This is a good alternative to the simple spaghetti meal, and just as easy to make. The key is finding good cheap prepared tortellini which I found in the bulk section at Winco.

2 cups cheese tortellini
1 package hot Italian sausage
24 oz Bertolli's basil marinara
Parmesan cheese
6 carrots
1 1/2 pound green beans
1 turnip
salt


Why a turnip, you ask? I asked that, and answered with a 'because it was there.' I started with a large pot of water to boil, with a healthy amount of salt. I then chopped up the carrots, peeled and chopped the turnip, and trimmed the green beans. I added them to a steamer with some water boiling. For the sauce I poured out the bottle and added chopped Italian sausage and put in on high with a lid.

When the water was boiling, I added the tortellini and cooked for 10-20 minutes until it was very soft. I made sure the veggies were soft to the fork. Once the sauce was hot and had cooked up the sausage, which released its flavor drippings into the sauce, I was pretty much done.

I drained the pasta, poured on the sauce, and dished up a plate with some salt and pepper and Parmesan for taste. So easy and so tasty.

This recipe started with a simple purchase of a standard curry powder.

2 chicken breast, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups plain yogurt
4 Tbsp curry powder
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cups jasmin rice
Chopped cilantro
salt to taste


I started off by getting the jasmine rice cooking by following the recipe on the package.
I started by heating olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. I then sauteed the onion and carrots until lightly browned and stirred in the garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, ginger, sugar and salt, and stirred for 2 minutes. I added chicken pieces and yogurt and brought it to a boil, reduced the heat, and simmered for 20 to 25 minutes to let the sauce thicken.

Lastly, I stirred in the lemon juice and cayenne. Once plated, I added the chopped cilantro.

This tasted pretty good, but I think in cooking down the sauce for so long, a lot of the flavor from the spices were destroyed. I want to try this again, but next time I will get the onions, carrots, and chicken sauteed up, and add the yogurt and let it all cook down for a while (also maybe using coconut milk as well). Then once it is about 5 minutes from being done, I would, in another pan, saute up the spices in some oil to activate them, and then stir in that paste into the rest of the dish. Or maybe just use some of the spices in the initial cooked, but add more closer to being done.

How inspiring a trip to a random Asian food store can be. I found little cubes of pho bouillon and decided to give it a shot.

4 pho bouillon cubes
8 cups water
1 package Vietnamese meatballs
1 package thin rice noodles
1 package bean sprouts
1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup basil
1 pound tofu
1 jalapeno
a few Tbsp sweet chili sauce

This was a pretty easy make.

I started by making the soup base. I included the pho cubes, the water, meatballs, and cubed tofu in a pot until it was all hot.

In a very large bowl, I put a small handful of rice noodles (uncooked), chopped herbs, 2 slices of jalapeno, and some bean sprouts. Once the stock was hot and boiling away, I poured it over the noodle bowl, ladling on a few meatballs and tofu. The rice noodles were uncooked but they quickly cook in the hot broth. I then poured on a little sweet chili sauce and let it sit for 5 minutes to cool and cook the noodles.

In retrospect, the rice noodles needed a little more cooking. In left overs they were perfect. I would pour in the stock with the rice noodles and re-heat them in the microwave or on the stove top. I only cooked enough noodles for each bowl, because rice noodles don't do well sitting in broth. They will just breakdown and become mush. This reheating process was just enough to cook each new noodle bowl. Perfect.

I was a little hesitant at the pho bouillon cubes, but it all ended up tasting amazing.

For Christmas I got a hand press tortilla maker along with a nice bag of Masa Harina to make the tortillas. This is initial effort.

For the tortillas, I mixed the flour with water as per the instructions on the bag, let them sit and used the tortilla press to flatten out the tiny balls of dough. One mistake I made here was that I didn't put down any wax paper, so the tortillas picked up some of the pewter color. I don't think it changed the taste, but it did make it more difficult to peel off the press.

In cooking, I used a standard stainless steel skillet, which caused the tortillas to stick a little. With a little added oil, they didn't stick, but they did fry instead. Still tasty though. I think a well seasoned iron skillet would have been ideal.

