Lenten Spring Pasta

 I have been very Vegetarian /vegan  this Lenten season and had some great veggies in the fridge looking for a dish to be involved with. Brenda loves Trottole pasta shapes and I have been jonesing for some mushrooms so dinner was formed. 

Medium onion in 1/4 inch slices 

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1tbl oil and one of butter. 2 tbl oil if you’re  strict about the fast

3/4 c dried mushrooms  reconstituted in 3-4 cups boiling water. Reserve water

1bunch of asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces, tips reserved

1/2 c shelled edamame

Tbl corn starch

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 pound of Trottole or pasta of choice

Drain the mushrooms and set aside the liquid for your sauce. I added the asparagus stems to the hot liquid to blanch. Chop the mushrooms into pieces. 

In a pan, add the oil/ butter and saute the onions till translucent then add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Salt and pepper here.  I added the mushrooms and cooked again then added the edamame and asparagus stems. I had blanched the stems briefly in the water I took the mushrooms from. I added the asparagus tips dead last to preserve the crunch a bit. 

Once the veggies were all crisp/ tender, I added the mushroom water and thickened the sauce with a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water. Add the thyme and lemon zest and juice. Check the seasoning. 

Cook the pasta al dente. I placed the pasta in the dish and ladled sauce over it. Enjoy! 

Lenten treat…Crawfish Etouffee

 I have a few pounds of frozen crawfish tails in the freezer so tonight we made an etouffee.

Not a huge fan of green pepper so I used all red peppers for a sweeter version. This is a Lenten version so I used Vegetable stock. 

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup flour

1 onion chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 cups of vegetable broth

2 tbls of Cajun seasoning

Hot sauce to taste

1 lb of thawed crawfish tails

Rice for serving

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and add flour. Cook on low- medium heat until it turns the color of peanut butter. Add onion, celery and peppers at this point. Coke a few minutes the add garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice. After it heats for a minute add the Cajun spice. Now add the veg or chicken stock. Let come to a boil and thicken. Give a taste and add hot sauce, I used Tabasco. 

Add the crawfish tails, heat through and serve over rice. 

Chicken Curry

 Several people brought amazing dishes after my heart attack in 1998 but one sticks out as a favorite. We made it several times but forgot about it lately. Today, at the market, the air was rich with the smell of curry and this recipe came to mind. 

1 whole chicken

1 medium onion diced

2 small cans of tomato paste

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbls butter

2 tbls curry powder. More to taste

Chopped banana, pineapple, mandarin oranges and peanuts for topping

Rice to serve

Cook chicken and reserve broth. Debone and shred the meat. 

Sautéed onion and garlic in butter. Add tomato paste and cook a minutes till it darkens in color.

Strain broth and add to pot with shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice and pass the toppings. 

Thanks Laura Weaver for the recipe and dinner for a few nights. 

Eating Omaha…Sand Point New England Fare

 We decided to try a new venue last night, Sand Point. Apparently a former food truck now a brick and mortar establishment it’s been open just a few months or so. We made reservations and were seated immediately. The service was prompt initially but we were warned the kitchen was short tonight and it may take a bit to get our food. No problem.our friends Mike and Cindy showed up in a few minutes and we ordered drinks.

The menu features mostly seafood appetizers and mains. A few meat entrees grounded out the menu. We tried some appetizers, fried clam strips and lobster arancini. Since the kitchen was slow we order entrees at the same time. 

The appetizers were very good and came out quickly. Before we finished them, our entrees showed up…so much for a slow kitchen.  I had a bowl of Lobster bisque and crab cakes. The bisque was not hot and the crab cakes were…meh. Brenda and Cindy had the swordfish but it was over cooked and dry. Mike had a pricey lobster roll with butter and a bowl of bisque. His bisque was hot but he ordered buttered lobster and thought the mayo version might have been a better choice. When we visited Maine a few years back, lobster rolls were not our go to. Pricey and kind of okay but not compared to a whole lobster dinner for much less. 

All in all, despite pretty decent service, the food was disappointing especially for the cost. Mike bought the wine and we split the rest. Our portion, including tip was $99. 

Unless I hear they are hitting the mark better in the future, I’m not sure we will return anytime soon.