Adventures in Substitution

Tonight's supper was brought to you by the letter S. S for Substitution. Due to the holiday last weekend and being out of town visiting family in Lake Havasu (home of the original London Bridge, as seen in the pictures) I wasn't able to get groceries until Tuesday night for this week. Apparently, I was not as thorough in the creation of my grocery list as I usually am, because I seem to have neglected to add ALL the things I needed for one recipe. So, when I got home tonight (Wednesday), I discovered I had about half the things needed for the recipe. Thus began my odyssey in the quest for making a dish that at least vaguely resembled what I was originally going for: Four Cheese Macaroni Casserole. (Click the link to see what the recipe was originally supposed to look like :-))

First, I realized I didn't have macaroni, but after a little digging, discovered half a pound of whole wheat rotini, which sufficed. Then, I remembered (or realized I DIDN'T remember getting) a large can of tomatoes. More digging turned up a large head of broccoli and some carrots, which of course, are not even close to tomatoes. But, it's what I had. I decided to make up for the lack of tomato acidity by adding white wine vinegar, lemon juice left over from citrus season and a bit of spaghetti sauce I had in the fridge. While I was digging around in there, I found some leftover Easter ham and threw that in as well. The more, the merrier, right?

Then, while adding the spices, I remembered that I didn't have any italian seasoning, because when I was planning on buying more, I had decided to just make my own with the herbs in my garden, but they aren't finished drying yet. I could have just gone out to the garden and gotten fresh ones, but...I didn't. So, I made do by adding bits of oregano, basil, marjoram, sage, rosemary and thyme. 

And finally, the cheeses. The key element of the dish. I had cheddar and mozzarella, but I did not have any Parmesan cheese, fresh, fake, or otherwise, so we did the obvious: turn it into a 3 cheese casserole. Then, my standard substitution, goat cheese instead of feta, rounded out the dish. When all was said and done, I somehow ended up with a yummy, cheesy, italian-y, vegetable pasta dish. Luckily. My adventures in substitution don't usually end this well :-) Anytime they don't end in me running to Food City halfway through a recipe, I feel victorious though. Here's the final version: 

Three Cheese Italian Veggie Casserole

3 1/2 c. uncooked whole wheat spiral pasta

1 large or 2 small broccoli heads (not bunches), chopped and steamed

2 carrots, peeled, chopped, and steamed

2/3 c. spaghetti sauce

2 t. white wine vinegar

1 T. lemon juice

1 1/4 t. dried oregano

1 1/4 t. dried basil

1/8 t. dried marjoram

1/8 t. dried sage

1/8 t. dried thyme

1/8 t. dried rosemary

salt and pepper

1 c. diced ham, optional

1 1/2 c. cheddar, shredded

1 1/2 c. mozzarella, shredded

1/3 c. goat cheese crumbles

1. Preheat oven to 350. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain. Steam vegetables for 5-7 minutes, or just until tender. 

2. Mix steamed vegetables with pasta sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, salt, pepper, and ham (optional). 

3. Combine pasta with 1 1/4 c. cheddar, 1 1/4 c. mozzarella, and 1/4 c. goat cheese crumbles. Add veggie mixture. Place in 3 qt. casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/4 c. cheddar, 1/4 c. mozzarella, and 2-3 T. goat cheese crumbles. 

4. Bake for 15-25 minutes.  

Twitter 101

I love Twitter. After a recent conversation with my aunt about what, exactly, Twitter is, (and realizing that I’ve had this conversation multiple times), I decided to put it in writing. As they always say, if one person has a question, there are probably many others who do too. So, for those of you who don’t understand what the big deal is about Twitter, this is why it is NOT what you think.

What Twitter is NOT:

Twitter is NOT about updates about what you had for breakfast, (unless you can say it in an incredibly clever way). It is also NOT a private, direct messaging service, a la Facebook, email, instant messaging, etc. Though many use it from their smartphones, it is NOT only available on phones, but is also a website where you can tweet from (Twitter.com).  

What Twitter IS:

Twitter is a “micro-blogging” service. In other words, it is like a blog, in that all posts are public, and they are listed reverse chronologically, with the newest posts listed first. It isn’t like blogs in that it has a140 character limit.  Because of this limit, tweets are approximately 1-2 sentences and many people and companies use it to post links to longer articles, blog posts, etc. (It IS possible to send direct messages to people, but they still have to be 140 characters or less. Because of this, it is not a common use of Twitter though.)

