Rohini's Recipe Blog

 A version of this pasta sauce that is stripped down and more practical. It's delicious and we've eaten it several times over the last week. Not a balanced meal, but we've been working hard on a fellowship application, and an easy, carb-y dinner is very welcome at such times! Recipe (for two) Dice -- one large good tomato Put through a garlic press, or mince --- 1-3 cloves garlic (depending on size, preference, and laziness) Boil water for pasta, and salt heavily. To a medium pan, on medium heat, add --- Olive oil + butter, 2-3 tablespoons total, in preferred ratio. I like half-and-half. when butter is sizzling a bit, add the minced/pressed garlic, and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring and modulating heat so that the garlic does not color. Add diced tomatoes and raise heat.  (Start the spaghetti cooking at this point.) Season the tomatoes with  --- salt + optional fish sauce  --- sugar My tomatoes are watery and the spaghetti I used cooks quickly.  When my pasta was done the toma

Tonight's dinner. It was quick and easy to make, given my very specific pantry. I'm posting this because It worked well and I believe it will adapt well. This post is less of a recipe than a post-mortem.  We had in the fridge: a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce , and the last of a bottle of rosé. We also a some farmer's market tomatoes, and fresh pasta. We always have heavy cream at hand. "Recipe" I mixed in a bowl 1. the two tablespoons of tomato sauce 2. a glug or so of the rosé 3. a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream 4. two teaspoons of fish sauce 5. a teaspoon of sugar  6. One medium tomato, diced 7. a tablespoon or so of butter (I did not bother to melt/mix this in) Rob cooked the fresh pasta (tagliatelle --- I forgot to salt the water, alas! So annoyed at myself), drained when it was not quite tender enough, then set it back in the pot it was boiled in. I put pasta and pot back on the heat, added the contents of the bowl, and cooked over high heat unt

 We make this often during late summer/early fall. Recipe (two small servings) Cut into medium dice --- one medium good ripe tomato Add to bowl and add --- one small clove garlic, minced finely or put through a garlic press --- ~1/4 teaspoon salt --- ~1/2 teaspoon sugar --- ~2 teaspoon vinegar, wine or cider --- ~1 tablespoon good olive oil --- one leaf slivered basil (optional) --- (freshly if possible) ground black pepper (optional) Allow to sit for a few minutes. Toast  --- ~2 medium-sized slices bread (I used stale-ish white sourdough)  Break into pieces and add to salad. Toss and serve immediately. 

 Coat with flour and shallow-fry --- can be done in minutes if shrimp comes peeled and de-veined. Our dinner tonight was a half-pound of this shrimp, tomato salad, and steamed corn.  When frying, I always begin eating the first batch while frying the second. I don't often fry for company :-) Recipe Toss in a large-enough bowl --- shrimp, peeled and de-veined --- enough flour to coat well Heat in a wide-bottomed pan, over medium-high heat --- Olive oil, 1/2-1 cm deep When oil is hot enough (a little flour sprinkled on sizzles immediately but dies not brown very quickly), add shrimp, in batches if necessary. Do not crowd pan: shrimp should be single-layer, with a little wiggle room between neighbors. After a minute, turn over each shrimp using a pair of tongs or a pair of forks. After another minute, remove onto plate, salt generously, and grind over some black pepper. Serve with a wedge of lemon.