I Love Food! (& My Latest Recipe Find)

I love food.  You may not be able to tell by my waistline (at least at this stage in my life) but I really love food.  And I found that I love cooking it, too. 

It's ironic because my mom really doesn't like cooking.  Neither did her mother.  My grandma's recipe submission at my bridal shower was "Take prepared meal out of the freezer.  Microwave it for the appropriate heat and time."  My dad isn't a good cook either, but his mother (who I last met when I was only 2 years old) had a catering business so maybe this comes through my Japanese blood.  Both parents have taught me some real basics about how to cook in both cultures but in the last 10 years or so cooking on my own I've really come to love preparing and eating my own meals.

But, there are conditions.  I'm lactose intolerant.  My husband has high cholesterol.  We like eating vegetarian periodically.  And with working and/or small kids I have to prepare it fast.  My last condition is that if I'm going to take the effort I want it to actually taste good & be healthy.  No hamburger helper in this house.  In my mormon.org profile I mention, "If my recipe collection was published, it would be called, 'The Half-Japanese, Working Mother, Lactose-Free, Low Cholesterol, Flexitarian, Less than an Hour, Easy Gourmet on a Budget Cookbook.'" 

I had a great afternoon this week on Beth's couch talking about all of this (among many other more important topics).  She mentioned a great recipe her husband Joe had made recently that was a really light pasta with shrimp and I think I've been craving something like that since.  Surprisingly tonight I found a recipe on the back of the plastic "Sunny Select" store brand pasta package that sounded similar and gave it a shot.  IT WAS GREAT!  It was fast, fresh, few ingredients, easy, low-cost, and super tasty.  This is going to be a new favorite.  Here it is:

ANGEL HAIR with TOMATOES, BASIL and GARLIC

1 lb Angel Hair pasta, uncooked

2 Tbl olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped or 2 tsp garlic powder

5 cups tomatoes, diced

3 Tbl fresh basil, chopped or 1 1/2 tsp dried basil

salt & pepper to taste

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan/Romano cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions (boil about 3 minutes), drain.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic & saute 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, basil, salt & pepper.  Saute another 3 minutes.  Stir in broth & heat through.  Add drained pasta to skillet & toss well.  Toss with Parmesan cheese & serve immediately.

*My changes this time:
1.  I never have fresh basil.  Dried basil worked great.
2.  I buy minced garlic in a jar (like from Christopher Ranch).  This saves a bunch of time and my hands never smell like a clove.
3.  I only had 4 medium sized tomatoes so I probably only had about 3 cups worth of diced tomatoes.
4.  I sometimes don't toss the cheese throughout if I don't feel like taking Lactaid and have people add it to their own plates - or - just pull out my serving first.
5.  For broth I use Better Than Bouillon.  Instead of storing cans or cubes I can mix my own in whichever quantity I need.  Since you mix 1 tsp per 1 cup I can easily modify to half a cup or this 3/4 cup.  We like the flavor, too.


So give it a try.  It may just be a new favorite in your home, too.  And, hey, if any of you have any "'Half-Japanese, Working Mother, Lactose-Free, Low Cholesterol, Flexitarian, Less than an Hour, Easy Gourmet on a Budget" recipes let's trade!