Thyme For Cooking, the Blog

Gas or Electric? Help me decide; Healthy Summer Salad and the Weekly Menu Plan

For any and all who have not been breathlessly following my every adventure (you know who you are) let me bring you up to date...  Oh, never mind.... It's not necessary for the current discussion.

Suffice it to say I will not have a kitchen come September 1.

I will have a large, perfectly square, totally empty room that will be a kitchen, someday.

My question to all of you wonderful food bloggers / cooks / chefs / kitchen mavens out there:

Should I go gas or electric?

In  the U.S. I had a JennAir, electric.  My choice and I loved it.

In Ireland I had a teeny, tiny gas cooker.  Not my choice but perfectly fine.

In Andorra I had a ceramic cook top and electric oven.  The cook top had 2 halogen burners. Not my choice but it was great.

Here I have a ceramic cook top with 2 halogen burners.  My choice and it's only okay.  Kind of slow to get going.

What I like about electric: I can have the heat really low for slow, barely simmering pots. I can turn the burner off and let the residual heat finish the job

What I like about gas: It's quick to get hot and get a pot boiling faster.  It responds quicker.

What do you think?  What should I get?   HELP ME!!!!!

I can't face another decision...

BTW: Induction (which I would love to try) is out because none (hardly any) of my current cookware would work.

So. please leave your opinions / suggestions / votes in the comments.   Please????

In the meantime.... Here's a salad to use up whatever leftover bits are in the fridge... I had some cannellini..

Lettuce with Walnuts and White Beans

lettuce, enough for two small salads
7oz (210gr) white beans
1/3 cup creamy herb dressing
1/4 cup (.5oz, 30gr) shredded cheese - any flavor
1/4 cup (1oz, 30gr) walnuts halves

Prepare lettuce and put into a medium bowl. Add a bit of dressing and toss to coat (use tongs, it's easier). Taste and add more dressing if desired. Add, beans, cheese and walnuts, give it another toss or two and serve.

Creamy Herb Dressing

1/2 cup Greek or plain yogurt
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs fresh snipped chives
1 tbs fresh snipped tarragon
3 tbs olive oil - the good stuff

Snip tarragon and chives with scissors. In small bowl whisk yogurt, mustard and lemon juice. Add oil, a bit at a time and whisk well. Add herbs. This will keep a week.

In addition to the above, for the week of June 27, we have Smoked Salmon, Tomato Scented Orzo, Rosemary Lamb Chops, Southwestern Salad with Grilled Sausages, Pasta with Avocado Sauce and more...

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Bon Weekend!

Now.... Opinions, please.  I know you have them.  Share!

Asparagus and Chevre Quiche; Tiptoeing thru the Tulips

Did you know that one cannot limp on both legs at the same time?

I know that.

Now: Do as I say; not as I do.

The most important thing I tell anyone coming to Europe is to wear comfortable shoes. 

They don't have to be sensible... But they do have to be comfortable.

Wandering the beautiful, Monet-designed gardens of Giverny...  I ran out of Bandaids (plasters).

And I was ever so grateful that my anal-retentive little self always has a stash in my bag.

Next time it will be a bigger stash.

In my defense I did bring my most comfortable pair of walking shoes fit to be worn in public.

In my stupidity/chronic lateness/everything at the last moment/procrastination I did not wear them a few times first.

They're not new.  They're old, comfortable, well-worn favorites.

It's just that I so seldom wear proper shoes that my feet balk at the idea when I do.

I spend the winter wearing felt clogs inside and rubber Wellie clogs outside.

I spend the summer wearing nothing inside and rubber Wellie sandals outside.

My feet are spoiled.

The hour or two I spend, a few times a week out in public, wearing, er, 'better' clogs or sandals (this is farm country, not Paris) hardly counts.

My feet are not accustomed to the confines of proper shoes.

I had blisters on my heels.

I had blisters on my toes (open-toe shoes - it's summer... And Giverny is only an hour from Paris.  I have some standards - or, at least, I did.)

I had blisters on my blisters.

I left a trail of Bandaid wrappers.

I walked the last bit barefoot....Ahhhhhh!

But, I did not miss a nook or cranny.

I want to go back every week for the rest of the year.

I want to become an artist in residence... even if I'm not any good.

I want to sit in the gardens and stare and paint and draw....even if I'm not any good.

I want to lay on the wisteria covered bridge and look through the flowers to the sky.

I want to sit in the Japanese Gardens and eat foie gras and sip rosé.

Even with bloody feet.

After the foie gras, maybe a nice quiche.

I've been on a quiche-kick lately.

With a brown-rice crust they're a snap to make, and much healthier than the traditional pastry crust.

Perfect for a Mother's Day Brunch.

