And Then We Baked the Pasta

Today's adventure included a first-time red pepper roasting for at least one of us, as well as our own version of one of the dishes - walking right off the beaten recipe path.

We made a "Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Pasta Bake" and a beet salad that we came up with all on our own.

Pasta Bake Ingredients (modified as we saw fit):

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced (or 1.5 smaller ones, like we used)
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 standard (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper, chopped (the recipe calls for 2, and we would recommend using 2 if you have them)
½ regular jar of your choice of marinara/spaghetti sauce (our choice: Ragu Tomato, Garlic and Onion)
3 tsp oregano
2 tsp honey(or sugar - we used sugar)
salt to taste
3/4th of a 16oz box pasta of your choice (we used penne, highly recommend it)
4 tbsp packed fresh basil (this is twice what the recipe calls for, and we would recommend even more!)
3 large handfuls fresh spinach, roughly chopped (we would, again, recommend using more spinach - it cooked down to virtually none at all. You could probably triple this easily)
1 package of feta cheese (about half a lb)
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese for topping (we used mozzarella and definitely recommend it, as it melts so nicely on top)
1 fresh tomato, chopped (our addition)
Black pepper
We also used a bread dip seasoning mix to add a bit more flavor - you can really flavor this dish with just about any combination of spices you like to complement the oregano.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cool water and set aside until ready to use.

In a large saucepan or skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the onions and saute for 6-8 minutes, till translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute before adding the tomatoes, red peppers, oregano and pasta sauce.

Bring to a boil (on low heat) so all ingredients mix together

Add sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in the basil, spinach, feta and cooked pasta. Stir well to combine (you will need a pretty large pot, as this will come out to be quite a lot of pasta).

Pour pasta into one large baking dish or 4-6 individual baking dishes. Top with cheese and place in the oven. Bake one large baking dish 30-40 minutes until heated through, bake individual dishes 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

Source: http://fooddoodles.com/2013/06/07/roasted-red-pepper-and-feta-pasta-bake/

Beet Salad (inspired by a variety of interwebs versions)

Ingredients:

2 small roasted beets, peeled and chopped any-which-way you please
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup feta (but we strongly recommend using goat cheese instead)
1 apple, chopped as you like
Fresh spinach for the base (maybe 4 or 5 cups)

Dressing:

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Salt, pepper, and same bread dip seasoning mix (just a bit for taste)

Directions:

Cut all the things up and whisk your salad dressing ingredients together, dress for an awesome salad experience!

A tip for the future: we would add slices or dices of an orange to this salad because it was missing the tangy-ness we were looking for.

A Journey to India... Finally!

While we've been almost all over the globe in our cooking adventures, tonight was our first venture to India, and I must say, we were both VERY excited that what turned out smelled and tasted almost exactly like real Indian food.

On the menu was Methi Mutter Malai with rice and naan and a random Russian salad for garnish.

Methi Mutter Malai Ingredients:
2 cups frozen green peas (we used 2.5)
1 cup of frozen fenugreek leaves (we accidentally used a pound :) )
1 cup light whipping cream (recipe actually calls for milk and cream but we just went easy and did the cream)
1/2 tsp garam masala
a pinch of tumeric
2 tbs butter
2 pinches dry fenugreek leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1 onion, chopped
7 cashews
5 green chili peppers (we used half a jalapeno, we're a little on the European end of the heat equation)
1 small piece of ginger, chopped
2 cardamom seeds (we used ground cardamom - 1/8th of a tsp)
1 clove

Directions:
Put 1 tbs of the butter in a wok or deep pan and saute the whole chopped onion, ginger, chili pepper, cardamom and the clove until onions turn translucent. Then put the whole thing in a blender or food processor, add the cashews, and blend away until it's a paste.

In the same wok, drop in remainder of butter, add cumin seeds, and fry until they smell good! Add the onion paste and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Add fenugreek leaves (both frozen and dry) and peas, tumeric, and garam masala. Cook and stir until peas aren't frozen anymore (we cooked our peas separately but the recipe wants you to cook em all together). Add cream and stir well, and then it's ready to serve.

We bought the naan and heated it up, and cooked up some rice.

(Recipe credit: http://www.rakskitchen.net/2013/02/methi-matar-malai-recipe.html)

Tips and thoughts:
Our dish was not a soup, although a soup it's supposed to be. If you want it soupy, which you should, use the right amount of peas and especially fenugreek leaves. Also, we wussed out on the chili pepper part of the recipe and should have at least used the whole jalapeno. We recommend at least an entire jalapeno for even the most faint of heart when it comes to spicy food - but the recipe could probably use a real chili pepper.

It was surprisingly easy to put together - don't get overwhelmed by the ingredients list, just go to your friendly neighborhood Indian store (a very first for me!) and ask a nice lady shopping there what the hell half the ingredients on your list mean, and she will help you out right away. And no, she didn't actually work there, but was so helpful and pleasant anyway.

Russian salad ingredients

This is really an afterthought but since we fancy this to be a cooking blog, here's what went into the Russian salad (all chopped):

Broccoli
Cabbage
Onion
Tomato
Green pepper
Vegetable oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder for the dressing

We're not giving amounts for the above ingredients because they are vaguely unknown and you can really just chop up and throw anything into this salad - in whatever amounts you like it. Watch the lemon juice since you don't want your salad too sour, but otherwise, everything is really measured "to taste".

The BEST piece of advice we have for you is that this meal should always be finished off with mango ice-cream - but not sorbet (don't be fooled), creamy "exotic" (as the little jar says) mango ice-cream that has a dairy base to it and rounds off the meal incredibly.