Lemony Chard Pasta with a Kick

Every time this table and its counterparts are done visiting family, meals at home for the first few days back are ALWAYS meatless and contain lots and lots of fresh vegetables. Freshness in order to reset the body. At the end of Spring Break it was Eat Your Greens and at Thanksgiving it was Squash Stir Fry. Today with a garden gone crazy during the four vacation days, it was Lemon Parmesan and Kale Spaghetti with Olives.

Modifications Made:

One small diced yellow onion was sauteed in a tablespoon of bacon grease until nice and soft. To onion, washed, dried, and diced chard stems were added and cooked till tender. While chard cooked, one box of tri-colored spiral noodles were cooked in heavily salted water, saving back one cup of pasta water. Once chard stems were fork tender, a dab of butter was added along with two teaspoons of garlic and finely chopped chard leaves. To tender chard, zest and juice of one lemon was added along with pasta and third cup of sliced jalapeno stuffed olives. Pasta and chard mixture was tossed adding reserved pasta water to create base. Parmesan and red pepper flakes were not added but a smidgeon of mozzarella was tossed in directly before serving.

Scaled for Likability: Great

If I were going to write a real food blog, Simply Scratch would be along the lines of how I would take and place pictures, discuss recipe steps, and conclude the meal.

There is just something lovely about the combination of lemon and chard/kale/bitter greens. Lemon base over pasta with a hint of cheese, always good. Jalapeno stuffed olives, always good, even straight out of the jar. Combined all together, a flavor explosion in every bite.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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