Cooking Adventures - Penne Pasta with Tomatoes, Spinach, and Cannellini Beans

Today I'm continuing my healthy cooking adventures after last week's rather unhealthy assortment of lunches and dinners. I'm also turning this week into a vegetarian cooking adventure. No, I'm not a vegetarian. Even though I consider myself an omnivore and I do love the taste of certain meats, I'm not the type of person who has to have meat every day. I'd never turn my nose up at a vegetarian or vegan meal, and I always try to keep an open mind toward different diets. Because I have a lot of vegetarian friends—including some who are kind enough to respect me as an omnivore and who don't disparage me for eating meat—I've been exposed to a lot of different vegetarian meals. More often than not, I've really enjoyed these meals. So, being a person who likes to both eat and cook, I've decided to expand my vegetarian cooking repertoire. Today I tried my had at a Penne Pasta with Tomatoes, Spinach, and Cannellini Beans.

I found the recipe on MyRecipes.com and on the site the recipe was called Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans. I suppose the fact that the recipe includes feta cheese and spinach makes it somewhat Greek. But, even with my love of all things Greek, I'll just refer to my recipe by simpler terms. And as is becoming typical of my cooking, I improvised here and there and didn't do a whole lot of official measuring. And because I usually cook for just myself and not 4-6 people, I halved the recipe. So here is what I did...

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion or shallot, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Penne pasta
2-3 handfulls of baby spinach
Feta cheese
Parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about 3 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and beans and season with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Bring to a slight boil, then reduce heat and simmer.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions.
4. When the pasta has about 2-3 more minutes of cooking time, add the spinach to the tomato sauce.
5. Drain pasta and dish sauce over it. Top with feta and parmesean cheese.

Cooking Tip: Whenever I'm seasoning dishes like this, I always go really light on the salt because you'll get a little bit of saltiness from the cheese that you add later. There also tends to be higher sodium levels in canned tomatoes and beans. Whenever possible, try to look for kinds that are low sodium or have no salt added. If the dish isn't salty enough for you when you start eating, you can always add more as you see fit—or better yet add more cheese. You can always add salt later but you can never really take it away once it's there, so go easy in the beginning.

Cooking Adventures - Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach, and Other Yummy Stuff

For the past few weeks, I've been really busy. When I get busy, I'm often too tired or lazy to take the time to cook nicer, healthier meals. I usually cook something quick and easy, and lately that means things like frozen pizza, grilled cheese, pork chops, and sausages of various types. These things have been heavy in fats and sodium and pretty much lacking in any nutritional value. I also haven't been eating my vegetables like I usually do. So, I decided that it was time for me to get back on track with a healthier diet that has more veggies and better proteins.

Earlier this week I stumbled upon a recipe for Cherry Tomato Pine Nut Spaghetti at Vintage Victuals. Just from the pictures alone, the dish looked yummy, so I was determined to try it out.

For the most part, I followed the recipe fairly closely and improvised when I had to. Instead of panko breadcrumbs, I just had plain, regular breadcrumbs on hand. I didn't have official Italian seasoning, but I just used oregano and basil. I altered the measurements on somethings and other things I didn't measure at all.

Here is my recipe, inspired by Vintage Victuals.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
olive oil - I just splash it in and don't measure it
garlic powder
1 tub (10.5 oz.) cherry tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
dried oregano
dried basil
salt and pepper
whole wheat spaghetti
1-2 handfuls baby spinach
feta cheese, crumbled
parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Toast pine nuts in a dry, non-stick skillet on low heat until fragrant.

2. In a large skillet on medium heat, add the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and a splash of olive oil. Toss together until the breadcrumbs are lightly toasted. Set aside.

3. In the same skillet, add another good splash of olive oil. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to get wrinkly and release a little bit of their juice.

4. Add the garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Add a smidge more olive oil if you think the mixture and pan might be a bit too dry. Reduce the heat to low, and let the tomato mixture simmer.

5. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.

6. When the spaghetti has about 4-5 more minutes of cooking time, add the spinach to the tomato mixture and toss gently. We just want to warm and wilt the spinach. By this time the tomatoes might get fragile and might squish or break apart. This is OK because they'll release more juice.

7. When spaghetti has finished cooking, reserve a few cups of the pasta water in case you need to thin out the pasta later. (I didn't do this when I made the dish tonight but wish I had and that's why I'm adding the instruction here.) Drain the spaghetti and add it to the tomatoes and spinach. Add the breadcrumbs, toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese, and toss the whole thing together. If you think the dish looks a little too dry, gradually add the reserved pasta liquid until it looks or feels right to you. (Yes, I realize that these are vague directions, but, for me, my cooking methods are often based on look, feel, and smell. It's not sophisticated, but somehow it works.)

