Pasta with Sausage and Tomato Sauce

Pasta with Sausage and Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by essgee51.

[yet another disclaimer about lack of recent posts]

The lesson I learned yesterday was that I'd been undercooking my pasta sauces. This time, I waited an extra 10 or so minutes till the sauce was thick and, well, saucy, pretty much all the fluid evaporated and bits of crust were starting to form on the bottom of the pan. Level up! The scads of fresh herbs in the garden helped as well.

This recipe makes enough to very generously sauce 1/2 lb. of pasta, or barely sauce 1 lb.

• 2 T olive oil (will reduce amount and render the sausages first next time)
• 1 c onion, chopped
• red pepper flakes to taste (used about 1 t)
• 1/2 package turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1" rounds (about 2-1/2 regular links or one long one)
• 2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
• 3-4 long chive stalks, chopped, plus more for garnish

Boil water and cook pasta. Reserve about a cup of pasta water, just in case.

Meanwhile, put oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the red pepper flakes and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, till onions begin to soften.

Add sausage. Cook till meat begins to brown, flipping halfway through, 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Add tomatoes and some of their juice. Turn heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, till mixture is thick and saucy, 20-30 minutes.

Turn off heat. Stir herbs into sauce. If it's too thick, add some of the pasta water and mix well. Adjust seasoning then serve over pasta.

Pasta with Tuna-Tomato Sauce

[insert usual "It's been a while..." + applicable excuses/commentary] Whether I catch up with old recipes or not, onwards.

The pleasures of being at home on a winter weekday and cooking for myself were redoubled by a handful of fresh parsley and chives from the garden. This simple, loose recipe is perfect for such days; next time (perhaps even tomorrow) I'll add some carrots and celery, maybe some red pepper flakes or cayenne powder.

• some pasta (I used enough penne to make 2 or so cups, cooked)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 heaping tbsp.)
• 1 five oz. can of tuna, drained
• 1 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with their liquid.
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta till done; drain and reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water, just in case.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in oil over medium heat till soft. Add the garlic; cook for a minute or so, till it's fragrant.

Add the tuna. Stir to mix, then add the tomatoes. Cool several minutes more, till the sauce is to your liking (I was too impatient to wait for the tomatoes to break down, which was fine - it was sharper than it would have otherwise been). Season to taste.

Add pasta and stir to combine, adding some pasta water if needed. Garnish with herbs (in this case chopped parsley and chives).

Herby Chicken Salad

In honor of this year's Opera in the Outfield, I scoured the internet and my cookbooks for something picnicky. This salad, which uses olive oil instead of mayonnaise and put our little herb garden to good use, was perfect - bright and delicious. Thanks again, Mark Bittman! My variation below:

• 1.75 lb. chicken leg quarters (would be fine with pre-made chicken, too), cooked then meat shredded
• 3-4 shallots (about 4 tbsp.), minced
• 1/4 cup Kalamanta olives, chopped
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 2/3 heaping cup mixed herbs (used mostly basil, with some parsley, chives and thyme), chopped
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to taste (ended up using about 1/3 cup)
• salt and pepper to taste

If you aren't using pre-made chicken, cook the meat any way you please. (I poached the legs in about 5 cups of water with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, peppercorns, salt and pepper, then reserved the broth for other uses). Shred the meat.

Mix the chicken, shallots, olives, and lemon zest. Add the herbs, lemon juice and olive oil and mix, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate till cold, then serve either as-is or over a bed of salad greens. (The leftovers were excellent with couscous the next day, too.)

Dinner: Pasta with Butter and Chives + Peas with Olive Oil and Mint

A quick, light dinner, made even tastier with the addition of fresh herbs from the garden. John made the peas (from this recipe), while I made the pasta - they were ready at about the same time. The dish was one of my grad school go-tos, but having fresh chives instead of dried makes a lovely difference.

Pasta with Butter and Chives

• 12 oz. pasta (used a box of tricolor rotini)
• 2 tbsp. butter, or more to taste
• about 1/3 cup chopped chives (a healthy handful from our flourishing plant)
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta till al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add butter, chives and salt and pepper to taste (be generous!). Mix well and enjoy.

From the Garden: Pasta with Wild Onions and Chives

So simple and yet so good. Cut a fat handful of wild onions from the garden, added 10-12 chive stalks from John's plant (raw materials pictured here), sauteed them in butter, added some leftover pasta, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Next time, I'll saute them more - till they're meltingly tender versus a bit al dente. Nonetheless, the dish made a yummy and satisfying afternoon snack for two.