Sorry for the hiatus, but my kitchen looked like this for awhile:

all packed up in boxes.

Now we’re settled in a new apartment, with a new (smaller) kitchen, and a plethora of Asian grocery stores just a few minutes away. There’s also a Philipino bakery not far from my work, and I’ve already figured out that I may have a severe addiction to sweet rolls with ube filling. I’ll try and hold myself back, though.

With the kitchen all set up after a week of transition, I was really excited to get into the kitchen, and particularly excited to make some calzones.

I made some back when we were living in Korea but they were a total flop. Fortunately, these turned out much better, with a soft wheat dough on the outside, and a flavorful vegetable-herb filling on the inside. I didn’t miss the cheese at all (but Mike did) so it’s up to you whether you want to make them vegan or use ricotta and shredded mozzarella in place of the tofu. I also made a basic tomato sauce to go with them, which I highly recommend because I think they’d seem like they were missing something without it.

Recipe:
(adapted fromI Eat Trees)

dough
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup hot (100 F) water, plus additonal warm water if needed
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour

filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup finely diced zucchini
2/3 cup finely chopped broccoli
2 cloves garlic, finely micned
1/2 pound firm regular tofu, rinsed and patted dry
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

To make the dough, put the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir in the yeast and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and flours with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, then put the bowl into the mixer and mix with the dough hook on medium speed for about 5 minutes. If there is any flour not incorporated into the dough, add warm water a little at a time until it forms Turn dough out onto a floured board, and knead 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a clean, large bowl and place dough in it. Turn dough over so it is lightly oiled on all sides. Cover bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Start the tomato sauce: heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then stir in basil and puree with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust salt and sugar, then set aside until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add garlic, and cook for about two minutes. Then add the broccoli and zucchini and sauté just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Place tofu in a medium bowl and mash well. Add parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and mix well. Fold in cooked vegetables and set aside.

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Punch down the dough and divide into 4 equal balls. Keep dough covered with the same towel that covered the bowl, and work with 1 ball of dough at a time.

Place the ball on a lightly work surface and stretch it into an 8″ round. Place 1/4 of the filling slightly off the center of the round, and fold the dough over. Seal the edges of the calzone by crimping them with your fingersk. Place them on the prepared baking sheet as soon as they are formed. Bake on the center rack of the oven until browned, about 20 minutes.

I never really thought meatballs were anything special. It might be because my mom used to serve spaghetti with Italian sausages, so meatballs seemed bland in comparison. Obviously, when I gave up meat, I didn’t really think about a future without meatballs. That is, until I saw a post about a vegetarian version on No Meat Athlete. For some reason, those seemed far more appealing to me than the original variety ever did.

There isn’t too much prep work involved in these – chop up a few things and measure a few others, then process them all together in the food processor and fry in a skillet. They don’t have exactly the same texture as meatballs would, but the flavor is great, and they’re definitely healthier than ground beef! I tossed mine with some marinara and served them over whole wheat spaghetti, and with a green salad it was a perfect, satisfying Sunday night dinner.

Recipe:
(adapted from Vegan on the Cheap via No Meat Athlete)

makes about 20

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped white button mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

whole wheat spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
marinara sauce

To make the wheat balls:
Combine the chickpeas, mushrooms, garlic, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Transfer everything to a large bowl and mix with your hands for a minute or two.
Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Roll about 2 tbsp of the chickpea-mushroom mixture between your hands to make a ball and place in the skillet. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until browned all over (5-7 minutes).

Toss with a little marinara and serve over cooked pasta.

Our Jamie Oliver cookbooks have been getting a lot of use lately, and with good reason. He’s got such a great approach to food, particularly pasta! I used to think I was tired of Italian food, but his recipes just keep proving me wrong. Sometimes he can be a little heavy-handed with the butter and cream, but it’s easy to scale those back a little bit.

I was a little skeptical about baking ricotta cheese, but it makes it firm and creamy and a little more solid than it is right out of the container. I made fresh pasta for this because I’m now completely obsessed with it, but of course you can use dried if you want to. Taste your sauce before you add any sugar, because some brands of canned tomatoes already taste pretty sweet.

Recipe:
1 15-ounce container ricotta (I used part-skim), drained in a cheesecloth-lined strainer for a few hours
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar (if needed)
1 pound wide pasta, such as pappardelle
a handful of fresh basil, torn
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

After you’ve drained the ricotta, preheat the oven to 400F. Put a piece of parchment on a baking sheet and put the ricotta in the center. Flatten it so you have a 1″ thick disk.
Rub all over with 1 tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes, then remove and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium until soft, 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes, then crush the tomatoes with a spoon. Taste and add sugar (optional), salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve some of the pasta water.
Toss the cooked with the sauce and a tablespoon or two of pasta water and the tomato sauce, and basil. Crumble up the ricotta and add to the pasta with the parmesan cheese.

Discovering that I could make fresh pasta will probably remain one of the highlights of 2010, even though it happened on the third day of the year. I don’t know if you regularly eat fresh pasta, but it is so much better than dried (and it cooks much faster!) that I think there’s absolutely no reason not to try it.

Although I’m not particularly well-versed on all the Italian pasta terminology (is that a pile of fettuccine? linguinei? unclassifiable because there’s no consistency in the widths?) I do know that those noodles you see right there were GOOD. Yes, they were uneven, but lets be real, I cut them up with a pizza cutter, and I really didn’t care how even the widths were, I just wanted a vehicle for some pesto I had recently made.

