Love. Food. Cook.

I did my best to split my time between the garden and the kitchen over the weekend. The kitchen lost the battle. Weather Management smiled upon us and awarded us 2 days of warm weather in the mid twenties.  I planted flowers.  I got a tan. I had some good company over. We finally got to use the deck and patio furniture.  By Sunday night I started to recap the busy weekend and was wishing that Chris and I would win the lotto and retire.

Back to counting my blessings because I should. In fact, we all should as a reminder of what great things we have that really aren’t needed.

Cooking was the last thing on my mind on the weekend with such nice weather so we hit the garden center just out of town.  The trip yielded some nice plants and a delicious smokie that Chris bought me from the hot dog stand. Although I abhor hot dogs, I will still eat quality sausage and the occasional smokie.

Temple is back in session though.

After a weekend of being in the sun, and taking it easy with exercise and eating healthy, I am back to my next healthy dish to polish off the last bag, LAST BAG, of choy sum. With gritted teeth I say oh my goodness. Chris said it exactly how I felt. “It feels like we’ve been eating that for weeks!”

Now, when I made this I used store bought gnocchi, which I found is about 100 calories less than regular old dried pasta for a one cup serving.

I know! Right??

On top of it, the kind I bought came from a local Italian grocer in the city. To see it made out of ingredients I could understand was a good a feeling.  It pays to read those labels that we all don’t want to read so we can just pretend what we eat isn’t a problem. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Not this temple.  Besides, I love these little potato dumplings.

Rustic Puttanesca
Yields 6 – 8 servings.

1 lb extra lean ground chuck
1 lb ground chicken thighs
6 cups gnocchi (or any other pasta)
6 cups of choy sum, chopped
2 pints of cherry tomatoes
12 whole cloves garlic, skinned
¾ cup olives, pitted
2 tbsp dried oregano leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp light cooking oil
1 tbsp olive oil
Extra salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated parmesan or mozzarella to taste

Preheat oven to 430F.  In a bowl, mix the ground chuck and chicken until combined. Season the meat with the oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix the seasoning until the meat begins to form a glue-like texture.  Set aside.

Toss the tomatoes and whole garlic cloves in the olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper to taste and toss again. Transfer the tomatoes and garlic to a baking dish. Roast them in the oven for 18 minutes.  When finished, remove from the oven and set aside.

Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of water to boil. The gnocchi is done when they float to the top of the water. Drain the gnocchi and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown the meat until slightly crispy on the edges. Set aside in a bowl.

Use the same skillet to heat the last 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over high heat.  Add the choy sum to the pan and cook until bright green.  The vegetables will begin to deglaze the browned bits in the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper (take it easy on the salt because the olives will make the dish salty).  Sprinkle the nutmeg over the vegetables and toss.  Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic leaving the garlic whole. Pour all of the roasting juices into the skillet as well. Toss gently to try to maintain the shape of the tomatoes. Add the olives and meat to the skillet and gently toss until everything is coated with the tomato juices.

Rinse the gnocchi with hot tap water. Let drain and add to the skillet. Toss until combined with the vegetables and meat.  Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of parmesan or mozzarella.  You can also crisp the cheese up in the oven by baking the puttanesca in the oven at 430F for 15 minutes to brown the cheese.

I actually didn’t mean to make puttanesca. I just wanted to make a healthy pasta dish. The taste of it reminded me of something I’ve had before. It wasn’t until Chris came home from work and had his dinner that he mentioned how much it tasted like puttanesca.  Minus the capers that are normally in this dish, I would say this was a nice coincidence because it does taste like puttanesca.

This recipe, I admit, isn’t one of the simple ones.  It isn’t one of the hard ones either but it certainly involves more work than you’d expect. Nevertheless, cooking is a process that is necessary for maintaining your health and nutrition.  We have to realize sometimes that it can take long but it’s worth the wait and the work.  If I were to go out for pasta at a restaurant I would almost bet that 7 times out of 10 there are copious amounts of butter in the dish somewhere that I’m not aware of. At home, I can make the same thing and avoid the use of butter if I wanted to.  I still get to have a tasty meal, worthy of being served to others, and know that I didn’t put in more than what is needed.

In our sight, in our mind, right?