Due to the public nature of Twitter, it is most useful for keeping track of public organizations and people. You don’t have to know them or ask for permission to follow them. For instance, I follow AirFrance for European travel deals (@AirFranceUS), New York Times for news and commentary (@nytimes), and Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon) and Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) because they are hilarious : - )

However, the reason Twitter is most useful to me in my daily life is that I can follow other people within the education community, many of whom are technology teachers like myself. We all post about things we’re doing within the classroom, open questions we’re considering in terms of educational technology, and other such things. Some of the teachers I know personally, but many I do not. Twitter gives me access to a much wider circle of like-minded people whom I can bounce ideas off of. I also follow some friends from my personal life.

Overall, Twitter is an excellent means of keeping abreast of news and information of interest to you, professionally and personally. There is much more to say in terms of effective ways to use Twitter, details about common abbreviations, hashtags, or trending topics, but hopefully this basic description helps you understand what it actually is and how it might benefit you. And if you decide to join Twitter, follow me @dierdreshetler ! :-) 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chipotle!

[In case you didn't get it, the thought going through my head with that title was the Chia Pet jingle ;-)]

As you may or may not be aware, I adore food-themed parties. Hence, when I saw a page in the Sunflower Market magazine (the free magazine from the grocery store I shop at) describing three different toppings to put on corn on the cob, I was sold. (I also just had a hankering for sweet corn.) The three suggestions were a cilantro pesto, parmesan butter (butter, oil, and parmesan cheese), and southwestern spice rub. It was the last one that I fell in love with. The dominant flavor in this spice mix is chipotle powder, which has a fantastic kicky, smoky flavor to it, which I have now started putting on everything that needs some flavor. Basically, I've been using it like my husband uses Tabasco. So if you're looking for a new flavor, give this a shot. The ingredients are as follows (mix together):

Southwestern Spice Rub

1 1/2 t. sea salt
1 1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. chipotle powder
1/2 t. cumin

Greening Up the Garden

After several years of winter gardens, we (I) decided to try a spring garden. Heretofore, the garden has more or less been Ben's project and he always agrees we should do it again, but somehow doesn't get to the details of actually making it happen, so this time, I did it. Since we no longer have access to a truck to borrow a friend's tiller, I dug up the whole thing by hand. Several blisters (and weekends) later, it was looking...better. Not as good as the tiller and with manure worked in, but better.

I planted the remnants of the seeds from the fall (zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, etc) across the space of several weeks, depending on what the county extension service recommended for each thing. Then, lucky for us, the Desert Botanical Gardens spring plant sale came up, and so since I wanted to get a few things (including more seeds) anyway, we both went and added a few landscaping plants to finish off the front yard.

The most exciting purchase of that outing were grape vines! Ben has been wanting to build a shade structure to shade the east side of the carport which bakes his car all summer, so this spurred him on. He put up 3 poles (16 bags of concrete later), and attached some fencing. Then the grape vines will get planted and start climbing the structure (and hopefully we'll get some grapes!) This is one of the vines, waiting to be planted.

I finished off the garden with squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, corn, and beans. We'll see how long all of these items last in the summer heat. Most things should be fine until about mid-June, from what I hear, though the melons will be good to go all summer. I've been like a kid, out there every day checking to make sure everything looks good :-) It's amazing how much enjoyment one can get out of just watching things existing! :-) Yay for simple joys!

Living up to a big name

I've had this recipe for Garden of Eden Pasta Sauce for several years, but never made it. When I look at it now, I have no idea why I didn't make it sooner. The only thing I can think of is that I tend to shy away from recipes that start with something over the top, like "Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies," or "I Can't Believe I Waited This Long to Make This Amazing Lasagna," or "My Mother's Ultimate Secret Salad Dressing," or "Super Excellent Blow-You-Away Eggplant Parmesan." However, I did try it recently and fell in love with it. As odd as warm cucumbers in a pasta sauce might sound, they're actually really great. In fact, I think I'll make it again this week. Lots of veggies and great flavor. :-)

Garden of Eden Sauce


Yield: Makes enough sauce for 1 lb pasta.