Pesto and fresh pasta are both divine, this is true, but I upped the ante a little with some roasted cherry tomatoes, because for me the only way to eat cherry tomatoes (other than straight off the plant) is to toss them with some olive oil and sea salt and roast them for about 20 minutes in a 375 F oven. Then of course the whole thing needed to be sprinkled with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I’m going to go ahead and give you the fresh pasta recipe (adapted from Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver), even though I posted it recently, because it’s just easier that way.

Recipe
2 cups flour
3 whole eggs
sea salt
1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (give or take, depending on your preferences) pesto
parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 F.
First, make the pasta.
Whisk together the flour and a few pinches of salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and crack the eggs into it. Using the fork, whisk the eggs without mixing in any flour until they’re smooth and yellow.
Once the eggs are beaten, mix them with the flour. When it becomes too thick to stir, turn the whole thing out onto the counter and knead for about 8 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about half an hour.
(This can be done up to two days ahead of time – just knead the dough until it’s smooth, then wrap tightly and store in the fridge until you’re ready to roll it out. Flour your work surface and a rolling pin.)

While the pasta is resting, make the tomatoes. Toss the tomato halves with olive oil and a few big pinches of sea salt. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and put them into the oven, checking after 15 minutes (the total time will depend on their size). You want really wrinkly skins that are beginning to look very dark in places. Pull the tray out of the oven and set aside.

Roll the pasta dough out into a large rectangle so it’s less than 1/8″ thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut it into long thin strips (how thick is up to you) and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (you should have at least a gallon of water going). Drop the pasta in a few strands at a time, stirring so they don’t stick together. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until al dente. Drain but do not rinse, then return them to the pan (off the heat) and toss with some pesto.

Divide into pasta bowls, and sprinkle some of the roasted tomatoes and grated parmesan on top.

I was initially inspired by this post by David Lebovitz on Simply Recipes, but it took me some time to actually get around to trying it out.

After a little internet investigating, I found that the acid didn’t have to be vinegar… it just needed to be something that would make the milk curdle. Like lemon juice! And because I happened to have a lemon in the fridge but no white vinegar, that’s what I used. I also used low-fat yogurt, instead of full-fat as the recipe suggested, but it still turned out wonderfully.

I like the texture of this so much more than the store-bought stuff, which can sometimes be a little gummy. This is definitely not the last time I make this!

Recipe:
(adapted from Simply Recipes)
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt (not fat-free)
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Boil for about 3 minutes, or until the milk is curdled. Remove from the heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Line a strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth and set it over a deep bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the strainer and let stand for about 10 minutes. Squeeze the cloth to remove excess moisture from the cheese, then store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Makes about 1 cup.

2 cups roughly chopped fresh basil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
a few pinches of salt

It doesn’t have to be finely or evenly chopped at all.
Put it in a bowl.  Add the chopped garlic.  I like 4 cloves, because I like garlic.  You can adjust the amount to your preference.

Add some pine nuts.  If you don’t have pine nuts, you can always use walnuts. 

Pour the olive oil over the whole thing.  I ran out of my cheap everyday olive oil so I had to add a little of the good stuff.  And man is this stuff good…

Today, for the very first time, I realized I didn’t have to dirty all 209340 pieces of my food processor.  Instead, I could use an immersion blender, and I’d only have to wash TWO things! (The bowl, and the blender).  Since I am without a dishwasher, this was an excellent discovery.

Look what a great job the immersion blender does!

Next, add about 1/2 cup shredded parmesan.  You could use Romano instead…up to you.
Stir that in, then taste a little.  It will need some salt.  Add a few pinches and stir well.  Taste again.  Keep adding salt, pinch by pinch, and stirring, until it tastes like pesto.  Trust your taste buds! You’ll know when you’ve added enough.

My usual protocol for making pasta sauce includes dumping a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and random odds and ends into a sauce pan, heating it for about 10 minutes, then pouring it over pasta. It always turned out good enough – why bother with a recipe? However, when I saw That Girl’s recipe I decided to give it a go. I just made a few changes – using fresh basil because I happened to have some on hand, adding about 1/2 tsp of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, and tripling the garlic because we can’t get enough around here. It was really good, and definitely got me in the mood to go out and run 13.1 miles!

(adapted from Paved With Good Intentions)
1 small onion, chopped
3 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt

Heat oil in saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is lightly browned.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 30-45 minutes.
Remove cover and cook 15 more minutes.
Serve over spaghetti with a dusting of Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into thin (1/4-inch) slices
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin (1/4-inch) slices
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
4 imported Italian anchovy fillets in olive oil, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
13.25 oz whole wheat penne
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Like almost any American, I love pizza.  I was always content to buy the refrigerated dough from Trader Joe’s when making it at home, but this week I had a day off and decided to make pizza from scratch.  I used Peter Reinhart’s recipe (in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice) for the crust, and although it needs to be refrigerated overnight, the amount of active time is very small.  This would actually be a great Monday night dinner because you can get the dough started and the sauce made on Sunday, then everything will come together very quickly for dinner the next day.

The recipes included here make enough crust and sauce for 6 10″ pizzas.  However, both the dough and the sauce can be frozen and used whenever a pizza craving strikes.  I used a little whole wheat flour in the crust, because I like the heartiness it adds, but you can easily use only all purpose flour if you prefer.  

Sprinkle with flour, mist with spray oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. 

Now you are ready to add sauce and toppings!