and so gosh darn healthy that I bought three. I also bought a bag of fresh peas, so when I made dinner tonight, I knew that I could make some kind of meal out of my farm haul. Who knew that we'd not only be eating up our bowls with utter delight, but both of us ran back to the kitchen table to grab seconds. Even when my seconds were mainly everything but the pasta it was still an incredible bowlful of veggie RAD. If I did have to deduct points (we are still speaking of a duel, after all), it did require some extra effort since I had to slice 3 zukes and shuck the peas. Not a big deal...just crank the tunes loud and you'll do fine. For me, it's the summer of Thee Headcoatees so turn it up.

In the red corner: creamy spaghetti with 2 kinds of tomatoes
I made this meal late at night last week. Light was low (hence the crappy photos), but please don't let that be the deciding factor. This meal was a taste sensation! This is a true no-cook sauce since the tomatoes get all lovely and marinated from the pesto, garlic and oil and the hot pasta melts the goat cheese into a creamy sauce. Ideal for a hot summer night! This meal is packed with flavour and once again, we both went back for seconds...waistlines be damned! Now, if I did have to remove battle points, Cornelius found the pasta a bit dry. A small quibble perhaps that would certainly be remedied with a splash or two of pasta water, but I certainly wouldn't cry defeat! This pasta won't go down without a fight.

And the winner is....both (duh)!
Seriously, I couldn't make up my mind. They are both simple to prepare and they make use of all the goodness summer has to offer. How can you go wrong with either pasta? Why not just have your own smackdown and make them both!

fresh peas & zucchini with spaghetti
250 g spaghetti
1 T olive oil
1/2 t red chili flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 baby zucchini, sliced thin
1 lb peas, shucked
salt & pepper
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
10 mint leaves, chopped
20 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 c crumbled feta cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet and add in garlic and chili flakes. Stir about until fragrant and add in peas and zucchini, stirring occasionally. After a few minutes, season with salt and pepper and add in the lemon zest, juice and the basil and mint leaves. Saute for a few minutes more and then toss with drained pasta. Crumble feta over top and enjoy. Really, really enjoy.

creamy spaghetti with 2 kinds of tomatoes
250 g spaghetti
3 fresh tomatoes, diced
4 sun dried tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 heaping T basil pesto
salt & pepper
1 T olive oil
3 T goat cheese
zest & juice from 1 lemon
handful of fresh basil, torn

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic together in a large bowl. Let the flavours meld as the pasta cooks. Add the drained pasta, goat cheese, basil, zest and lemon juice to the bowl, toss well so the pasta gets coated everything and serve. Mmmmmmm.