The Pot Licker
October 23, 2007 | Filed under: "The Pot Licker"
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” ~Harriet van Horne
My love for Trader Joe’s runs deep and withstands distance and time. Every moment that I’m able to be in a Trader Joe’s is one more minute of nirvana and hope that I can successfully transport a jar of organic blueberry preserves back to NY without TSA thinking that it’s implanted with some sort of honing device or liquid nitrogen. It is also ridiculously convenient because at any point in time that you’re craving gnnochi with gorgonzola, they have it there. Frozen and ready to pop into a microwave and make genuine deliciousness. Also all of their rice comes in packages and takes no longer than three minutes to cook. Which means more time to sit around watching Pageant Place and teasing the cat with bits of tofurky.
I have this strange addiction to frozen meals. If it comes in a package and can be heated in five minutes or less then I want to marry it and have its babies. You should see me around a Healthy Choice tomato and basil panini, we might have cute little delicious smelling babies sporting mini afros, because that’s how strong my love is. I think it’s normal for busy people to crave convenience. I have the job and the incessant travel and the having of a life and the aforementioned watching of poor reality television and there is just busyness.
The above explains why my mother’s jaw had to be surgically removed from the floor when I mentioned something about cooking. When I mentioned actually putting food in an oven or turning on a stove with a pilot light and I think she just envisioned me losing my eyebrows or my kitchen spontaneously combusting. So I promised that I would start easy with the cooking. Nothing too strenuous and ‘quick’ and hopefully edible.
It’s hard to go wrong with penne pasta. I mean you boil water, put the pasta in and add sauce or cheese or perhaps roasted tomatoes with garlic and olive oil that smells like heaven while roasting. Along with some cannellini beans and my rather wide vegetarian ass is suddenly pumped with protein and happiness.
And as an added bonus, I enjoy taking photos - albeit completely shitty and amateur, photos - of food. Food doesn’t talk back or move or try to lick you when you’re trying to take a shot. Food doesn’t holler out “Make sure you get my good side!” or “Photoshop my hips!” when you have about 7 seconds to capture a moment.
Recipe from the Food Network:
3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1(15 ounce) can cannellini beans
1/2 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Put the tomato wedges and garlic into a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and a few turns of pepper. Roast in the oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
Drain the beans into a large colander in the sink. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta into the colander containing the beans, so the hot pasta water will warm the beans. Return drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.
When the tomatoes are done, pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Pour the roasted tomatoes into the pasta pot, add the garlic, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve topped with the Parmesan.
One Smart Cookie says:
I’m impressed. I hate cooking. Baking, I like, and I don’t completely suck at. Cooking = what is that smell? And why is the smoke alarm going off?
Dagny says:
Congratulations on trying out the other appliances in the kitchen. I will be expecting more homemade food now.
slynnro says:
Ugh. The closet Trader Joe’s to me is in New Mexico. I have seriously considered driving there because I am so damn curious.
OH BUT LO! I have just looked and they are in Seattle, where I will be this weekend. I will be going.
Karen Rani says:
That looks absolutely pro! Totally impressed, Heather!
Susan says:
I gave up cooking a long time ago; now I just wait for my mother-in-law to take pity on us and invite us for dinner.
But you are tempting me with that penne. Damn you, woman!
Lori says:
That looks yummy! Congratulations on making such a delicious meal. (P.S. I also heart, very much, Trader Joes. There’s one three blocks away.)
Meg says:
Food is only slightly less sexy than men with good laughs.
RiceWenchie says:
That, indeed, looks yummy-licious!!!!!
Isabel Kallman says:
yum.
foodmomiac says:
Look at you!! That looks awesome. And, I think this is my favorite line ever:
“we might have cute little delicious smelling babies sporting mini afros, because that’s how strong my love is”
I might print it out and put it above my desk.
Tina Vaziri says:
Mmmm, sounds and looks so very very good!
LisaB says:
Next time you come to the city we are so going to Trader Joe’s. You know I bow before their goodness as well!
Maria says:
Yum! I haven’t had many frozen meals. I can’t explain it since I love convenience. I feel deprived. I’ve never been in a Trader Joe’s.
Courtney says:
I would do free commercials for Trader Joe’s. Everyone at work knows I’m uber obsessed with the store. Gah!
mcgee says:
that looks delish. you’re making me hungry.
p.s. trader joe’s is wonderland. lately i’m particularly in love with the frozen mandarin orange chicken. oh man it’s sooo good.
Angella says:
Mmmmm…you’re making me hungry. We so would have made great roomies, yo.
gorillabuns says:
when you come into town, you can totally cook for ALL of us!
Abi says:
It looks like your problem is lighting. It makes a huge difference in the quality of your photos. Check it out: Photo Studio in a Box.
My office had excellent lighting for frozen meals. The Stanford Grad Student housing? Not so much.
But that’s not what I was going to talk about. No, I was going to say that I have super-tiny hands. It is weird because you’ve seen that I’m tall. And I don’t have small feet either. Just little hands.
Erin says:
That looks INSANELY good. That’s dinner tonight, is what that is.
And I didn’t know TJ’s had frozen gnnochi and Gorgonzola! What the hell is wrong with me?
amanda says:
We actually had this for dinner last night! My brother is a vegetarian and was in town, so we made a penne with all these ingredients, and spinach, too. So hearty and EASY. The best four-letter word.