And, how could I let asparagus season pass without just one more Asparagus Quiche?  It seemed like such an appropriate entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, this week: it's being hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.  Stop by her blog on Monday for the complete round-up. If you want to look at the Weekend Herb Blogging archives, visit Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen,  the founder  of this great event.

Asparagus.

What says spring better than asparagus!

Besides being full of vitamins, minerals and low in calories, it is a natural diuretic, and contains a carbohydrate that, while indigestible to us, is a favorite of all the health-promoting bacteria living in our gut. We do want healthy guts, don't we.... Hmmm?

Asparagus and Chevre (Goat Cheese) Quiche 

The Crust: 
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup shredded cheese (1 oz, 30 gr)
1 egg



The Filling:
4 - 5 thin slices, (3oz, 100gr) Prosciutto
6 - 8oz (250gr) asparagus, trimmed
4 - 5oz (125 - 150gr) chevre (goat cheese) the kind that comes in a log with a white (edible) rind
2 tbs snipped fresh chives
2 tbs snipped fresh basil
2 - 3 tomatoes, depending on size I used 2 very long roma tomatoes
3 eggs
1 cup milk

The crust: Cook brown rice according to package directions. Can be done ahead or the day before. If rice is just cooked, spread it on a plate to cool for 5 minutes before adding to egg. Oil a 9" (22 cm) pie or quiche plate. Lightly whisk 1 egg. Add 1/4 cup of cheese and the cooked rice. Mix well. Pat into the quiche plate, working it up the sides as best you can. Bake in 400F (200C) oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

The filling: Trim asparagus, snapping off tough ends. Cut into 1" (2.5cm) lengths. Heat water in a saucepan over high heat. When boiling, add asparagus and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Dry on paper towels.
Snip herbs. Slice tomatoes and goat cheese. Cut Prosciutto into large pieces.
In medium bowl whisk 3 eggs well. Add milk and whisk to combine.

To assemble: Lay Prosciutto evenly over the bottom of the crust. Lay the goat cheese on top. Sprinkle with herbs. Lay the tomatoes on top of the herbs and top with the asparagus. Pour the egg mixture over all and bake for 40 minutes. (Check after 30) Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: I put the quiche/pie plate on a pizza pan before pouring the egg/milk over. Makes it easier to get into the oven and catches any drips and spills - saving oven clean-up.

You can rest assured that you will never see me in a pair of $700.00 Manolo Blahnik stiletto sandals.

Or a pair of $50.00 Target stiletto sandals.

More about Giverny tomorrow....

Pasta with Sage and Parmesan, and dirty hedges

I spent last week with my ass in the air and my head in the dirt.  I was cleaning hedges.

What, you didn't know hedges needed cleaning?  If you don't they end up looking like this:

It's something I didn't know needed doing until we moved here.  My mother had a hedge: a perfect, neat, compact row of shrubbery about 10 feet long, 3 feet high  and 1 1/2 feet wide.  I don't recall her ever having to clean it.  It's purpose was to keep the patrons from the tavern next door off her lawn.

We lived in a very small Wisconsin town, no zoning laws, so when our neighbor's mother decided to move closer to her favorite son and bring her tavern business with her, she did.  No problem.

I was about 5 at the time and I thought it was wonderful.  Gramma kept a freezer in the back with Popsicles in it.

She was a somewhat unconventional tavern owner, even for a small town.  She was tremendously old, (late 60's), notoriously cantankerous, limped on both legs, and looked to be the image of a kindly grandmother: steely gray permed hair, short and chunky.  Her cuddly image was a lie.  Gramma didn't suffer fools gladly - of any age. 

She loved flowers and planted them all around the tavern and her house across the street.  In summer, the large space in the tavern that, perhaps under other ownership, would have held a pool table plus tables and chairs for patrons, acted as her potting shed and nursery, filled with seedlings and plants.  In winter it held her huge quilting frame.

She was open for business when she felt like it: usually early evening for the after work crowd of 4 or 5, and afternoons so we kids could get our Popsicles.  If she wasn't there we'd just help ourselves and leave our nickels on the bar. 

If there were no customers in the bar Gramma saw no reason to be there either.  She'd be out working in her flowers.  If someone had the audacity to stop for a cold beer and found the door closed they could go looking for her or wait until she noticed them.
Sometimes she just ignored them.
Sometimes she yelled at them that the door was open, go in and help themselves.
Sometimes she yelled at them to 'Hold your horses, I'll be there when I'm done', at which point she would finish her project, put away her things and slowly waddle across the road, muttering under her breath the entire time.
Sometimes they left.

Mother didn't need the hedge then.  It wasn't until Gramma died and one of the grandkids took over the bar that she planted it.  That's when there could be as many as 3 cars in the parking lot on a busy night...and my father planted the hedge.

It never had brambles.