2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 c. cubed or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
1 t. salt
1/3 c. olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. dried cumin
1/2 t. dried oregano

1. Combine tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, cheese, scallions, basil, and salt in large bowl. Whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, cumin and oregano in small bowl. Pour mixture over tomato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Toss tomato mixture with cooked pasta and some reserved cooking water if necessary. Serve immediately.

Notes:
-The recipe specifies that short pasta (farfalle, penne, etc.) work best with this, and I agree.
-I don't personally like raw garlic, so I minced it and put it in a dish with 1 T. oil and microwaved it for 45-60 sec.
-When I ate this as leftovers at school, I really liked it heated up a bit, however I bet this would be tasty as a cool pasta salad in the summer as well.

It's called dip, not scoop

Due to a QUICK trip to LA last weekend, I never got around to getting groceries this week, so we were winging it all week, in terms of meals. I had to stay late at school on Wednesday, so I didn't have much energy to come up with something brilliant to eat for supper. Luckily, I found some inspiration in the unlikely place of the lounge fridge. What did I see? Nachos and dip.

Whenever I feel the need for some dip, (and who doesn't feel this urge every once in a while?), I reach for my favorite dip recipe. Actually, "recipe," is a strong word. This is a very customizable recipe, if you want.   But, I personally think it is best served in something that everyone can sit around and eat out of together :-) (And following the recipe is a funny clip from Jimmy Fallon about the beauty of dip at Super Bowl parties. :-)

The Dip

1. Brown 1 lb. hamburger and add taco seasoning according to packet directions. Add 1 can refried beans (or slightly mashed pinto beans in my case). Spread in the bottom of a 9x13 or equivalent pan.

2. Mix 1 c. sour cream with 1 c. mayo and spread over meat mixture. (I've also used ranch and plain yogurt, which is good as well.)

3. Spread chopped green onions and shredded cheddar cheese on top, as desired.

4. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

5. Spread shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and/or salsa as desired on top. Serve.

Jimmy Fallon: It's called dip, not scoop!

Saucy!

When we were in Barcelona, we fell in love with tapas. (Which, when spoken audibly sounds a lot like "topless" we've learned. That's not what we fell in love with. :-) We loved the Spanish meal of appetizers so much that we did our best to recreate some of them at a picture party we hosted. Then, when a Groupon popped into my email offering 50% off at a tapas restaurant in Scottsdale, I was all over it, like a monkey on a cupcake, as a friend would say.

Last weekend, we finally decided to try out this restaurant, called Iruna. When we got there, Steve says the following to the waitress: "We're accustomed to European tapas. How does this compare to that?" I love that we can say that :-) While the ordering and presentation style was a bit different, the food was just as good. Ben adored the Manchego cheese with jamon, and we all really liked the Romesco sauce that came on several dishes, including asparagus and the trout. The tangy, crunchy red sauce prompted us to spend a chunk of time trying to identify the different ingredients in it.

Oddly enough, I'd had a Martha Stewart recipe for this sauce for quite a while, but since I didn't exactly know what it was, hadn't ever tried it. Luckily, our tapas trip enticed me to try it. Before I started, I looked up a different recipe on Allrecipes just to have a comparison and to see what others had said about it. I ended up going with the Allrecipes version, which turned out excellently, but I'm sure either works fine. I topped roasted vegetables with it, and I've read that others have used it as a dipping sauce for a variety of things, including bread, fresh veggies, etc. Hope you like this tangy sauce! :-)

Romesco Sauce


6 Roma tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, quartered
12 garlic cloves, peeled
2/3 c. olive oil
kosher salt to taste
1 slice bread
1/2 c. toasted whole almonds
2 T. red wine vinegar (up to 1/2 c. to taste)
1/2 t. Spanish paprika
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease baking sheet. Place tomatoes, red pepper and garlic cloves onto prepared baking sheet. Brush the vegetables with soem of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the preheated oven until the garlic has turned golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven, allowing to cool for 10 minutes. While the vegetables are cooling, bake the bread slice on one of the oven racks until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool.

2. Scrape the vegetables and and pan juices into a food processor or blender. Break the bread into pieces and add to the food processor, along with almonds, vinegar, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Puree until finely ground, then drizzle in the remaining olive oil with the machine running. Season to taste with additional salt if necessary.