GREEN BEANS WITH TOMATO

My summer garden has been rich with a variety of green beans. Cooked and eaten with some oil and red vinegar is one way to enjoy them.
The big flat beans are good for this recipe. One of my simple dishes is with some cooked tomatoes.
Take a can of plum tomatoes or frozen whole tomatoes or even fresh ones. Cook them with some garlic buds diced, salt, pepper to taste in a pot, mashing them into a simple tomato mix. Once ready take the cooked beans and add to the mix.

A fast simple dish that is very good in the summer time. However it can be made all year if you want! If you want add your favourite fresh bread or bun to dunk in the tomato mix!

SHRIMP PASTA FOR A FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday night is usually steak night at our house. However, I did not find any on sale nor my preference is not cooking steak  indoors. It is always better on the barbecue. Looking forward to Spring! So what did I have on hand! Well Barb likes to buy the shrimp rings from Shoppers Drug Mart when they are on sale. We had several available- big large shrimps. I took one ring as well as a small package of little shrimp. Defrost to air under cold water. In a frying pan saute butter with chopped garlic. Meanwhile get a pot of water boiling to cook some store bought spaghetti or you could use linguine or fettucine. I used regular spaghetti. So back to the shrimp- put in your butter/garlic mixture. Add some milk or cream to the mixture- stirring until cooked. Put aside until the spaghetti is ready. Drain the water from the spaghetti, then add to the shrimp, garlic butter, milk mixture stirring and blending well.  Add some parmesean/parmigiano cheese, pepper and hot peppers to taste. With side dishes of green beans and red roasted peppers, it was a good meal to the end of a work week. Barb even commented it smelled so good when she entered the house. Of course she topped her meal with a chilled glass of White Wine- a pinot grigio! Sometimes the cook just has to look around the stocks available to make a good meal!

A FEAST FIT FOR A KID

Kids eat differently than a king. They like the same foods over and over. So Barb suggested I make my ragu sauce with some meatballs for dinner for my grandchildren's sleepover.  Put on some store bought penne lisce- very tasty. With a platter of cheddar cheese and crackers, a platter of pineapple and cantaloupe and veggies-carrots, cucumber, green peppers- to dip as side dishes, the dinner was a hit. Added some green beans for another veggie for Barb and me. After bath time, a simple dish of ice cream and later some pop corn. Children have simple tastes so a feast for them takes little effort. Oh, of course a cup of milk with the meal helps to fill their nutritional requirements.

BEEF WELLINGTON-NOT AN ITALIAN DISH

For one of our festive Christmas dinners, my daughter Sonya made Beef Wellington which is a half decent edible British dishes. It is one of the few English dishes that I actually enjoy. The English are not known for their culinary skills!

There are different theories of how the dish originated. Some sources say it was named after the Duke of Wellington, famous for defeating Napolean at Waterloo in 1815. Just an English name to a French dish. It may have started in Wellington, New Zealand. One source The Kitchen Project has some interesting history- http://kitchenproject.com/history/BeefWellington.htm It is fun to visit other cooking sites for a different perspective.

Sonya and Andrew bought a large beef tenderloin. Sonya followed a recipe she found in a magazine. The meat, mushrooms, wine and a pastry for the shell are the main ingredients. You can find your own recipe online or in many cookbooks.

To round off the meal, Sonya made green beans.

And potatoes au gratin!

It sure was a welcome feast for this cook! The good thing about cooking for my family is they also like to cook for me.

Still looks delicious!

CANADIAN COTTAGE FOOD WITH AN ITALIAN FLAIR

Last weekend Barb and I went to a friend's cottage on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Near the small town of Wiarton on Colpoys Bay on Georgian Bay( Lake Huron). The lovely cottage had room for three couples. I prepared my sauce to put on penne, roasted peppers, rapini salad, beans from the garden and the ingredients for Greek Salad.

Barb bought the colourful bowls with lids at a kitchen store that are ideal for travelling.

The nice thing about the weekend was the lunch. Rose has Sicilian background-Southern Italy. She prepared a delicious lunch. One of the dishes- Melanzane in Carrozza/ Eggplant in a carriage was a welcome change for me.

Rose put a tomato for extra colour. The eggplant is prepared by cutting thin slices and let stand to ease out the moisture. It can be baked or fried. The trick is the mozzarella cheese in the middle. Dipped in flour, egg and then bread crumbs it can be fried or baked in the oven. So in carrozza means in a carriage. Or like a sandwich- the cheese is in the middle.

The presentation of the lunch was quite impressive.

Along with the melanzane in carrozza was a spicy Italian sausage, tossed salad and a stuffed yellow pepper. I need to share my stuffed pepper recipe sometime. It is very similar to the stuffing Rose used. I researched the internet for some recipes for the eggplant. Curious- two recipes say the dish Rose made is from Calabria and one says it is Neapolitan- from Naples. I will make it sometime and share my version of the recipe. Meanwhile we had good times eating good food. Too many cooks spoil the broth but in this case it was fun to have other cooks in the kitchen!
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