Here's my clean hedge.  It's not our only hedge; but right now, it's our only clean hedge...and likely to retain that title for some time.  That's Emma, admiring it, and Sedi at the far end, under the laurel tree.  They were of no help at all.

This is the first time we've lived in place where stuff grows year round.  (Ireland didn't count because we had a garden the size of a postage stamp.)  I've come to appreciate the effects of a good solid freeze!

I remember having an ivy as a house plant, once, long ago, when I had house plants.  It was fussy and I failed miserably with it.

Now it is the bane of my existence.  I pulled miles of it out of the hedge.  This poor apple tree is a bad example of what can happen in a year or two without constant vigilance.  And that lighter green clump on the right?  Mistletoe, a tree killing parasite that is everywhere!  You notice it most in winter; the clumps of green on bare, soon-to-be-dead, trees.

Fortunately, I still have green growing things that I like.  Some of my herbs, the summer lightweights like basil, are giving it up but my sage is still going strong.  Time to fry up a handful and toss it with some pasta.  A warming side dish on these cool fall nights, it's my entry this week for Presto Pasta Nights.   Founded and hosted by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, PPN presents a plethora of perfect pastas each and every Friday.  Don't miss it!

Pasta with Olive Oil, Sage and Parmesan

1 cup uncooked farfalle
2 tbs olive oil
15 - 20 fresh sage leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
black pepper

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain.  In same pan, over medium low, heat olive oil. Add sage leaves, minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes.  Add drained pasta and toss quickly.  Remove from heat, add Parmesan and serve.

Don't you just love the simple things?

I'll feed you this every day if you come and clean my other hedges..... You can have the wine, too, I promise.

Pimiento, Prosciutto and Chevre Lasagne; Blog Action Day: the Environment

"What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?   One issue. One day. Thousands of voices."

Joni Mitchell said it best all those years ago" Give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees, please."

There was a time when I wanted my apples perfect; my lawn perfect; and worried about germs and bacteria.

Then we moved to Europe and I traded my 'hose, heels and briefcase' in for hoe's, rubber clogs and a wheelbarrow.  We started meeting people who were in tune with the food and the land.   (OMG - Back to hippie roots, again!)

I started seeing slugs in the lettuce and spots on the apples as good things - no pesticides used. 

I got a few sturdy shopping bags and I carry them with me to the supermarket (actually, they're mandatory there), the farmer's market, even the mall.

Recycling is not discussed; it's expected and made easy.

I learned what (to me) was the secret to odor-free compost piles: no meat or dairy.  Eggshells are fine.  As long as you are composting vegetable scraps you have no odor and relatively few (in our case, none) scavengers.  We keep a bowl on the counter and empty it at the end of the day. 

When we moved to Ireland I was warned that I would not find good dental care.  When we moved to Andorra, there would be no hospitals.  As to France, well, the French are, um, not as clean as, say, Americans. 

Maybe not, but they're healthier.  They may not wash their hair every day, and their clothes after each wearing, but they use less water.  And, yes, there is dog shit on the sidewalks - it's gone in a day or two...unlike putting it in a plastic bag in a landfill where it will stay, unchanged, for 500 years!  We don't have anti-bacteria everything; butchers have bloody aprons; and everyone carries their daily bread in their hands - unwrapped, no bag.

What's my point?  The Environment is your environment!  Accept that you live on earth, a 'dirty' planet, teeming with millions of life forms.  Remember that all of us (even the slugs and especially the bacteria) have something to contribute.  Take care of our planet and quit trying to change it into something sterile and perfect  - or you may succeed!

You don't have to do anything big - just be more conscious of how you live... and the next time the check-out person at the supermarket says "Paper or plastic?" hand'em your spiffy new shopping bags.... and do NOT be embarrassed about it....  You're COOL!

Whew, all that made me hungry - How about some pasta?

In Spain and Andorra stuffed pimientos are a popular starter. The roasted, red peppers are stuffed with a fish purée: tuna or salt cod; or cheese.  One night I had planned on making pimientos stuffed with goat cheese and I had a few lasagne noodles left: this idea was born.  It really was two heavy for a first course, so I expanded, added a bit of ham and some béchamel and here it is.

I'm sending this over to Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, for Presto Pasta Nights, which she founded over eight months ago and has been going strong ever since.  Great idea, Ruth!

