Revolution Roadblock #1: Time

I think I’ve established the fact that this revolution has to start in our very own homes, right dead-center in our kitchens. It’s not the responsibility of the big wigs and the mega-stores; they aren’t the ones shoveling this garbage into our mouths and the mouths of those we love. Folks, we’re grown ups and it’s about time we start taking responsibility for our actions instead of expecting everyone else to take care of our problems for us.

And that’s the crux of this food revolution. We need to figure out the root of the problem and fix it so that we can make permanent, healthy changes in our lives. I don’t believe that we all just love to ingest loads of chemicals and preservatives in everything we consume. I think, deep down, we want to serve our families “real food”, but somehow we keep falling short. And I’m going to tell you right now the first reason that we resort to this food pollution:

Time.

We simply don’t have enough of it. So when the kids are whining or your stomach is growling, you just grab for the easiest option. But it doesn’t have to be food laced with hydrogenated oils and dyes. There are other options, and today I give you one of our family’s favorites. But first, a story.

Every Monday afternoon, my kids and I take about a 15 minute ride to a local dairy where we get our milk. I’m telling you right now, if you can get your sweet little hands on some local milk, you are in for a treat you won’t easily give up. This milk tastes superb, and it comes in glass bottles, which makes me feel like Donna Reed and a hippie tree-hugger all at the same time (and I really kind of like the feeling).

Anyway, we always tend to make our little trek right before dinnertime, since that’s when my youngest tends to get up from his nap, which means that we get home just about the time the kids’ bellies need filling (unless, of course, I cave and we eat ice cream cones at the dairy and consider dinner done—this happens about 50% of the time; please don’t judge me.)

Two weeks ago, I walked through the front door with the first scenario (hungry bellies) on the horizon. I had mere minutes before the natives would turn to cannibalism so I had to act fast. My life line came in the form of a quickly blitzed pesto, prepped while the pasta was boiling on the stove. No lie: this meal was on the table in 10 minutes flat, and I simply couldn’t keep their plates filled, they were eating it so fast.

Frozen pizzas and ready-made dinners do not need to be our heroes in these types of situations. I think we just need a better call list when these scenarios present themselves.

Mai’s Pesto

2 cups fresh basil (You need a lot of basil for this dish. When you are measuring for this, make sure you pack in the basil.)

¼ c. walnuts, toasted (Now the traditional version of pesto is made with pinenuts and they can certainly be substituted here. My kids aren’t huge fans of meat so I like to pack in as much protein as I can when I can and I’ve just happened to have walnuts in my pantry the last couple times I’ve made this.)

2 garlic cloves

1/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese (Okay, a confession. Last time I made this I didn’t freshly grate the cheese. Yes, I used pre-grated (no, not the stuff in the green bottle—need I remind you, that isn’t even cheese). I’m not ashamed to admit this because sometimes we just can’t do everything perfect. Did the pesto turn out just fine? Absolutely. Would it have been better with freshly grated cheese? Absolutely. I leave the choice up to you.)

1 tsp. salt

¼c. to ½ c. olive oil (You’ll have to eyeball this one. You want the pesto to have a thin enough texture to coat your pasta noodles, but you definitely don’t want it to be too oily.)
1 lb. pasta, cooked according to package directions (if you’re short on time, angel hair pasta is always a quick one. If you’ve got a few more minutes to spare, try a whole wheat penne pasta.)

Whiz the first 4 ingredients in your food processor (blender will work, too) until everything is finely chopped. Toss in the salt (check afterwards, you may want more), then add the olive oil. Give it another whiz and add more oil if needed.

Simply toss your pasta with the pesto, sprinkle a little extra parm on top, and dinner’s on the table. You could even add some fresh tomatoes to the party, for added fun.

Per the suggestion of my wonderful friend Maria, I would love all of you to share the worst ingredient lists you’ve found this week. The item may or may not be from your pantry (and you are not required to disclose if it is). So excited to see what you all come up with!!!

Jamie Oliver Makes His First Appearance on Manic Monday

I'm not sure what the rest of you are doing for Manic Monday, but I'm serving up some fresh, hot leftovers. We had houseguests this weekend, and it always seems that when I have visitors, my refrigerator gets jam-packed with leftovers, which works out great, because the last thing you have time to do after a busy weekend is spend time in the kitchen cooking. So I'm taking a break from the kitchen today, and planting myself in the laundry room because I have LOTS of wash that needs attending.

But for those of you with the "bare-fridge blues", here's a wonderfully simple recipe from my favorite chef at the moment, Jamie Oliver. You can't go wrong with any of his recipes but this one in particular is tailor-made for Manic Monday. Now, the laundry is calling so I leave you with in Jamie's hands:

Baked Camembert Pasta by Jamie Oliver

8 oz. round of Camembert cheese (I haven't tried this with brie but I have a pretty good feeling that it would work just as well. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.)

2 cloves of garlic

1 sprig fresh rosemary

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. dried rigatoni

6 cups (approx. 6 oz.) fresh spinach leaves

4 oz. Parmesan cheese

Preheat you oven to 350 degrees. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it. Place it back in the wooden container. Score a circle into the top of the skin, then lift it off and discard. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalk. Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese, sprinkle with some pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Scatter over the rosemary leaves and gently pat with your fingers to coat them in oil. Grate the Parmesan.

Place the box of cheese on a cookie sheet and put it into the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden and melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When your cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, add the rigatoni to the pot and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the pan- it only needs 10 seconds or so. Drain the pasta and spinach in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water. Return the pasta and spinach to the pot and let it wilt. Drizzle with a couple of good lugs of extra virgin olive oil and add the grated Parm. If the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of a the reserved cooking water to thin it out a bit. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good stir. Remove the cheese from the oven.