The tortillas were a little thick for the traditional taco size. I think if I used corn flour, they would have been better. As it was, the flour tortilla mix might have benefited from a good rolling pin.

The rest of this recipe was my pretty standard taco/burrito mix. Sauteed onion, bell peppers and chicken strips that were marinated in a spicy salsa mix. To top it off, I added lettuce, cilantro, lime juice, hot and hot sauce. Super simple.

By request from Jeremy, here's my current go to pita recipe:

2 teaspoons dry yeast
2.5 cups lukewarm water
5 to 6 cups flour (I usually use regular all-purpose, but try to mix in some whole wheat with it)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, then stir 100 times in the same direction to start developing the gluten. Cover this and let it rest at room temperature for at least 10 minutes and up to 2 hours (longer the better).

Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic but not overly sticky. Clean and oil the bowl and return the dough to it. Cover and let rise until at least doubled in size, around 1.5 hours.

You can either cook them on a baking stone/quarry tile/inverted baking sheet inside the oven, or on a hot, flat surface on it. I personally just use an electric griddle. Either way divide the dough in half, and then divide the uncovered half into 8 even pieces (or fewer for larger pitas). Roll out each piece into a circle less than a 1/4 inch thick (diameter will depend on how you divided it) and cover until you're ready.

For the stove:

Preheat the oven with your choice of baking surface inside to 450ºF. Carefully place 2 or so discs onto the surface and bake for 2-3 minutes. If you've got them rolled out evenly they should balloon at this point.

For not in the stove:

Heat your griddle/pan/whatever to a decent heat. I go around 350-375ºF, which I believe would be a little over medium, maybe medium high. Place a round on the surface and cook for 15-20 seconds, then flip. Cook on that side for around a minute, at which point large bubbles should start to appear in it. Flip it back to the original side and cook until the bread balloons fully, or both sides are lightly browned.

Repeat this process with the rest of the dough. Keep the cooked pitas wrapped in a lightly damp towel to keep warm until you're ready to serve. These are generally best fresh, but probably keep for a couple days if they're in an air tight container.

As you get the hang of it you should be able to get your work rate up to a much faster pace.

So this last weekend, I went to The Whole Bowl food cart. They do one dish, made vegetarian and pretty hard. It tastes great, and so I tried to replicate it for dinner this week. Here is what I came up with.

1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
2 Serrano peppers
salt, pepper, cumin, mexican hot sauce
2 chicken breast
1 red onion
3 ribs celery
1 red bell pepper
1/3 pound chanterelles
paprika, garlic salt, black pepper, molasses, a splash of vinegar
salsa
Chinese citrus sauce
1 can black olives
chopped fresh cilantro
2 avocados
sour cream

I started off by making the two cans of beans a few hours a head of time to let them simmer and absorb the flavors. In the beans, I added the two Serrano's, chopped, and the salt, pepper, and cumin. I set this on low and when I started cooking the other stuff a few hours later, I turned up the heat to get a nice simmer and reduce the liquid as they were undrained. I then began cooking the brown rice in it's own pot.

In a large sauce pan with some oil, I tossed in the chicken breasts, diced fine, and the onion, celery, bell pepper chanterelles and the seasonings. I let this saute down until it was all cooked.

The rest was done fresh. I chopped up some cilantro, and some olives, sliced a bit of avocado up and topped off the layered bowl with these and a dollop of sour cream and the salsa, and store bought Chinese citrus sauce. Good stuff, and very filling.

Have you ever wondered what Stew ate for breakfast every morning. Do you stay up late at night and wonder how stew can eat a simple healthy breakfast when he doesn't have time to eat at home or even want to eat first thing in the morning? Well, here is your answer.

Stews Slop
2 cups Quick Oatmeal
2 cups granola or muesli with fruit
10Tbps Brown sugar
1 envelope (1 1/3 cup) dried milk

To eat, mix 1 cup of the slop with 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Let stand for 3 minutes. Enjoy.
This is super easy to prepare as bulk ahead of time, and prepare a serving to take to work. I have a nice electric kettle in the classroom where I can boil water, and mix this up to eat during first period prep.

The More You Know.