Prosciutto, Pimiento and Chevre Lasagna

8 - 9 sheets 'no-cook' lasagna noodles
1 jar pimientos, roasted red peppers, 9oz, (280gr)
6 slices Prosciutto (5oz, 150gr)
5oz (150gr) goat cheese (chevre)
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can crushed tomatoes, 15 oz (450 gr)
1 can tomato sauce, 8oz (220 gr)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbs red wine
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 cup milk, 8 oz, (250ml)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (2 oz, 60 gr)

Finely chop onion and garlic.  Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes or until tender.  Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, herbs and red wine.  Cover, reduce heat and let simmer until needed.  In another medium saucepan heat the butter over low heat.  Add flour and stir with a whisk for 1 minute.  Add a little (1/4 cup) of the milk and whisk to combine.  Turn heat up to medium and keep adding milk, a little at a time and whisking.  When all of the milk is in bring to a boil (should almost be there), whisking. Then remove from heat.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes then stir in half of the cheese (1/4 cup).  Cut Prosciutto into strips.  Drain peppers and cut in wide strips.  Slice the goat cheese thinly, 1/8" (.3cm).

Now you are ready to assemble: in an square, 9 X 9 (22 X 22cm) or oblong baking dish, 8 X 10, (20 X 25cm) or so...make the following layers:

1/2 tomato sauce
2 - 3 lasagne noodles
1/2 béchamel sauce
roasted peppers (pimientos)
2 - 3 lasagne noodles
1/2 béchamel sauce
goat cheese
ham
2 - 3 lasagne noodles
1/2 tomato sauce
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Cover and bake 400F (200C) for 20 minutes, or until noodles are done.  Test in center with a sharp knife.  Uncover and bake 5 minutes longer to brown cheese.  Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.  Cut into squares (or oblongs) and serve.

Stop by  Once Upon a Feast, on Friday for all of the great pasta recipes.

Meanwhile, relax, and remember something you learned as a child: A little dirt never hurt anyone!

Sautéed Spinach, Courgette (Zucchini) and Onions ... The New Hunting/Gathering

I was down near the potager gathering nuts this morning.  That's the hazelnut tree on the left; the walnut tree, with the trampled weeds underneath, in the center.
The neighbors were picking grapes on one side of me.  In the field on the other side a young man walked past with a shotgun in his arms, hunting for rabbits, birds, deer, fox, hares.

Hunting and gathering.

Most people I know from my former life would be at the mall on a Saturday.

So is shopping the new 'hunting and gathering'?

Is it the age-old instinct that drives so many people to accumulate so much?  To go shopping for the sport of it?   To fill ever-larger houses and closets with 'stuff'?

It's fall here, and I have that urge to acquire, to hoard, to collect.

I like seeing my freezer fill up with courgette, squash, tomatoes (in other years) green beans and herbs.

I like seeing the shelves in the cave fill up with pickles and fruit preserves.

Soon the nuts and kiwifruit will fill still more shelves.

If I lived in a city would I convert that desire into filling up my closet with new shoes?  Would I spend yet another 500 bucks for a Coach bag that will only be perfect with one outfit?  Do I really need this season's newest Hermes scarf?

I come from a long and infamous line of shop-aholics.  I have a cousin whose walls are crammed so full she has no idea what color they are.  I have a sibling with clothes old enough to be out of date; still with the price tags on. 

Before moving to Ireland both mon mari and I had to down-size.  Neither of us needed the trappings of business life.   As I went through the closets, sorting into donate, consignment or pack, piles, I realized that I had over 100 white blouses.   How had I ever managed to do that?  Admittedly that included ivory, cream and off white; cotton, silk and rayon, long, short and sleeveless, casual, business, and dressy; but still!  And yes, I had rather a lot of colors, as well.  And, right again, I do rather hate to through things out.  But still!

You can see why I'm better off  gathering nuts...

I'm still gathering zucchini as well.  For some reason both yellow and green have decided to have one last fling and produce just a few more for me.

If I have to eat it you get to read about it.  Here is one last (maybe) zucchini/courgette post for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Myriam, of Once Upon A Tart!  (I love that name!) 

I think our founder, Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen will understand.  She's had rather a lot of zucchini herself this summer!

We'll just all be grateful that it's such a healthy vegetable, full of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A and C, magnesium, manganese and potassium. 

For added benefit, and color, I tossed in some spinach and basil:

Sautéed Spinach, Courgette (Zucchini) and Onions

1 small zucchini (courgette) - about 1 1/2 cups
1 onion
1 clove garlic
4 - 6 oz fresh spinach
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs fresh snipped basil
1 tbs fresh snipped thyme
2 tbs chicken stock

Slice onion and mince garlic.  Shred zucchini.  Remove thick stems from spinach and cut into strips: put the spinach leaves together in one hand and snip with a scissors.  Heat oil in medium, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until golden.  Turn heat to medium, add courgette and garlic, continue to sauté for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add spinach and chicken stock.  Sauté just until spinach wilts.  Remove and serve.

Be sure to visit Myriam at Once Upon A Tart on Monday for the complete roundup of all the wonderful recipes....maybe, even more squash...

Don't ask me about the scarves....