Divide the pasta between your serving bowls. Either drizzle the melted Camembert on top or pop the box of cheese on the table and let everyone help themselves to a lovely, gooey spoonful.

A Summertime Classic Cookbook

Okay, so I feel really bad about making you get out your slow-cooker in the dead of summer for yesterday’s recipe. Therefore, today I’m going to do my first cookbook review of a collection of recipes that is dead set on keeping the heat in your kitchen to an absolute minimum.

The cookbook is No Cook Pasta Sauces by Joie Warner. I received it as a wedding gift 10 years ago and every summer I whip it out when the heat outdoors gets to my brain and puts me in a cooking coma.

I love this cookbook because the recipes are simple but diverse so one day you could have linguine with an Italian flair, perhaps Lemon Basil Pesto, and the next day, from the same cookbook, you can satisfy a hankering for Chinese by whipping up some vermicelli with Asian Peanut Butter and Garlic Sauce. It’s such a versatile book and nearly all the sauces can be whipped up without the stove, or simply warmed in a heatproof bowl over your boiling pasta.
The recipe below is one of our family’s favorites from this cookbook; hope you all enjoy it as much as we have through the years!

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 jar (7oz.) roasted red peppers, well drained and pureed in food processor
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 medium lemon
¼ c. butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1/3 c. fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
8 oz. fettucine

Combine pureed red peppers, garlic, lemon zest, butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese in pasta serving bowl. Set aside to warm to room temperature or, preferably, place the bowl (be sure it’s heatproof) over the pasta pot to melt the butter while heating the water. Once the water comes to a boil, remove bowl and set aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta well and immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with basil and toss. Serve at once with extra Parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Tune in tomorrow for a recipe that is one of my dad’s all-time favorites, and it also earned him the most chilling stink eye I’ve ever bestowed on another human being.

Manic Monday Begins

I love food and I love cooking. So I decided to start this blog to legitimize my hours of flipping through cookbooks and magazine, scouring for recipes, and cooking in the kitchen, ignoring the constant cries and requests of my four children. So please join me for the first of what I hope will be many Manic Mondays for Mai time in the Kitchen.

If you are a stay-at-home mom like me, Mondays usually mean that laundry is at a critical level (your husband has no clean undies and the kids are sweating in their Christmas polar bear pj’s in the dead of summer), the refrigerator is barren (perhaps some wilted lettuce and pickles remain), and the alleviation of the mess around your house will require no less than a forklift and possibly, if you’re in a really bad mood, a blow torch. At this point, the inhabitants of your home are lucky if they even get fed on a Monday night, and if they do, it’s probably a bowl of gruel. But here’s an alternative: on Mondays, while you’re frazzled and short-tempered, I will have a quick little dinner recipe, tasty yet simple, packaged right here, waiting to be used by you.

Our first Manic Monday recipe is actually a bit of a shout-out to my dear friends Sara and Jill who came to visit me a few weeks ago and really cattle-prodded me into getting this blog started. While they were here I made them a Spinach Fettuccine that they simply adored and I’m hoping you will, too. This recipe is as simple and quick as it gets.

Spinach Fettuccine with Garlic and Olive Oil

12 oz. spinach fettuccine (depending on your grocery store, this may be a little tricky to locate. At my store, it’s in the gourmet/organic section. If the gods are smiling on you that day, you may even find some fresh pasta in the refrigerator section.)

6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. chopped fresh basil, divided (you must, must, must use fresh basil here or you’re missing the point of this whole recipe.)

4 garlic cloves, minced (tune in here tomorrow for a brief look into the evolution of my cooking career-garlic cloves play a monumental role in getting me where I am today)

½ tsp. dried crushed red pepper (now this is absolutely optional- we are spice-aholics in our family so we like heat in just about everything but please feel free to leave this out…or add more!)

½ c. dry white wine (if you’ve never cooked with wine before and are wondering if your “good parent” status is in jeopardy by serving this meal to your children, relax. The alcohol will cook off before the sauce even touches the lips of your babes. And did you know that you can freeze your leftover wine to cook with later? I saw this on Nigella Lawson’s show one time so I assume it works. )

1 ½ c. parmesan cheese, grated (do not, under any circumstances, use that weird parmesan cheese that is pre-grated in the green bottle for this. I’m not even sure that is cheese, let alone parm. Please, get the real stuff.)

Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions, but when you’re draining it, you might want to hold onto a ½ c. or so of the pasta water just in case you need to loosen up your sauce a bit. Put the fettuccine on stand-by while you make the sauce.

Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. I’d only let the oil heat for a minute or so because if it gets too hot, it will scorch your garlic, and believe me, that’s not a good thing. Add ½ c. basil, garlic, and crushed red pepper; stir 1 minute. Add wine and boil for about 3 minutes. Add mixture from skillet, remaining ½ c. basil, and ¾ c. cheese to pasta. Toss it all together. If it seems a little dry, add some of your reserved pasta water. Pour it into a big bowl, sprinkle a little extra cheese on top, and dinner is done.

The first couple times I served this to my family, everyone, including the kids, ate it with delight. Of course, when Sara and Jill came to visit, I told them that my kids loved this dish, and to prove that point, I offered it to them for lunch. Of course, my son did not perform up to scratch and refused to eat it, but my daughter devoured everything on her plate. With that full disclosure, I will say that I think your kids will love this recipe, as long as you don’t have any friends around that you are trying to impress.

And tomorrow, the much anticipated story of Maile and the Garlic Clove.