His/Hers

First, thanks to everyone for the Birthday well-wishes. I appreciated all the emails, voice messages, and Facebook comments. I had a very nice, relaxing day that involved the purchase of a new gadget–an Imperia Pasta Machine. I had been looking at them for a month or so, but was trying to decide if I would use it enough to justify the $75. I finally gave in. Brenna and I usually eat pasta at least once a week, and I figured  that if I made a batch on Sunday afternoon while watching football we could eat it during the  upcoming week. Yesterday, I made carrot fettuccine, which we ate tonight with a little olive oil, feta, and salt and pepper. Although it didn’t have a distinct carrot taste like I’d hoped, the noodles were significantly better than dried pasta. More texture, taste, and of course, the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself. The process isn’t too involved. The dough is a simple combination of flour and eggs. Knead for 5-7 minutes, let it rest for awhile, and then roll into sheets. Finally, cut it into whatever shape you desire. Tonight I made round two: whole wheat fettuccine. I’m looking forward to doing ravioli soon, as well as lasagna. Stay tuned for follow-up posts.

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with salsa. We grew some Anaheim chilies on our back porch this summer and I figured this was a way to put them to good use. My first batch came out rather runny, so Sunday when I set about to make more this was something I hoped to remedy. This time around, instead of using whole tomatoes, I cored them, removed the seeds, and roasted them, along with several of the chilies, in the oven for several hours. I also added some tomato paste to help thicken things up. Needless to say, this batch proved more successful than the first. Roasting the tomatoes and chilies not only added additional flavor, but also helped to expel some of the additional moisture in the ingredients.

Here’s my recipe as it now stands:

Ingredients: Several pounds of ripe Roma tomatoes, 4 Anaheim chilies, lots of garlic (6-7 cloves), 1 onion, 1 bunch of cilantro, 1 lime, a red bell pepper as well as a green, a dash of Jalapeno sauce, small can of tomato paste, (whatever else sounds good and at hand).

Steps: Preheat oven to 200 and prep a cooking sheet with tin foil. Brush foil with olive oil and generously sprinkle with course salt and pepper. Cut tomatoes in half, core them, remove seed, and place face down on tray. Do the same with the chilies. Cook at 200 for 2 hours or until they develop a nice color and begin to shrink in size. Cut the rest of the ingredients into manageable pieces. Throw everything in a food processor, using the chop button to quickly break everything down. Chop until it reaches your desired consistency. Eat.