Yellow Zucchini, Lemon Thyme, and a Party on the Patio!

Terrace.  Balcony.  Veranda.  Deck.   Courtyard.   Porch.  Loggia.  Lanai.  Aerie.  Stoop.  Garden.   

Regardless of what we call it, when the weather is nice it's where we want to be: eating, drinking, relaxing with friends.  It's what summer is all about. 

In the Midwest we had porches.  Two of them actually: one off the kitchen where we had most summer meals; and one overlooking the lake where we had the rest.  They had to be screened-in, of course.   A popular form of  summer greeting in those parts is: "How are your mosquitoes?"   Trust me, it's not an altruistic concern about the health and welfare of flying bloodsuckers!

In Andorra we had terraces, extending out from the mountain the house was built into.  Fantastic views but not for people with vertigo. 

In Spain, in the cities, everyone lives in apartment blocks and everyone has balconies, some large some small, almost all with gardens.  Actually, in Spain it's legal to grow pot (marijuana, wacky tobacky, cannibas) for personal consumption.  Next time you're in Barcelona, look up and admire the lush green balconies everywhere in the city....and smile.

Our friend, living in the mountains in Spain, has a tiled aerie.  There's a roof over part for shade on hot days, to sit, sip a chilled rosado  and admire the mountains.  Just don't walk to close to the low wall...it's a long way down to the valley.   

Here, in French farm country, we have a tiled patio or terrasse.   It's next to our huge mulberry tree, just off the kitchen.  No view but very peaceful.

The French don't need anything particularly formal for dining al fresco.  If you ever drive in France during the warm months you will notice a uniquely French phenomena: at precisely 1:00 all of the French cars on the road pull over to the shoulder and park.  Trunks are popped open and out come table, chairs, table cloth, bottles of wine and water, picnic baskets laden with quiches, ham, cheese, fruit and a sweet tart along with proper plates, flatware and napkins.  The table is set up on whatever level ground they can find, preferably not the roadway, and everyone sits down to a proper, hour-long lunch.  Some things are sacred!

I have no idea why, but it's an almost universally accepted truth that food tastes better when eaten al fresco - even whilst inhaling diesel fumes.  All that being said....there's a Party going on! 

Hosted jointly by Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice and Lis of La Mia Cucina, it's the party of the summer and everyone's invited.   Potluck, of course. 

I'm contributing  (please don't throw things at me)  zucchini, courgette, summer squash, the green menace (or, in this case, yellow menace)...

The one, easy requirement for contributions is that they be (mostly) seasonal and local. 

So, let's see:  Yellow courgette?  Check, my garden.  Lemon thyme?  Check, my garden.  Lemon basil?  Ditto.  Walnuts?  Well, they're last years 'cause this years haven't fallen yet, but they're mine, so check.   Butter?  It's local.  Olive oil?   Close enough...

Sautéed Courgette (Zucchini) with Lemon Thyme and Walnuts

1 yellow or green courgette (zucchini), 8 inches (20cm) long
1 oz walnut halves
several sprigs of lemon thyme or regular thyme
1 tbs lemon basil or regular basil
2 tsp butter, divided
2 tsp olive oil

Slice the blossom end off of the zucchini, then slice it into 1/2 inch (1 cm) rounds.  Heat 1 tsp butter and the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  The skillet needs to be large enough to hold all of the slices flat.  Add zucchini slices and fry 8 - 12 minutes.  Check after 8 by lifting up with tongs and looking at the bottom; it should be getting brown spots on it.  If not, fry some more; if yes turn and fry the other side.  The other side won't take quite as long.  When they are done, the slices will have nice, browned patches on both sides and be tender.
While the zucchini is frying, heat the remaining tsp of butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add walnut halves and sauté 10 minutes, turning and stirring occasionally.  When done, transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop.  Snip basil and pull the thyme leaves off the stems.  When zucchini is done, remove to a platter, arranging nicely.  Sprinkle with herbs, chopped nuts, salt and pepper if desired, and serve.

Come along to the party!  You'll be able to browse the groaning buffet tables on Sept. 9, at Cream Puffs in Venice and La Mia Cucina.   

Happy End of Summer!

Pasta with Lentils and Avocado Sauce....and lots of stairs

Ruth, of Once Upon A Feast, founder and host of Presto Pasta Nights, was commenting on her new flat: something to the effect that there were 48 (?) steps from the ground to their door, no elevator and moving was a bit of a chore. 

I can relate to that.  Our house in Andorra had 50 steps from bottom to top.  We didn't have an elevator either. 

It wasn't a huge house, it was just a typically, Andorran house. 

The Pyrenees are an old mountain range, older than the Alps.  The valleys are steep and narrow.  There is not a lot of room to build in Andorra but the Andorrans have become masters of making the most of what they have.

