Archive for the '"The Pot Licker"' Category

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.