For Mindy

I have this fall-back recipe I like when I want something easy and warm and tasty. It's also easy to make a lot of to share with your friends. For lack of imagination I'll just call it Baked Veggie Pasta. I made it last week for Michelle (who ever-so-humbly requested it) and Mindy, and apparently Mindy would like the recipe. So Mindy, this is for you!

Start out by getting a big pot of water boiling for your pasta.

While that's-a-brewin' cut up a few of your favorite vegetables into about-same-sized pieces. I like to use carrots (these can be cut smaller so they cook easier/faster), asparagus, onions (red and white), red bell pepper, zuchini, and or squash. Chop up some garlic for this too (or spoon it out of the jar, whatever).


By now your water should be rip-roarin' so pour in some pasta. I like to use ribbed pastas like penne because they hold the flavors better in their ridges of goodness. yea, i just said that. Ridges of Goodness. Anyway, your pasta to vegetable ratio should be about even. You don't want to go into a carbo-bomb. Or do you? If you do that's fine, go craaaazy. But only cook the pasta for about 4 or 5 minutes. You want them a little less than Al Dente so that they can continue to cook in the oven with the veggies.


While the pasta's cookin heat up a sauce pot and get a little rue going. If you're watching your calories, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! makes stick "butter" now and you can use that and it works just as well. I really hate the stuff, it tastes like popcorn butter to me, but I couldn't tell the difference between using it or margarine/real butter. When the butter is all melty add an equal amount of flour (I almost typed "flower", wow.) and whisk together. Let the two marry a bit and cook for a minute or so, then start whisking in some milk. I use 2% milk because it has a little fat but not too much. You can use whole milk, half and half, or cream if you want, but don't use nonfat. The lack of fat makes it hard for things to come together. But I use 2% so at least I'm just a passerby of Fatass Town, and not a permanent resident. ANYWAY, slowly whisk in the milk and get all the chunks out. It will start to thicken up.

Check your pasta. Is it a little squishy yet still kinda hard? Good. Turn off the heat and dump that water. Don't just turn off the heat. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot water. We don't want that.

So you've got your sauce/rue thang going, start adding some cheese to it. I like to use Parmesean or Romano, for that nutty (ha) and sharp flavor. Also add a little salt and pepper too. It should start to thicken up even more. Don't make it TOO thick though.


When that's all ready get a big ol' giant bowl and mix together the pasta veggies. Add a handful or two of your favorite melty cheese (I prefer mozzarella, fresh if you've got it, because it's tasty and melty. I don't know how cheddar would fare here... sounds kinda gross. Fontina is REALLY good, but caloric to the max. Fatass Town worthy for sure). Then add your sauce. Mix it altogether. If it's REALLY saucy, GREAT! That means the noodles are gonna soak up all that yummy (in its riiiiiiidges!). If it's not, add a little bit of milk. The moisture that's released from the veggies, especially the zuch/squash, will get soaked up too. Transfer all that into a PAMmed baking dish or Corningware and top with more cheese. You could even sprinkle bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil if you have it. Bake in a 375 - 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I recommend baking with a lid on for about 10 - 15 minutes and then taking it off for the last 5 - 10 minutes. Leaving it on ensures that all the moisture stays in and gets swooshed around to everyone. And then taking it off gives a nice crispy top. YUM.

Btw, I totally cheated and got images off the internet. Thanks Google!

Oh, my bad!

I didn't forget. I swear. I just have a lack of photographic evidence to document my culinary achievements.

There's a couple pix on Jess's camera that I'll get from her when she gets back from .. the Bay?

There aren't any pictures for this, but, I did make a BOMB frittata on Tuesday. I'd never made one before so I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't end up tasting like rubber. I used like 9 eggs (2.5 whole eggs, the rest just whites), a splash of 2% milk, parmesean, romana, and mozzarella cheeses, some "butter", sauteed onions and red peppers, a dash of cayenne, basil and oregano (I would have liked to use fresh herbs, but The Lazy runs my life so... yea...), salt and pepper ... and then baked that beast in the oven until I thought it looked done. OHHHH i also threw in some Gemelli pasta that I cooked al dente style prior to it marrying the egg. So yea. It was good. I took the leftovers to work and ate it with hot sauce on it. BOMB. I would have liked to make a sauce for it the night I made it, but as I said before: THE LAZY.

Restaurant week in San Diego is coming up fast and I've always wanted to use it as an opportunity to try new restaurants (duh, that's what it's for). Hopefully I can scrape up enough fundage to try a few places. Cross your fingers! (Or send me money. Make my dreams come true.)