Pasta Fagioli

I first heard of this book when Kay sent me to Dawn's blog to read about it. After I raved in a comment, Dawn most generously sent me the book, and it is now one of my favorite cookbooks. As I read through it, I was amazed at how many of the dishes are vegetarian or can be made so very easily. I also saw many dishes we already make, including spaghetti with garlic and olive oil and pasta with sautéed vegetables. Her tomato sauce is much like mine, only leaving out the onion. I'll be offering more recipes from this wonderful book as time goes on. Here is one of many videos from you tube featuring Clara.



This is a very special book because it is both a cookbook and a personal history. There are family stories and photographs which are as much a part of the story as the recipes. One of my favorite phrases on earth is pasta fagioli, pronounced pasta fazool, and sometimes without the 'l' on the end. I'll post her version first, and then note the few changes I made. A real treat today is that the garlic and onion and basil all came from our garden.

Pasta With Beans (Pasta Fagioli)

Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour, plus overnight soaking if using dried beans Serves:6

“Between you and me, I used to hate eating Pasta With Beans, but that’s because we had to eat it so much. Over the years, I’ve started to like it more. I remember in my house growing up, there were lots of things I didn’t like to eat that my mother made me eat. And then there were lots of things my own family didn’t like to eat. But I made them anyway. I guess that’s just how it goes. We had Pasta With Beans almost every week, sometimes twice or three times a week. Usually my mom would just make it with pasta, beans, garlic and olive oil, but every so often she would make a real Pasta Fagioli. And that would be really special.”

“If you decide to use dried beans, rinse them well before cooking. Add 1 cup dried cannellini beans to 6 cups boiling water and rapid boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Soak overnight. Makes about 2 cups. Before you begin, cook the pre-soaked beans by boiling them in water with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for an additional hour.”

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cups tomato sauce (jarred or homemade)

3 1/2 cups water

1 carrot, chopped

1 whole celery rib (with leaves), chopped

1 cup dried cannellini beans (white kidney beans) or 2 cups canned

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 large basil leaf

2 dried red pepperoncini, crushed

1 pound small-shaped pasta (ditalini, mini-shells)

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Grated pecorino Romano cheese

In a large pot set to medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add garlic and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato sauce, water, carrot, celery, cannellini beans, bouillon cubes, basil leaf and pepperoncini. Cover, venting slightly, and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced, about 35 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, cook the pasta to al dente (about 2 minutes less than what the directions on the box say, about 7 minutes). Strain pasta and pour it into the sauce. Turn off heat and stir 2 minutes. Top with fresh parsley and pecorino Romano cheese and serve.

My notes:
I put a cup of cannellini beans in the crockpot, and cooked them until soft, a few hours.
I chopped a carrot and cooked it a bit in a saucepan. I've found that carrots take forever to soften if cooked along with other vegetables.


I chopped the onion and garlic and the basil leaf.




I cooked the onion for a while in the 5 T. olive oil, then added the garlic and basil (I used the rest of the basil for a spring salad. Toward the end of cooking, I threw in the cooked carrot just for fun, and cooked a short while longer. I did this in a small frypan.

I put the 2 cups tomato sauce


and the cannellini beans and water into a big saucepan.


I added the onion, garlic, basil, and carrot, and that was it. I didn't have celery or parsley or pepperoncini. Though I do have a vegetable broth made by the Rapunzel company, I chose not to use it.

The smallest pasta I had on hand was elbow macaroni, and this worked just fine. Honestly you could eat the bean mixture without any pasta at all if you wished. It is just delicious, and a bit similar to a few of the stews I've made (see under main meals on the sidebar). A fantastic dish, and as healthy as can be!

A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

37. A River in the Sky - 19th in the Amelia Peabody series
by Elizabeth Peters
mystery, 2010
unabridged audio read by Barbara Rosenblat
finished, 7/12/10




I loved this latest book about the Emerson family. I am just so glad it exists because I felt quite sure when the previous one, Tomb of the Golden Bird - 2006, ended that would be the end of the series. Amelia and Emerson literally walk off into the sunset, and I sighed with the thought that this was a truly perfect end to just about my favorite mystery series ever. When I heard there was a new one, I just couldn't imagine how they would go on from there, but Elizabeth Peters did a great thing, in my opinion, and went back in time. She tells us a story that takes place before the First World War. They aren't in Egypt or England this time. Ramses is off on an archeology dig in Samaria, a city in Palestine. His parents are asked to go to the same area to help a fellow in his attempt to find the lost Ark of the Covenant, but they don't trust him and say no. Then the British government asks them to change their minds and go spy on him because they fear he is going to cause trouble in the region. They decide to go, and arrange to meet Ramses in Jerusalem.