8. Dish it out and top with parmesean cheese.

I realize that these aren't the greatest photos and the last one especially is a smidge blurry. But, trust me, the dish tasted wonderful!

Long Weekend

This weekend will be a long weekend for me. There isn't an official holiday from work, I'm just taking the day off tomorrow. The past few weeks have been absolutely crazy. I was working on some horribly difficult project and I was putting in some very long hours. After sending six books to press—that's a lot in a two week period—I've been feeling incredibly tired and in need of a break. So I arranged to take some time off. It's just one extra day, but, believe me, that one extra day makes a difference.

I just need to figure out what I'm going to do. I have a certain amount of household chores that I need to do and I need to do some grocery shopping because my refrigerator and cupboards are getting empty. The weather has been nice lately, although hot, so I would like to go out for a hike if I can. Or, maybe I'll just be lazy and sleep in and lie around the apartment doing nothing.

Banned Butts

Having been an English major and now working in publishing, little gets my blood boiling more than censorship and attempts to ban books. Typically people try to ban books from libraries or schools or bookstores because of the content of the books. Often books are banned because they contain foul language or violence or deal with sensitive themes like sexuality. Although these things might offend some, I don't believe that should be ground to ban the book and keep it out of everyone's hands.

Recently several news sources have been reporting about a new story about a banned book. I stumbled upon the story in the New Yorker. The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon is a novel about Aristotle and Alexander the Great. With Alexander the Great as one of the main characters, you'd think that maybe people want the book banned because there might be a little bit of homosexuality in the story. But that's not why the novel is being banned. BC Ferries, a transportation service in British Columbia Canada, wants the book banned from their shops because of the risque cover.

The cover shows a naked man lying on a horse, and, oh my God, you can see his naked butt! BC Ferries expressed their concern that children might see the cover and that would be a bad thing. This just seems insane to me. Everyone pretty much has the same body parts—though in varying shapes, sizes, and colors—but why is there so much shame associated with the human body? Have people not yet recovered from the shame in that silly Garden of Eden? The cover shows a simple butt. It's just a man's butt, and, in my opinion, there's nothing really pornographic about it. Now if the cover showed a man having sex with someone, then maybe that might be more cause for concern. That's probably something you don't want to leave out for children. But this is just a butt, a butt that apparently needed to be banned from the shelves.

You might want to criticize the Canadians for their prudishness, but here is the cover for the US edition of the same book. It is completely different and there isn't any nakedness at all. There is a bare chest but all of the private parts are properly covered. But there is blood. Blood is OK. We don't need to shield children from blood.

Needless to say, I hope the folks at BC Ferries never see an ancient Greek statue. There are naked butts everywhere. There are even naked boobs and penises.

When a Plain Bagel Is More Than Just a Plain Bagel

At a a time when the "Ground Zero Mosque" (even though it's not a mosque and not at ground zero) is the biggest story in New York, another news story is gaining traction and causing a stir of reactions.

Here is the picture, which sounds like an opening to a joke: An English professor walks into a Starbucks and orders a "plain multigrain bagel." The barista behind the counter asks her if she would like that with butter or cream cheese. This question apparently upset the professor who restated the fact that she wanted it "plain," meaning she didn't want anything on it. At some point she launched into a tirade against the barista and used some not-so-polite words, and she was eventually kicked out of the Starbucks.

The professor told the New York Post that she "just wanted a plain bagel" and "refused to say 'without butter or cheese'" because "linguistically it's stupid, and I'm a sticker for correct English." The professor went on to criticize Starbucks for the language they use on their menus and said that their use of language is just a way to control people and to create a different reality. Um, really? Sure, I never remember whether a venti is bigger or smaller than a grande, but I don't assume that being in the presence of those words will somehow suck my soul down to hell or into the arms of an evil corporate or governmental power. I just say small and usually still get a small and walk out of the store relatively unscathed.

