No Name Pasta Salad

Brooke wouldn't come up with a name for this delicious pasta experiment:

Tri-color Rigatoni
Bell peppers
Onion
Portabello
Thin asparagus
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan
Water
Cinnamon Sugar
Parsley
Sun-dried tomatoes
Garlic

Boil water. Put in pasta. When almost done, put in chopped asparagus. Stir fry diced onion, garlic, mushroom, bell pepper and sun dried tomatoes with salt and pepper. Simmer parsley and cinnamon sugar (use a lot) with olive oil. It's supposed to be a tarragon substitute because tarragon was part of the recipe that I found, although that recipe was actually for a goat cheese-asparagus-lemon pasta that in no way resembles this. I don't know what tarragon tastes like but the parsley-cinnamon sugar thing (actually it's supposed to be just regular cinnamon I think) tasted pretty good actually. I'd use it again I suppose. Anyways, drain the pasta/asparagus, pour in veggies and parsley/cinnamon sugar and add a bunch of olive oil, salt pepper to taste, and grate that parm. It works I guess. But Brooke refused to name it.

A shameless copy, and an ode to John: Roasted Eggplant Soup

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/10/roasted-eggplant-soup/

Ok, not so shameless. I spiced with cumin, thyme, salt, pepper, a shake of crushed red pepper and a few dried chilis. I was aggressive with the cumin. After slow roasting and then simmering, the soft eggplant and tomato flavors demand heat. I don't have heavy cream so I threw in some skim milk and then some flour to thicken it. Also I don't have a blender or some magic puree stick so I just kinda smashed everything up with a wooden spoon. Closed with some crumbled goat cheese.

I thank Mr. Marty who picked out eggplant and goat cheese.

A triumph

I just washed every single dish and tupperware, and over 80% of the pots, pans, and utensils in my kitchen.

My drying rack is a triumph of architectural cubism.

Fuck I forgot the cutting board.

THIS IS ONE IS LEGIT: SOME SORT OF SALAD

Mixed baby greens
Tomatoes
Red kidney beans, washed and drained
Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Carrot
Ground Deer Meat
Lemon

Cut top off tomatoes. Scoop out insides. Eat insides. Pour ground deer meat into the tomatoes. Peel carrots. Take nice long peels and arrange them fancily in the deermeat stuffed tomatoes. Place tomatoes on bed of greens> Add oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, lemon to everything. Shave some parmesan on top and sprinkle the beans over it all.

This looks gorgeous. Would be better with some beets probably. But I'm winning.

Deer Pasta: 1

Linguine
Half an onion
Sun dried tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
Cayenne
Ground Deer Meat
Parmesan
Water
Garlic

Boil water. Put in pasta.

Cook the deer meat. Chop the onion and garlic. Olive oil in pan. Cook onion, garlic, and sun dried tomatoes in the oil. Spice it. Once almost done, put some deer meat in. Not too much. Keep cooking on lower heat. Drain pasta. Add more olive oil, Pour onion/meat/garlic/SDT over the pasta. Stir. Shave some parmesan on top. Don't hold back on the red pepper and cayenne. It needs the heat. Next time I might use some whole hot peppers.

GUEST POST: JOSH

Ingredients:

1 pint Haagen Dazs Ice Cream, Large Spoon, Bowl

Recipe:

Microwave pint 15 seconds high heat.

Place half contents into bowl

mush up for 1 minute until soft and almost liquidy

EAT.

FUCK WINTER Bean Salad

1 can black beans, washed and drained
1 can kidney beans, washed and drained
two medium tomatoes diced
half an onion minced
juice of half a lemon
celery diced
parsley chopped
salt
gorgonzola
pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Toss. Crumble gorgonzola on top. I am a master.

Potato Mushroom Cream Soup

Ok. First meal.

Potato. Red.
Half Onion. Yellow.
Some Celery.
Carrots
A few garlic cloves
Bunch of parsley.
White flour.
Chicken broth.
A few slices of portabello.
A few shitakes.
Salt
Pepper
Milk
Soy sauce
Crushed Red Pepper
Garlic powder
Oil.
Oregano.
Parmesan.

Make meer pois. That's carrots, onion, celery diced, then cooked with oil. Dusted with flour, then adding a bunch of chicken broth. Throw in some milk. I added extra flour to make it thick.
Once it's all meer-poised throw in the potatoes (diced), mushrooms (chopped thick), and spices. Just do it to taste I guess. Chop up that parsley real fine.

Toss in a splash of soy once it's in the bowl. Grate some parmesan. And you go yourself a meal. Tasted pretty good. A little bland. I would make it again with more mushroom varieties. Needs something else more pungent added to it. Maybe something light to accompany. Oregano was probably not necessary. Parmesan worked I guess.

Comments encouraged.

The Deal

I'm gonna learn to cook. My friend Hillary is teaching me. Also I bought some cookbooks. Once I get a digital camera I'll even document my meals. I don't measure things because I don't have anything to measure with, so you'll just have to guess on the amounts. It's more fun that way.