As with all these books, the details don't matter all that much to me. There are always villains, great descriptions of locales, and familiar characters. The series began with Amelia Peabody meeting Radcliffe Emerson. They marry. They have a son. And their lives go on year after year, adventure after adventure. The same characters appear in the books. One of the most beloved dies, but in the books after his death, he comes to Amelia in dreams, always in the same place in Egypt. It is a wonderful device to keep his wisdom in the stories, and it is not overused, nor does it seem silly or affected. He always helps her think things through. We all feel as Amelia does; so glad to see him again, yet we ache when he goes off.

Do I write as if I know these people? As if they are real? Well, I would guess that most of us who read a long series begin to feel this way about the characters. I'm sure that Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe are somewhere in New York City still. And Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are alive, as is Maisie Dobbs. This is what is just so lovely about being a reader. Reading connects us to our childhoods in a way, when we did believe in fictional characters.

This belief is deepened when we listen to a series. Barbara Rosenblat is Amelia Peabody. She brings this woman alive to the listener. I've never read the books in print but if I did, I would hear that perfect, perfect voice.

A River in the Sky doesn't have a lot of the tension and stress the other books have had, which is just fine with me. There is a kidnapping and some evil people but there are many kindly ones as well. I didn't mind not worrying about 'the children.' Sometimes their adventures are nerve-wracking, especially if the reader is a parent with children much the same age. When they got older, Peters began to include 'manuscripts' - stories told from the points of view of Ramses, David, and Nefret. We saw how so often Amelia and Emerson didn't have a clue of the dangers they were facing, and the parents were probably better off not knowing, just as we are when our teens or twenty-somethings are living their lives away from home.

Here's a real treat I found on the author's homepage:




And here is Elizabeth Peters in her garden:

Today's pictures/Opening day

These three beauties made their first appearance of the season today.

Farm and Garden Weekly - week of July 4

On the 5th, Tom put up some 'fairy lights' - the white twinkly ones - along our front porch. Before he began, he checked the robin's nest, and it was perfectly empty. Naturally we never saw the babies fly, but we are happy the whole time was uneventful and seemingly successful. We saw one of the baby robins, and Tom even saw the mother feeding it, but no pictures. :<( I'm not sure I've ever heard or seen as many robins as this season. This week we have experienced the hottest weather so far this summer. Up here we call it 'bad sleeping weather' and that is so right. Even with two fans it is still uncomfortable. Today it is finally cloudy after a rain last night, but muggy, muggy. I think I heard cooler next week.

We could rename the place 'daylily farm' this time of year. Everywhere I look there are orange daylilies.

Not terribly good photos, but I wanted to give an idea of the color that surrounds us

And now the other colors have begun opening. I paid no attention to size or color when we planted them, and each year I am thrilled by what is a surprise and a memory at the same time. If you love them as I do, you may enjoy going over to the sidebar under 'letter topics' and clicking on 'bowl of daylilies' and 'lily of the day.'

The zephyr squash is coming along great


The yellow pole beans love this hot weather


Is that a sweet pea blossom I see?


The garlic is ready to harvest, but we've picked a couple and they were somewhat rotten. It doesn't seem like there has been too much rain, so we don't really know what's wrong.


The tomatoes also love this hot weather

If I could afford a greenhouse, I would grow lettuce year round. As I may have said once, it is my salad. I don't mix anything with it. I don't 'dress' it. I like it plain just like the rabbits.

I'll close with his week's egg count: 54.

It was 44 years ago today

This is me on July 10, 1966, the day after I met Tom. We were at a great old lakeside dance hall which was just about halfway between our childhood homes. He came up and asked me to dance, and we've been together ever since. Amazing, isn't it?!

Sadly, I don't have a picture of Tom around that time.

Today's poem - Mindful by Mary Oliver

Mindful
by Mary Oliver
from New and Selected Poems
Volume Two


Every day
I see or I hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It is what I was born for -
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

36. The Lost Art of Gratitude - sixth in the Isabel Dalhousie series
by Alexander McCall Smith
fiction, 2009
unabridged audio read by Davina Porter
finished, 6/28/10




There is a particular form of disappointment that readers feel. When we've loved a series, we expect we will always love it. And then one day a book comes out and we don't care for it in the old way. We hope against hope that it isn't a downward spiral, though we know it well could be.

Of all Alexander McCall Smith's works, I love the Isabel Dalhousie series the most. I've felt a special connection with her since the beginning. I wrote about this a bit when I did a book report on the book just previous to The Lost Art of Gratitude called The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday.

In this book, I just found myself annoyed with her. I didn't think she used good judgement when she got involved in an unpleasant situation. I understand that people come to her for advice and help but I thought her common sense was lacking in this instance. Maybe I read too many mysteries but it seemed like she took a chance confronting a woman in a remote place. This woman is not a good person, and though I knew that AMS would not let her harm Isabel, I still thought it was a silly thing for Isabel to do.