The professor turned this situation into a valiant battle for the English language. Considering I have a degree in English and Classics and work as an editor for a living, I can appreciate anyone who upholds the value of grammar and vocabulary. But did it ever occur to the professor that maybe the poor barista asks every bagel customer if he or she wants butter or cream cheese on the bagel? Maybe that's just a standard question, a polite offer for optional toppings. Sometimes they even ask you if you want the bagel toasted, perish the thought. If you're going to be picky about the word plain, will you be picky about everything? When you order coffee, the barista will often ask you if you'd like room for cream. If you do, they don't fill your cup to the top of the cup; if you don't they fill it up. It's just a polite (and sensible) question. And will you throw a tirade over the fact that they ask if you'd like room for cream when you might put 2% milk in it or half-and-half or soy milk? I WANT ROOM FOR SOY NOT CREAM, GOD DAMNIT! Sounds a little foolish, doesn't it?

Putting aside the linguistic argument over the entire event, what really blew me away was the simple interaction between customer and server. The big problem with a LOT of people in the world is that many people treat servers as servers, in the sense that they are there to serve the customer in a submissive and subservient way. These people might be bringing you your food or coffee or cleaning your tables, but they are still human beings. Maybe I was raised differently and maybe I was taught to respect everyone regardless of whether the person is the president of a company or the person who empties that president's trash can at the end of the day. A person is still a person no matter what they do and they generally deserve some level of respect.

What a lot of people also don't realize is that when you treat your servers well, if you're polite to them, and if you respect them, they will appreciate you and will remember you. And if they appreciate and remember you, you will be treated like gold. I can't even begin to count how many free drinks or appetizers or desserts my family received from waiters and waitresses, because we treated them well like they were friends.

So while people might be discussing this event in terms of language or whether Starbucks is too snooty and pretentious, a lot of people fail to see the complete failure of social skills and human interaction.

And my last question is: If this lady ordered a multigrain bagel, you'd assume that she'd have enough fiber in her system to keep herself unconstipated, so why is she so gosh darn cranky?

Routine

Several months ago I got into a workout routine and was really dedicated and was actually able to stick to it for a long time—longer than I've been able to in the past. But then things got really busy at work and then I was taken by surprise with a sudden move. With all the craziness going on, I took a few weeks off from my typical workout routine. I was too busy working and too busy packing and just didn't have time to exercise. Besides, I was also carrying heavy boxes up and down three flights of stairs several times a day. So I considered that my workout for about a week.

But now that I've been living in my new place for a little over a month and now that I'm finally settled—for the most part—I think it's time to get back into my workout routine before I start to get a little beer belly. Plus I've been feeling a little tired and lethargic and very lazy and unmotivated, so maybe the workouts will give me a much-needed boost of energy. So, starting tomorrow, I'll be working out and lifting weights again. Yay me!

Crazy Neighbors

Ever since I moved to this apartment complex a few years ago, I've been relatively free of crazy neighbors. Loyal readers will remember my stories and posts about the cray neighbors at my previous apartment complex. Because I lived close to campus, I had the occasional drunk student mistake my apartment for his. I've been woken up a few times in the middle of the night by the sound of someone trying to get in my apartment. Fortunately the students were nice enough to apologize before going on their drunk merry way. I've had drunk students throw up on the sidewalk in the complex. And I've had the noisy neighbor who would talk loudly on phone outside my windows.

But when I moved to my current complex, everything was quite and peaceful. I heard my neighbors coming and going and I spoke to them in passing. But for the most part the people living around here are older, working people and not students. If they are students they are older grad students. So things have been quiet. But after moving into my current unit, I have had to deal with a little more noise now that I'm on the first floor and living under a couple and their two kids. Apart from the running and jumping and occasional screaming from the kids, I have never heard a peep out of the adults. Until yesterday.

Just as I was about to make my dinner, I was distracted by an argument coming from upstairs. At first it was just some muffled arguing until the couple went outside on their balcony. Then I and the entire complex became privy to their entire argument. Wife/girlfriend began by yelling at husband/boyfriend about the haircut that the older child got during the day.

She began with something like, "what the f*ck were you thinking? how could you do that?!"
He responded with something like, "are you f*cking kidding?"
"I work all day and I give you one thing to do and you f*ck it up! I told you to get his hair trimmed and you go and do this! I don't want my child looking like a cancer patient" (At this point I gathered that maybe the haircut was probably a buzz cut.)
"It's just a haircut, it's what he wanted." the boyfriend/husband yelled back.
"Maybe your dad let you do what you wanted to do when you were his age, but that's not going to happen to my son. He's not old enough to make his own decisions." The husband/boyfriend started to argue back but I didn't understand what he was saying, but then the wife/girlfriend yelled back, "You need to get out of my house, because I can't even stand to look at you."