Building land is expensive so the footprint of a typical house will take up the entire plot.  Plots are small, therefore houses are tall...and scary.   Our neighbor's house had 3 levels above the  road and 4 levels below it; all with terraces looking out over the village, 1200 meters below.  It was 4 months before she could look out her own windows; 2 more before she went on the terraces.

It's rock, (mountains, duh) so foundations are dug with dynamite.  There are no basements. 
There are garages, however.  There has to be someplace to put the cars, no room on the streets!

Or house was like this:  2 single car garages, side by side opening on to the street.  One was 5 steps higher than the other (built on a mountain, remember?), 10 steps up was the living room(over the garage); 5 steps more was the kitchen(over the other garage); 10 steps more the master bedroom and bath; 5 steps more, guest bedroom and bath; 10 steps more the den/T.V. room; 5 steps more my office/computer room.  There was a spiral staircase going up the center. 

Now, here's where you can put your imagination to good use: there were ground level terraces off of the living room, kitchen and both bedrooms; staggered, going up the mountain.

I called it the 'exercise house'. 

If the advantage in living in this house was keeping fit, the disadvantage was anything round that was dropped outside was gone forever.  We soon learned to not even make the effort.  Screwdrivers, apples, golf balls, wine bottles; anything that could roll, would roll off the end of our driveway quicker than the blink of an eye.  Our dog had a square 'ball' for outside and a, more common, round one for inside.  Even she understood gravity.  She accidentally took her round, indoor ball outside and dropped it.  She didn't even chase it...just looked very sad as it went over the edge.

Well, Ruth, I don't think you'll have that problem, but trust me, in a few weeks you won't notice the 48 steps at all; it will be like walking down a flat hallway.  And you'll be able to eat more pasta.

I miss that house!

Lentil and Sausage Pasta with Avocado Sauce garnished with zucchini

1/2 cup cooked lentils  I used Lentils du Puy
1 cup beef stock
1 1/4 cups bite-size pasta, farfalle, penne
1 avocado
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 carton goat cheese, 1/3 cup (2.6oz, 75gr) half of Chevraux, Chavrie (the little round
cardboard container,  5.3oz (150gr)
1 tbs snipped fresh basil
1 tbs snipped fresh parsley
1 tbs snipped fresh chives
4 - 6 sausages, depending on size, 10 oz total weight (300gr)
Zucchini, optional

Cook lentils in beef stock and or water according to package directions.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Snip/chop all herbs.  Cut avocado and remove pit.  Put both halves of the avocado into a small bowl.  Add lemon juice and mash with a fork or potato masher.  When well mashed add goat cheese and mash together.  Cook sausages on barbecue grill 10 - 15 minutes or until done (can also be sautéed in nonstick skillet - same amount of time).  When pasta is done put it into a large bowl with lentils and herbs.  Add mashed avocado/chevre and toss well to combine.  When sausages are done, remove and slice in 1 inch (2.5cm) lengths.  Add to pasta and toss well to combine.  Serve.

Since it is zucchini season, and I do have a garden, I happened to have one sitting on the counter.  It was a pretty yellow one so I thought, why not?  I sliced it about 1/2 inch thick, and fried it in a bit of olive oil in a nonstick skillet, about 15 minutes.  It does look pretty, doesn't it?

Be sure to visit Once Upon A Feast on Friday for the complete Pasta Round-Up.

Final note: The guys who moved us didn't have much of a sense of humor, either.  They didn't think it was particularly funny that my books went in my office, at the top...all 75 boxes of them.  They asked me which room: the one on the right or the one on the left.  I laughed and said all of the rooms are on the left; it's a spiral staircase!  They didn't get it... I almost got a box of books on my head, though. 
(Spiral staircase... all the rooms on a different level... going up they're all on your left; coming down they're all on your right... Oh, never mind!.   Why am I the only one that thinks that's funny?)

Julia Child....and the road to hell~

When Lisa, at Champaign Taste announced her "2nd Annual Julia Child Birthday Event" I promptly jumped in.  I would make something wonderful, a fitting tribute to this marvelous woman who did so much for so many of us aspiring cooks.

And I had a whole month to think, plan, prepare.  I had the best of intentions. 

We all know what the road to hell is paved with, now don't we?   I have placed far too many of those paving stones personally.

So, rather than a recipe, I'll post photos of my excuses and words of my thoughts on this lovely, quirky lady.

My first exposure to cooking on the telly came when I was at university in the 70's.  We used to skip class (for shame) to watch the 'Galloping Gourmet'.  For those of you unfamiliar with the original, and the hilariously funny, Graham Kerr, he would uncork a bottle of wine at the beginning of the show and finish it by the end, tossing a few glugs into whatever he was cooking as he went along.

