As long as I can remember, my parents had a garden with a few basic herbs: peppermint, chives, parsley,sage. Back in the 1970s that was considered exotic, and now people think nothing of zipping into the grocery store to buy a few snips of basil or a sprig of thyme. As soon as I moved into my own place, I planted a little garden with a few basics too. My favorites are parsley, basil, thyme, and chives. Sometimes there is sage and sometimes lavender or marjoram.
While it is hard to choose a favorite, the parsley is a strong contender. The green springs often stay healthy under the snow in the winter. If the cook is brave enough to wade outside, the leaves are available to be snipped. Boiled potatoes in the winter have freshness and hope when tossed with the chopped green sprigs and drizzled with butter. The taste is earthy, new, green, and understated. Parsley isn't as flamboyant as a pineapple sage or a Thai basil but it complements the subtle food so well.
In the summer, handfuls of parsley add dimension to a tabouli with bulgar wheat, fresh tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. My father prepared the dish so that it was practically a parsley salad. For the longest time, I thought no one knew how to make the dish properly because it just wasn't green enough. Since then, I've learned that there are many variations on a good tabouli. Some people add feta for kick or garbanzo beans for protein. The Angry Chicken recently talked about making tabouli with quinoa. I haven't tried that variation yet, but it certainly looks yummy.
Lazy day meals are also important. Sunday nights often find me exhausted from too much fun on Saturday and too much frantic preparation for the coming week on Sunday. Popcorn and milk is a favorite meal. So is spaghetti and eggs. I don't know of anyone outside of my family who eats this dish or has heard of it, but it is very satisfying, has cheap protein, and is easy to make. The quality of this dish improved dramatically when I started to grate Parmesan cheese from a wedge rather than using the pre-grated stuff in a plastic canister. The ratios of this dish can vary according to what you have on hand. I've never actually measured the amounts. I judge by the way it feels in my hand, looks on the cutting board, and mixes in the pan. The end result is a steaming plate of pasta with yellow and green dots.
Spaghetti and Eggs
8 oz whole wheat pasta
1-2 eggs
2 handfuls parsley
2 t. butter
2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cook four servings of spaghetti.
While the spaghetti is cooking, pick several handfuls of parsley from the garden. Wash it, pat it dry, pluck off the leaves, discard the stems, and chop the leaves. You will have approximately 1/2 c to 1 c parsley.
In a separate dish, scramble 1 - 2 eggs.
Drain the pasta and return to pan. Place pan back on the hot burner and turn off the heat. The greatest danger is overcooking this dish. (My sister swears by the double boiler. I think that sounds like more dishes.)
Melt the butter over the pasta. Then mix in the eggs and parsley. Allow the mixture to sit until the eggs are done. Because of the butter and the parsley, the eggs may seem slightly runny, but this is desirable. Waiting until they are like rubber bullets is a bad idea -- don't ask how I know.
Divide into four servings, season with salt and pepper, and top with Parmesan.
As long as I can remember, my parents had a garden with a few basic herbs: peppermint, chives, parsley,sage. Back in the 1970s that was considered exotic, and now people think nothing of zipping into the grocery store to buy a few snips of basil or a sprig of thyme. As soon as I moved into my own place, I planted a little garden with a few basics too. My favorites are parsley, basil, thyme, and chives. Sometimes there is sage and sometimes lavender or marjoram.
While it is hard to choose a favorite, the parsley is a strong contender. The green springs often stay healthy under the snow in the winter. If the cook is brave enough to wade outside, the leaves are available to be snipped. Boiled potatoes in the winter have freshness and hope when tossed with the chopped green sprigs and drizzled with butter. The taste is earthy, new, green, and understated. Parsley isn't as flamboyant as a pineapple sage or a Thai basil but it complements the subtle food so well.
In the summer, handfuls of parsley add dimension to a tabouli with bulgar wheat, fresh tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. My father prepared the dish so that it was practically a parsley salad. For the longest time, I thought no one knew how to make the dish properly because it just wasn't green enough. Since then, I've learned that there are many variations on a good tabouli. Some people add feta for kick or garbanzo beans for protein. The Angry Chicken recently talked about making tabouli with quinoa. I haven't tried that variation yet, but it certainly looks yummy.
Lazy day meals are also important. Sunday nights often find me exhausted from too much fun on Saturday and too much frantic preparation for the coming week on Sunday. Popcorn and milk is a favorite meal. So is spaghetti and eggs. I don't know of anyone outside of my family who eats this dish or has heard of it, but it is very satisfying, has cheap protein, and is easy to make. The quality of this dish improved dramatically when I started to grate Parmesan cheese from a wedge rather than using the pre-grated stuff in a plastic canister. The ratios of this dish can vary according to what you have on hand. I've never actually measured the amounts. I judge by the way it feels in my hand, looks on the cutting board, and mixes in the pan. The end result is a steaming plate of pasta with yellow and green dots.
Spaghetti and Eggs
8 oz whole wheat pasta
1-2 eggs
2 handfuls parsley
2 t. butter
2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cook four servings of spaghetti.
While the spaghetti is cooking, pick several handfuls of parsley from the garden. Wash it, pat it dry, pluck off the leaves, discard the stems, and chop the leaves. You will have approximately 1/2 c to 1 c parsley.
In a separate dish, scramble 1 - 2 eggs.
Drain the pasta and return to pan. Place pan back on the hot burner and turn off the heat. The greatest danger is overcooking this dish. (My sister swears by the double boiler. I think that sounds like more dishes.)
Melt the butter over the pasta. Then mix in the eggs and parsley. Allow the mixture to sit until the eggs are done. Because of the butter and the parsley, the eggs may seem slightly runny, but this is desirable. Waiting until they are like rubber bullets is a bad idea -- don't ask how I know.
Divide into four servings, season with salt and pepper, and top with Parmesan.