Oh dear! That last line sounded pretty dramatic. You might even say a little melodramatic. As I listened to this entire argument, I found myself starting to take sides in spite of not knowing the people and not knowing what else was going on. Although the guy might have screwed up on getting the kid a buzz cut, it is just a haircut and hair grows back. The gal's reaction seemed a little too emotional for the circumstances. But what do I know.

Needless to say, it made for an entertaining and exciting afternoon experience.

Bike Sharing, the Next Destroyer of America

Politics can be a crazy thing and in Colorado they can be really crazy.

One of the many things I love about Colorado is that it can be progressive and forward thinking. Two things that Coloradoans really love are the environment and a healthy lifestyle. Think about it. We have beautiful mountains running through our state and people want to preserve that beauty. And the mountains and open space also open themselves to hiking, running, biking, and other outdoor activities. It's no wonder that Colorado often tops lists of most eco-friendly and healthiest states.

Earlier this year Denver launched a large bike-share program. There are about forty bike share stations throughout the city and you pay by the hour to rent a bicycle. One would think that this is a great thing. For those who don't own cars, this is a way for them to get around town. Riding a bike is healthy and one less vehicle on the road is good for the environment. Totally harmless and a great idea, right? Not so, according to Republican gubernatorial candidate, Dan Maes. Let's just say that Maes puts the "guber" in gubernatorial.

Maes has criticized the bike share program and has implied that there is something evil lurking in the program. Denver happens to be a member of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), an international organization that promotes sustainable development, and the ICLEI happens to promote and encourage bike sharing. You'd think that sustainable development would be a good thing, but apparently the "international" part of the organization is what terrifies Maes. Maes has said that the bike share program threatens to convert Denver into a United Nations community and that the program could threaten our personal freedoms. Um, really?

Let's ignore the fact that Denver joined the ICLEI in 1992 along with about 600 other cities in the United States, apparently in this political climate anything influenced or inspired by an international organization or foreign countries is a dangerous thing. Maybe Maes thinks that by being a member of this organization we will sign our rights away to the United Nations and we will become like other European countries—because, you know, guaranteed government-sponsored health care, civil rights for gays and lesbians, religious freedom, and politics that are not influenced by religion are bad things.

The only thing that could possibly make matters worse is the fact that the bicycles are all painted red, and I'm surprised that Maes didn't bring that up. Red bicycles are obviously socialist or communist or fascist or something un-American. If people start sharing and borrowing bikes, what else could that lead to? Renting and borrowing books? Sharing knowledge? God help our society!

Jackpot

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm the type of person who often scans the ground for dropped change and I'm also not ashamed to say that I'll stop to pick up whatever coin I find. I guess I'm like my Oma in that way. Money is money even if it is just a penny or two. And, who knows, it might really bring you luck some day. I'm rarely successful, however, in getting the bigger payoffs. Until yesterday.

Yesterday I was doing my laundry and was ready to start the dryer. When my coin got stuck I thought I lost my quarter for good, but when I pushed the coin return button, two quarters came out. I got an extra quarter! I tried to put my quarter in again but it got stuck again, and when I pushed the coin return button more quarters kept coming out. I eventually got the dryer to take my four quarters to start the load, but somehow I had seven new quarters in my pocket. That almost covers a whole other load of laundry that I can do!

This might be as exciting as finding a $100 on the ground, but I'll take what I can get!

Stupid Reviews

Whenever hearing or reading a review, whether it be a book review or a movie review or any kind of review, I always try to take it with a grain of salt. Unless the review is coming from a family member or a close friend who knows my style and taste, I know to not get my hopes up or to get too excited. People just have different interests and tastes, and that's perfectly fine. I've been given glowing reviews and recommendations on things that I ended up not liking, and I'm sure there are a lot of things I really like that others would not like. It's just the way of the world and that's what keeps things fun and interesting.

But there is such a thing as a stupid review. Last night, while looking for something good to watch from Netflix, I stumbled across North Face. It was listed under the "Popular in Boulder, Colorado" category. The movie is set in the 1930s and it is about two German mountain climbers and their Austrian rivals who set out on a treacherous mountain climb of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. The movie is absolutely beautiful, stunning, intense, exciting, and moving, and I would recommend it to family and friends (and they can take that review and recommendation with a grain of salt, if they wish).

But now I must return to the stupid review part of this post. In addition to being listed under "Popular in Boulder," North Face is also listed under "Foreign Films" and "German Language." It's a foreign film, and, to Americans, that usually means that the movie is not in English. Yep, that's why they call it a foreign film, buddy...