And, as I noted in the other book report, I can't say too much about the story/characters because there have been important changes which have occurred from book to book. Let's see: I can say she has a boyfriend. But he is almost too perfect, and I am a bit tired of her descriptions of his physical beauty and his kindness.

So, there you have it. Short and not so sweet this time. I rarely finish books I don't care for, but I felt that Isabel deserved my loyalty after giving me such reading joy in the previous books. It isn't a horrible book by any means but it was just ho-hum for me. Does this mean I won't read the latest one, The Charming Quirks of Others? Of course I'll read it. Maybe Isabel was just in a funk. Maybe she just needs to not say yes to every request for help. Maybe her fella will grow a bit as a person. Whatever does or doesn't happen, I'll continue to read about this kindly, well-intentioned woman who thinks deeply about life and how to live it.

Mrs Bale isn't used to this!

Mrs Bale wishes that dart board were a fan today!

According to Mark Breen, a heat wave in our area is three or more days in a row with temps over 90º F. And we are having one right now! He said this is the first one in seven years. What better song to play than this one by Martha and the Vandellas? It is still just as great as it was all those years ago. This song plays in the early moments of one of my favorite movies, Frequency. Have you seen it? I might just watch it again tonight for maybe the tenth time!

The Making of a Home - part 2

It has been almost six weeks since I wrote the first installment of The Making of a Home, and there has been a lot of progress in that time.

arrival of the foundation forms

in place

Preparing to pour the cellar floor

first the stones


then the insulation


then the radiant heat tubing on cellar floor

Sadly, we didn't get pictures of the cement actually being poured.

forms gone, cement done, foundation backfilled

the leach field

and septic tank

arrival of the building materials!


closeup of a log


building materials neatly piled


drilling the well! Tom had to turn the camera to get a full shot


the well head and temporary cap

electric wires have been strung

There is plenty of wildlife. One day Matthew was down at the building site, and the man from across the main road stopped by to say he had seen two bears on their land. Matt had heard rustling the day before in the woods. They have also seen moose tracks. And I saw the little brown rabbit nearby one day.

In the first installment, I told you a building story about the placement of the house. This time our story comes from a man who stopped by the other day. It turns out he was an engineer hired by the bank to make sure the foundation is on the correct land. Sounds silly? Well, this is what he told Tom. There was a guy who had bought two acres and it seemed so huge to him that he thought he owned the whole forest, because he had moved from a 40' X 80' city lot. He told the builder to put the foundation "over there" because it had a better view. When the engineer checked, part of the foundation was on the neighbor's land. Oops!

Today's picture/red, white, and blue

Farm and Garden Weekly - week of June 27

Beginning with this week's bulletin, I'm going to note how many eggs the chickens lay each week. This week's count: 44.

Tom brings them in to his school, and they fly off the shelves. He charges $2 per dozen. These are definitely free-range chickens; very healthy birds who eat bugs as well as their feed - layer pellets. The Dominiques are a long-lived breed and at Windy Poplars Farm, over time they die their own natural deaths.

However, the feed is not organic. We tried some, even though it was twice the price. But the hens didn't lay nearly as many eggs. Tom talked to the folks at the feed store and they have heard the same complaint from other chicken owners. That is so very strange to both of us. I wonder if the feed is lacking some essential mineral? Who knows? We really should look into this further, and I'll report on any results.

I keep forgetting to mention our dear, dear brown rabbit who appears each evening. If you've read Watership Down, you know this evening feeding time is called 'silflay.' The rabbit never comes into the vegetable garden, nor do any other of the wildlife around here. Must be the big black dogs! Oh, how I love rabbits, ever since reading the book back in the mid-seventies.

For my warm-weather friends who may have been amazed at lighting the woodstove in the early days of June, I lit it again on the evening of June 30. The temp in the house was in the low-60s, and there was quite a breeze outdoors with the temp just about the same as indoors.

I saw the solitary male bluebird on the wire this week. We just can't figure out what's going on.

I've meant to note that the snakes have been back for a while. Their numbers are definitely decreased from a few years ago.


The stars of the early July garden are most definitely the orange daylilies.




And the first of the 'non-orange' daylilies opened today!


Last week I mentioned the milkweed, and I just wanted to say today that to me, there is just something so old-fashioned about having it in the garden.


There is such beauty everywhere I look these days. Even the gone-by lupines are pretty in their own way.


And I love the delightful little daisies that just appear! Christmas gifts in July.


Just as I was finishing this edition of the Farm and Garden Weekly, Tom popped in to say the raspberries are beginning to ripen !

Housework/Finished floors

Quel difference from before! We are so very pleased. And really it wasn't such a terrible inconvenience. Tom began on Friday, and by Sunday morning all the floors were sanded, varnished, and dry!