Pasta Puttanesca- Not What I Thought It Would Be, But They Never Are

Puttanesca is a pasta sauce that I have been reading about for years. I like the folklore that comes with it. The idea of the Italian prostitutes cooking this incredible sauce that smells so good the men cannot help themselves but enter the whorehouse. Puttanesca comes from the word puttana which means, well, lady parts. And it is also the name for a prostitute or "lady of the night" as many cookbooks refer to it. I think that they say that because it is easier to use a euphamism then say you are cooking a sauce that was originated by whores. Just my two cents.

The ingredients have always enthrall me and I had never made it. So this past Saturday, my lazy Saturday where I sat around in my pajamas all day (seriously, it was kind of gross)I decided that it was time to finally try the stuff. I have plenty of pasta on hand, and I had a can of diced tomatoes, olives, basil, garlic, onions, etc etc.
I also had a ton of squash so I added that as well to make it even healthier. And the special ingredient that I actually needed to use up was anchovies. But this might be where I went astray. The recipe (Silver Palate) called for I believe 3 anchovies. Well, I had about 1/2 a tin worth of them, leftover from Proper Chicken Caesar Salad, and so I used about 6. Maybe more. This was not a good idea.

The sauce and pasta cooking away
I really don't actually feel like elaborating on this because I just didn't like it that much. I should have drained the tomatoes before adding them to the pan. And I should haev chilled out on the anchovies. My roomie liked it, but I just didn't. It's always disappointing when you make something and it turns out mediocre.

Oh well, there are more meals to have!

Cous Cous Again!

Now that I have started making couscous I think I might be an addict. It is DEFINITELY a new staple in my kitchen. I made almost the same couscous that I made the other week, this one was just a little more dressed up. I used whole wheat couscous from Trader Joes (I haven't used regular couscous yet, but I see no reason too. The whole wheat is delicious, unlike some other whole wheat versions of every day foods. For example I just can't do whole wheat pasta. I simply do not care for the texture. And I like my pasta al dente, but for some reason the whole wheat never seems to cook quite enough and then it gets slimy. Gross).

This time I added kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and feta, like before, but added a shallot, 1/3 a small red onion, and a bunch of basil chiffonade. I also used the sun dried tomato oil as my olive oil. Some black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes, and John and I had lunch two days in a row.

To serve it for lunch I did something slightly different. I placed the couscous in the bottom of a tupperware, and then added a bunch of spinach, a diced tomato, and a dollop of hummus on top. I sort of had two salads in one container! I ate the spinach and hummus etc first, but also mixed it all around, It was quite good. The fresh veggies brightened everything up. A perfect salad for a nice workday lunch in the park!

Why Don't I Eat More CousCous?!

I made couscous last night. I bought a box of whole wheat couscous at Trader Joe's a week or so ago and decided to dive into it. This stuff is the easiest stuff on the planet. I can't believe I don't do this more often. I cooked it in chicken stock to add more flavor, but I think that you can really just do it with some water.

It's all about the add-ins with couscous. So, I added some chopped Kalamata olives, chopped sundried tomatoes, feta, scallions, and some celery for crunch. I also added some olive oil, both from the jar of sun dried tomatoes and from a bottle. It was delicious. Oh, some red pepper flakes as well. I actually just kept throwing things in and John asked if I was ever going to be finished, because he was hungry.

I decided that couscous could be like artwork. I remember in art class I would just keep painting a painting. There's always another layer you can add, another color, another edge to smooth, until finally my teacher would say "you're finished. There's nothing more you can do." That was like my couscous last night. I finally had to say, ok, I'm done!