TJ Hirst

In a follow-up to yesterday’s little accident in the kitchen, the dinner was salvaged—despite the fire—and very tasty. Last week I posted a picture and link to a healthy recipe I tried, but this week I am sharing this rich and filling pasta dish that my mom often served. The season for comfort food is starting, and Bow Tie Pasta satisfies in a number of different ways.

Bow Tie Pasta

1 lb. bulk sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon leaf basil, crumbled
1 teaspoon leaf oregano, crumbled
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (8 oz) pkg farafelli pasta (shaped like bow ties)
½ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Flatten sausage into patty. Brown on both sides and remove to a paper towel. (AND SET AWAY FROM THE STOVE!!)

Saute onion and garlic. Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid. Brown tomatoes for five minutes in skillet. Return meat to skillet with tomato juice and seasonings. Simmer 30 minutes on low. Cook pasta and spoon sauce over pasta. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Personal Notes: Play with the seasonings and adjust to personal preference and try fresh herbs if you have them. You also might want to add more tomatoes if you like a juicier sauce, even double the amount, but be sure you brown them. That step gives the tomatoes a characteristic flavor.

My neighbor and I took a walk just before dinner this week, and we compared what we’ve been feeding our families. I coveted her dinners-for-two menu of salmon and rice and wondered if we would ever be able to eat adult food again.

I had been to the grocery store and once again stocked our pantry with cold cereal, snacks, and fun foods to take for school lunch. “I probably spend 90% of my food budget on filler foods and maybe just 10% for the real food,” I said.

That’s not really true, but those fillers do seem to take up more space, not only in the pantry but also in our diet—and ultimately fill up other places.

In this month’s issue of Real Simple different families share how they balance the dinner hour in their home. For me, the question is not so much balancing schedules but balancing expectations, nutritional needs and taste preference in our family.

I took a chance on the Wheat Berry Salad with Bacon, hoping to find the balance between fiber, flavor and fun. The recipe was easy, made good use of the wheat in my pantry and wasn’t sneered at by the commentators in my house. I made it my own by replacing the flat-leaf parsley with fresh thyme from my garden and adding a chopped fresh pear.

Everyone ate it, but it tasted the best when I lunched on the leftovers on the screen porch by myself. With the sun shining on me for one of the last of our warm summer days, I imagined that this would be the way I would eat if I just cooked for myself. Fruits, vegetables, grains, a little meat for flavor. I would be satisfied.

Somehow, though, the meal just didn’t seem complete without sneaking that Little Debbie Fudge Round from the stash of lunch desserts.

How do you balance the varying nutritional needs and taste preferences of your family?

My kids classify soups with their own language. This week I made one of my favorites, Corn Tortilla Soup, and my daughter asked, “Is it skinny or fat?”  What she means is, “Is it brothy or thick and creamy?”

She likes creamy white soups, and my other children like a brothy red one. They can’t categorize this recipe because it appears to be rich ( or fat) but it really is low fat. And it is tomato-based. Even though it is time-intensive, the combination seems to please everyone.

Often I substitute canned tomatoes for the fresh ones the recipe calls for, but my garden tomatoes are ripe and ready to use. Fresh garden tomatoes made all the difference in flavor. Thanks to Jim Fobel’s Diet Feasts for this great hearty soup.

1 tablespoon corn oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, mined or crushed through a press
4 medium tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 bay leaf
1/4  teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
6 corn tortillas
1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 quarts chicken stock or canned broth
1 medium skinless boned chicken breast half (6 oz)
1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels
black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

First. In a large nonreactive soup pot or saucepan, warm 2 teaspoons of corn oil over moderate heat. Add the onions and saute until soft and lightly colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes (no need to peel), cumin, chili powder, bay leaf, and oregano. Coarsely chop 3 of the tortillas. Add the tortillas to the pot along with the tomato sauce, sugar, chicken stock and chicken breast. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring once in a while. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through 4 - 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. Continue to simmer the soup for 25-30 minutes longer. Allow to cool slightly.

Second. Remove the bay leaf. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Strain back into the pot. Add the corn kernels and bring back to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in the salt and a pinch of pepper.

Third. Meanwhile, use the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to coat a heavy skillet set over a moderately high flame. Stack the remaining 3 tortillas and cut them into four strips. Cut the strips crosswise into 1/4 inch slivers. Turn them into the hot oil and brown well, stirring frequently, until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Tear the chicken breast into fine shreds.

Fourth. Spoon the soup into 6 shallow soup bowls. Divide the tortillas and shredded chicken among them. Add 1 tablespoon of the sour cream to each. Serve hot.

While I love the toasty taste of marshmallows lightly browned over a campfire, I am not the biggest fan of s’mores. They are tradition more than a temptation and make a mess of already messy campfire cooking. Still, each time we camp, we indulge.

I’ve determined that my biggest qualm is that the chocolate does not melt around the marshmallow, even when I prepare it all ahead. So, this time I decided that I would create a new combination. My husband calls it s’more heresy.

First, prepare the graham crackers. Break a large square in half and spread peanut butter on one side. Lay Hershey chocolate squares on the other side. If you are in a precarious spot, you may wish to lay the Hershey chocolate directly on the peanut butter, to secure it from slipping off the side.

Second, toast the marshmallows to a golden color. Make sure to slowly turn the marshmallows over low coals to heat slowly and provide enough melting power.

Third, assemble the marshmallows in the middle. You can choose the goo of two or just one for a cleaner eat. But plop the desired number directly in the middle and pull off.

Fourth, press the s’more togther for a minute. This ensures that the chocolate, marshmallows peanut butter will melt and the flavors meld.

Finally, enjoy with a snack of napkins nearby. Eat slowly without thinking of trying to make another. Your appetite for s’mores will have been satisfied for the night and the whole year.

The first time I made my mom’s traditional crumb coffeecake, my husband did an impersonation of the Swedish chef and called it “Ka Hoo Fee Cake.” We don’t drink coffee, so the name stuck, and our kids can’t say it any other way. When I was growing up, this cake was a special birthday breakfast cake we often ordered from Mom’s kitchen. Whatever we call it—mom’s coffee cake, breakfast cake, crumb cake or “Ka Hoo Fee Cake”, it’s worth it whenever we get to indulge in this food memory on Saturday mornings. We can never wait long enough for it to cool.

Cinnamon Crumb Coffeecake

½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk

Topping:

8 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large jelly-roll pan with shortening or non-stick spray. Make the topping first by combining the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the butter or margarine into large chunks and cut into the cinnamon mixture with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar in an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat. Measure dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk, until all has been combined. Beat well. Evenly spread batter in the pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.