Then I pretended to grow up and started watching  PBS - public television.  I was introduced to Yan (Yan Can Cook), Jeff Smith (The Frugal Gourmet) and Julia Child.
("I will not express my opinion of most of the current 'cooking' shows", she sniffs, disdainfully)

Yan was dazzling with his fancy cleaver work.

Jeff was earnest in his endeavor to widen our culinary horizons, traveling the world to introduce us to  foods, markets and cooking of other cultures.

Julia just wanted to show us that we, yes, the ordinary 'we', could cook and do it well. 

She emphasized the importance of learning the basics:  "Once you have mastered a technique,  you hardly need look at a recipe again."  then let us know that it was okay to deviate.

She let us know that cooking could be fun.  It was serious business: planning and preparing a proper dinner, but we could have fun doing it and our guests (our just ourselves) should enjoy the result.  Certain foods can be very intimidating, especially for new cooks, but she showed us how to break recipes down into manageable steps.  I have the "Way to Cook" videos (yeah, VHS) and have watched them dozens of times.  I like them as background entertainment when I'm working in the kitchen.  Every time I watch them I pick up something new.

She let us know that flubs happen.   I mean, if Julia  Child can screw something up (this is a tribute, after all)....  If Julia Child can be less than perfect that gives me a whole lot of freedom in my own kitchen.  And she reminded us to laugh when it happens, fix it as best we can, and move on.

Finally, she let us know that good food is part of good living.  Get the best ingredients you can, prepare them with care and enjoy them with gusto.

She said the world was divided between feeders and eaters:  Feeders eat to live; eaters live to eat.  She was an eater; so am I.

Every time I grab a bottle of wine and add a 'glug' to the pot I think of Julia.   Are my glugs the same measure as hers?  I know she would say it wasn't important...

And I know she would understand that this week, in my kitchen, the beans and pickles needed care...

If she were here, I think she'd join me, sitting on the terrace with a glass of rosé, snapping beans.

Go visit Champaign Taste, after August 15th for more on Julia Child, her life and food.

Come into my garden.....

I've been tagged by Cyberdelia of Avidly Dreaming for the "seven random garden facts" meme. 

Now I am wondering: is it because I have a garden?  Or because I have a tendency to wander randomly?

Regardless, I take these things very seriously.  Interspersed with the seven random facts will be four actual photos of my current 'potager' (vegetable garden).  

1. In Andorra I had an herb garden only slightly bigger than a postage stamp, right next to our door.  It had 1 sage plant, 1 rosemary plant, 2 thyme plants, 1 marjoram plant and 1 clump of chives.  I had basil and parsley in pots.  When it rained in Andorra it came down by the bucket full.  The water would come rushing down the mountain past our house (3000 feet)  to the village below.   After one particularly hard rain, my little herb garden was buried under a foot of rocks. The water coming off the wall by our house had changed direction ever so slightly. 

2. I love green beans.  Always have.  I am terrified of spiders.  Always have been.  (It's an irrational fear, but what can I say...it's irrational!).  When I was about 12, our neighbor had to be gone for a week.  As a treat for me (so the story goes) she told me that I could have all of her beans provided I picked them.  I happily agreed.  The first day I went to  pick beans there was a spider (naturally) on one of the leaves.  I very gingerly picked only the beans I could see without moving or touching the leaves.  By the time she came back the plants were full of huge, tough, inedible beans and had quit producing.  She was not pleased!  But then, neither was I... I'd hardly had any beans!

3. It's about 150 yards from my kitchen to my vegetable garden.  To run down and grab a zucchini for dinner takes about 6 minutes.  The dogs love it!

4. I bring seeds back from the U.S. for our 'American' vegetables: sweet corn (pig food), acorn squash (pig food), green beans, (bigger then the tiny 'haricot vert').  I keep waiting for the GM (genetic modification) police to come and haul me away! 

5. I always plant too much.  I just can't seem to help myself.  There are so many seeds in those little packages and my German Catholic upbringing just won't let me throw them out.  (That's right, blame it on the nuns!)  Instead, I carefully plant, water, weed, hoe.... and end up throwing rows of lettuce and radishes in the compost pile.  For the other stuff ... 

6. I have a 'Vegetable Freezer'.  It's sole use is for the harvest from my vegetable garden.  It's kind of an interim stop before the compost pile.  It goes like this:
Plant all of the seeds.
Eat as much as we can; what we can't goes directly to the compost pile if it can't be frozen.
If it can be frozen it goes in the freezer until the freezer's full; what's left goes in the compost pile.
Eat what's in the freezer until the next planting season, or until we're so sick of it we can't bare the thought; what's left goes in the compost pile.
The compost pile is clearly the  winner in all this.  Mon mari claims I could eliminate a lot of steps if I just wouldn't plant all the seeds....right!  Then we'd have to buy fertilizer!

