Zebra Pasta

As much as things change, they stay the same. I know, I know, it doesn't seem to make alot of sense. Remember being a small child (or having one) and seeing something you just HAD to have. Mommy mommy, puleeeeeez can I have it? I NEEEEED it! Although I must add here that Psychgrad was never like that but Actor Boy...well, he neeeeeeded everything and wanted everything and all of it was life and death at that particular moment. Now when we remind him he'll just say .. "Oh yes, and Psychgrad - she's the golden child". Good there's no sibling rivalry in my house.

Well, maybe Actor Boy gets his drama queen qualities from his mother (did I really say that?) But then...I guess that's why he's also an actor. Right. Getting back to point. I saw this zebra pasta and I went through one of those moments where I really needed to have this pasta. Am I the only one that thinks it's so very cool? I suspect that when Psychgrad heard my exuberance her response would have been "ok mom...whatever...it's nice".



I had no idea what to do with it so I made it up as I went along and the result was pretty interesting (in a good way).

Ingredients

1 pkg zebra pasta (probably only found in gourmet stores)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper, sliced
2 portabello mushroom, sliced
2 anchovies
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
splash (or two) of balsamic vinegar

Boil the pasta until done. This pasta seems to cook much faster than normal bowtie pasta (about 8-9 minutes. Drain (I rinsed it so it wouldn't stick together)
In a medium size saucepan, let the anchovies melt down; add pepper, mushroom and cherry tomatoes

About half way through frying the vegetables, add balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Add to pasta; top with feta cheese.

Note: I think you could add anything to this pasta and it would be delicious.



I'm sending this entry over to Amy of Very Culinary , our host for this weeks Presto Pasta Nights .

View and Review

Food bloggers have for the past couple of years been an ongoing top quality source of meals. There's been so much written about the average family that basically has a repetoire of approximately 10 dishes that get done and redone to death. I guess they haven't all discovered our network.

Ruth of Once Upon a Feast , Val of More Than Burnt Toast and I put our heads together and decided to create a place where we all can see and sample some of the newest and best on the market. No small job considering that food bloggers are international. It'll be a work in progress but we've now gained enough support that it makes sense to go full steam ahead.

Coupled with the work we do for BloggerAid...Changing the Face of Famine (www.bloggeraidmarketing.ning.com), you're invited to join and participate in View and Review.

View and Review

Partnered with cookbook publishers and a variety of food purveyers, this is an opportunity for you to participate in book and product reviews. What does this mean?

Members who choose to participate will sign up in the forum under “View and Review” Please let us know if you’d like to participate and we’ll add you to our list of reviewers (see Rules of Engagement), which will be visible to all members of the group so you’ll know when your turn is coming up. You will be set up to receive a copy of a cookbook or a product to review, create a recipe from and submit your review. The list will be visible to all members of the group so you’ll know when your turn is coming up.

Rules of Engagement

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Publishers have notified us that the frequency of the cookbooks can be irregular and we can expect to see some action happening before the fall. We may get 1 book a month – we may get 15 – we’re uncertain at this point. Our partners are excited to participate with us – it’s a win/win for everyone.

We have approached many publishers internationally and although not every country is covered, we’re working behind the scene to make sure that if you’re in Brazil that there will be books available in your country of origin. Some countries may be covered by another country. For example, if you’re in Indonesia, books could be available from Australia.

Today, we secured the support of Loblaws in Canada. If you've been following our blog you'll remember that Loblaws is probably the largest grocery chain in the country so Canadians... get on board.

We could call Read and Review an event, but really, it's an ongoing relationship that we will continue to nurture and make available...no time line.

Plum Tart

The host of yesterday's dinner party doesn't do well with white flour. Since I was bringing the dessert, I decided to change up another of Ina Garten's recipes by replacing the all-purpose flour for spelt flour. It's really okay to make this change by doing the replacement of 1 cup of spelt flour for 1 cup of all-purpose flour.



Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used spelt flour)
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
12 tablespoons cold unsaltd butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
1 egg yolk
2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise (I used the larger black plums)

**I added about 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries to this too. I loved this addition and would do it again.
**Make sure you're using ripe plums or your tart won't give you the juice you need in this recipe and it'll be too tart (no pun intended :)


Preheat the oven to 400 F

Combine the flour, walnuts and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer until crumbly (I tried the electric mixer and found using my hands much easier and faster)

Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin-side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.

Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40-50 minutes or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.






We served this with ice cream - a perfect compliment!!!