Pasta with artichokes and carrots

I know it's been much too long since I've stopped by to say hello. I have no real excuses, because honestly, I haven't been very busy. The only exciting thing that has happened this past month was that we got to go to the All Star Game that was held here in St. Louis. How often do you get the advantage of living in the city in which something big like that is happening? Patrick is a huge baseball fan, so we knew we had to go. We had a great time, and got to spend some time with friends who came from Virginia to see the game.



When we took this job, we knew that Patrick would be doing shift-work, and that the rotation would be every 3 months, switching between days, swings and mids. So, when his schedule changed again we weren't too upset. He is now working the swing shift which means he leaves the house just before 1 in the afternoon, and gets back home about 10:45 at night. The only real problem with this, as I'm sure you can guess, has been the change that I've had to do in order to get lunch and dinner ready. We like to have lunch before he leaves for work, and he normally takes his dinner in to work. I've come to realize that I don't like to do a lot of cooking at 9 in the morning. I'm just not quite awake enough to be wielding a knife with anything but trepidation before I've had coffee. Breakfast items are O.K. at that time, as are getting things started that need to cook for hours such as pasta sauce or a roast. But to cook the main meal at that time, and then eat immediately afterwards is just a little daunting at that hour. I really don't know what we have been eating, although I have vague recollections of some less than appealing foods. Things that I've tried to pull together as well as - horror of all horrors - prepared foods. Which hopefully explains my absence!



Needless to say, what I am attempting to do is begin cooking the day before. Which means that in the morning I'm not rushing around trying to get lunch ready. For the following dish - Pasta with artichokes and carrots, I made the sauce last night, so this morning all I had to do was cook the spinach fettuccine and crumble the goat cheese. I normally would prefer to use fresh artichokes, but this time I took the easy way out and used frozen. I love artichokes, but they can be unwieldy to prepare. This is a really great dish, very light tasting, which is great for the summer, but it is also very filling and best of all good for the waistline.

Pasta with artichokes and carrots
From "The Mayo Clinic Williams Sonoma Cookbook"


1 pound dried spinach fettuccine
1 tablespoon olive oil
16 oz frozen artichoke hearts, cut lengthwise into thin strips
8 carrots, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 cup crumbled soft goat cheese

Fill a large pot three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes, or according to package directions.

While the pasta cooks, in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the artichoke hearts, carrots, and red pepper flakes and saute until the carrots are tender, 5 - 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Add the vermouth, lemon juice and thyme. Cook, stirring, 30 seconds longer.

Remove 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta thoroughly. Add the reserved cooking water and pasta to the vegetables. Stir and toss to combine.

To serve, divide among 6 individual plates. Top each with an equal amount of the goat cheese.

Open faced wasabi-horseradish crab melt

It has been almost 10 years since I first tried an open faced crab melt sandwich. Patrick and I had just moved back to Seattle, after living in Seoul for two years. It was a stressful time because Patrick was gone for almost a year of the year and a half we were home. We were living in Ballard, and because he wasn't home very much we weren't able to go out very much.

It was an unusual evening because Patrick was actually home, and we wanted to get out of the house and do something, but we didn't know what we wanted to do. We were not starving, but wanted to get a little something to eat - not a full meal. We got in the car and started driving around. We spotted this dive bar on the water, and it looked like a great place to hang out. I wish that I could remember the name of the bar that we stopped in, although it may not even be there anymore! It was a dark and smoky bar with a jazz band playing, and everyone seemed to know each other. I cannot believe that we only went there once, it was just the type of place we like to go to. We ordered some wine, but also wanted a little something to munch on. That was when we saw the open faced crab melt on an english muffin. As soon as we took one bite, we knew we had found something wonderful. I'm not sure if I can do justice in describing the seemingly easy combination of flavors that make up the delicious flavor of a crab melt.

Because it is a very rich dish, I haven't made them in a very long time. But the other day, when I realized I had leftover crab from the crab and avocado quesadilla I had made for dinner, this was the first thing I thought about.

If you have never tried Bay's english muffins, I highly recommend them. You find them in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, and they are my favorite.

Some crab melts use a lot of mayonnaise and cheese, but I wanted to put a different flavor on these crab melts and make them a little healthier. I decided that a wasabi-horseradish would add some heat and flavor, and allow me to use less mayonnaise.

In order to cut some of the cheese, I used just a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan to the top of the melts to give just a touch of flavor. I plated the tomato to the side of my crab melts, but I put the tomato on top to eat.

Open Faced Wasabi-Horseradish Crab Melts on English Muffins

This is what I did, but you may need to adjust the seasoning to your tastes. If you do not like spicy food, use all mayonnaise in place of the wasabi-horseradish.

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, finely mined
1/2 pound lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon creamy wasabi-horseradish sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
2 english muffins, split and lightly toasted
1 tomato, sliced

Preheat the broiler, and arrange english muffins on a baking sheet. Saute the onions, bell pepper and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Combine the sauteed vegetables, crab meat, mayonnaise, wasabi and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice if needed. Mound the mixture on top of each english muffin and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Broil the melts for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are warmed through and the tops are caramelized. Serve with tomato slices.

Old Clothes and Photography

Ever since I started this blog, I have been fighting with myself over what my intentions are. There are so many wonderful food blogs out there, and I doubt if I have read one-tenth of them! Some read like wonderful short stories, some have you drooling over the dishes that they describe, and most of them have fantastic photography.

Once upon a time, I loved taking pictures. I even thought that I would not make a half-bad photographer. But somewhere along the way I seem to have misplaced that particular talent. Some of this is for lack of trying, I didn't pick up a camera for years. And now that I started this blog, I am forgetting to take pictures of every step of the cooking process. Sometimes even forgetting to take pictures of the final product! I have been getting very frustrated with both the lighting in this house, and the cameras that I am using. I would love to lay the blame on them, but perhaps it could just be user error.

My intention is to write at least once a week. A recipe that I want to share with everyone, with beautiful pictures and intelligent writing. I haven't been living up to that intention, but I am going to try harder.

This particular dish is a prime example of my forgetfulness. I made this last night, and did not even once think of taking a picture. I know that Ropa vieja, or "old clothes" does not make a pretty picture, especially if you are taking it the next day without much fuss. But it is a wonderful dish. This version is not a traditional Cuban recipe, but it is one that I came up with one day when I didn't want to go to the store. My onions had gone bad, and I had no bell peppers, but I did have a beef brisket in the freezer, lots of spices and some rice. I know it takes a long time to cook, but it is something you can put on the stove and almost forget about. I try to make this a few times a year and stash some in the freezer for quick meals. I usually serve at least a few servings over rice. It is terrific in just about any Mexican or Cuban dish, nachos, quesadillas, burritos or tacos. It is also fantastic added to scrambled eggs for a hearty breakfast.

Ropa vieja or Shredded Beef over Rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 4 pound boneless top chuck roast, trimmed of all visible fat
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
2 cups water
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

rice, for serving

Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper, and place carefully in the hot oil. Brown all sides of the roast.
Combine all remaining ingredients, except rice and pour over the meat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Check the liquid occasionally and turn the roast to get all sides in the liquid. Cook for 4 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove roast from the liquid and shred meat. Return the meat to the juices and increase the heat to reduce the sauce, if needed. Season to taste, and serve over rice.