7. I love dill pickles.  They don't exist here, anywhere.  There are the little French cornichon, which are very good, but they're not dill pickles.  So I have to grow my own little pickling cukes and dill (I have to bring the seeds from the U.S.) and make my own pickles.

The photos, from the top:
1. The entire garden.  I plant in combination to save space (and hoeing).  The pumpkin is in between the corn rows, the melons are in the beans, the dill is in the pickle patch, etc.  The empty dirt is where my tomatoes were before they bit the dust...sigh!
2.  My monster zucchini!  We had such a cool start to summer the foliage on everything went crazy... I'm just now starting to get some vegetables.
3.  The cucumber, pickle and dill patch.
4. The dogs in their spot at the end of the lane going to the house.  On their left are blackberry brambles; on the right apple, pear, fig, plum, walnut and hazelnut trees, and table grapes.   The cherry, peach and more plum trees are in a different pasture.

Oh, yeah, it's all organic... which means the garden is full of slugs, snails and....spiders!

My herb garden is up by the house.... that's the banner picture...

I will pass on this tag to everyone with a garden... go to it!

Golden Taupe Smoked Pasta et La Taupe

Taupe

It's a rather boring color with a bit of a chichi reputation.  It's so much more sophisticated than, say, tan or beige.

It's an elusive color with many versions and variations but nothing definitive, like 'red' or 'blue'.

It's also the French word for the wretched little blind creature that is destroying our gardens.

La taupe!  That's where the color comes from: the color of the skin of 'la taupe', the mole.

In France, at least in rural France, each commune has a taupe-killer.  In our little area it's the son of the Mayor's Secretary.  I have no idea if he has another job or if killing moles is his full time vocation.

We've called him every spring and he comes around a day or so later with his stick and pipe.  The routine is simple: he finds recent mounds, digs with the stick to find the hole then  drops a pellet of something lethal through the pipe into the burrow.  He charges 16 euros ($20.00)  total and guarantees his work for a year.

He came in April, one year after his last visit.  La taupe had been busy in my herb garden, even pushing up dirt through the black plastic and gravel covered paths.   The whole garden was carefully checked, each mound attended to.  We were done for another year, I assumed.

About 3 weeks later I glanced out the bedroom window and saw a mound of dirt about 2 feet across and 1 foot high.  La taupe est retournée!  He brought his friends.  There were a dozen or more mounds.  I called, the taupe-killer came and repeated his task.  No charge: the work is guaranteed.

About 4 weeks later the same thing! This time the mounds were bigger and even more prolific.  I also found one working in the vines and another near the potager.  I called again.  He came again.  This time I insisted on paying; after all, there were obviously new moles in new places that he couldn't possibly have eradicated the first two times.  He smilingly refused any payment.   The work is guaranteed.

Yesterday, we had him come yet again.   More mounds; bigger mounds; but in a new area.  He cheerfully did his job, once again refusing payment.   The work is guaranteed. 

He laughed and said 'La taupe' were working very hard everywhere this year!  I do hope he has another job that actually supports him!

What, you are wondering, does all this have to do with Presto Pasta Night, started and hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast?

Simple: Golden Taupe - the color of Smoked Pasta!

Smoked pasta, you say?  You bet your sweet ....

This is based on a recipe I found years ago in 'Joy of Grilling' and it's utterly, absolutely fantastic.  We don't make it often as it's a bit time consuming and we usually get out the big smoker for it.  And as long as we have the smoker fired-up we usually smoke some salmon as well.  You can do it on a kettle-type grill (Weber) but you do need charcoal and wood chips.

Smoked Pasta

fresh farfalle (or other pasta) 9 oz (250 gr) package
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
5 oz shredded semi-soft mild cheese, fontina, raclette
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 tbs parsley
2 tbs Kirschwasser 
Grilling pan - or aluminum foil barbecue pan

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Find an old metal pan (you won't want to use it for anything but the grill, again) or buy an aluminum foil one - about 8 x 10" (22 X 25cm).  When pasta is done, drain it and put it into the pan.  Add all ingredients but shredded cheese and toss to combine.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.  Put on top rack of smoker and smoke about an hour, until top starts to brown.  If using kettle-type barbecue, place over indirect heat, add wood chips and smoke about 30 minutes, or until top starts to brown. 

This is an honored recipient of my "DO" award (digestive orgasm).

Stop by  Once Upon a Feast on Friday to see all of the wonderful pasta recipes.

If you want more information on smoking see Thyme for Cooking Techniques.

New addition: I forgot that I had described how to build a smoker from a cardboard box on a previous post   I saw Alton Brown do it on Good Eats (T.V. show in the U.S.) - the link to his article doesn't work but my description is there.