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eG Foodblog: pastameshugana (2011) - Looking for an Oasis in a Culinar


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We went out and stumbled on an outdoor concert and stayed too long. Now I'm out if time to cook the pasta dish I've already prepped for. The good news is tomorrow's lunch is ready to go!

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Edited by pastameshugana (log)

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Are you looking to adopt, by any chance? Because I could easily be available.

:D It would be a full house, for sure. There's already 4 mini-meshugana's running around, with another 'in the oven'. It's a big happy family at our house.

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Wow! 5 kids! You're brave...I go crazy with three...do they help you out in the kitchen? Do you cook separately for them or do they pretty much eat what you do?

If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? ~Author Unknown

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Ok, I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to wrap up the blog with one final meal. I've been balancing 15hrs/day at my 'real' job (thankfully I work at home), plus an annual project while cooking this week.

I must say I've had a blast, and have really enjoyed having you along for the ride! I've been a bit of a lurker here, and I'm glad to be able to 'give back' a little bit. ;)

Here is last night's dinner that got postponed to today's lunch: Steamed Veggie Pasta. This is really one of my absolute favorite dishes, it taste's so much better than you can imagine by reading the ingredients or looking at the pictures.

Veggies chopped up (onion, zucchini, tomato, portobello, serrano and red jalapeno):

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The little ramekins hold the secret ingredients: Coconut milk with about 7 cloves of diced garlic & black pepper in one, long serrano slices in the other. These heat up while steaming and are the sauce when it's done. Trust me, this dish demands coconut milk. I made it once with regular milk and I almost cried it was so sad.

I do the ramekins first to let the garlic & chili macerate it.

Put the 'hard' veggies in the bottom tray, salt & pepper, soft ones in the top, salt & pepper again.

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Now, the 'romantic' way is to use the bamboo steamers and steam the veggies on the pot you're boiling the pasta in, and it works, it's just a pain b/c the pot has a tendency to boil over this way. You're also limited in the quantity you can make. I would recommend just getting a steamer for the veggies.

When the pasta is ready, strain it and toss the veggies with the 'sauce' and grated Parmesan in the noodles, and you're golden! Super healthy, colorful, really tasty. What more could you ask for?

I've made this with spaghetti, angel hair, bowties and penne - they're all wonderful.

Thanks so much again for reading.

Till next time,

Jonathan

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Wow! 5 kids! You're brave...I go crazy with three...do they help you out in the kitchen? Do you cook separately for them or do they pretty much eat what you do?

The three older ones are really wanting to help, so we've been finding them jobs to do. The 10 year old was slicing strawberries for breakfast the other day, which gave me heartburn, but I guess that's why they invented emergency rooms, right?

The kids were all raised to eat what we eat, but they have their picky moments. For instance, in the veggie pasta above, the 5 year old (the two older ones are at a friends house, Bhuwhahahahaa!) decided today she wanted no veggies at all. We told her she could take one of the ingredients out, her choice. She picked out the mushrooms.

On occasion, if we're going to eat something 'out there' we'll make something else, usually just a version of the dish. With pasta they will very often want it plain, with no sauce/etc. In those cases they have to have one helping with sauce, and then as much as they want without. We've been very blessed to have good (albeit very active!) kids.

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Intrigued by the discada. Had to do some research. This will be something new to try this summer!

I'm hoping to do some deep-frying in mine outside this summer, have fun experimenting!

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Thanks for all the hard work this week! I know what it's like to juggle kids, cooking, and working from home...

BTW I'm making your veggie soup (the first one, with the cream, not the one you just posted although that looks good too) tomorrow night for dinner.

Cheers!

If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? ~Author Unknown

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pastameshugana, nice food with interesting global influences?

How long were you in Banglore?

Pukka actually means "ripe" but typically is used in a context similar to how "right on" or "spot on" would be used in the West.

I have never had chicken curry pizza, though I love it on my dosa.

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Oh, that veggie pasta with coconut milk! I am SO trying that! Can't wait. Sounds like it'd be wonderful...

Re: kids and cooking. My older three are pretty much in the eat-whats-in-front-of-you camp. Partially, this is because of their grandmother, whose sig line I have adopted: "Don't ask. Eat it." My youngest, however, whom I acquired when he was 15, with tastes fully formed, is a challenge; he eats very little that's green, very little fruit. I sneak in V-8 Fusion, and tomatos in sauce, which he loves (just don't ask him to eat a ripe one), and spinach and artichoke dip.

My middle one developed a gluten allergy along the way, and is married to a guy who is into the raw-vegan thing, so she's fun to cook with and for. The younger one looks at me suspiciously, but generally likes what she tastes, long as it is not too spicy. Good for you for exposing yours to everything early on, and Congrats on the newest Meshugana-to-be!

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

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pastameshugana, nice food with interesting global influences?

How long were you in Banglore?

Pukka actually means "ripe" but typically is used in a context similar to how "right on" or "spot on" would be used in the West.

I have never had chicken curry pizza, though I love it on my dosa.

Percyn, We were there 2.5 years. It was a lot of fun!

From iPhone using Tapatalk

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Share on other sites

Thanks for all the hard work this week! I know what it's like to juggle kids, cooking, and working from home...

BTW I'm making your veggie soup (the first one, with the cream, not the one you just posted although that looks good too) tomorrow night for dinner.

Cheers!

My pleasure, that soup is a great one to make and freeze in the chest freezer for quick meals.

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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Share on other sites

...he eats very little that's green, very little fruit. I sneak in V-8 Fusion, and tomatos in sauce, which he loves (just don't ask him to eat a ripe one), and spinach and artichoke dip.

:) We have a friend whose kids are veeery picky, and we have to pull tricks like that when they come over. A few weeks back we had some adults over that refused to eat vegetables. I ended up wrapping asparagus in bacon to get them to eat it!

PastaMeshugana

"The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd."

"What's hunger got to do with anything?" - My Father

My first Novella: The Curse of Forgetting

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